May 24th, 2005 by aaronharnly
Greetings to all from the Southern of our hemispheres!
Today we have a pair of readings, illustrating the alternately generous and brutal, ultimately xenocidic mindset of 16th century Argentina.
This first excerpt is from the account Voyage to Río de Plata and Paraguay by Ulderico Schmidt, a German soldier and adventurer, published in 1554. Do be patient and read all the way to the end, as it gets rather interesting.
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March 28th, 2005 by aaronharnly
September 11.
For most of us, the phrase can only evoke September 11, 2001, and its attendant horrors. Perhaps for Chileans it still means September 11, 1973, and the violent end of Chilean democracy.
There is another September 11, however, and I hope to plant its seed within you, lest we think the day was always and only a sad one.
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February 2nd, 2005 by aaronharnly
Merry Candlemas everybody. As apparently only devoted churchgoers, beekeepers, and aging revolutionaries and their game show hosts still remember, it has been 40 days since Christmas (if you’re not a Julianist), and hence time to celebrate the fact that Mary completed her 7 days of uncleanliness, plus her 33 days of continuing in the blood of her purifying, and so brought Jesus into the temple for the first time.
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December 9th, 2004 by aaronharnly
With winter solstice coming up on the 21st, one’s thoughts naturally turn to the celebration of the birth of Mithra, lord of truth and light, enemy of error, guarantor of oaths, born of the virgin Anahita.
Except, for most of us, they don’t. Ever since Julius I’s letter to Cyril of Jerusalem in 349, our thoughts turn instead to that other guy. No hard feelings.
(Just to clear something up, despite the “s”, this blog is named in honor of the Persian deity, not the Roman Johnny-come-lately, who was much less likeable in my opinion.)
Anyway, here’s to turning the corner on wintry darkness, whether you celebrate stars in the East, miraculous oil, burning yule logs, or installing batteries.
Browsing holy texts over lunch is a good habit, by the way. I recommend it.
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