An Early Thought on "Amoris Laetitia".

I mentioned in an earlier post that, in addition to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's, The Gulag Archipelago, I was simultaneously reading other books. I'm still in the Gulag, so to speak, but I'm also alternating it with The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Studies In Wives by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes.

Now, as if I don't have enough to read, Pope Francis has released an apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia ,which I've already downloaded, converted to mobi and begun reading on Kindle.

Like Catholic blogger, LarryD, I will most definitely follow paragraph 7 of the exhortation :

"Given the rich fruits of the two-year Synod process, this Exhortation will treat, in different ways, a wide variety of questions. This explains its inevitable length. Consequently, I do not recommend a rushed reading of the text. The greatest benefit, for families themselves and for those engaged in the family apostolate, will come if each part is read patiently and carefully, or if at­tention is paid to the parts dealing with their spe­cific needs. It is likely, for example, that married couples will be more concerned with Chapters Four and Five, and pastoral ministers with Chap­ter Six, while everyone should feel challenged by Chapter Eight. It is my hope that, in reading this text, all will feel called to love and cherish family life, for 'families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an opportunity' ".

This work does need to be read carefully, yet already there are many on both sides of the cultural battleground firing shots at Amoris Laetitia. There has not been nearly enough time, since the release of the document, for anyone to have read it carefully and objectively. I've read portions of it and have yet to come upon anything that warrants the criticism leveled against it.

I'm not going to link to any of these negative articles. They can be found easily enough without my help.

The only comment I will make at this time is that the more I see of this Pope, the more I like and admire him.

Summer Vacation

Due to changes being made in the Filipino school year, this past Wednesday was the start of J.P.'s summer vacation. He doesn't return to school until sometime in August. He deserves a long vacation. When we arrived here from the U.S., his year in the 2nd grade had just ended and his start of 3rd grade in Philippines was almost immediate. His vacation between 2nd and 3rd grades was less than 2 weeks.

Even though he has an extra long vacation this year, I don't plan on his time being idle.

He's typical of many kids growing up in the digital age. His reading is below par. I've told him that the number of books he'll read this year WILL increase. No more spending so much time on the phone or PC. Less TV. More Harry Potter.

Another change planned for this summer is to increase his physical activity. The amount of weight he's put on since we purchased the Wii disturbs me and his mother.

This morning brought in a change in his exercise routine. At 7:00 AM, he and I walked the kilometer from the apartment to the gym where I work out. Together, he and I did 45 minutes of weight training. Of course, my routine was modified for him. Naturally, the weights he used were considerably less than what I'd normally use. We want him to exercise, not hurt himself. Not only were the weights lower for him, but I did fewer "sets" for each of the exercises. Where I would have normally done four sets of a particular exercise, I reduced the number of sets this time to two. We'll increase the number of sets as time goes on.

I have to be careful that I maintain a good workout for me. The lower number of sets will still allow me to tone the muscles. I can always increase my weights if I sense I'm falling behind.

After the weight training, we headed back toward the apartment, taking a detour to the beach for twenty or thirty minutes in the ocean.

From the beach, it was the final walk home. We left the apartment at 7:00 and arrived back at 9:20. It was quite a pleasant morning for father and son.

Bill Nye the (un)Enlightened Individual Guy

Living through a drought in Philippines, it's difficult to deny that the climate is undergoing a change. Some put the blame for the drought on El Niño -which is probably true to some extent- but many argue that the effects of El Niño have worsened due to the increase in overall global temperatures.

Of course, I have only anecdotal evidence, but there's no question that it's much drier here in Negros Oriental than when we arrived two years ago.

Does climate change pose an even greater than ISIS and global terrorism?

Are we, as Obama has stated,the last generation that can stop climate change?

I'm skeptical......not of climate change being brought about by human activity; no, I'm skeptical that we can unite as a planet to halt whatever climate change is happening.

Earlier this morning, I caught portions of Bill Nye the so-called Science Guy on the National Geographic Channel "grappling with his own feelings about climate change". Nye is a "climate activist" and is doing his utmost to change folks minds and hearts in order to combat climate change. I have no doubt that his intentions are good.

However.......

In the above mentioned National Geographic program, Nye is seen flying over "environmentally dangerous" areas in a helicopter. He travels from point A to point B in automobiles and airplanes. In his program attacking the fossil fuel industry, he ironically shows us how even Bill Nye the Enlightened Individual Guy can't get by without the use of horrible, evil and globally destructive fossil fuels.

I know quite a few Left leaning folks who agree with the POTUS that climate change is more of a threat than ISIS, but continue to commute from city to city in order to earn a paycheck. Everybody else needs to adapt. Everyone else needs to cut back on fossil fuel, while these guys continue to drive wherever and whenever they want. They'll work in air-conditioned buildings in the summer and in buildings warmed to a toasty temperature in the winter months.

Like their hero, Mr. Nye, many climate activists aren't nearly as green as they'd have us believe.
I say, if you're not willing to walk the walk regarding your own lifestyle habits, don't preach to me about mine.

R.I.P. Merle Haggard

Just got the news that Country Music Legend Merle Haggard Dies on his 79th Birthday. I wasn't a fan, (we always mocked his songs during the Vietnam war) but of course, it's always sad to hear of anyone's passing.

I opened Spotify, to hear a few of his tunes. Spotify's first selection is his duet with Willie Nelson, singing Townes Van Zandt's classic, Pancho and Lefty. The song is one of my favorites, but sadly the Nelson/Haggard version is my least favorite rendition.

Any way.....R.I.P. Merle.

Property Update

As mentioned in an earlier post, we'll be cleaning up the property in Magatas to make a place for a garden. We'll eventually put the house out there, but in the mean time setting aside a portion for a garden seems like a good idea.

Before we start on the house, we'll also need to redo the fence to adjust to the new area we recently purchased.

These photos were taken this morning - Apr.07, 2016. Tomorrow, we'll start working. It'll be after next payday - maybe the weekend of the 23rd - before we purchase the fencing materials. We'll hire someone to make the cement posts; Cathy's dad says that'll be cheaper than buying ready made posts. If he can get hold of a post hole digger, it should only a day or two to redo the fence.

Of course, I'll try to keep up with the before and after photos.