Going Greek, going, going, gone!

It was bound to happen. If you go to a class often enough, the odds are pretty good that you will learn something. After two-and-a-half semesters of ancient Greek, I can now read and translate passages. I can look at a verb and, on a good day, I can tell you if it’s in the present active indicative, 1st aorist indicative or subjunctive tense. I never thought I’d make it to this point, but here I am. Hallelujah. The semester will be finished in roughly five weeks. Amazing.

 To give you an idea of what I’ve been struggling with, take a look at the link. When your eyeballs have had enough, select an English translation from the drop-down to compare.

Sunday’s lesson: don’t underestimate God

I’ve written in the past about my tendency to be a skeptic. Sure, I believe in God, Satan, heaven, hell and the myriad cast of characters of which broader Christianity is comprised. It’s just that when it comes to believing the miraculous, I doubt.

I’ve been conditioned, or conditioned myself to believe that God is the Plan B if medical science doesn’t pan out. I’ve lowered my expectations to believe in salvation as more of an academic process, in which one accepts Christ’s plan for eternal life instead of a radical transformation through baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I’ve even doubted that anyone over the age of 60 could be persuaded by the drawing and wooing of the Holy Spirit to respond to the Gospel.

Please understand that I’m not giving a doctrinal position statement. Rather, I’m admitting my human frailty and carnality. I disagree with these feelings of doubt. It’s something God has been dealing with me about, and I’ve been slowly getting the message.

Blast them skeeters!

As many of you know, we live in Stockton, Calif., which I’ve come to realize is a huge breeding ground for the dreaded mosquito. I should have realized this when I noticed several levees as we were driving through the city. It appears that mosquitoes like water, too.

I must have killed close to 20 mosquitoes yesterday. These wretched little things camp out in front of our door like homeless little vampires waiting for a handout. We can’t open our door without letting a few of the little monsters inside. I’m going to apply some bug spray over the entire entryway of our apartment in the dim hope that they will take pity on us and go bug someone else.

Please take a moment and watch the wacky and hilarious mosquito cartoon from the Animalada 3-D animation studio. It takes your mind off of the itching, if only for a moment.

My first neighborhood manhunt!

A man awaiting trail on attempted murder charges escaped County Jail April 9 with the help of his girlfriend — who he tried to kill.

Eric Hu, 32, was spotted in my neighborhood around noon Thursday. He was shopping for carjacking victims. A 6 1/2-hour manhunt ensued. When I came home shortly before 5 p.m. after my boss sent me home to check on the missus, there were 4 public safety helicopters circling a large perimeter around my neighborhood.

Hu repaid a visit to my hood about 10 p.m. Thursday — where his relatives live — to try and carjack someone else, launching another manhunt that lasted until midnight. They came up empty and he’s still on the loose.

I would have placed a mugshot of Hu, but Stockton PD doesn’t have it on their site and the Stockton Record won’t let me copy the photo or the url. So much for public safety.

The drama continues. Stay tuned.

It’s true! God rides a Harley!

The good people at Think Christian have turned up a Biker Jesus action figure. Actually, the Messiah is quite active, if the Web site at which they are sold is any indication. He quarterbacks. He plays soccer. He rock climbs — in shorts and a robe! He rides a bull. He surfs. He wears the uniform of a coalition soldier underneath his robe, holding — gasp! — a dove with a rifle slung over his shoulder. Our Savior is truly everywhere.

I would have included a photo but WordPress said it was a security risk. Even in digital form, Jesus offends. How about that?

I’m not sure what to make of it. As Think Christian opined, it could be a hoax, since each item produces a “coming soon” when you click on it. If it is true, I’m not sure this is the best way to convey Jesus as friend. I think our culture does a pretty fine job of portraying Jesus as chum and pal without the visual aid. It’s the “Jesus as Lord” we seem to overlook.

Chicago Tribune: Guys crying at the movies? Don’t laugh!

Trib columnist John Kass has written a brilliant — OK, not brilliant per se, but hee-larious nonetheless — rebuttal to a recent Today Show segment on 7 Movies That Make Guys Cry. The Today Show list includes “Titanic” and “Legends of the Fall,” and, as Kass opined, was obviously “created by women who just don’t get it.”

You can e-mail Kass at jskass@tribune.com and suggest your tearjerker cough and sniff movies. You can also hear Kass in an interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation at the Wednesday, April 25 edition of their site, Blog of the Nation.

Guys, what movie “does it” for you? Don’t be bashful. All female opinions will be neutralized, as long as it’s OK with my wife.

Also, check out the very funny site Old Men Crying, a send-up of the phenomenon of men crying on the down low.

From CNN: “Army told me not to tell truth about Tillman”

The Iraq war parade of lies continues. This time Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch and we, the people are the victims.

Spc. Bryan O’Neal testified Tuesday that the he was asked by his then battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, to cover up the cause of Tillman’s death:

“He basically just said … ‘Do not let Kevin [Tillman] know, that he’s probably in a bad place knowing his brother’s dead,’ ” O’Neal told House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. “And he made it known I would get in trouble, sir, if I spoke with Kevin on it being fratricide.”

Instead of the truth, Tillman’s family and the nation were told a “war story” about the former NFL star and Army Ranger leading a counterattack against Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Kevin Tillman said the military saw Tillman’s death as an opportunity to fabricate “utter fiction” and shift focus away from the Abu Graib prison scandal.

NPR: Russia’s Halt on Adoptions Spotlights Conditions

NPR had a horrifying story on it’s Morning Edition program this morning on the condition of roughly 800,00 children who live in Russian orphanages. The Russian government has suspended foreign adoptions for what it calls a temporary measure to institute new regulation requirements for all “non-governmental organizations.”

The Russian government is also trying to encourage its own citizens to adopt orphans, which has been a hard sell. As it is here in the United States, orphans and foster children are often seen as defective.

The problem is that adoptions mean money for the Russian orphanages, and the suspension of foreign adoptions has highlighted the wretched conditions in which these children are often placed. Some of the overworked, understaffed facilities can’t provide even a basic level of care, and children are left to die.

Washington Post: “Brain Chaser” Tackles Effects of NFL Hits

There is a fascinating article in Wednesday’s post (oddly enough, it’s Tuesday after 11 p.m. in California but WordPress publishes using Greenwich Mean Time. It’s already Wednesday in Washington.) about a forensic pathologist and neuropathologist who is seeking the brains of former NFL players.

He claims the repeated head-shots NFL players take show up as red streaks on the brain. He has also suggested there is a connection between the red streaks and early onset dementia and depression. Two of his subjects, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen Mike Webster and Terry Long, committed suicide. His third subject, Denver Broncos running back Damien Nash, died Feb. 24 after collapsing following a charity basketball game.

Check it out: Mexican Blackletter

Cristina Paoli has authored a cool little art book on the history and use of the Mexican Blackletter font, which you’ve seen for years without knowing it had a name.

The font has seen use on everything from hand-painted business signs, murals and tattoos. It debuted in 1538 in Mexico when Jakob Kronberger with the help of Juan de Zumârraga, established the first printing press on the American continent.

It’s definitely worth a look if you live in the Southwestern United States and are a student of culture.