Out & About

 

Went over to the lake after church to see what was up. The water was certainly up because all it does in Texas is rain, every day, and this fills the lake which was once a river and before that, a vast prehistoric inland sea. But were there any fish?

I saw a couple of predators break water around noon, not untypical at Soldiers Bluff, but the couple of stalwarts manning the banks weren't getting any business, oh well. That'll surely change as the season moves on, but for now? 

Don't waste time, instead head home and marvel at the fact of a small fayre concert on the Square, what's that about? Who knows, but I checked it out later in the day and the thing seemed like fun, all kinds of food trucks, kids and some sort of pop band. 

Nice. That in mind, it seemed right to take refuge in this town's improbable cigar bar, yes there is one, and smoke a cigar, which is something I hardly ever do. It was fun, in its way, under tumultuous Texan clouds. And what will tomorrow bring?

The holy sacrifice of the Mass, 

LSP

Asset Traitor

Could it be that the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church is some kind of CIA asset? What a ridiculous conspiracy theory. Here's the American Conservative:

Everyone knows that the Moscow Patriarchate is in bed with the Kremlin. Few realize that the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is deeply beholden to the United States government. 

This ignorance is surprising, given that many Greek Orthodox leaders are quite proud of the fact. In 1942, Athenagoras Spyrou—the Archbishop of America for the Greek Orthodox Church—wrote to an agent of the Office of Strategic Services. “I have three Bishops, three hundred priests, and a large and far-flung organization,” Athenagoras wrote. “Every one under my order is under yours. You may command them for any service you require. There will be no questions asked and your directions will be executed faithfully.” 

In 1947, the OSS was rechristened as the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA. One year later, Athenagoras was elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodoxy. 

One might point out that, when Athenagoras reached out to the OSS, his native Greece was under Nazi occupation. It is understandable that a Greek bishop in America would support the American war effort. But it was more than that. Athenagoras was a strong supporter of American exceptionalism and encouraged Washington’s militarist foreign policy. The U.S. Consul in Istanbul recounted a conversation with Athenagoras in 1951: “As usual, he talked at some length of his belief that the United States must remain in the Near East for several centuries to fulfill the mission which had been given it by God to give freedom, prosperity and happiness to all people.”

(These quotes, by the way, are pulled from a talk given by an Orthodox historian called Matthew Namee at Holy Cross Hellenic College, the Greek seminary in Boston. These are not malicious forgeries peddled by Russian propagandists—the Greek Orthodox are quite proud of their association with the American deep state.)

Athenagoras was not merely an Americanist. He was also known as a renovationist, as liberal Orthodox are known. In 1964, he met with Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem; together, they officially lift the mutual excommunications placed by their predecessors in 1054. This gesture sparked outrage across Orthodox world. Athenagoras was accused of compromising the Orthodox Faith for the sake of a paper union with Rome.

The current Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew, is cut from the same cloth as Athenagoras. He is very close to Pope Francis; the two share a passion for mass immigration and environmental activism. Also like Athenagoras, Bartholomew shares a close relationship with the U.S. government—a partnership that has proven mutually beneficial.

 

You can read all about it here.

0ἶκος

LSP

Don't Let Trump Cheat!

 

Here at the Compound we hope you're doing your bit to stop Drumpf stealing the next election. That's right, join the grass roots movement to stop Orange Man Hitler by contacting the DNC now at https://democrats.org/contact-us demanding voter ID and paper ballots. The future of our great democracy's at stake, waste no time readers, don't let Trump cheat.

Your Free & Fair Friend,

LSP

Maybe You Should Lose The Dam Loafers And Get Off The Couch

 

Detroit Athletic Club - Stupid Pricey

Yet another surefire hit from Detroit's very own Doktor Swankenstein. Dam. Good work, fella. Note driftaway psychedelic guitar onna Led Zep tip (are you sure? Ed.), to say nothing of 'retha Franklin space vocals

Good Sense

That is all.

Cheers,

LSP

Ascension

 

Look here you lot, it's the great Feast of the Ascension, so enough Putinism, war theory and, ahem, bikers. Here's a meditation by Austin Farrer from Words of Life:

Where then, in all my spreading world is Jesus Christ, the man risen and glorified? When clouds received him from our sight, into what height, what distance did he go? However far away I place him, I gain nothing by it: he fits no better beyond Orion than behind the nearest trees. His risen being is no part of our interlocked system of bodily force, whether far or near. He is nowhere in this world. He is not outside it, either, for it hasn’t got an outside where he could be. Where is he then?

It is useless to start from me, and to fan out and out, looking for Jesus Christ: I must start from Jesus Christ, and fan out from there until, I reach myself.…

At first it may seem that we have two answers, spreading on independent planes and nowhere touching at a single point. Christ’s universe of spirit, and ours of physical force. Yet thinking further we perceive that it cannot be so. For while it is indeed impossible to place heaven in the world, it is impossible not to place the world in heaven. If Christ’s knowledge is spiritual, as ours is physical, then he knows us, for we are spirits too, spirits in fleshly bodies; and if he knows our spirits, he knows what our spirits know, including their bodily knowledge. He hears us speak from within our throats; he thinks our thoughts as fast as we can form them. But he feels in our fingers too, and looks through our eyes; he lives out along the lines of our vision, and our sun, moon and stars are his. By sheer love, heaven grafts the world into itself, and roots our universe in its own heart. 

