Refreshing Innocence
Ira is a breath of fresh air.
It is wonderful to find such a treasure of innocence in the midst of such a cruel and harsh world.
One example for you: she had never heard of email before.
She certainly doesn't know what a blog is. But has heard of the internet before.
They have a computer at her school, and it can connect to the internet, but it is not for use by the students.
She can't use it.
She's seen glimpses of the internet here in our home. But I honestly don't want her to get too familiar with it. I the country she is from only the rich and mighty have internet access.
I'm now fully on the side of: prayer should be in the native tongue. I've learned that Slavonic, while it might be interesting to an adult who has liguistic skills: it is totally inappropriate for children. They haven't got the slightest idea what anything means in slavonic, even the Lord's prayer, short as it is: is fully non-understandable in slavonic.
Fortunatly, it is easy to find the Lord's prayer in Russian, since it is, after all, int he Bible.
I finally found a prayerbook in Russian. A special thanks goes out to Jeff-who-is-about-to-get-married (I-forget-his-last-name) for turning me on to Fr. Alexander's web site. http://www.fatheralexander.org
He's some sort of bishop, and since he doesn't insist on being called Master, and all that, I must assume he is not a canonical bishop. But, God Be Praised, he has translated the prayers of the Holy Church into Russian.
I printed up a whole Molitvoslav (prayerbook) in Russian, and while she (like any kid) doesn't really enjoy going to Church, she is excited about her new prayer book. We picked out one morning prayer, and one evening prayer, and she's typing them up (right now at the other computer around the corner from he, God be praised!) on a separate sheet of paper so she can have them when we say our prayers.
It took us several days, after she arrived, to find The Lord's Prayer in Russian - and that, I only set out to do when I discovered she couldn't understand peep of the slavonic version.
Then it has taken me nearly a week to actually find some prayers in Russian. Fortunately I found this great web site: http://pagez.ru/philaret/ about St. Philaret of Moscow (and it just turns out that he has written several prayers in Russian, and they are quite good - good enought to be put into most prayer books).
So, I found her prayers by St. Philaret a couple days ago.
But, last night, thankfully, I found the whole prayer book, translated by Fr. Alexander. Ira picked out a morning prayer and an evening prayer and is typing them up. She loves typing in Russian so much that I didn't want to tell her she could just cut-and-paste. Myabe that's naught of me. But there's something simply wonderful about a little girl that would rather sit at a computer and write than play computer games.
Cheers!
Basil
Monday, June 26, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
Blogging in Russian
Well, that last post was my first attempt to blog something in Russian. The character set doesn't work right inside the blog. When I paste that into a web page I can view it. Not sure what the problem is - but I've read that at least some people are able to blog in alternate character sets.
Anyway, I attempted to invent a new Russian word (all you slavophiles will appreciate it) "blogopisat" = to blog - I've appended the word blog to the word for write. But my new word ?????????? will probably never catch on because I can't seem to display it.
Meanwhile: while searching for prayers in Russian (it turns out that Slavonic is more of a foreign language to my new Russian-speaking daughter than English is) I came across this really cool web site:
http://www.nordrus.ru/foto/index.php?section=6
It is actually an Orthodox summer camp for Children in Russia! Hoorah, that they have such a thing now! God bless the Motherland!
Anyway, that's what life's been all about lately, speaking in Russian. For some reason I don't get a head ache like I do when my wife is trying to make me speak Russian. Xenia doesn't find herself as frustrated either.
We are learning all sorts of new words (or at least I am) plus we are discovering ways in which the Belorussians pronounce their Russian words completely different from the way the Russians do. Also: learned a few strictly Belorussian words.
Regards!
Basil
a.k.a. ????
?.?.?. ????
Well, that last post was my first attempt to blog something in Russian. The character set doesn't work right inside the blog. When I paste that into a web page I can view it. Not sure what the problem is - but I've read that at least some people are able to blog in alternate character sets.
Anyway, I attempted to invent a new Russian word (all you slavophiles will appreciate it) "blogopisat" = to blog - I've appended the word blog to the word for write. But my new word ?????????? will probably never catch on because I can't seem to display it.
Meanwhile: while searching for prayers in Russian (it turns out that Slavonic is more of a foreign language to my new Russian-speaking daughter than English is) I came across this really cool web site:
http://www.nordrus.ru/foto/index.php?section=6
It is actually an Orthodox summer camp for Children in Russia! Hoorah, that they have such a thing now! God bless the Motherland!
Anyway, that's what life's been all about lately, speaking in Russian. For some reason I don't get a head ache like I do when my wife is trying to make me speak Russian. Xenia doesn't find herself as frustrated either.
We are learning all sorts of new words (or at least I am) plus we are discovering ways in which the Belorussians pronounce their Russian words completely different from the way the Russians do. Also: learned a few strictly Belorussian words.
Regards!
Basil
a.k.a. ????
?.?.?. ????
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Basilsprig
Being one who is fond of multiple meanings behind words and phrases I have great fun with names. Particularly names for things that are my own, or names that point to myself, and my own view of the world.
