tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89523399438954523472024-03-12T17:17:58.623-07:00The Gingerbeard ManThe occasional musings of a man of many interestsF.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-57474145992795841062015-01-23T10:45:00.004-08:002015-01-23T10:48:02.548-08:00Stocking and Keeping a Home Bar (Part II)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Now that you have a home bar setup, the last step before kicking back and enjoying is a trip to the liquor store. Before deciding what to buy to stock your home bar, there are a couple rules that you must follow. </div>
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<ol>
<li>If <i>you</i> wouldn't drink it, do not buy it.</li>
<li>If you can try something before buying it, do it!</li>
<li>Start simple and then venture out.</li>
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Let take a moment and look at each of these.</div>
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If <i>you</i> wouldn't drink it, don't buy it</h3>
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Remember, even though you will certainly use your home bar to entertain, the single most frequent customer will be you. If you don't like something and wouldn't drink it, then don't bother buying a bottle for your home bar, because it will never get used if you aren't drinking it. When I first stocked my home bar I bought a giant bottle of vodka because everyone said vodka was the most versatile alcohol and everyone drank it - well I don't really care for vodka and wouldn't you know it, that bottle sat for years in my liquor cabinet and never got used. (I finally turned it into homemade limoncello, but that is a story for another post.) The moral of the story here is don't buy alcohol you wouldn't drink. Its a waste of money and a waste of alcohol. </div>
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If you can try something before buying it, do it! </h3>
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Bottles of alcohol vary in price greatly based on the quality and quantity of the alcohol you are purchasing. For some, buying a bottle of nice scotch is really an investment and if you end up not liking it, it can be very difficult to stomach. When I was in law school I decided to treat myself to a nice bottle of scotch for surviving my 1L year. I had heard great things about <a href="http://www.laphroaig.com/" target="_blank">Laphroaig</a> and so I excitedly treated myself to an $60 bottle of their Quarter Cask. I had a glass later that night and absolutely hated it - I hated it so much I never finished the bottle. That bottle was a sore subject for a long time. However if I had actually tasted it beforehand I would have known to stay away. The easiest way to do this is to either try the alcohol in a bar beforehand or to purchase an "airplane bottle" of it. (Sadly the selection of airplane bottles is limited - but larger liquor stores generally have a decent selection). It may not be the most cost effective way, but its far more cost effective than buying an expensive bottle of alcohol that you do not like. </div>
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Start simple and then venture out</h3>
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When you start stocking your home bar, the temptation is to buy one of everything you could possibly ever imagine drinking, especially when there are thousands of options. You don't need to start out with this:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Liquor_Bottles_on_a_Bar_Wall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Liquor_Bottles_on_a_Bar_Wall.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have one of everything!</td></tr>
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My advice is to start simple. Buy a few different bottles of some straightforward types of alcohol that you enjoy drinking to get started. Then as you determine what you like best or what you drink the most of, you can expand in those areas. Another thing that I do, is buy certain types of alcohol seasonally. For instance, we drink a lot of rum during the summer months - we love our mojitos - but rarely during the winter months. So once I run out of rum in September, I hold off on buying it again until the next summer. </div>
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What do I need to buy?</h2>
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So now you are at the liquor store and you are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. (I should just note that for the purposes of these posts I am not addressing on beer or wine, just liquor.)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, there are still liquors they do not carry here</td></tr>
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Keeping in mind those rules above, here is a basic list of alcohol to get you started. </div>
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Vodka</h3>
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Vodka is the most basic alcohol and also the most flavorless, but it is the base for lots of cocktails and the most popular alcohol by volume in the USA. Since you most likely won't be drinking this straight, you can get away with buying an inexpensive bottle for mixing in drinks. I generally buy Svedka (Swedish) or Sobieski (Polish). They are both in the $10 to $12 range for a 750 ml bottle and serve their purpose well. If you want cheaper, Smirnoff (USA) is the most popular option and runs in the $15 range for a 1.75 ml bottle. If you want high end vodka, Grey Goose (French) is probably my favorite. </div>
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Gin </h3>
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When it comes to gin, you either love it or hate it - there really is no in between. I personally love it, and gin and tonics are a summer mainstay in our house. Again, like vodka, you are likely not drinking gin straight so you can afford to buy a cheaper bottle. I really like Seagrams gin for mixing. It runs about $12 for a 750 ml bottle. Trader Joe's Jailhouse Gin is also very good and doesn't break the bank. On the high end, I am a fan of Bombay Sapphire over Tanqueray. Whichever you prefer, both bottles run around $23 for a 750 ml bottle. Finally, If you really enjoy gin and want to try some more unique options, I'd recommend trying Hendricks, well known and highly unique, or Bluecoat gin. <a href="http://www.bluecoatgin.com/" target="_blank">Bluecoat</a> is a craft distillery located in Philadelphia, PA, and their gin was a gold medal winner at the San Francisco world spirits competition.</div>
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Tequila</h3>
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This one comes down to whether you drink tequila or not. I occasionally do, but its not something that I feel the need to keep a bottle in the house. However, if I do have a bottle, its generally el Jimador which runs in the $16 to $18 range for a 750 ml bottle. Really the important thing to look for is that its made with 100% agave and not fillers. </div>
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Rum</h3>
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When it comes to rum, you generally are going to have two bottles of rum - one spiced and one white. Both rums are versatile and can be used in a number of cocktails, plus I actually enjoy drinking spiced rum neat. Bacardi is an old mainstay and runs about $13 a bottle. I actually really enjoy Shellback rum in both varieties, but particularly the white. Its inexpensive - around $12 a bottle - and mixes very well. On the higher end, Sailor Jerry's spiced rum runs around $18-$20 a bottle, is very good and definitely drinkable neat. </div>
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Whiskey</h3>
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Whiskey is a broad area that includes Scotch, Irish whiskey, whisky, rye, and bourbon amongst others and could be a blog post in itself. For the purpose of stocking your home bar, whether you intend to mix this into cocktails or drink it straight will determine how much you spend on a bottle. For me, I almost exclusively drink whiskey straight so I keep a range of more expensive bottles that I enjoy drinking. For starting out, I would buy a blended scotch - Johnnie Walker Black Label is a classic ($28 for a 750ml bottle) and Famous Grouse is the most popular blended scotch in Scotland ($20 for a 750ml bottle). Both of these are good for mixing or drinking straight. If you are interested in a single malt scotch for drinking straight, I prefer Balvenie ($50 for a 750ml bottle) - but this is an area where I encourage you to taste some different single malts before buying.<br />
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In terms of Irish whiskey I prefer Tullamore Dew ($22 for a 750ml bottle). Bourbon is my favorite type of whisky so I keep three to four different bottle in my bar at any given time. For an inexpensive bourbon, you can't go wrong with Evan Williams ($11 for a 750ml bottle). However, I prefer the mid-range bourbons like Eagle Rare ($30 for a 750ml bottle), Buffalo Trace ($25 for a 750ml bottle), and Woodford Reserve ($35 for a 750ml bottle). If you near the midwest and able to get it, Chicago's <a href="http://www.koval-distillery.com/newsite/whiskey/bourbon" target="_blank">Koval Distillery's bourbon</a> is the best I've ever had. It runs $50 for a 750ml bottle, but its worth it.<br />
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<a href="http://casadeltequila.ch/images/whiskey-koval-bourbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://casadeltequila.ch/images/whiskey-koval-bourbon.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Miscellaneous liquors and liqueurs</h3>
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There are a handful of items you will want to have on hand for mixing a wide range of cocktails and drinks. First, you will need a bottle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitters" target="_blank">bitters</a>. <a href="http://www.angosturabitters.com/" target="_blank">Angostura bitters </a>are the classic and can be found at any liquor store. Second, you will want a bottle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermouth" target="_blank">vermouth</a>. There is dry vermouth (used in making martinis and manhattans) and sweet vermouth. You can buy a cheap bottle of each for under $10. Since vermouth is a wine, it does not last as long as regular alcohol, so you do not want to over buy. And if you do find yourself needing to use it up, try cooking with it. It does go well in a variety of dishes. Lastly, I really enjoying keeping a bottle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_sec" target="_blank">triple sec</a> on hand. Triple sec is a orange liquor that you can mix into a variety of drinks. Cheaper bottles can be had for around $10, but the gold standard in orange liqueurs is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cointreau" target="_blank">Cointreau</a>. It is pricey at $30 a bottle, but if you like the orange liqueur and use it, its worth the investment. Since you only use a small amount to mix into a drink, the bottle will last a long time. </div>
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As you get more comfortable with what you like, there are many liqueurs out there to try. One of my favorites is St. Germain - a liqueur made from the elderflower. It mixes extremely well in vodka and tonics, gin and tonics, and many other drinks -however at $40 a bottle it is not for everyone. This is one that I have been able to find in the airplane bottle size, but it takes some searching. </div>
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Another option is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frangelico" target="_blank">Frangelico</a> - an extremely tasty liquor made from hazelnuts. This is a winter time favorite in our house as we mix it with hot chocolate to make a delicious adult hot chocolate. Plus with a bottle shaped like a monk, it makes a great talking piece.</div>
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Odds and Ends</h3>
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The odds and ends are pretty straightforward. You will need a bottle of tonic water and club soda for mixing into drinks. <u>Do not</u> buy these at the liquor store - you will pay 3 times what you can buy them for at the grocery store. I also like to keep a bottle of cranberry juice as well as a bottle of ginger ale on hand (I buy the ginger ale in cans or small bottles so they last longer). In the end, the mixers are really up to you and what you like best. </div>
