Happy 3rd birthday, grandson #2!

Our younger grandson began his independent life in a neonatal intensive care unit. If you wish, you can see a brief video of the occasion, here. (To my amazement, that video has been viewed well over 10,000 times.)

We thank God that he is a healthy youngster, now three years of age. He didn't stay in the NICU very long.

We love him! (Of course, we love his parents, and his older brother, too.)

Thank God for grandchildren!

Beethoven's Birthday

This is the birthday of Beethoven, who was born in 1770. I commemorate this event by linking to a YouTube video of Leonard Bernstein conducting a multinational group of musicians, including both East and West Germans, performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as part of a celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, on December 25, 1989. This part of the Ninth Symphony is often used in church hymnals, as "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."

Beethoven was (and is) noted for the beauty and power of his music, and also for being almost totally deaf, but continuing to compose -- including the Ninth Symphony -- during the last years of his life.

I have previously posted on Beethoven's "Hallelujah Chorus," which also has a link to a YouTube video.

Thanks for reading, and, perhaps, for listening.

Happy Birthday, Beethoven!

Today or maybe tomorrow (see next link) is the Birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time, perhaps the greatest.

I make no claim to be familiar with all of his works, but I do enjoy hearing the symphonies, the piano and other concertos, and other Beethoven works. God gave him tremendous talent.

We will be traveling for several days, and I don't expect to post, except, God willing, to continue my series on the hymns of Charles Wesley, post a Sunspots or two, and also one Christmas post -- please bear in mind that I'm a biologist -- I wouldn't expect a non-biologist to have considered that aspect of the Christmas story.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Birthday, C. S. Lewis!

Clive Staples (Jack) Lewis, was born on this date in 1898, in Belfast, Ireland. He also died in November, on the same day that U. S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Lewis has had a great deal of influence on me, and, thus, on this blog. I am pleased to thank God for his work. While studying for a graduate science degree at the University of Wisconsin, I stumbled on his Narnia books in the university library -- not in a science section, but in the children's literature section, where I was looking for some good reading -- and have since read almost all of Lewis, much of it several times. In The Silver Chair, by Lewis, Puddleglum says that "There are no accidents." See here for more on that quote, and for some other quotations from Lewis.)

My most recent post about Lewis was about the upcoming movie, The Golden Compass. The author of the book that movie is based on is a severe critic of Lewis. Lewis probably didn't know him, but, as the post indicates, he knew something about his philosophy.

One of the few series I have posted was on Temptations in the Narnia Books.

For those interested in the life of Lewis, I have posted on a biography by his stepson, Douglas Gresham.

A post that has triggered more comments than any other is "On Evangelical Blogging." The most important thing in that post is a long quote from Lewis. Another post that I consider important, and, again, relates to Lewis, is "What must be Christian about a Christian novel?"

Thanks for reading. Read Lewis.

Happy Birthday, Handel!

George Frederic Handel was born on this date, in 1685. He is probably best known for his "Messiah," which used the text of the King James Bible, and that extensive composition is probably best known for the "Hallelujah Chorus," although there is a lot of other great music in "Messiah." (The link at the beginning of the paragraph has links to some of Handel's music.)

On a more current, but less important note, we have arrived in Southern California, for an extended stay. Our oldest daughter is located several hours from her home, on military deployment. Our son-in-law's work assignments take him away from home overnight, sometimes for several days, so we will have sole human responsibility for our grandson some of the time.

My mother, who is 96, was hospitalized a few days ago, and is recovering, but our sister-in-law felt that it was necessary to place her in a nursing home when she leaves the hospital, as she is not able to take care of herself, at least not yet. Apparently she has accepted this. She went to nursing homes as a volunteer for a few decades, playing the piano and otherwise encouraging the residents, and, of course, lately was older than most of them. She may recover enough to go back home. We'll see.

Thanks for reading. I plan to post occasionally.