Ok, so – not only have my web pages evaporated into thin ether – but now . . . the banners and some pics you “normally” see here – have too!

I’m hoping to have at least this much fixed in the next 24-48 hours. And appreciate your patience. Our battle with Orange – our “glorious” ISP is not quite over yet.

Anyone wishing to visit the Indie Voices Archive Project (which has also gone *poof* you can listen to some of the existing interviews by clicking here). As an aside – I apologise we’ve not posted a new interview in a few months – that is because I’ve been focussing on finishing my thesis. There are 6 or 10 interviews patiently sitting on the hard drive waiting to be edited and posted. This by way of saying that the project is still alive in kicking.

No, I’ve not abandoned you!

A belated Nativity post will appear soon; a timely Theophany post is also coming. Also my community is participating in this year’s Clergy Letter Project by producing a video exploring issues of science and religion (that won’t appear until the second week of February).

So, “What did baby Jesus bring you?”

One of my presents is a new computer bible program – it’s FAB! We got it from Die Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft – the publishers of such useful tools as the Nestle-Aland Greek NT and Rahlfs Septuagint (by the way if you are wanting to purchase these don’t buy them in a bookshop either in the US or here in the UK – save money, buy it directly from Die Biblegesellshcaft, American customers will save close to 2/3 and UK buyers will save up to half).

You can also order it directly from Accordance – but the combination of modules is very different, so you might save money by looking at both sites. The Accordance site includes a module for the NAB (catholic Bible) whereas the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft no longer offers it.

It’s one of the more flexible and sensibly designed bible programs I’ve encountered. Mind you, I am using a Mac so I think that also helps. You can have multiple and parallel windows open at the same time, you can save your searches, and export your results to Word. It has all of the notes, and apparatus of the printed versions, as well as dictionaries and grammatical break-downs. I love it!

An overhaul of the Indie Voices Archive site is in production and ought to be available sometime next week. I had hoped to have edited all of the back-log of interviews (now 5) but that may not happen. There are also four interviews scheduled for the rest of January and at least one in negotiation.

I hope your festal celebrations were enjoyable, and look forward to the many conversations we’ll enjoy together this coming year.

Death is so inconvenient! What I mean is not merely when people die, but when things die – like my long suffering laptop. Over the past two months the signs have not been good. She has been in and out of the shop, and the mystery illness could not be pegged by my trusty technitians until . . . well . . . until it was too late really. Hard drive failure. Gee. I could have said that too especially when she began wheezing and groaning like a yak in heat!

The problem here is that while one is fully aware that the moment you first push that start button the clock starts ticking . . . . BACKWARDS! So things, like people have a limited span of activity. Fine – this bit is not a problem. But, wait! IT IS VERY MUCH A PROBLEM! Why? Simple – think about your laptop (or desk top) for a moment and the amount of day to day “stuff” you do, with ease (unless of course you belong to one of those heretical sects that use PC’s and not the one true tech [I’m here citing the famous dominii mac]). I for one take my trusty laptop for granted – its there when I need it, its always there! Thus, when the techno-cyber-ancestors start singing their song in the circuits of your trusty laptop you begin to realise how much you take it for granted that . . . she will always be there. Once it’s groaned its last, of course, you are then faced with the horror of loss; the loss of information; the loss of her touch, and the fact that she always kept things just so – so that when you reached for it, “click” “purr” and hey presto . . . productivity non-interruptus!

But alas, she is gone now . . . and I mourn the loss of information, and familiarity. . . . .

And now? Now I have to familiarise myself with the feel and the sound of a new laptop. . . . . She even has an eye!

I’m back from “le Grande Tour 2007″ – Paris, Vienna, Rome, Paris, Brussels – I saw the sights, ate the food, and walked, and roasted, and walked, and showered, and walked . . . you get the idea. You are no doubt awaiting the reflection from the most recent poll, as well as a few other “catch up things” I beg your indulgence for just a few days more whilst I do laundry, put things away, and settle back into the normal routines of London living . . . . things like: do I still remember how to cook?

No, I’ve not fallen off of the planet’s edge (for you flat worlders out there).

