On the Necessity and Possibility of New Principles in Philosophy (1856)

The above link will take you to one of my favorite essays by my all-time favorite philosopher - Ivan Kirievsky. Get a copy of "A Man Is His Faith" by Alexey Young to read the inside scoop. This was a man who deeply imbibed of the continental philosophy of his time and then pulled back to an even deeper understanding of Patristic philosophy in a living context - under the tutelage of Elder Macarius of Optina.

If you know me, you will suspect that the following Onion Dome News Blurb: California Parish Brings Orthodox Worship Into the 21st Century, is really about me. I have been known to pull out my palm pilot on the kliros, when a particular liturgical book wasn't available, or hand it to a parishoner who needed to read prayers before liturgy. My PDA has even once been used in place of a psalter at a monastery, when the festal service was moved to a remote chapel, and someone forgot to bring the real psalter.

Greetings and a more cordial welcome to this blog.

I write these lines from a chaikhana a few blocks away from where I live, where the samovar is boiling away, and cup after cup of good black tea with jam pours forth, restoring me somewhat from a state of exhaustion.

The place is the Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco. Ethereal music and good Russian tea have me in a mood to mention a film I finished watching last week; A Russian production of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot. It is beautfully cast and acted, and very faithful to the book (thus requiring 10 1 hour episodes). The english subtitles occasionally are mispelled in rather funny ways, but are sufficient for english-speaking viewers to enjoy this production. This is a fabulous must see!

In the Silicon Valley Parish where I am a member and the choir director, our "Geek Orthodox" population is naturally on the high side. One of my fellow Orthodox Geeks has a blog worth visiting: I am therefore I think.

Welcome to my new blog. Monasticism, Music, Machines and everything in between.