Jesus Christ, living Son of the living God, clothed in our nature, I cannot place you in my world, but neither can I escape from yours. I cannot reach you by many steps, but I can reach you by one, the single step of faith, which lands me in the heart of heaven. If ever I am to end with you, it is from you I must begin. Thou God seest me; and if ever I am to see across the gulf from me to you, it will be by starting with you, and seeing myself through your holy and compassionate eyes.

 

And again, from Crown of the Year:

WE are told in an Old Testament tale, how an angel of God having appeared to man disappeared again by going up in the flame from the altar.  And in the same way Elijah, when he could no more be found, was believed to have gone up on the crests of flaming horses.  The flame which carried Christ to heaven was the flame of his own sacrifice.  Flame tends always upwards.  All his life long Christ's love burnt towards the heart of heaven in a bright fire, until he was wholly consumed in it, and went up in that fire to God.  The fire is kindled on our altars, here Christ ascends in fire; the fire is kindled in the Christian heart, and we ascend.  He says to us, Lift up your hearts; and we reply, We lift them up unto the Lord.

 

Yes indeed.

Sursum Corda,

LSP

Those Stupid Ignorant Slavs

 

We're war experts, here at the Compound, which is why we're baying for blood and moar war against Russia. Some of you may have noticed this weird trend, namely, that going to war against Russia doesn't go well. See Der Fuhrer and Boney.

Just look at them dance. I say again, is Putin the new Constantine? Or would that be Tiberius?

Salve,

LSP

Lest We Forget

 

Just keeping it real.

Your Old Pal,

LSP

Military Power

 

Military Power - Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle, by Stephen Biddle. The inimitable Armchair Warlord provides a synopsis:

Watching the slowly-developing advance of Russian forces across the line in Ukraine I've been brought back in mind of an excellent book I've read several times - Military Power by Stephen Biddle.

Using mathematical modeling, Biddle predicted that future wars would move slower at the tactical level than we were used to from the experience of WWII.  This was due to technological trends in the range and effectiveness of modern weaponry forcing armies to operate in a more dispersed, methodical fashion so as to minimize their exposure to fire in a sort of neomodern reversion to the conditions of WWI.  He also predicted that failures to do so would be punished with increasing severity as anything that could be discovered by increasingly omnipresent battlefield surveillance could be engaged effectively with precise and deadly weapons.

His recommendation on the optimum rate of advance for an army attempting to break through an enemy front line under modern conditions was a mere one kilometer per day; similarly he recommended that reserves be moved into position quite slowly to block such an advance to avoid their destruction by interdiction fire.  Only once that breach in the front is slowly levered open can forces then mass into fast-moving columns to strike into the enemy's lightly-held rear areas.

 

I'm no expert but reviews by those who are glow with praise for Biddle's work. For example:

"Stephen Biddle's Military Power is one of the most important contributions to strategic studies in recent decades. Presenting a very powerful case for a very surprising argument on a very important question, it will be controversial in some quarters, but critics will be hard-pressed to refute the case."―Richard K. Betts, Columbia University, author of Military Readiness.

"Fascinating, precisely written, indeed, brilliant, Military Power is among the most important books ever published on modern warfare. Stephen Biddle fundamentally rethinks the causes of victory and defeat in modern war and challenges almost the entire corpus of scholarship on assessing force capability and the role of offense and defense in determining war outcomes. Presenting his argument with power, balance, and subtlety, he synthesizes many partial historical explanations and provides a basis for understanding why so many 'rules of thumb' and other explanations are misleading. A landmark work."―Lynn Eden, Stanford University, author of Whole World on Fire.

"Steve Biddle may be the best American defense analyst of his generation, and this book is quite possibly his career masterpiece to date. Few are as well qualified as Biddle to weave together vivid descriptions of the modern battlefield, clear explanations of historical lessons, a detailed understanding of defense technology, and a sophisticated use of military models and war games. Biddle does all these things, helping the reader understand modern warfare more than does any other book on the market. His argument about trends in warfare transcends the popular theory that a revolution in military affairs is now underway. He replaces this theory with a more convincing, more historical, and less technology-obsessed view of the modern battlefield."―Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution.

 

You can buy Military Power on Amazon. It's most definitely on my list.

Ex Libris,

LSP

What Have We Done

 

A Typical Baltimore Street Scene

Nothing good, American cities didn't used to be the urban hellhole wastelands they've become. But maybe you doubt me and think "it's always been this way." No, it hasn't, here's a few before and afters:

Good work, Kansas City!

And well done, Council Bluffs. Now everything's better.

Yes indeed, Birmingham, you score high.

Yet more awesomeness from Kansas City.

And McKeesport's made some startling improvements! NICE.

