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April 21, 2006
Jeremiah Jumps In
One of the nicest duties here at Seraphic Secret is seeing one of our commenters as they head off and create their own blog. And of course, whether it's true or not, I take full credit for its creation. I like to think that I've inspired others to do what I've done. So far, Pearl, one of our earliest commenters created her superbly observed and always lovely Pearlies of Wisdom. And of course there's Randi, also an early reader and commenter, who is now the very distinctive and always hysterical Cruisin' Mom. That Randi brings me coffee and babke before we go shooting at the LA Gun Club has no effect whatsoever on my lavish praise of her wonderful blog. None. Zero. Nada.
And now, a more recent commenter, a man whose clear, impassioned and deeply literary voice, made us all sit up and take notice, has launched his own blog.
Let us smile, the blogosphere is already a better and richer space. Here's his announcement.
***
Hello Old Friends, New Friends, Family, and Acquaintances!
You are all cordially invited to visit and become Gentle Readers of a blog I've just recently launched. It's called Jeremayakovka. It's about what happens when someone steeped in liberal culture moves into the ranks of neoconservative politics. And, in my opinion, it's about time!
Please partake of what, if all goes well for Jeremayakovka's Gentle Readers as well as for myself, stand to be an adventure as well as a venture. The main categories of posts are included in the summary below, which first two weeks' worth of posts have touched on.
Your comments, questions, and opinions - even judgments - are welcome. Thanks to everyone who's already offered their interest and advice. And of course, please pass the word.
Sincerely,
Jeremiah (or "Jeremayakovka')
JMK Main Post Categories:
JMK
Material related to the blog itself, to its main inspirations (see "About" on its main page), and to observations on blogs and blogging.
Poesy
By popular demand (insofar as friends have urged me to "submit" for publication) I will offer my original poetry. Try it, I think you'll like it. Guaranteed: no fluff.
Burn that MFA!
Observation and wisdom from someone who has swum in books for nearly a decade, making up for the liberal education he received (or failed to receive) in college. I think of this life simply as, "How many muses can one man carry on his shoulders at a time?", with the first rule, as always, being, "Show, don't tell."
GWOI - The 21st Century's Good Fight
Since 9/11 I've slowly but surely come round to supporting the Bush Administration's leadership in the West's Global War on Islamofascism. GWOI has been the clincher for putting away the childish things of my Leftist youth while providing an opportunity to figure out what of that youth is worth preserving in what I call "our brave, new, neoconservative 21st Century." For starters, I like Jim Morrison's chant, "The West is the best."
Post-IWP
Parting shots at the Marxist psychological cult I ran with in the 90s, sometimes referred to as the International Workers Party. It was an allegiance which formed and deformed me, almost beyond repair. Strictly on a "need to vent" basis.
Judaism (and other faiths)
With religion it seems to me that those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know. Still, I'll offer posts that testify unmistakably, if indirectly, to the place religion has in mine and others' lives. Understandably (and unapologetically), this will refer mostly to Judaism and Christianity.
Diversions
To be kept to an entertaining minimum.
# # #
Click here to get to: http://jeremayakovka.typepad.com/
Clicking and dragging Western culture -- kicking and screaming,
if necessary -- into our brave, new neoconservative 21st Century
__________________________________________________
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at April 21, 2006 01:41 PM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
"And of course, whether it's true or not, I take full credit for its creation. I like to think that I've inspired others to do what I've done."
You absolutely can take credit for my starting my blog way back when. Thanks for showing us what you do so well, and inspiring myself and others to do the same! (and thank you for your kind comment about Pearlies of Wisdom)
Posted by: Pearl at April 21, 2006 02:17 PM
Pearl:
Oh good, I did inspire you. I'm not a complete egomaniac. Whew. That was a big sigh of relief you just heard.
And what I said about your blog, well, it's all true, and you are very welcome.
Have a lovely and meaningful Shabbos.
Posted by: Robert Avrech at April 21, 2006 02:26 PM
Someone who was inspired by you inspired me. So thanks for my blog too. :)
Posted by: Dovid at April 21, 2006 02:57 PM
Dovid:
That's wonderful, thanks for letting me know. Have a Good Shabbos.
Posted by: Robert Avrech at April 21, 2006 03:00 PM
Thank you for the stunning introduction, Robert. You and everyone else at Seraphic Secret have certainly made the new blog possible! It's as if you all - Randi, Pearl, Jake, Irina, Yehudit, Ger Tzadik, and more - have brought clouds down to earth, and allowed me to feel what it would be like to fly with you. (If that makes anyone "misty-eyed", or if I start to sound too "lofty" or "airy" or as if my "head is in the clouds", just let me know; I'll fix it.) Joining the discussions here - which I probably wouldn't have done had Robert not specifically invited me - have been, and we hope will continue to be, a true inspiration.
In a very early, archived post Robert wrote about the whiteness of the blog. That helped me arrive at the very deliberate decision for darkness (or blackness) to be a defining feature of mine. Everything I blog comes out of, separates itself from, survives that darkness.
