If Money Is Tight

Here is an example of what you can do to stretch your dollar/euro:

Still Watching Netflix, Pro-lifers?

Ancient Christians were ready to be martyred for their beliefs. Modern Christians can't even give up their entertainment:

...Netflix has taken virtue signaling to a whole new level...
“We have many women working on productions in Georgia, whose rights, along with millions of others, will be severely restricted by this law,” Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement.
“It’s why we will work with the ACLU and others to fight it in court. Given the legislation has not yet been implemented, we’ll continue to film there, while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to. Should it ever come into effect, we’d rethink our entire investment in Georgia.”

Netflix To Boycott Georgia Over Anti-Abortion Law 

Dear Christians, corporations aren't your friend. Corporations aren't about "muh free market". They aren't even so much about making money any more,  but about promoting bugman lifestyle all over the world. I disagree with Roosh about some things, though. Boycotting may not always work (and sometimes you can't avoid buying their stuff because you really need it and there is no alternative), but it surely doesn't include mindless entertainment and frivolous luxuries like overpriced coffee.

UPDATE: And now Disney is following suit.  Yet, woke capital is perfectly OK with filming in countries where abortion is punishable by jail.  You see, it's not really about abortion but about hatred of everything Western and traditional.

What Is Worse Than Soy?

Genetically modified soy. Attention, men, it will give you blue *alls, too:

The experience of actual GM-fed experimental animals is scary. When GM soy was fed to female rats, most of their babies died within three weeks — compared to a 10% death rate among the control group fed natural soy. The GM-fed babies were also smaller, and later had problems getting pregnant.
When male rats were fed GM soy, their testicles actually changed color — from the normal pink to dark blue. Mice fed GM soy had altered young sperm. Even the embryos of GM fed parent mice had significant changes in their DNA. Mice fed GM corn in an Austrian government study had fewer babies, which were also smaller than normal.

Read the whole article over here. 

For The Nerdy Among Us

Being a life-long Tolkien fan, I'm well aware about the controversies surrounding his works. There is enough material online for those interested which will discuss (sometimes) at length whether there is occult in his books and whether they are good for Christians to read. While I really like The Hobbit, and most of the LOTR, I have always felt uncomfortable about Silmarillion and never could finish it, aside from a short humorous retelling of that story.

In fact, last time I tried to read it when I was in my mid-twenties, I started getting vivid nightmares and was forced to quit. It's rather a depressing reading overall, so I don't think I really missed much. Tolkien was really obsessed with Elves. In fact, personally I think his Hobbit is the best of his books because one sees so little of them and they don't come across as particularly great. Lord of the Rings has Legolas in it which is OK, but then it also has Galadriel whom I always have found rather irritating.

 One can attribute it to female jealousy, perhaps, but I have the same general feeling about all the passages which deal with general greatness of Noldor. (And why do they worship Manwe's wife instead of Manwe himself? Sounds rather matriarchal to me). Anyway, if you have read Simarillion or have a general idea what it is about, Noldor don't come across as particularly great, noble or enlightened though the author keeps telling us they are.

It's interesting that though Catholics nowadays find it expedient to claim J. Tolkien as one of their own, when he first tried to publish his stories about Valinor in a Catholic magazine in the 1930s, they were apparently rejected under the guise of being "too heathen". Of course, it was before Vatican II and "anything goes" attitude. Anyway, I'm not particularly troubled by the elements of heathen mythology in his books, otherwise we as Christians wouldn't be able to read the original myths, either, and even when I was a kid I was able to distinguish fairy tales from real life.

Still, I find some aspects of Silmarillion troubling. Recently I listened to a radio program about Gnosticism and its dangers and it dawned upon me. Was J. Tolkien a Gnostic? Here is an interesting discussion which I found and yes, some (Internet) Gnostics claim him as one of their own (as do the Neo-Pagans, by the way).

If you have any thoughts on the topic, feel free to share in the comments! Different opinions are appreciated.

This Is Funny

(Warning: language)



H/t to Ramzpaul

Are You Better Than Anyone Else?

Here is this unfortunate tendency among right-wingers to be holier-than-thou, which is probably the inevitable result of incessantly criticising modern society (not that it doesn't need criticising, but still...) I can understand secular folks engaging in it, but when I hear professing Christians day after day tearing other professing Christians down, I'm like is it really necessary?

Because guess what? You aren't better than anybody else. You are just a sinner like this pastor you hate so much or this single mother you keep calling a wh*re. They aren't perfect but neither are you. We live in the fallen world which is growing less Christian by the day (at least, here in the West) and everything in it is tainted by the sin Yes, we are called to speak the truth, but we should be speaking truth in love, especially when it concerns our Christian brothers and sisters.

I mean where is charity? Why is it that some folks always assume the worst about other Christians? I've seen it time and again when such topics as divorce come up. While some misguided Evangelicals will go around blaming the men, there are just as many on the opposite side blaming the women. Guess what? I've seen wives divorce good husbands AND I've also seen husbands walk out on their wives. Neither sex has a monopoly on evil.