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As for garnishes - lemons, limes, olives, cherries, mint, etc. - I will be honest, I don't keep any of this in the house unless I'm actually throwing a party and need something specific. Since most of this is fresh and does not last long at all I advise against buying something unless you know you will use it up quickly. </div>
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Again, as you get more comfortable with what you drink most and decide it is time to branch out more, you can try different things. The only important things to keep in mind are the rules above; other than that, have fun. </div>
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Now go make yourself a drink, kick back and enjoy.</div>
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<><><>FAB <><><></div>
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My recommended bottle list for getting started under $100</h3>
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(All bottles are 750 ml unless otherwise noted):</div>
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<ol>
<li>1 bottle of Sobieski vodka - $12</li>
<li>1 bottle of Seagrams gin - $12</li>
<li>1 bottle of Bacardi rum - $13</li>
<li>1 bottle of Johnnie Walker Black - $28</li>
<li>1 bottle of Evan Williams - $12</li>
<li>1 bottle of Angostura bitters - $8</li>
<li>1 bottle of dry vermouth - $5</li>
<li>1 bottle (375ml) of Leroux Triple Sec - $6</li>
<li>1 bottle of tonic water - >$1</li>
<li>1 bottle of club soda - >$1</li>
<li>1 bottle of ginger ale - $1</li>
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F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-9655647569056192172015-01-20T12:37:00.002-08:002015-01-23T10:46:02.944-08:00Stocking and Keeping a Home Bar (Part I)<div>
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Eventually, at some point in a persons life, they realize two things. First, drinking out is actually very expensive and not conducive to being a responsible adult and second, entertaining is fun but people want drinks. The easiest way to deal with these realizations is to set up a home bar. Today in Part I we will explore what you need to set up a home bar and what items you want to include. Tomorrow in Part II we'll explore stocking your bar with alcohol. </div>
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Setting Up Your Home Bar</h2>
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Obtaining a Bar</h3>
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Space in any size apartment or house is generally comes at a premium. Few of us have the space -or money - to set up an extravagant home bar like the one above. However, if you are going to have a functioning bar in your place then you do want to have a space for storing everything and space to work. Depending on your space and desires this can be nothing more than a cabinet in the kitchen or it can be a stand alone liquor cabinet in your living/dining area. Whatever you choose the most important thing to remember is that you need to have space to store all the glasses, bottles and tools and you will need to be close to a flat surface where you can work. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lordsofthedrinks.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/cabinet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://lordsofthedrinks.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/cabinet.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most traditional option: a liquor cabinet<br />
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For a stand alone bar, some non-traditional (and less expensive) options include kitchen carts like <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80035920/" target="_blank">the one below from Ikea</a>. Bottles and glasses can easily be stored on the shelfs below while your bar tools can be stowed in the drawers. There is also a <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30240348/" target="_blank">smaller version here</a>. (added bonus? it can be moved to wherever the party is!)</div>
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At the end of the day, if you are in no rush to buy something, the best option is to search thrift stores, second hand shops and similar places for a used cabinet or table. Although I am not the biggest fan, I know some people have also had success looking on places like Craigslist. There are some great old school liquor cabinets/tables like the one below which can be had for a minimal amount. </div>
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<a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e0/9f/ed/e09fedf3716a760949819440da7fbd90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e0/9f/ed/e09fedf3716a760949819440da7fbd90.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a> </div>
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The Bar(e) Essentials</h3>
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Once you have something to store everything in, it is time to begin outfitting your bar. There are a few essential items that any home bar needs; however, how much you want to spend on each of these items is completely up to you.</div>
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1) Shaker</div>
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The shaker is an essential item for making any cocktail and there are thousands of choices. Literally. There are faux <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/4643649/?catalogId=21&sku=4643649&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=default&gclid=CjwKEAiAlvilBRC5ueCzkpXb4kgSJADxop1BLufRApaxT_5BkE4BmdbQpj9tP1JmAHHWGTomkIL2KhoC3zLw_wcB&kwid=productads-plaid%5E83089548823-sku%5E4643649-adType%5EPLA-device%5Ec-adid%5E43029765583" target="_blank">hipster shakers</a> made with mason jars, there are really expensive <a href="http://www.frontgate.com/swordfish-cocktail-shaker-set/398217?redirect=y" target="_blank">swordfish shakers</a> and fancy ones with <a href="http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1079990/oggi-dial-a-drink-cocktail-shaker.jsp?ci_mcc=ci&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=92803630&CID=shopping15&gclid=CjwKEAiAlvilBRC5ueCzkpXb4kgSJADxop1BtxpxS3Z7a0dnoks_XA9vuszvtfi-xwSPL3Uh4SwOThoC7mHw_wcB" target="_blank">drink recipes on them</a>. But at the end of the day, all you really need is a simple shaker that doesn't leak. You can find a solid option for <a href="http://www.restaurantsupply.com/winco-bl-3p?gclid=CjwKEAiAlvilBRC5ueCzkpXb4kgSJADxop1ByfRHkJgK5jivfdiqYNz1Zc8D4X-XRTZly-b0uxGLexoCIq7w_wcB" target="_blank">less than $5</a> on the internet.</div>
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2) Basic bar tools</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do I really need all this?</td></tr>
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When it comes to basic bar tools, there are really only 3 things you <u>need</u>. A bottle opener/wine corkscrew, a muddler, and a jigger (measuring glass). Most bar tool kits come with a variety of other tools including a strainer, a stirrer, a small knife. These other items, while useful, are not necessary to buy since you can use items already in your kitchen in their place. For a strainer, your shaker will have a top piece that comes off so that you can drain the shaker without the ice. A spoon can double as a stirrer and a you have knives in your kitchen. </div>
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Now for the items you do need. A bottle opener/corkscrew can be had anywhere <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10149029/" target="_blank">for a few dollars</a>. A muddler is used much like a pestle to mash - or muddle - fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices for mixing into drinks. I have a nice <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/7246317/?catalogId=21&sku=7246317&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=default&gclid=CjwKEAiAlvilBRC5ueCzkpXb4kgSJADxop1BnulQ0XYROEVww2fKS1R0fUt6LGk_NEAq0BF6MTtWERoCwUvw_wcB&kwid=productads-plaid%5E83089548823-sku%5E7246317-adType%5EPLA-device%5Ec-adid%5E43029765583" target="_blank">wood one</a> I love, which I got as a gift for our wedding. There are also simpler and cheaper options out there like this <a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/commercial-stainless-steel-muddler/1016344010" target="_blank">basic stainless steel one.</a> Finally, the jigger. A jigger is used to measure a standard shot of liquor. you can get the classic single/double jigger used by most professional bar tenders like t<a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/stainless-steel-double-jigger/1012959613?mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_winebar_&adpos=1o2&creative=39230275909&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiAlvilBRC5ueCzkpXb4kgSJADxop1BfFsgd0e28F4omiUadLoMPijQJnk6pstqnG8GHsIz3RoCn43w_wcB" target="_blank">his one here</a>. An alternative option is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Measure-Measuring-Glass-Measures/dp/B0087HWA60" target="_blank">measuring shot glass</a>. I have one of these and use it all the time. </div>
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3) Glasses</div>
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While it may have been acceptable to drink liquor out of a red solo cup in college, its not really socially acceptable to do that anymore and it is never acceptable to drink out of this <a href="http://www.sweetbluegifts.com/images/tervisgoblet.jpg" target="_blank">monstrosity from Tervis</a>. You will want to assemble a selection of classic glasses for your bar. However with <a href="http://files.idealhomegarden.com/files/commons/drinking_glasses_stein_chalice_sake_tankard_collins_dizzy_cocktail_martini_highball_juice_old_fashioned_lowball_shot_glass_table_water_whiskey_tumbler_pilsner_pint_pony_champagne_cordial_sherry_1363731968.jpg" target="_blank">so many glasses for different drinks</a> it can be difficult to determine which glasses are necessary and which are superfluous. Really, it comes down to what you like best and what you think you will drink a lot of. If you love Moscow Mules and think you plan to drink them all the time, then by all means invest in <a href="http://www.homewetbar.com/blog/moscow-mule-mugs-copper-mugs-better/" target="_blank">a set of copper mugs</a>. But chances are, you are just planning on serving a basic array of drinks and want glasses than can multitask. The best place to start is with sets of <a href="http://www.target.com/c/wine-glasses-ways-to-shop-home/-/N-55qcw" target="_blank">wine glasses</a>, <a href="http://barsupplies.com/images/11-oz-monument-highball-glass.jpg" target="_blank">highball glasses</a>, and <a href="http://images.bloomingdales.com/is/image/BLM/products/4/optimized/1255934_fpx.tif?wid=1200&qlt=90,0&layer=comp&op_sharpen=0&resMode=sharp2&op_usm=0.7,1.0,0.5,0&fmt=jpeg" target="_blank">old fashioned glasses</a>. - these are the most broadly useful glasses out there. You can expand later based on what drinks you drink the most.</div>
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When it comes to purchasing glasses, you can find them at any department store for a reasonable amount. However, it may be worthwhile to search thrift stores for your glasses. I have gotten sets of waterford crystal glasses at a mere fraction of the resale cost. Most places sell glasses for less than a dollar. Paying so little can make it more palatable when the glasses inevitably break, but it does make it harder to replace a matching set. </div>
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What next?</h3>
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Once you have all these items you are ready for the best part of setting up a home bar - the trip to the liquor store (or as I like to call it, the adult candy store). Join me for Part II as we explore how to stock your home bar with liquor.</div>