Oh, how fitting. It's that time of the week again, isn't it? Lovely Shabbos to all.
Posted by: Jeremiah at April 21, 2006 04:22 PM
Robert,
Your compliments are generous, thank you.
It most definitely was your beautiful words, and then finding Pearl's lovely blog, that led me to my own.
Congratulations, Jeremiah...welcome to the world of blogging!
Posted by: Randi(cruisin-mom) at April 21, 2006 04:49 PM
Jeremiah:
I recently had Dave Barry on my show and we were talking during the break about blogs. I thought he was going to make fun of them, but instead he took a breath and said, "the Internet is the greatest thing that has ever happened to people who like to write."
I've been writing jokes online for more than 8 years now, and if I had more time, I had 2-3 other sites that would be more serious, or more literary than just a bunch of one-liners.
I think you will find writing on the Web a lot more rewarding than putting together a dissertation!
Posted by: Jake at April 21, 2006 05:13 PM
Jeremiah:
Have no fear of being too lofty. Here at Seraphic Secret we reject the post modern notion of "artistic distance."
We go straight for the brain and the heart, and not necessarily in that order.
Karen and I started this blog as a memorial for Ariel ZT'L. We have discovered that there are worlds within this blog that we were unaware of. One of these worlds is the friendships we have formed. They would make Ariel extremely proud.
Your Shabbos candles wait as does the "wax which willingly melts."
Gosh, I love that line you wrote. It goes right to the heart of what I feel when I see the guttering candles.
Have a lovely and meaningful Shabbos.
Posted by: Robert Avrech at April 21, 2006 05:19 PM
Randi:
I remember when you first told me about your blog. I remember telling you: "Just be you." And that's exactly what you've done and why Cruisin-Mom is so great. It's authentic. Straight from the heart.
Posted by: Robert Avrech at April 21, 2006 05:24 PM
Jake:
Blogs are great for writers. They give us the opportunity to flex our writerly muscles, take chances, get reactions to work that would otherwise languish in dusty files.
I don't think I would ever have written "How I Married Karen" if not for this blog.
Posted by: Robert Avrech at April 21, 2006 05:28 PM
Strongly recommend the Kuznetsov article! And the sonnet, too! : )
Posted by: Irina at April 21, 2006 08:54 PM
Consider:
The missing element in every human 'solution' is
an accurate definition of the creature.
The way we define 'human' determines our view
of self, others, relationships, institutions, life, and
future. Important? Only the Creator who made us
in His own image is qualified to define us accurately.
Choose wisely...there are results.
Many problems in human experience are the result of
false and inaccurate definitions of humankind premised
in man-made religions and humanistic philosophies.
Each individual human being possesses a unique, highly
developed, and sensitive perception of diversity. Thus
aware, man is endowed with a natural capability for enact-
ing internal mental and external physical selectivity.
Quantitative and qualitative choice-making thus lends
itself as the superior basis of an active intelligence.
Human is earth's Choicemaker. His title describes
his definitive and typifying characteristic. Recall
that his other features are but vehicles of experi-
ence intent on the development of perceptive
awareness and the following acts of decision and
choice. Note that the products of man cannot define
him for they are the fruit of the discerning choice-
making process and include the cognition of self,
the utility of experience, the development of value-
measuring systems and language, and the accultur-
ation of civilization.
The arts and the sciences of man, as with his habits,
customs, and traditions, are the creative harvest of
his perceptive and selective powers. Creativity, the
creative process, is a choice-making process. His
articles, constructs, and commodities, however
marvelous to behold, deserve neither awe nor idol-
atry, for man, not his contrivance, is earth's own
highest expression of the creative process.
Human is earth's Choicemaker. The sublime and
significant act of choosing is, itself, the Archimedean
fulcrum upon which man levers and redirects the
forces of cause and effect to an elected level of qual-
ity and diversity. Further, it orients him toward a
natural environmental opportunity, freedom, and
bestows earth's title, The Choicemaker, on his
singular and plural brow.
Human is earth's Choicemaker. Psalm 25:12 He is by
nature and nature's God a creature of Choice - and of
Criteria. Psalm 119:30,173 His unique and definitive
characteristic is, and of Right ought to be, the natural
foundation of his environments, institutions, and re-
spectful relations to his fellow-man. Thus, he is orien-
ted to a Freedom whose roots are in the Order of the
universe.
Let us proclaim it. Behold!
The Season of Generation-Choicemaker Joel 3:14 KJV
- from The HUMAN PARADIGM
Posted by: James Fletcher Baxter at April 23, 2006 06:33 AM
Robert...I'm blushing, but thank you. That is exactly what I hoped my blog would be.
Posted by: Randi(cruisin-mom) at April 23, 2006 10:29 AM
Randi:
There is one problem with your blog... you don't update often enough. More, Randi, more:)
Posted by: Robert Avrech at April 23, 2006 10:35 AM