can be jailed for their comments if the new hate crimes law moving through Congress is approved.

Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce [radio, TV, internet] any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (HR 1966, SEC 3, Sec. 881a)

Perhaps a few phone calls to a Legislator would be good?

circling about the remains of Michael Jackson. All I know is that it seems like a sad end for a sad life and I hope he finds the rest in God that apparently eluded him in his 50 years here.

A boy was watching his father, a Priest, write a sermon. “How do you know what to say?” he asked. “Why, God tells me” his father replied. “Oh”, the boy said, ” Then why do you keep crossing things out?”

the documents presented at antiochian.org, which, by implication were assumed to be the “official” statement on the issue of the status of diocesan bishops from the recent meeting of the Holy Synod and sent directly to the chancery, are not what they were purported to be by antiochian.org and since the Patriarchate itself has produced both an official Arabic original and English translation antiochian.org has moved its original posts to a side menu and now states that it will wait until there is a version with all of the signatures of the Holy Synod, not just the Patriarch’s, before posting anything as “official”.

Tennis anyone?

has released it’s official English version of its June 17 decision which you can see here. The English language document is in agreement with its official Arabic translation and the first two pages of information presented in the antiochian.org pdf still posted as of this morning are not official.

The most notable difference is that there is apparently no Arabic word, and hence no English word translated as “auxiliary” , the Bishops are referred to as “bishops who assist the Metropolitan”. We’ll see, of course, what that means in practical terms and my guess is that this discussion is not closed but at least we have official Arabic and English translations to work with.

has the official Arabic version of its decision here. The document is identical to page three of the Antiochian Archdiocese’s pdf. The first two pages of that document, which at the time of this post are still being presented at Antiochian.org, are therefore apparently not official but somehow found their way into the pdf.

We’ll find out in time how the first two pages got there but at least now we have an official version of the Arabic to deal with for the sake of translation. The key, as I understand it, is a single word variously translated “assistant” or “auxiliary”. In the fax presented by the Archdiocese, a fax whose first two pages have been in dispute, it was clearly translated “auxiliary” so now we have to wait and see.

This is not to overlook the fact that somehow the fax sent to the Archdiocese has been compromised with two extra pages, one an English translation now apparently disavowed by the Patriarchate and the second an Arabic version also disavowed. It is an understatement to say that this is a serious matter that does need to be addressed.

Please pray for the Antiochian Archdiocese as it may be a long, hot, summer.

with the statements attributed to the Holy Synod of Antioch on Antiochian.org. The link is here but remember the evidence is still speculative and may not be conclusive.

Lord have mercy x 40

posted on the antiochian.org www site has been translated to call the bishops of the Antiochian Archdiocese “auxiliaries”. The rub is in a word in the Arabic that is translated as “assistant” or “helper”. The post appears to have the Patriarchal seal although I am unfamiliar with what it actually looks like. More to come.

last night at the SOS Club, an alcohol free place where people can relax and listen to music, and it happened again.

The jam was small and tight. Often there are a dozen or more players and the sounds can be overwhelming but this time there were just a few and we were locked on to each other and the music was better than average. And then it happened.

A couple of the guitarists decided they wanted to take a whack at the bass. I usually let folks like that give it a try because they basically find out its tougher than in looks. Sure enough they ran through a few lead guitar lines on the bass and decided they could handle it. That usually happens and then I remind them. Noodling lead guitar lines on a bass is not the same as being a bass player.

Bassists lay foundations and merely mimicking the lead is not a foundation. The foundation of a song is a combination of root notes, passing notes, rhythm, and the ability to create a mixture of time, notes, and silence that allows the rest of the group to explore and move in the superstructure. The essence of being a bassist is to think like a bassist and make that alchemy work and its more then just playing a guitar with the last two strings removed. I guess its can be summed up in a t-shirt (isn’t that an American thing) I saw in a shop for bassists. The shirt said “You’d notice if I quit playing.”

Enough said.