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F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-2138338812699435412013-08-07T15:50:00.001-07:002013-08-07T16:26:01.098-07:002013 Fantasy Football Preview: Running BacksThe 2013 Fantasy Football Preview continues with five interesting running backs.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt Forte - 1600 yards from scrimmage; 55 receptions; 10 total TDs.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Poised to thrive in a new offense.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Last season Matt Forte battled injuries and an inept Chicago offense that failed to properly utilize their best offensive weapon not named Brandon Marshall and still managed to put up solid numbers. First year coach Marc Trestman has revamped the Bears offense and has indicated that Forte will play a larger role both rushing and in the passing game. This would make him especially valuable in PPR leagues. However Michael Bush is still in the wings to poach Forte’s TD potential.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Forte’s 44 receptions last year were a career low - he has averaged 53 throughout his career. Assuming an uptick in targets Forte could set new career high in receptions and yards from scrimmage. If Forte can stay healthy, I think he will thrive in Trestman’s new offense and go OVER that stat line. Expect production along the lines of 1700 yards from scrimmage, 65 receptions and 10 TDs. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">More after the jump.</span></i> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">David Wilson - 1000 yards from scrimmage; 25 receptions, 10 total TDs.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back-flips and fumbles will get you in Coughlin's doghouse every time.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Over the final four weeks of last season only six running backs had more points than David Wilson. His raw athleticism and explosiveness were very impressive and he ended the season on a high note. However, prior to those last four weeks, Wilson’s propensity to cough up the ball had him bouncing in and out of Tom Coughlin’s doghouse while Andre Brown excelled as the starter. The latest reports out of Giant’s camp have Brown and Wilson sharing carries this coming season.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wilson is more athletic and explosive than Brown and should get plenty of looks in the passing game. Out of the two backs I like Wilson more long term, however I think Wilson’s draft price right now is too high. Ranked at #17, he is generally being drafted in the late 3rd round early fourth - for that price there are other RBs available that have a better shot of being the clear #1. I think Wilson’s propensity to fumble does him in and he ends up back in Coughlin’s doghouse. I predict Wilson goes UNDER and ends up closer to 750 yards from scrimmage, 25 receptions, and 7 TDs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jamaal Charles - 1800 yards from scrimmage; 55 receptions; 10 total TDs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jamaal Charles is one of the most talented backs in the NFL and still only 26 years old. He is poised to have a huge year in Andy Reid’s new offense in Kansas City. Sure, Andy Reid loves to throw the ball a lot, but his offenses have also featured some of the most reliable and high scoring fantasy RBs over the years. I expect Jamaal Charles to be comparable to the production of Brian Westbrook in his heyday. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Last year Charles had 1725 yards from scrimmage but only 6 TDs. Alex Smith needs an offensive system based on short quick throws. This will benefit Charles as he will get plenty of looks in the flat and he has the speed to turn it upfield. Furthermore Charles TD totals should go up just based on the law of averages. Expect Charles to go OVER to the tune of 2000 yards from scrimmage, 60 receptions and 10 TDs. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maurice Jones-Drew - 1600 yards from scrimmage; 40 receptions; 12 total TDs.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Quick! There goes the Jag's Offense" </span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Owners who drafted MJD with a top ten pick last year certainly felt the full pain of his season ending injury as he had a paltry 500 yards from scrimmage last year with 2 TDs. However, MJD claims he is healthy, pain free, and poised for a bounce back year. With Blaine Gabbert somehow still the starting quarterback in Jacksonville, the Jaguars will need MJD to keep them in games. Expect them to rely heavily on MJD in the offense which will give him plenty of opportunities to rack up fantasy points. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Right now MJD is ranked at #16 for RBs and has been going on average late in the second round/early third round. As a RB2 he has immense upside and could possible even reclaim his RB1 status if he can stay healthy and the Jags stay bad (one of these is more likely - I’ll let you guess which one.) I think MJD is good for 1600 yards from scrimmage, but I think he will go OVER in the receptions catching closer to 55 receptions over the course of the season.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Reggie Bush - 1300 yards from scrimmage; 60 receptions; 8 total TDs.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Ooops, I think I pulled something"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After a disappointing run in New Orleans, Reggie Bush has done much better the last two seasons in Miami putting up respectable rushing and receiving numbers. The move to Detroit should only help his value especially in PPR formats. Bush has good hands and the running back tandem in Detroit last year featured a lot of screens and short passes to the flat. With Bush as the clear #1 the only thing standing between him and a very good season is his health. Bush is always an injury risk and the increased workload in Detroit could result in him being injured.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If he stays healthy he is a solid RB2 in PPR leagues. However, I just don’t believe that he will stay healthy all year. Taking into account some time off for injuries I think Bush will go UNDER that stat line. Expect something more along the lines of 1100 yards from scrimmage; 55 receptions; and 6 TDs. If you draft Bush be sure to snag Mikel Leshoure as a late round handcuff for when Bush is injured.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-10e373a0-5af9-e44a-17b3-963b5eb6e4b6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div>
F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-15511702299472825152013-08-05T16:11:00.000-07:002013-08-05T17:54:58.374-07:002013 Fantasy Football Preview: Quarterback <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Believe it or not fall is right around the corner and with it, the beginning of football season! Fantasy football drafting is in full swing for 2013. A good friend of mine and are authoring a series of articles previewing the most interesting fantasy players for the 2013 season. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://apathetec.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/fantasy-land-five-quarterbacks/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is the counterpoint article on his blog.</span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Be sure to check out the rest of his blog)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And here is my full 2013 QB preview:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Prepare for more disappointment in New England</span>.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom Brady is and has been one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL since the early 2000s. Bill Belichick and Brady have teamed up to create an offensive juggernaut that has put up points and stats at a ridiculous pace. Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and even Brandon Lloyd have been fantasy studs in the potent New England offense. However, after a New York Jets-esque offseason filled with drama and the signing of Tim Tebow (coincidence? I think not… ) the future of New England is filled with question marks. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom Brady’s #1 target, Wes Welker, has left the Patriots for Denver and Peyton Manning. Last year Welker accounted for 28% of Brady’s passing yards, and the year before that 30%. The Patriots have attempted to make up for the loss of Welker by signing Danny Amendola—a highly talented receiver with great hands and a high ratio of catches to targets. He has been described as “the poor man’s Welker” and he seems poised for a breakout year in New England; however, injuries have plagued him and he has yet to play a full season. If Amendola can stay healthy he has the ability to replace Welker, but with his injury history, that if is a big IF. The rest of the receiving corps after Amendola is underwhelming. Rookie Aaron Dobson has impressed in camp, but the rest have looked painfully inept. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The tight end situation is even more tenuous. With Aaron Hernandez cut and Rob Gronkowski likely out until Week 6 the Patriots have been running Jake Ballard and Tim Tebow out at tight end. Let that sink in. The duo of Hernandez and Gronkowski accounted for 26% of Brady’s passing yards last year. In 2011 it was a whopping 43%! If Gronkowski returns in Week 6 who knows what he will be able to do. Back injuries are difficult to predict, but Gronk is a beast when he plays and should help. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The loss, for good, of Hernandez and Welker, the absence of Gronkowski for who knows how long, and the high injury risk of Amendola and lack of alternative targets leaves Tom Brady’s fantasy value very clouded. I am going to have to predict that he will go UNDER that stat line. To be clear, I do not think Brady will be valueless in fantasy—a below average Brady is still going to be better than an Andy Dalton or Eli Manning—but do not expect the Tom Brady of 2011. I think that you can expect fantasy value more along the lines of 3700 yards, 27 TDs, and 8 INTs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Colin Kaepernick: 3000 passing yards; 500 rushing yards; 25 Passing/rushing TDs; 7 INTs</span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He'll be Kaepernicking a lot less this year.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Colin Kaepernick took over the starting QB job in San Francisco last year following an injury to Alex Smith and never looked back. He was excellent in the playoffs leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl where they lost. This year both real life and fantasy expectations are high for the young Kaepernick. Many fantasy gurus have him ranked in the top 10 fantasy QBs for this season and comparisons are constantly being drawn between him and the other two successful mobile rookie QBs from last year: Russell Wilson and RGIII. However, I think that fantasy expectations for Kaepernick are higher than warranted. In 8 regular season starts last year Kaepernick threw for 1,725 yards, rushed for 304 yards and 13 passing/rushing TDs. That is only a half of a season at starter and puts him on pace for 3450 passing yards, 600 rushing yards and 26 TDs - roughly the stat line we placed for him this year. That would place him in the top ten QBs by points in 2012. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">However, Michael Crabtree, Kaepernick’s #1 target is out for the year with an injury. Vernon Davis reappeared in the playoffs but he is far from the dependable fantasy tight end he used to be and Kaepernick and he have never shown a real rapport. San Francisco did sign Anquan Boldin, who I think will be an underrated addition for the 49ers and will help Kaepernick, but Boldin alone is not enough to help Kaepernick. The 49ers will still be a run first - pass later team as they pound opposing teams with Frank Gore while stifling them with their defense. As such I predict Kaepernick will be UNDER that stat line. Expect something more along the lines of 2800 passing yards, 400 rushing, and 18 TDs - not quite worth the top ten slot he has in fantasy QB rankings. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Joe Flacco: 3500 passing yards; 22 passing TDs; 10 INTs</span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That confetti might be money from his new contract.