No, I’ve not abandoned Bože! (Someone actually did a google search on the meaning of the word yesterday – amazingly after a year of blogging, and over 70 posts No One has ever asked! To my knowledge only three (yes 3) regular visitors – and you know who you are – have “the knowledge” – he he he.)

Nor have I been lounging about in the study, staring at my icons, and eating post-paschal bon bons. . .

I have been . . .

conducting the first round of interviews of my fellow indie brothers & sisters for the archive project.

editing said interviews and preparing them for your enjoyment.

researching how I can improve my “interviewing” technique – also for your enjoyment.

Working on my thesis – a.k.a. Das Elefant – Nestiorius, Cyril, and Proklos walk into a bar. . . .hmmmm I really need to join the 21st century and escape the vortex of the 5th!!!

Buying sunglasses. . . . . Erm, that’s not theological by any stretch of the imagination, but on the off chance that global warming reaches its climax this summer, and our planet goes up in a firey ball of orange globules washed over with 1 million year old mineral water from the polar regions, I would like to die in style. . . .AND be able to watch it all happen!

I’ve got a few more sensible posts in development, so don’t abandon me yet. Oh, and if you need some light entertainment – you can visit my “other” blog The Hour of Scampering and watch a few of my vids.

Today, 3 April, is a day that shall go down in infamy!

Well. . . perhaps not, but as I was working on another post, I needed to look up how long we’ve been exploring indie ideas and issues together, and Lo! to my complete surprise it is exactly a year today!

I would like to first thank all of you who have visited and contributed to the success of this blog over the past 12 months. I’ve really enjoyed your questions & comments (even when I disagreed with you – those were the best, because they made me think hard about my own beliefs and ideas). So, thank you!

I honestly did not think that this blog would have lasted as long as it has. According to one source – the vast majority – more than 65%- of blogs are abandoned shortly after their creation. It is rather fun to realise that this little corner of cyberspace has outlived the odds.

Individual blogs, as a whole, have very small audiences, which is the nature of the beast really. If I could see any one improvement over the course of the coming year it would be to see more indie-folk pop their head over the parapet here, to be counted, and to join in. I know there are more of us out there (the various net discussion boards and chat-rooms give away the secret). I also know that there are many visitors who come back repeatedly, but who lurk in the shadows. I’m glad you enjoy coming – and hope that you’ll say hello once or twice in the next year.

What the coming year will bring, I have no idea, but I’m looking forward to the possibilities.

We interrupt your normal blog-program to bring you the following reminders.

1) if you have not done so please “click” and be counted on this current poll (above) as there will be a post about it, and a new poll posted at the end of this coming week.

2) Before it gets lost in the archive, and whilst it is still Lent, you might like to have a look at the little video I’ve posted here. When you have viewed it, I would appreciate your feedback. You can leave a comment, or you can (anonymously) “click” the poll here. More vids are in production; if you look on the sidebar you’ll see a category “Video Offerings” that presents all of them for you in a neat and orderly fashion.

We now return you to our normal blogging schedule . . .

I was looking for something else when I came across this, and thought that it was worth while sharing:

Ignatius of Antioch writes: “Constantly pray for others; for there is still hope that they may repent so as to attain to God. And so, allow them to learn from you, at least by your deeds. In response to their anger, show meekness; to their boasting, be humble; to their blasphemies, offer up prayers; to their wandering in error, be firmly rooted in faith; to their savage behavior, act civilized. Do not be eager to imitate their example. Through gentleness we should be their brothers. And we should be seen to be eager to imitate the Lord.”

With the new blogger layout options there are features I would like to make available to you – that are not easily arranged with the old HTML template I was working with. Thus, I beg your patience over the next few days whilst I experiment with the new code and layout.

If, as a regular visitor, you have any suggestions for the new interior decor please “suggest” them in the comments section – I’ll see if I a)agree with you, and b) am technically capable of accommodating you (grin).

In the meantime – regular programming will resume shortly, thank you for your patience.

I have returned from a much needed break in Paris, and I’m full of ideas for posting, and for other projects. So stay tuned!