Many people know me by Kevin. They are mostly relatives and co-workers, and institutions and organizations. Many people also know me by Basil. They are mostly friends, brothers and sisters, from Church. Some people know me by both. Some people know me by other names, and they are mostly writers, and editors - people in the fiction industry. But they are a fairly insignificant lot of people by and large. Most know me by Basil or Kevin.
Kevin is an interesting name: it means "kind one." There was also a famous Kevin, a holy man in the Orthodox Church, at a time before the Roman Catholic Church romanicized England, when the Christian Church in England still had a distinctly local flavor. Some refer to him as a Catholic Saint, some refer to him as a Anglican Saint, but I prefer to think of him as an Orthodox Saint: because he lived his holy life in a time when the Church of England was a local Church, just as the Christian Church is in every place - something that the Orthodox today still prize highly in their Ecclesiology.
When I became an Orthodox Christian, I could have chosen St. Kevin as a patron (someone to whom I look for inspiration and someone who, like a guardian angel, will watch over and pray for me). There is much to like about him. But, instead, I chose to add another name:
Basil
There are many good reasons I chose the name Basil. For one thing, one of the greatest saints in the Orthodox Church (St. Basil The Great) and one of the most unusual saints in the Orthodox Church (St. Basil the Blessed) had this name. What's more, one of the wierdest, and coolest Churches on the planet is named after St. Basil the Holy Fool. For another thing, I knew from my Greek that basil derives from the Greek word for king. And, third, basil is a delicious and fragrant herb.
What's not to like about such a name!
So, I felt like a miracle had happened when I discovered that the domains basilsprig.com and basilsprig.org were available, and registered them both several years ago. Here you can go to snatch up a sprig of basil at any time. My random thoughts, my musings, my photos. I keep some things well rooted there and established so you can refer back to them at any time. I keep other things there, enshrouded in mist.
One such things is this notion I've presented: growing green from the cross. It is all about St. Helen's (my wife's patron, by the way) discovery of the cross of Christ, and the legend associated with it: that the King's Herb (basil) was growing from that cross.
There are many other legends and traditions associated with the Holy Cross of Christ. (How can it not be Holy when it has had the blood of God himself splattered on it?) I will not debate them. But they are "pious legends" - that is, they are legends that tell truths that inspires us, help us in some way, and may benefit our spiritual growth (if we are willing). They do this whether they are just stories, or historical fact: so it matters not, their historical accuracy.
That's what basilsprig is all about. I hope you will come to enjoy it. Put a bit in your tea, or in your salad, or just bask in the sunshine along with the king's herb.
Being one who is fond of multiple meanings behind words and phrases I have great fun with names. Particularly names for things that are my own, or names that point to myself, and my own view of the world.
Many people know me by Kevin. They are mostly relatives and co-workers, and institutions and organizations. Many people also know me by Basil. They are mostly friends, brothers and sisters, from Church. Some people know me by both. Some people know me by other names, and they are mostly writers, and editors - people in the fiction industry. But they are a fairly insignificant lot of people by and large. Most know me by Basil or Kevin.
Kevin is an interesting name: it means "kind one." There was also a famous Kevin, a holy man in the Orthodox Church, at a time before the Roman Catholic Church romanicized England, when the Christian Church in England still had a distinctly local flavor. Some refer to him as a Catholic Saint, some refer to him as a Anglican Saint, but I prefer to think of him as an Orthodox Saint: because he lived his holy life in a time when the Church of England was a local Church, just as the Christian Church is in every place - something that the Orthodox today still prize highly in their Ecclesiology.
When I became an Orthodox Christian, I could have chosen St. Kevin as a patron (someone to whom I look for inspiration and someone who, like a guardian angel, will watch over and pray for me). There is much to like about him. But, instead, I chose to add another name:
Basil
There are many good reasons I chose the name Basil. For one thing, one of the greatest saints in the Orthodox Church (St. Basil The Great) and one of the most unusual saints in the Orthodox Church (St. Basil the Blessed) had this name. What's more, one of the wierdest, and coolest Churches on the planet is named after St. Basil the Holy Fool. For another thing, I knew from my Greek that basil derives from the Greek word for king. And, third, basil is a delicious and fragrant herb.
What's not to like about such a name!
So, I felt like a miracle had happened when I discovered that the domains basilsprig.com and basilsprig.org were available, and registered them both several years ago. Here you can go to snatch up a sprig of basil at any time. My random thoughts, my musings, my photos. I keep some things well rooted there and established so you can refer back to them at any time. I keep other things there, enshrouded in mist.
One such things is this notion I've presented: growing green from the cross. It is all about St. Helen's (my wife's patron, by the way) discovery of the cross of Christ, and the legend associated with it: that the King's Herb (basil) was growing from that cross.
There are many other legends and traditions associated with the Holy Cross of Christ. (How can it not be Holy when it has had the blood of God himself splattered on it?) I will not debate them. But they are "pious legends" - that is, they are legends that tell truths that inspires us, help us in some way, and may benefit our spiritual growth (if we are willing). They do this whether they are just stories, or historical fact: so it matters not, their historical accuracy.
That's what basilsprig is all about. I hope you will come to enjoy it. Put a bit in your tea, or in your salad, or just bask in the sunshine along with the king's herb.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
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