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the NFL today everyone wants an elite QB; the term is so overused that it really has no meaning anymore. If you can play better than Tony Romo and win big games, you can probably find someone on ESPN to call you an elite QB. Well that is exactly what Joe Flacco did last year - he played very well and won the Super Bowl so suddenly he is now better than Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady - I mean, they didn’t win the Super Bowl last year right? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Joe Flacco is a solid real life QB who rarely puts up big fantasy points. His overall stats last year were very good: 3,817 yards and 22 TDs. However the Ravens offseason has not been kind to Flacco’s offense. Anquan Boldin - his #1 target and most reliable receiver was not resigned by Baltimore, Dennis Pitta, the starting TE is out for the year with an injury and Baltimore’s defense is not as good as it used to be. Third year receiver Torrey Smith is set as the clear #1 receiver, and his skills and speed point to him having a break-out year. Ed Dickson has proved himself serviceable in the past at tight end and Ray Rice is still a beast especially when Flacco gets him the ball in the flat. (Like this: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRIsjzJCk0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRIsjzJCk0</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sans his rookie season, Flacco has consistently thrown for at least 3600 passing yards per season. I see no reason that will stop even with the loss of Boldin and Pitta. I am predicting that Flacco will go OVER that stat line to the tune of 3700 passing yards, 24 TDs and 10 INTs. Flacco is a top option for a QB2 in two quarterback leagues and certainly a low cost serviceable starting QB in 12 team leagues or larger. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Carson Palmer: 4,000 yds, 25 TDs; 15 INTs</span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He's just happy to have a QB in Arizona again.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Carson Palmer’s first full season in Oakland was a real life nightmare as the Raiders stumbled to a 4-12 record. However, Palmers stats were surprisingly glitzy as he threw for 4,000 yards and 22 TDs with a less than stellar receiving corps. Sure, most of those stats were garbage time stats as the Palmer threw all over prevent defenses in blowout losses but there is hope for 2013. Palmer was traded to the Arizona Cardinals where he will take over a team that has fielded a comedy of errors at QB ever since Kurt Warner retired. No one is happier about the addition than Larry Fitzgerald, who might be the best WR in the NFL if he ever had someone who could throw to him. Well this year, he does, and Carson Palmer stands to benefit greatly from having Fitzgerald as his #1 target. Behind Fitzgerald is a quietly solid receiving corps headed by 2nd year man Michael Floyd, Andre Roberts and possibly even speed demon Patrick Peterson. This excellent set of receivers should provide plenty of targets for Palmer to rack up the yards and TDs. Furthermore, Bruce Arians showed last year in Indianapolis that he likes high flying offenses and is not afraid to let his QB air out the ball - one can expect much of the same in Arizona with Palmer, Fitzy, and Company. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am buying into the Palmer hype all the way. I predict Palmer goes OVER that stat line passing for 4100 yards, 27 TDs, and 15 INTs (of which at least 1500/12 are to Fitzy). Palmer is poised for a great year - and if you are the high risk high reward type of drafter, I recommend Palmer as a low cost option with big returns for 2013. Draft late and enjoy the rewards. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt Ryan: 4700 passing yards; 35 TDs; 13 INTs</span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He'll be doing plenty of gun-slinging in Hot-lanta this year.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt Ryan just signed a five year extension worth 103.75 million dollars - roughly $20 million a year or $103 million per playoff win. Thats right, Matt Ryan for all his gaudy stats has only won one playoff game in his whole career. Thankfully, in fantasy, we don’t have to worry about the real life playoffs - just the regular season. Last year Matt Ryan threw for 4719 yards and 32 touchdowns - and with two of the best wide receivers in the game in Roddy White and Julio Jones, the return of Tony Gonzalez for one more year and the signing of Stephen Jackson there is nothing but bright skies ahead for Atlanta and Matt Ryan. The White/Jones tandem did not disappoint in 2012 as they combined for 2549 yards and 17 TDs. They should continue their excellent play in 2013. Tony Gonzalez has agreed to return to the Falcons for one more year at TE and the biggest beneficiary will be Matt Ryan. Gonzalez is a sure handed excellent target at TE especially in the red zone. Furthermore, the addition of Stephen Jackson gives Ryan a mobile target out of the backfield with great hands unlike Michael Turner whose mobility and speed was comparable to a large boulder. Expect the addition of Jackson to help Ryan both in yards and TDs. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Atlanta was one game away from the Superbowl last year and they have only gotten better over the offseason. I am predicting Matt Ryan will go OVER that stat line to the tune of 4900 yards, 38 TDs and 15 INTs. Hot-lanta’s offense will be just that - and Matt Ryan’s fantasy owners will be loving the explosive high scoring output in 2013. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>Agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below. Want to hear more about a particular player? Suggest him below and he may be featured in an upcoming column.</i> </span>F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-13043586141791912392013-08-02T06:02:00.002-07:002013-08-02T06:02:31.890-07:00Changes Coming SoonWith law school over and the bar exam finished, I am finally going to be getting back to a semi-normal state of life. I've decided to resurrect this blog as a platform for some new projects I'll be working on including sports and fantasy sports articles, a series on the Catholic churches of Chicago, and any other random musings that may arise. <br />
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Hope you enjoy!F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-81541181824773003582012-10-31T09:41:00.002-07:002012-10-31T09:41:26.043-07:00Reformation Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today in Protestant circles, Reformation Day is often celebrated, so in honor of that day, here is a quote from G. K. Chesterton on the Reformation: <br />
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"It Is perfectly true that we can find real wrongs, provoking rebellion, in the Roman Church just before the Reformation. What we cannot find is one of those real wrongs that the Reformation reformed. For instance, it was an abominable abuse that the corruption of the monasteries sometimes permitted a rich noble to play the patron and even play at being the Abbot, or draw on the revenues supposed to belong to a brotherhood of poverty and charity. But all that the Reformation did was to allow the same rich noble to take over ALL the revenue, to seize the whole house and turn it into a palace or a pig-sty, and utterly stamp out the last legend of the poor brotherhood. The worst things in worldly Catholicism were made worse by Protestantism. But the best things remained somehow through the era of corruption; nay, they survived even the era of reform. They survive to-day in all Catholic countries, not only in the colour and poetry and popularity of religion, but in the deepest lessons of practical psychology. And so completely are they justified, after the judgment of four centuries, that every one of them is now being copied, even by those who condemned it; only it is often caricatured. Psycho-analysis is the Confessional without the safeguards of the Confessional; Communism is the Franciscan movement without the moderating balance of the Church; and American sects, having howled for three centuries at the Popish theatricality and mere appeal to the senses, now "brighten" their services by super-theatrical films and rays of rose-red light falling on the head of the minister. If we had a ray of light to throw about, we should not throw it on the minister." F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-25701160664417087402012-09-04T13:26:00.001-07:002012-09-04T13:26:34.761-07:00Christographia XIV<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_399505404"></span><span id="goog_399505405"></span><br /></div>
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Is it chance</div>
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or dance moves</div>
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the world?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Is the world</div>
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blind and dumb</div>
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or bloom, festal?</div>
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A vain jest</div>
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or holy feast?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Eugene Warren</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Christographia XIV</i></div>
F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-5404847062980083642012-08-10T07:57:00.000-07:002012-08-10T07:57:12.082-07:00Sancte Laurentius Ora Pro Nobis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is the feast day of St. Lawrence of Rome. St. Lawrence was one
of the seven deacons who served under Pope St. Sixtus II. St. Lawrence
along with Pope St. Sixtus II and many of the bishops and priests were
all martyred in 258 AD during the persecutions of Valerian. St. Lawrence
was in charge of the Church's treasures located in Rome, and after the
martyrdom of Pope St. Sixtus II, Valerian called St. Lawrence before him
and ordered him to present the riches of the church to him or face
death. The story that follows is one that every time I read it leaves
me in awe of St. Lawrence's bravery and courage. The Roman Christian
poet Prudentius recounts the story of St. Lawrence in his <em>Hymnus in Honorem Passionis Laurentii: Beatissimi Martyris. </em><br />
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What follows is Prudentius' full recounting of the story. [I have bolded the best parts]<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He
[Lawrence], being the chief of the seven" who stand next the altar,
the Levite highest in rank and outstanding above the rest, was in
charge of the safe-keeping of the holy things, with trusty keys
managing the treasury of the heavenly house and paying out the money of
the offerings. Now the prefect of the imperial city, the agent of a
frantic ruler for enforcing payment of gold and blood, has a hunger for
money busy in his heart, pondering how to unearth the hidden cash, for
he thinks great riches piled in heaps lie concealed down in the
treasury. He orders Lawrence to be brought before him and seeks for
information of the chest packed with precious ingots, the mountains of
shining coins in store. " It is your wont," he says, " to protest that
our cruelty goes beyond all justice in cleaving Christian bodies with
worse than blood- thirstiness. Here you have no judge whose mind is
heated with passions too violent. Softly and calmly I make a request
which you should be ready to meet. It has come out that the custom and
style of your secret rites, the rule of your brotherhood, is that your
priests make offering from vessels of gold. They say the holy blood
smokes in silver cups, and that at your services by night the candles
stand fixed in golden candlesticks. And then, as common talk keeps on
declaring, it is the brethren's chief concern to sell their properties
and offer sesterces " in thousands. The disinherited heir laments that
his grandsires' estates have been knocked down in- famously under the
hammer ; his holy parents have brought him to want. All this wealth is
concealed in out-of-the-way corners of your churches, and it is
believed to be the greatest piety to leave your dear children
destitute. Fetch out your treasures, those piles you amass through your
wicked tricks of per- suasion and shut up in some dark hole. Our
country's need, the emperor's chest, the public treasury call for this
step, that the money may be devoted to soldiers' pay and assist our
High Commander. Your teaching runs thus, I am told: " Render to each
his own." Well then, Caesar recognises his own stamp on your coins.
