Christos Anesti

I would like to wish everyone a happy and joyous Easter today.   

I am inserting a couple of images from Holy Friday taken in the Holy Cross church.  

Epitafios in Holy Cross church at the beginning of the Holy Friday night service.

Procession of the Epitafios in Holy Cross church during the Holy Friday night service.

My daughter had helped decorate the Epitafios with flowers on Friday morning.  

One of the more memorable moments of the evening service was that of the Deacon reading the Petitions and the psalms from his e-reader (it looked like a Kindle).  

Christ is Risen -- Truly he is Risen 

Get Real

Late last week I heard the news that the ABC network will soon be cancelling two of its daytime dramas: "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110414/ap_en_ot/us_tv_daytime_dramas). 
These types of shows, which air in early afternoon and are affectionately called soap operas, were originally created for radio and targeted/appealed to housewives to sell detergents and other products made by the huge consumer products companies like P&G (Procter & Gamble).

The shows being cancelled were created in 1968 and 1970 respectively -- that is, they have been on the air for over 40 years.  During this time, the demographics of the daytime TV audience have changed and these shows were apparently experiencing steadily declining audiences -- approximately 2.5 million viewers were regularly watching each show at last count.  The ABC network explained the programming change as an adaptation to the changing face/demographics of daytime TV viewers.

I am definitely not a fan of soap operas, nor am I one to critique evolution in the face of change, however I wonder if this will be a change for the better.
It is being reported that both soap operas will be replaced by "reality TV"-type shows. 
"One Life To Live" will be replaced by a health and lifestyle show which will document the weight loss transformation of a different woman each week, while "All My Children" will be replaced by a show about food and nutrition.

More reality TV shows simply amount to another reason why I am happy to be at work when these shows will be airing ... 

Shutdown

It has been all over the news the last few days.
The deadline of midnight tonight (Friday, April 8, 2011) looms over the political landscape, as a Federal government shutdown becomes a possibility. 
In a game of political "Brinksmanship" the Republican-controlled Congress is pushing the Democrat-controlled White House to either make drastic budget cuts, or face the prospect of not getting a mid-year budget passed by the deadline, which will shut down the government.

There are an estimated 800,000 Federal workers who may not go to work on Monday and who face the prospect of going without a paycheck.
- Do you need a passport?  Sorry, those Federal workers who process passports are likely going to be considered "non-essential" personnel and they will be sent home if the government shuts down.
- Do you feel like visiting a national monument, or one of the national parks?  Sorry, the same goes for the folks who work there.
- April 15 is the deadline for Americans to file their 2010 Federal, State (and for some of us Local) tax returns.  If you are scheduled to receive a tax refund and you filed your return electronically, you will likely receive a credit to your account, but if you mailed-in your tax return, you could be waiting for that refund check for a long time.

Politicians are trying to score points for their parties, refusing to compromise, all the while weighing how their actions today will affect their re-election campaigns in the future. 
Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of people are holding their breaths, hoping for an avoidance of a government shutdown, quite literally at the eleventh hour. 
Is this what they call a Democracy? 

I think back to the comedian Johnny Carson and the following line which is attributed to him:
"Democracy is buying a big house you can't afford with money you don't have to impress people you wish were dead. And, unlike communism, democracy does not mean having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective political parties."

Renewal

Last week we had cold weather, even snow, as March came to a close and April began.
Spring, it appeared, was not quite ready to visit Pittsburgh. 
Over the weekend the weather got a bit milder and rain replaced the snow. 

A little after 6 pm on March 30, 2011 -- the snow is starting to collect on my car as the temperature hovers right above zero.

Today it was downright warm, with a temperature of 70F (21C) as I prepared to leave my office for a lunchtime walk in the woods.  The wind was blowing hard and the western horizon looked dark however, so I grabbed an umbrella - just in case the weather turned wet. 
Sure enough, about midway through my walk, fat raindrops began to splatter all around me - the umbrella was soon unfurled, as the rain turned into a soaking shower.
The woods began to smell of wet earth and my thoughts turned to nature's renewal.
Leaves will soon be growing on the bare tree branches and all sorts of greenery will spring from the ground as the temperatures rise. 

A Daisy's white petals "pop" against the verdant green of the undergrowth in the woods -- June 1, 2010

Nature's impending renewal could serve as a reminder to people perhaps, that it is time to shake-off the extra baggage we might have accumulated over the winter months and renew our outlook as well.  I wonder how many will notice and ultimately how many will accept the invitation.