Some will cite statistics showing how many divorces are initiated by women as the proof of the unique female wickedness. However, the one who files isn't necessarily the one at fault. If the wife is banging her boss and the husband files is he to blame or what? The truth is that all divorce nowadays is no-fault, which means that there is absolutely no way to determine whose fault it was.

Moreover, you can't contest a divorce. You'll always get it. The only thing you can contest is property division and custody, which means that people don't really have to give any reason for divorcing even when asked. Most prefer not to air their dirty laundry in public and will cite "irreconcilable differences" or some such nonsense, which again, doesn't really prove the guilt of either party. The only remedy to this problem would be to go back to fault-based divorce, which many men activists somehow don't propose, though they are quite vocal about abolishing child support which makes cynical me think that it's not divorce per se they are really against.

Going back to single mothers (and here I mean those with kids outside wedlock), there is this unfortunate tendency among more liberal Evangelicals to portray women as victims of men in everything concerning sex. I've read an article recently where the author suggested that the pill was the tool men used on women to free themselves from responsibility. Well, I guess one could view it this way. One could also say that the pill freed women to be sluts, and it would be true, too. Because, you know what? Women also enjoy sex! Especially young women with raging hormones. The pill frees BOTH sexes from responsibility.

So on one hand we have (some) pastors presenting single moms as saintly victims of men's passions. And on the other hand? We have (some) men going on and on about how every one of these women is a horrible human being, past any redemption and how no man should ever want to do anything with them and if anyone ever suggests otherwise, he's just shaming men into "marrying these sluts". Let's be honest: yes, single moms have what could be called "baggage". But...some men in the church will have baggage, too. They could be recovering addicts, ex-criminals, or simply have children from past relationships with attached financial obligations. It's not like all the men are perfect and deserve a perfect spouse, either.

Yet while reading some blogs that's exactly an impression I get. Women come with baggage, like debt, past relationships, abortions etc while all men have a perfect credit score, great job and no bad habits of any sort. It's a mirror image of what feminists are saying about men and I don't see how it is any better. It's not healthy to go around hating half of mankind.

There is a certain arrogance behind this attitude and it's not healthy. Hatred is in any case not a good motivation though one could argue that it's sometimes necessary like during the war. However, if left unchecked, hatred will quickly consume you. As a Christian, I don't want to be motivated by the hatred of other, those who are trying to destroy us,  but rather by love for my own, my people, and I believe in second chances.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Our Summer Cottage

Our new project and the reason I have so little time lately:)

There is still a lot of work to do, as you can see.

My kitchen garden.

A big part of it is still wilderness, but I kinda like it this way.

The lawn was in a horrible state and the grass is still not doing fine plus we have regular visits from a mole:)

The view from the terrace is nice tho

And we have a hotel for insects, too. Right now there is a spider residing there, killing other guests periodically:)




So that's my latest news...

A Word That Means The World To Me

Toxic Femininity In Action

When a Bankstown father went to help a young woman in need, he never envisaged his act of kindness would turn his life into a nightmare.

But that's what happened to 36-year-old Kenan Basic.

He had been accused of indecently assaulting and stalking a 19-year-old woman he had helped after her car broke down at a BP service station in Sydney's west in late 2018.

On Monday, the charges against Basic were thrown out in Bankstown Local Court after the woman admitted to making it all up.

Why would any man in this day and age help a random woman? Kenan Basic learned his lesson:

Basic also admitted he probably won't stop to help another woman again, and that the matter had "destroyed" his marriage.

For better for worse is a patriarchal construct. Seriously, shame on his  wife for abandoning her husband and the father of her children  in this situation and believing a perfect stranger above someone she chose as her life partner. 

7NEWS has also been told Basic, who spent two weeks in jail, will pursue costs and compensation and will be back in court in July.

That should be the default position of anyone in a similar situation. Don't just turn the other cheek and let it slide, get legal help and sue. 

I should add that there is a reason such things tend to happen so often in the Anglo-countries. It's probably because we continental Europeans don't quite worship women so much and don't see them as default victims in any interaction with men. I'm sure there is a lesson somewhere...

Read the whole article over here.

The Importance Of Warm Lunch

A lot of folks nowadays are getting health conscious and dissatisfied with the standard Western diet. They generally disagree on what is really healthy and often will simply exclude certain food categories. For instance, vegans won't eat animal products, while paleo supporters will severely limit or eliminate grains and sugar etc.

What I have noticed while studying traditional diets, is that people in these cultures cook more than we do and eat less of "cold meals" such as sandwiches. Even in Southern (and Eastern Europe) they will often eat at least two (if not three) hot meals a day.Strangely, there isn't much info on the internet about warm vs cold foods, however, I did read somewhere that warm breakfast improves fertility and also that hot food is more easily digested, boosts metabolism, helps fight allergies and improves health. (Source).

So today I decided to make soup for lunch and tried Hungarian mushroom soup which turned out great. The instructions are very clear. I did some small adjustments as I used several types of flour instead of just white flour.