What you know for Caesar's, give to Caesar. It is surely a fair request
I make. Your God, I think, stamps no money; nor when He came did He
bring golden Philips down with Him, but gave instructions in words,
not being furnished with a purse. Make good, then, the credit of his
sayings, on the strength of which you cry yourselves up throughout the
world. Pay over the money cheerfully and be rich in words." </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>No rough
or quarrelsome answer does Lawrence make to this, but assents
willingly, as ready to obey. " Our church is rich," he says, " I make
no denial. It has very much wealth and gold, no man in the world is
richer.</b> The very Augustus who holds the seat of power and whose
inscription is on every coin, has not so many images on silver. <b>Yet I
do not object to producing our wealthy God's treasure- chest ; I shall
divulge and bring forth all the precious possessions of Christ. But
one thing I beg and entreat, — a little time of grace, that I may
discharge more effectually the task I promise, by making an ordered
list of all Christ's belongings ; for we must first compute the total,
and then note it at the foot."</b> The delighted prefect, ready to burst
with joy, greedily enjoys his hope, exulting as if he had the gold
already laid in his possession. The bargain is struck for a space of
three days, and then Lawrence is commended and dismissed, standing
surety for himself and for the vast riches.<br />
<br />
<b>For three days he runs
about the city gathering into one flock the companies of the infirm and
all the beggars for alms. There a man showing two eyeless sockets is
directing his straying, faltering step with the guidance of a staff ; a
cripple with a broken knee, a one-legged man with his other limb cut
short, a man with one leg shorter than the other, are dragging unequal
steps along. Here is one whose limbs are covered with sores and
running with decayed matter, and one whose right hand is withered, the
muscles contracted to the elbow. Such people he seeks out through all
the public places, men who were wont to be fed from the store of their
mother the Church, and whom as her steward he knew before. </b>Then
he reviews them one by one, writing down each man's name, and makes
them stand posted in a long line in the forefront of the church. By
this the prescribed time had passed, and the judge was beside himself
with the vehemence of his covetous spirit as he called for payment of
the promise. Then said the martyr : " Pray give us your presence, and
marvel at the wealth set out before you, which our exceeding rich God
has in his sanctuaries. You will see the great nave gleaming with
vessels of gold, and along the open colonnades course on course of
precious metal." <b>So he went, not thinking it beneath him to follow.
They reached the hallowed door, and there stood the companies of poor
men in their swarms, a ragged sight. Up rises a din of beggars
appeals, and the prefect, startled and amazed, turns to Lawrence with
menace in his angry- eyes. But Lawrence counters : " Why do you rage
and threaten ? What displeases you ? Do you think all this mean or
worthless, only to be scorned ? </b> Gold, for which you thirst vehemently,
is got from rubbish dug out of the earth ; penal labour excavates it
from dirty mines ; or a rushing river rolls it down enwrapped in its
muddy sand; and being earthy and dirty it has to be refined with fire.
By means of gold the bonds of modesty are unloosed and innocence is
outraged, through it peace comes to an end, honour dies, the very law
itself lapses away. Why do you exalt the poison of glory and hold it
of great worth ? <b>If you seek gold that is more real, it is the light
and the race of men. These are foster- children of light, confined by a
feeble body lest through the well-being of their flesh their spirit
should swell with pride. When disease rives the body the spirit is
stronger in activity, but again when the members are stout the force of
the spirit is hurt.</b> For the blood is hot for sin, but it furnishes
less force if its heat is exhausted by bodily ills and it contracts a
poison which enfeebles it. If haply I had to choose , I would rather
bear with broken members under the cruellest pain and be handsome in my
inner self. Match together the natures of the ills that plague us,
compare our calamities of either kind : is disease of the flesh the
more loathsome, or the sores on soul and character ? <b>Our people are
weakly in body, but within they have beauty unimpaired, they are
comely and free from distress and bear a soul that has no hurt. But
yours, while strong in body, are corrupted by an inner leprosy, their
superstition halts like one that is maimed, their self-deception is
blind and sightless.</b> Any of your great men, who make a brave show in
dress and features, I shall prove feebler than any of my poor men. Here
is one who vaunts himself in his silk and is puffed up with pride as
he rides in his chariot, but a watery dropsy of the soul within
distends him with its transparent poison. And here is another who in
his greed crooks his hands and draws them close, his palm doubled, his
finger- nails like hooks, and cannot relax the tendons. This other is
dragged by foul lust among public harlots and polluted with mire and
filth as he goes a-begging after dirty whorings. And he there, who
seeks hotly for advancement and burns with thirst for rank, is he not
panting with fevers underneath and maddened by the fire in his veins? </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Whoso wants the self-control to be silent and has a restless urge to
betray secrets suffers tortures from the irritation of his passion and
the constant itch in his heart. You do not need me to recount the
scrofulous swellings in envious breasts, or the discoloured, festering
sores of malice. You yourself who rule over Rome, who despise the
everlasting God, worshipping foul devils, are suffering from the
ruler's sickness. These men, whom in your pride you scorn and count
detestable, will soon put off their sore-ridden bodies and be in sound
health, when they shall be loosed and free at last from the most
corrupt flesh and in the most beauteous condition of life shine in
their Father's house on high, no longer dirty or feeble as for the
present they appear, but bright with gleaming robes and golden crowns.
Then, if it were possible, I would have these great men of the world
put for review before your eyes. You would see them covered with rags,
snivelling at the nose, their chins wet with their slaver, their eyes
purblind and mattering on the lids. There is nothing fouler than a
sinner, nothing so leprous or rotten ; the wound of his sins keeps
bleeding and stinks like the pit of hell. The tables are turned and a
corrupted figure is imposed on souls which formerly had delight in a
comely presence in the body. Here then are the golden coins which a
short while ago I promised, coins which tumbling walls cannot bury under
burning ashes, nor thief carry away by stealth. <b>And now I give you
noble jewels also, so that you need not think Christ is poor, jewels of
flashing light with which this temple is adorned. You see the consecrated virgins, and marvel at the pure old women who after the loss
of their first husbands have known no second love. These are the
Church's necklace, the jewels with which she decks herself; thus
dowered she is pleasing to Christ, and thus she adorns her high head.