But why, Milwaukee, live in a city when you can live on a road?

But I won't go on. Look up pretty much any US city, do a before and after search and you'll find they've been gutted and wrecked. And the point is this, we don't have to live this way and we shouldn't. Our cities and towns should be beautiful and they're not. Problem. Solution?

Kick out the degenerate nihilists who've captured our schools and teach that some excrescence by Damien Hirst's just as good as a Rembrandt. In other words, reclaim objective aesthetic value, and we don't have to reinvent the wheel. Form, proportion and all of that have been worked out long ago, return to this.

Just Look How This City Was Improved

Likewise, remembering the simple maxim that roads are for travel, cities are for living, plan accordingly. For example, Waxahachie has a pleasant, enjoyable center, such as it is for a small town. Why? Because the City Fathers in their wisdom rerouted industrial traffic out of down town and, lo and behold, this now flourishes.

Again, back in the '70s, the urban planning genius patrol in charge of Calgary, Alberta, were fixing to drive a highway along the Bow river through Inglewood. They were stopped, and Inglewood's now a congenial place to stroll around, albeit hideously overpriced thanks to Justine Trudeau.

Random Educational Meme

So, let's take our towns and cities back and make them beautiful again. We should not have to live surrounded by the brutal ugliness of Hell, and you'll note: The Left, in its rage against bourgeois oppression tore down its architecture, and the result? Now only the rich can live where everyone else once dwelt. There's a moral and an axiom there, if you care to draw it.

Architecturally Yours,

LSP

Stand Up Tall And Salute

 

Staaaand.. UP!

Your Buddy,

LSP

Happy Orthodox Easter!

 

Wishing a happy Easter to all our Orthodox brothers and sisters. Well done, unlike the Worldwide Anglican Non Communion (WANC) and the Marxist Climate Controller in the Vatican, you've resisted the urge to go rainbow gay. 

God will bless you for it and one day, perhaps, when the West returns to sanity, we can restart true ecumenism and the Church will speak again with one voice. In the meanwhile:

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη, and we know how this ends:

Bless you all,

LSP

Club War Shootout

 

OK, so here we are, jousting with Gospel imperatives. Viz. Which of these five clubs is the best club? Namely, the NatLib, the East India, the In & Out (Naval & Military), Farmers, and the loyal and true Royal Scots. Quite the shootout, who's most in the X Ring?

For sheer Jules Verne grandeur and scale it's gotta be the NatLib. I mean for goodness sake, the place is home to Europe's largest freestanding marble staircase and its minimum ceiling height competes with Mt. Everest. Hey, those Victorians thought big and the NatLib's got one of the best preserved Victorian interiors in London. All this to say nothing of  a great Terrace and good food and drink at a very reasonable price, right there at No. 1 Whitehall. Respect, but it doesn't have rooms and's shut on weekends, also, its dress code is shocking slack. So.

The East India's smaller, better run (?) and more trad, more of a gentleman's "home from home," perhaps. It also has rooms, nice, a wildly historic location, think Waterloo, and an excellent Sunday lunch. Yes, this club's open on Sundays and is perfect for Brompton Oratory after-Mass. It does not, however, have a commanding stairwell or a Terrace. Huh. Why not let members enjoy the balconies off the Waterloo room? Too dangerous, apparently. Said no one ever in 1816.

Then there's the In & Out. You can go there after lunch at the EI on Sunday because, guess what, it's actually open on Sunday, albeit in a limited capacity, and enjoy smoking in the club's beautiful courtyard while you have a sip of the right stuff. Also, its stairwell is well put together as is the club itself. I like this place, not least for its brazen goat.

Farmers? Cheek by jowl to the NatLib lies the Farmers Club. Unpretentious, most congenial, with a lovely terrace where you can smoke and drink, this outstanding club not only has rooms in Whitehall at a ridic decent price but's also open on weekends. You can hang on their terrace sipping Bloody Mary's as you gaze at the scrum over yonder at the NatLib. Nice. It's ceilings, however, are only about 11' and it has no stairwell to speak of. 

The Royal Scots does, and I have to recommend this place. Stay, if you visit Edinburgh, at the RSC. Get a double room overlooking the park, which is opened by real keys, and enjoy the congenial, country house vibe of this beautiful club/hotel. If you're a member you get discounted rates and access to a library, sitting room and recip rights all over. Seriously, I like this place. It's regimental, think Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard, it's civilized, not pompous, overblown and awful, it's well run and has outstanding recip rights. DM if you like.

So there you have it. Which club's best? NatLib for architecture, for sure, EI for put togetherness, I&O for courtyardery, Farmers for central London congenial at the right price, and the RSC for sheer tartan awesomeness. But of course they're all good, beacons of light and civilization in a world fast descending into darkness and barbarism.

Speaking of which, the NatLib has good overwatch. Will it become, ironically perhaps, a strongpoint? Who knows. In the meanwhile, I award the Royal Scots victory in this 5 Way Club Shootout. Feel free to disagree.

Your Most Clubbable Pal,

LSP