It's my opinion that he also omitted a couple of small details, as you'll have to bring the soup to cooking point after adding the chicken stock, and then you turn the heat down and let it simmer. My other suggestion is to bind the milk or cream by bringing your soup to the boil for the second time and add sour cream to individual portions. This way you can re-heat it next day and serve again.

Links For May

Christians And Organ Donation

Woke Capital Takes On Unhappiness

They All Died For Tolerance

 On Marriage And Divorce

Genocide Of Christians

Measles Crusade Continues

The Strange Culture Of Mauritania

Mauritania produces an impression of being stuck somewhere in the antiquity, which I find strangely fascinating. It obviously has a lot of problems, such as slavery or the lack of medical care, but, on the other hand, there is a low incidence of psychological disorders, and AIDS is almost nonexistent

It probably has to do with their tight clan structure and sexual mores. Here is some info which I found on the internet which gives us a glimpse into a very traditional (to a fault) society:

About food:

Food has important social and psychological functions. People eat together in groups from a large bowl or calabash, using the right hand. People eat first and then drink cold water or sour milk mixed with cold water, juice from the hibiscus flower, or baobab juice. After lunch and dinner, it is customary to drink small glasses of green tea with sugar and mint. The tea is served by younger persons, women, and slaves... Eating almost always takes place at home.

Social customs:

  Society is organized along strict ethnic lines, with a rigid system of castes; every caste has its own internal hierarchy. In both ethnic groups, the division of labor is clear. At the top are the religious and warrior caste, followed by the skilled caste, which consists of smiths, carpenters, weavers, fisherfolk, and leather workers. Historians or court bards, musicians, and court advisers form a lower caste, followed by the theoretically freed slaves and current slaves at the bottom of the social order. 

    Dress style, comportment, and speech are dictated by the climate and ethnic heritage. Putting on one's best clothing is important in black African communities to express one's social status. Women decorate themselves with gold, silver, and amber to display their wealth and change clothes several times during a party. People in the higher castes to tend to be quiet and generous toward those below them, whereas the lower castes tend to be talkative, outgoing, and "greedy," with less concern about shame. Generally people are kind and hospitable to foreigners.

Welfare:

Social welfare is provided for within the family and kinship system. Government-supported welfare is nearly nonexistent because of a lack of funds, nepotism, and corruption.

Family and marriage:

Culturally, women's importance is recognized, but men dominate in the economic, political, social, and religious spheres. In the south, men provide for the family and women process and cook food and take care of children. In the Arab-Berber north, women are not supposed to perform physical work, which is seen as degrading. Work there is the domain of  slave women...

 Marriages usually are arranged, especially the first marriage... People tend to marry for the sake of their parents and community and usually marry within their community and clan... According to the prevailing value system, all adults must marry and have many children but it is not unusual to find unmarried women, particularly among the white Maurs...

Economic aspects of marriage are very important. Men are responsible for the economic sustenance of their wives and for brideprice, along with lavish gifts to the parents, relatives, friends, and associates of their wives. Divorce is not common, especially in the black communities... If divorce is the fault of the man, the wife keeps the brideprice. According to tradition, children follow the father, but small ones remain with the mother and the husband is obliged to support her and the children until they grow up. 

  The basic household unit consists of a husband and his wife or wives plus their children and the family of the husband, but household units in urban centers are getting more compact. The man has authority in the household because the couple lives with his kin and he is normally older and richer than the wife. Even though the household is an extended family, tasks are sharply divided according to gender and age... 

  In this extremely traditional society, belonging to a group is very important, and the larger the group, the better. People use clan names rather than family names. When the climate and economic conditions allow it, larger kin groups form a village or neighborhood. Clan members interact by sharing land and engaging in interclan marriage. The male leader, normally the oldest and "most competent" man, manages communal property and affairs.

Education:

Child care is provided by the older members of an extended family and the first born child is looked after by the grandmother and aunts. Women, including older sisters and cousins, take care of children, and men come into the picture as a child grows up. Infants are not separated from adults and are nearly always carried.

  Education is based on a combination of three overlapping philosophies: indigenous, Islamic, and Western. In the first system, the objective is to prepare the young to be useful members of the local community. Education is thus inward-oriented and functional and is provided by parents, elder siblings, peers, and specialized traditional teachers. 

The key values are belief in God, honor, respect, and service to the community, generosity, hospitality, endurance, and patience, Islamic teaching prepares Muslims to serve Allah and the community of believers by learning the Koran and practicing the five pillars of Islam. The most important qualities in a "good" child are respect and service to the parents and the community, truthfulness, learning, prayer, and politeness. Parents believe that children are what they inherit and learn from their parents. If the mother is of good character, her children will be good.

If you are interested, read the whole story over here:

Culture Of Mauritania

They may be having lots of hardships and wrong things going on, but one thing they don't have: the crippling loneliness and social isolation of modern life, what we call "bugman lifestyle". It's also probably easier to endure hardship when you have a sense of belonging and are certain that your life has a transcendental dimension to it.