There are her riches, take them up; with them you will adorn the city
of Romulus and enrich the emperor's estate, and yourself be made
richer too.</b>"<br />
<br />
"He is mocking us," cries the prefect, mad with rage, "
making wonderful sport of us with all this allegory. And yet the
madman lives ! Think you, rascal, to get off with contriving such
trickeries with your comedian's quibbling and theatrical buffoonery ? "
Did you think it neat pleasantry to make a butt of me? Have you made
your guffaws out of me and turned me into a merry piece of
entertainment ? Have the magisterial rods so wholly lost their stern
control? Has gentle lenity so blunted the axe of authority ? <b>You say ' I
am ready to die ; to the martyr death is an object of desire.' You
Christians have, we know, this vain persuasion. But I shall not grant
your wish to be presented with a short way to your end in a quick
death. I shall not let you die in a hurry. I shall hold on to your life
and prolong it through slow, unceasing punishments ; a death which
keeps you fast in its toils will drag out long-lasting pains.</b> Lay the
coals not too hot, so that the heat shall not be too fiery and seize on
the stiff-necked fellow's face and get into the depths of his breast.
Let its hot breath die down and languish so as to pour out with no
strong gust but by degrees temper the torments and only scorch his
body. It is well that of them all the head of their secret rites
has fallen into our hands, for he by himself will furnish an example
of what they next must fear. Get up on to the pyre they have laid for
you, lie down on the bed you deserve ; and then, if you like, argue
that my god of fire is nothing." <b>While the prefect was thus speaking,
the cruel tormentors all around were making ready to strip the martyr
of his robe and bind his limbs and stretch them out. His face shone
with beauty and a glory was shed around him.</b> Such was the countenance
that the bearer of the law brought down from the mountain on his
return, and the Jewish people, having stained and tarnished itself with
the golden ox, was greatly afraid of him and turned its face away
because it could not bear the presence of God.« Such again was the
glory which Stephen presented shining on his face as amid the rain of
stones he gazed at the open heavens. This was made visible farther off
to the brethren lately cleansed from sin, whom baptism given not long
before had made fit to receive Christ ; but the blind eyes of the
ungodly, their face being covered over with the blackness of night and
enveloped under a veil of darkness, saw not the brilliance. It was like
the Egyptian plague which, while it condemned the barbarians to darkness, gave to the Hebrews the clear light of day." Even the very
nature of the smell arising from the scorched skin gave the two parties
contrary sensa- tions : to the one it was the smell of roasting, to
the other the scent of nectar ; the same sense, varied by a different
aura, in the one case brought on the nostrils an avenging horror, in
the other charmed them with delight. So is God an everlasting fire;
for Christ is the true fire, it is He who fills the righteous with
light and burns the guilty. </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>After the long-continued heat has
burned his side away, Lawrence on his own part hails the judge and
addresses him briefly from the gridiron: "This part of my body has been
burned long enough ; turn it round and try what your hot god of fire
has done." So the prefect orders him to be turned about, and then " It
is done," says Lawrence; " eat it up, try whether it is nicer raw or
roasted." These words spoken in jest, he then looks up to heaven, and
sighing deeply prays in pity for the city of Romulus</b>: "O Christ,
the one name, the glory and strength of the Father, creator of earth
and sky and founder of this city, who hast set the sceptre of the world
on Rome's high citadel, ordaining that the world obey the toga of
Quirinus and yield to his arms, that thou might 'st bring under one
system of laws the customs and observance, the speech and character
and worship of nations which differed among them- selves ; lo, the
whole race of men has passed under the sovereignty of Remus, and usages
formerly discordant are now alike in speech and thought. This was
appointed that the authority of the Christian name might bind with one
tie all lands everywhere. Grant, O Christ, to thy Romans that the city
by which Thou hast granted to all others to be of one mind in worship,
may itself be Christian. All its members everywhere are now allied in
one confession of faith. The world it has subdued grows peaceable ;
may the supreme head too grow peace- able. May she see that countries
far apart are uniting in one state of grace, and may Romulus become
one of the faithful, and Numa himself be now a believer. The
superstition which came from Troy still confounds a senate of Catos,"
doing homage at secret altars to the Phrygians' exiled Penates. The
senate worships Janus of the two faces and Sterculus " (I shudder to
name all these monstrosities our Fathers own) and keeps the festival of
old Saturn.' Wipe away this shame, O Christ; send forth thy servant
Gabriel that the straying blindness of Julus may recognise the true
God. Already we hold most trusty sureties for this hope, for already
there reign here the two chiefs of the apostles,/ the one he who called
the Gentiles, while the other occupies the foremost chair and opens the
gates of eternity which were committed to his keeping. Away, thou
lecherous Jupiter, defiled with the violation of thy sister! Leave Rome
at liberty, flee from her people, who now are Christ's. Paul banishes
thee hence, the blood of Peter drives thee out. That deed of Nero's for which thou didst put the sword in his hand hurts thee. I
foresee that one day there will be an emperor who will be the servant
of God and will not suffer Rome to be in the service of vile,
abominable rites, but will shut and bar her temples, block up their
ivory doors, close their unholy entrances and make them fast with bolts
of brass. Then at last will her marbles shine bright because they
will be cleansed from all blood, and the statues that stand in bronze,
which now she thinks of as idols, will be guiltless." ^ So ended his
prayer, and with it ended his im- prisonment in the flesh ; the spirit
broke forth eagerly after his words. Certain senators carried the body
on their shoulders, whom the hero's marvellous inde- pendence had
persuaded to seek the favour of Christ. A new disposition had suddenly
inspired their inmost hearts and from love of the most high God
constrained them to hate their old-time follies. From that day the
worship of those base gods flagged, the people were seen in smaller
numbers at their shrines, and there was a rush to the sanctuary of
Christ. In this warfare Lawrence did not gird a sword on his side, but
turned back the foe's steel against its wi elder. In making war on
God's indomitable witness, the devil was stabbed himself and fell, and
now lies prostrate for ever. The death the holy martyr died was in
truth the death of the temples. That day Vesta saw her Palladian
house-spirits " deserted and no vengeance follow. All the Romans who
used to reverence Numa's libation-cup now crowd the churches of
Christ and sound the martyr's name in hymns. The very ornaments of the
senate, men who once served as Luperci " or flamens, now eagerly kiss
the thresholds of apostles and martyrs. We see distinguished families,
where both sides are high- born, dedicate their dear ones, their noble
children.<br />
<br />
<b>The priest who once wore the head-bands is admitted to
receive the sign of the cross and, Lawrence, a Vestal Claudia enters
thy church. O thrice and four times, yea seven times blessed</b></blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Sancte Laurentius Ora Pro Nobis</em></span></b></div>F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-7414889823967388032012-07-05T20:19:00.002-07:002012-07-05T20:19:56.460-07:00Birches<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEf56V0CNbtPSxyoA23ezOYkGBysN_7OuxU-8sSYSoX5DxkTT8M1ofcgiX4dFon9w-TnnKeV2cEtVT6pRvAP6jVyTvC_SwiAFkXET5LY-CQFtNN9Giv8Wf67njhKCyDMvniZwvMimG_8y/s1600/400px-Fritz_Zuhber_Buhler-Innocence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEf56V0CNbtPSxyoA23ezOYkGBysN_7OuxU-8sSYSoX5DxkTT8M1ofcgiX4dFon9w-TnnKeV2cEtVT6pRvAP6jVyTvC_SwiAFkXET5LY-CQFtNN9Giv8Wf67njhKCyDMvniZwvMimG_8y/s1600/400px-Fritz_Zuhber_Buhler-Innocence.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Innocence </i>Fritz Zubher-Buhler</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Robert Frost's poem <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/104/66.html" target="_blank"><i>Birches</i></a> is one of my favorite poems. The poet reminisces of the simple days of childhood and the carefree fun he had while swinging on the birches in the forest. But in the second half of the poem, the poet is overcome with nostalgia as he is reminded that the beautiful innocence of childhood is long gone. In <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus" target="_blank">one of the greatest scenes</a> from the AMC series<i> Mad Men,</i> Don Draper is presenting a proposed ad campaign for the Kodak carousel, a projector. As he makes his pitch, Don offers a short reflection on nostalgia: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nostalgia - it's delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek,
"nostalgia" literally means "the pain from an old wound." It's a twinge
in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn't a
spaceship, it's a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards... it
takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It's not called the
wheel, it's called the carousel. It let's us travel the way a child
travels - around and around, and back home again, to a place where we
know are loved.
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<span style="font-size: small;">Draper's pitch is attempting to play off of an emotion we all feel in some way or another. The longing for something in the past that, in our minds, is representative of a simpler and thus seemingly happier time in our life. For some, the innocence of childhood, when we were blissfully ignorant of all the concerns of the world is a source of strong nostalgia at times. In <i>Birches</i>, Robert Frost captures that occasional nostalgia for the innocence of childhood so well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So was I once myself a swinger of birches;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And so I dream of going back to be.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It's when I'm weary of considerations, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And life is too much like a pathless wood</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Broken across it, and one eye is weeping </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">From a twig's having lashed across it open. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I'd like to get away from earth awhile </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And then come back to it and begin over.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are times when that is exactly how I feel. The concerns, stresses and cares of the world continually lash us until finally, we just want to get away, to go back to that time when we were ignorant of the stressful world around us. However, the fact of the matter is, we can never go back to that simpler time. At some point, that innocence is lost, and it is gone forever. Love becomes far more difficult, relationships are complicated and decisions are harder and carry so much more weight. In some ways, I think that only serves to intensify the nostalgia. I long for something that can never be regained ... and that knowledge is like the pain from an old wound. And yet at times, I catch glimpses of what innocence was like through memories. A picture, a song or a place can trigger a strong memory in our mind that brings back the pure unadulterated joy of childhood. Yet even that is painful since I realize it is only a passing memory that will not last. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Lest <i>Birches </i>seem unduly melancholic, Frost does temper the nostalgia he feels watching the children swinging on the birch trees.</span></div>
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<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">May no fate wilfully misunderstand me</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">And half grant what I wish and snatch me away</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">I don't know where it's likely to go better.</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Toward</i> heaven, till the tree could bear no more,</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">But dipped its top and set me down again.</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">That would be good both going and coming back.</span></td><td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: small;">One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.</span></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nostalgia seems to be an unattainable longing for an escape from the struggles of today for the innocence of yesterday. It may be wrong to try to live in the past, but even the strongest of us cannot help, at times being so battered by the stresses of life, that we do not find ourselves longing for the past ... longing to be as blissfully happy as the children swinging from tree to tree without a care in the world. Even as I wrote this blog post I am longing for those unattainable memories of my past to be true yet again.The pain of nostalgia has been especially strong lately, and yet, I am reminded of the line from <a href="http://www.online-literature.com/donne/718/" target="_blank"><i>In Memoriam A.H.H. </i></a>by Alfred Lord Tennyson:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I hold it true, whate'er befall;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I feel it when I sorrow most;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">'Tis better to have loved and lost</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Than never to have loved at all.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;">While I may feel pain over those lost memories, the lost innocence of childhood, I am thankful to at least have them. For when I am most overcome with pain, they are then, even more of a comfort to my soul. And I know that while innocence has passed forever, there is still joy to be found here on earth for "Earth's the right place for love," and there are still places where I know I am loved. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boys in a Dory </i>Winslow Homer</td></tr>
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</tbody></table>F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-66659859688107144592012-06-24T19:28:00.000-07:002012-06-25T11:05:15.619-07:00St. Matthew's Passion<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Improvisation -</i> Childe Hassam</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Music is a powerful art. It can take a person and completely sweep them up in emotion. Occasionally I find a piece of music that reaches inside me and effects me in a way that is almost hard to comprehend. In Plato's <i>Republic,</i> Socrates offers his theory of music, which places it foremost amongst the arts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">"...Glaucon,
musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, <b>because rhythm and
harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul</b>, on which they
mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly
educated graceful, or of him who is ill-educated ungraceful; and also because
he who has received this true education of the inner being will most shrewdly
perceive omissions or faults in art and nature, and with a true taste, while he
praises and rejoices over and receives into his soul the good, and becomes
noble and good, he will justly blame and hate the bad, now in the days of his
youth, even before he is able to know the reason why; and when reason comes he
will recognize and salute the friend with whom his education has made him long
familiar."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul" That is exactly what truly beautiful music is capable of - affecting a person to their very soul. Unfortunately, most of modern music cannot even come close in comparison to classical music in its beauty, and therefore the ability of music to truly speak to one's soul is lost.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Occasionally I find a piece of classical music that is so beautiful that it forces me to just stop and listen to it. Recently I was listening to Bach's St. Matthew's Passion on youtube and came across a St. Matthew's Passion written by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. I had never heard of it before so I clicked on it. It was so beautiful that I had to stopped work and just listen to it for a while. I have to say that it is one of the most incredible pieces of music I have ever heard - I actually think it is better than Bach's St Matthew's Passion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Metropolitan Hilarion is Metropolitan of Volokolamsk in Russia and a noted Orthodox theologian, church historian author and composer. He is a modern polymath, and his music is comparable to the greatest composers he seeks to emulate. Crisis Magazine did a great interview with him about his St. Matthew's Passion <a href="http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/an-interview-with-metropolitan-hilarion-alfeyev">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I highly recommend taking some time to actually listen to all of Metropolitan Hilarion's St Matthew's Passion, but here are just a few selections to whet your appetite.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsUbmCoMP1Y">St Matthew's Passion No. 1 <i>Chorus: Come, Let us Sing a Holy Lament Unto the Lord</i></a><i> </i></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUW54okJiok"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">St Matthew's Passion No. 47 <i>Fugue and Finale</i></span></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF4c9bf5lUQ"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">St. Matthäuspassion (Complete)</span></a></div>F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-5090899978158180252012-06-22T10:17:00.000-07:002012-06-25T11:03:42.309-07:00A Habit of Prayer<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was reading through selections of the <i>Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman</i> the other day and came across these two descriptions of Cardinal Newman in 1873 and 1886 respectively:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">". . . very kindly, with a sort of grave sweet simplicity which coming from so old a man, has in it something inexpressibly touching . . . an air of melancholy, as of one who has passed through terrible struggles, yet of serenity, as of one who had found peace."</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"> (1)</span></span><b><br /></b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">"[his voice had] much of its old strange sweetness . . . the look of almost anxious searching had passed into the look of perfect peace. His mind was not only bright as ever, but with the cheerfulness and humour of youth." (2)</span></blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Both of these descriptions speak of a distinct impression of Cardinal Newman's peace and serenity, but they also speak of past struggles and anxieties. But how does one who has experienced a life full of trials and hardships reach a place of serenity and peace? Cardinal Newman wrote: "</span><span style="background-color: white;">a habit of prayer, the practice of turning to God and the unseen world in every season, in every place, in every emergency – prayer, I say, has what may be called a natural effect in spiritualizing and elevating the soul. A man is no longer what he was before; gradually … he has imbibed a new set of ideas, and become imbued with fresh principles" </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Prayer, the ever constant ability to speak to our Lord, cannot be underestimated in its ability to bring us peace and serenity. Bl. Pope John Paul II said that "</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">inner peace, fortitude of the soul and peace are gifts that are obtained while finding refuge in the temple, while resorting to personal and community prayer ... </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Communion with God is a source of serenity, joy, peace; it is like entering into an oasis of light and love.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Prayer is an "oasis of light and love," yet I find that I far to often forgo the opportunity to commune with my Lord in prayer. It is then, no wonder that my life seems so stressful, why decisions are so difficult to reach, why I am unable to trust God with my life. Why should I expect to hear God's voice, when I fail to even spend substantial time talking to him in prayer? Cardinal Newman spent a lifetime cultivating a habit of prayer and the evidence of that time well spent in prayer not only brought him peace and serenity, but was clearly evident to others. I wonder if failing to spend time cultivating a habit of prayer not only harms our own spiritual lives, but also harms others. Both men who visited Cardinal Newman were struck by his peace and serenity in spite of his well known trials. Cardinal Newman's peace was a witness to our Lord's ability to spiritualize and elevate the soul. When we hold ourselves out as Christians, yet allow our lives to be chaotic and lacking in peace, what example does that offer to the world? Christ died that we might find peace in our Lord, it is to our great benefit then to cultivate that habit of prayer, that we might grow closer to God. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Cardinal Newman left numerous prayers and poems when he passed from this world. They are beautiful and poetic examples of one man's heartfelt love and desire for God and the peace he found in his prayer. Below are two of my favorite prayers from Newman. </span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">Dear Jesus, </span><span style="color: #333333;">help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go. </span><span style="color: #333333;">Flood my soul with your spirit and life. </span><span style="color: #333333;">Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly </span><span style="color: #333333;">that my life may only be a radiance of yours. </span><span style="color: #333333;">Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with </span><span style="color: #333333;">may feel your presence in my soul.</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333;">Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus! </span><span style="color: #333333;">Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as you shine, </span><span style="color: #333333;">so to shine as to be a light to others.</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333;">The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine. </span><span style="color: #333333;">It will be you, shining on others through me. </span><span style="color: #333333;">Let me thus praise you in the way which you love best, </span><span style="color: #333333;">by shining on those around me. </span><span style="color: #333333;">Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example, </span><span style="color: #333333;">by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, </span><span style="color: #333333;">the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you. Amen. </span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i>The Pillar of Cloud</i></b><br />LEAD, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,<br />Lead thou me on!<br />The night is dark,and I am far from home,—<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />Lead thou me on!<br />Keep thou my feet! I do not ask to see<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />The distant scene—one step enough for me.<br />I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />Shouldst lead me on;<br />I loved to choose and see my path; but now<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />Lead thou me on!<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,<br />Pride ruled my will: remember not past years!<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />Will lead me on,<br />O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />The night is gone,<br />And with the morn those angel faces smile<br />Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16px;">1) </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16px;">The Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16px;">, ed. Charles Stephen Dessain et al., vol. 29; Oxford: 1973-1977, 238, n. 1.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16px;">2) </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><i>The Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman</i>, ed. Charles Stephen Dessain et al., vol. 31; Oxford: 1973-1977, 184, n. 5.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952339943895452347.post-27753962413519089792012-05-24T09:45:00.000-07:002012-06-25T11:04:21.659-07:00Buenas Andanzas<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">For those of us who did not travel much as children, especially overseas, our desire to see new lands was fulfilled through pictures of far away places and tales of distant lands. When I was younger my mother bought me a beautiful old copy of Washington Irving's </span><i style="color: #333333;">Tales of the Alhambra.</i><span style="color: #333333;"> It was a small red book that smelled of a distant era and was covered in dust. Yet, the yellowed dust covered pages revealed such a colorful vibrant tale of a distant and mysterious land that I longed to someday see with my own eyes. Even today when I see pictures of the Calat Alhambra I am immediately transported to that humid summer when I would lay next to the open windows of our back porch and travel through the Alhambra with Washington Irving. My mind danced with images and tales of long ago, if one could not actually see it, this was the next best thing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">This morning, I came across a National Geographic photograph of </span><span style="line-height: 1.2em;">Alcázar of Seville which is another Moorish fort and later Spanish royal palace. The photos immediately recalled to my mind the introduction from Irving's book. I went back and re-read it. Instantly, it was like not a moment had passed from those old summer days. I was a kid again and my mind was filled with "</span><span style="color: #333333;">traditional ballads, and tales about the wars of the Moors and Christians, and the '</span><i style="color: #333333;">buenas andanzas'</i><span style="color: #333333;"> and '</span><i style="color: #333333;">grandes hechos</i><span style="color: #333333;">,' the 'good fortunes' and 'great exploits' of the hardy warriors of yore." I was struck, looking back on it, by the beauty and vividness of Irving's language. It is no wonder that the book had such an influence over my young imagination. Traveling with young kids is of course not an easy thing to accomplish - cost, logistics and scheduling all conspire to discourage frequent overseas travel. But books, good books, can be a child's best means of "travel". They open their imagination to places and sights they have never seen, serving as a viable link to the past while grounding the child's imagination in tales of nobility and good and evil.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">Jackie Kennedy once said that "There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." And what better way to enlarge their world than with tales of distant lands and </span><i style="color: #333333;">buenas andanzas?</i><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">The introduction from </span><span style="color: #333333;">Irving's </span><i style="color: #333333;">Tales of the Alhambra </i><span style="color: #333333;">is below for your enjoyment</span><i style="color: #333333;">.</i><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH-BOOK.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During a summer's residence in the old Moorish palace of the Alhambra, of which I have already given numerous anecdotes to the public, I used to pass much of my time in the beautiful hall of the Abencerrages, beside the fountain celebrated in the tragic story of that devoted race. Here it was, that thirty-six cavaliers of that heroic line were treacherously sacrificed, to appease the jealousy or allay the fears of a tyrant. The fountain which now throws up its sparkling jet, and sheds a dewy freshness around, ran red with the noblest blood of Granada, and a deep stain on the marble pavement is still pointed out, by the cicerones of the pile, as a sanguinary record of the massacre. I have regarded it with the same determined faith with which I have regarded the traditional stains of Rizzio's blood on the floor of the chamber of the unfortunate Mary, at Holyrood. I thank no one for endeavoring to enlighten my credulity, on such points of popular belief. It is like breaking up the shrine of the pilgrim; it is robbing a poor traveller of half the reward of his toils; for, strip travelling of its historical illusions, and what a mere fag you make of it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For my part, I gave myself up, during my sojourn in the Alhambra, to all the romantic and fabulous traditions connected with the pile. I lived in the midst of an Arabian tale, and shut my eyes, as much as possible, to every thing that called me back to every-day life; and if there is any country in Europe where one can do so, it is in poor, wild, legendary, proud-spirited, romantic Spain; where the old magnificent barbaric spirit still contends against the utilitarianism of modern civilization. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the silent and deserted halls of the Alhambra; surrounded with the insignia of regal sway, and the still vivid, though dilapidated traces of oriental voluptuousness, I was in the strong-hold of Moorish story, and every thing spoke and breathed of the glorious days of Granada, when under the dominion of the crescent. When I sat in the hall of the Abencerrages, I suffered my mind to conjure up all that I had read of that illustrious line. In the proudest days of Moslem domination, the Abencerrages were the soul of every thing noble and chivalrous. The veterans of the family, who sat in the royal council, were the foremost to devise those heroic enterprises, which carried dismay into the territories of the Christians; and what the sages of the family devised, the young men of the name were the foremost to execute. In all services of hazard; in all adventurous forays, and hair-breadth hazards; the Abencerrages were sure to win the brightest laurels. In those noble recreations, too, which bear so close an affinity to war; in the tilt and tourney, the riding at the ring, and the daring bull-fight; still the Abencerrages carried off the palm. None could equal them for the splendor of their array, the gallantry of their devices; for their noble bearing, and glorious horsemanship. Their open-handed munificence made them the idols of the populace, while their lofty magnanimity, and perfect faith, gained them golden opinions from the generous and high-minded. Never were they known to decry the merits of a rival, or to betray the confidings of a friend; and the "word of an Abencerrage" was a guarantee that never admitted of a doubt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And then their devotion to the fair! Never did Moorish beauty consider the fame of her charms established, until she had an Abencerrage for a lover; and never did an Abencerrage prove recreant to his vows. Lovely Granada! City of delights! Who ever bore the favors of thy dames more proudly on their casques, or championed them more gallantly in the chivalrous tilts of the Vivarambla? Or who ever made thy moon-lit balconies, thy gardens of myrtles and roses, of oranges, citrons, and pomegranates, respond to more tender serenades? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I speak with enthusiasm on this theme; for it is connected with the recollection of one of the sweetest evenings and sweetest scenes that ever I enjoyed in Spain. One of the greatest pleasures of the Spaniards is, to sit in the beautiful summer evenings, and listen to traditional ballads, and tales about the wars of the Moors and Christians, and the "<i>buenas andanzas</i>" and "<i>grandes hechos</i>," the "good fortunes" and "great exploits" of the hardy warriors of yore. It is worthy of remark, also, that many of these songs, or romances, as they are called, celebrate the prowess and magnanimity in war, and the tenderness and, fidelity in love, of the Moorish cavaliers, once their most formidable and hated foes. But centuries have elapsed, to extinguish the bigotry of the zealot; and the once detested warriors of Granada are now held up by Spanish poets, as the mirrors of chivalric virtue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Such was the amusement of the evening in question. A number of us were seated in the Hall of the Abencerrages, listening to one of the most gifted and fascinating beings that I had ever met with in my wanderings. She was young and beautiful; and light and ethereal; full of fire, and spirit, and pure enthusiasm. She wore the fanciful Andalusian dress; touched the guitar with speaking eloquence; improvised with wonderful facility; and, as she became excited by her theme, or by the rapt attention of her auditors, would pour forth, in the richest and most melodious strains, a succession of couplets, full of striking description, or stirring narration, and composed, as I was assured, at the moment. Most of these were suggested by the place, and related to the ancient glories of Granada, and the prowess of her chivalry. The Abencerrages were her favorite heroes; she felt a woman's admiration of their gallant courtesy, and high-souled honor; and it was touching and inspiring to hear the praises of that generous but devoted race, chanted in this fated hall of their calamity, by the lips of Spanish beauty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Among the subjects of which she treated, was a tale of Moslem honor, and old-fashioned Spanish courtesy, which made a strong impression on me. She disclaimed all merit of invention, however, and said she had merely dilated into verse a popular tradition; and, indeed, I have since found the main facts inserted at the end of Conde's History of the Domination of the Arabs, and the story itself embodied in the form of an episode in the Diana of Montemayor. From these sources I have drawn it forth, and endeavored to shape it according to my recollection of the version of the beautiful minstrel; but, alas! what can supply the want of that voice, that look, that form, that action, which gave magical effect to her chant, and held every one rapt in breathless admiration! Should this mere <i>travestie</i> of her inspired numbers ever meet her eye, in her stately abode at Granada, may it meet with that indulgence which belongs to her benignant nature. Happy should I be, if it could awaken in her bosom one kind recollection of the lonely stranger and sojourner, for whose gratification she did not think it beneath her to exert those fascinating powers which were the delight of brilliant circles; and who will ever recall with enthusiasm the happy evening passed in listening to her strains, in the moon-lit halls of the Alhambra.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<i>Obviously as I have yet to be to Alhambra, the pictures are not mine, but some other lucky person's who actually did see Alhambra - someday I'll update this with my own pictures...)</i></span></div>F.A. Barber Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17664893229635630808noreply@blogger.com0