Dear Lent Madness Faithful,
Early this morning, at about 8:20 am EST, the Lent Madness website went down. You probably heard the collective weeping and 
gnashing of teeth that rang out all over the globe. Or you may have noticed the uptick in purple votive candle sales that impacted the international markets.
After a lot of hard work, we are pleased to announce that the saintly smackdown is back up and running. Scott and Celebrity Blogger David Sibley (hard core technophiles) were able to remedy the presenting issue. This was particularly impressive since Scott is currently in Rwanda on a pilgrimage with Episcopal Migration Ministries. Also, when it comes to technical fixes, Tim is useless.
Our (soon to be former) hosting company 1and1 shut the site down due to high volume without giving us any notice. The good news is that we are provisionally back up and running and you can now go vote in today’s matchup between Balthazar and Cecilia. . The bad news is that we will need to shut the site down again to switch servers (hopefully on Sunday so it won’t affect voting). We’ll keep you posted.
Update 11:13 PM EST: Because of the high server load, things continue to be quite slow and a bit dicey - but voting is open, and votes are being recorded. Our advice: keep trying to vote!
In order to give both Balthazar and Cecilia their due. We are extending the voting period until tomorrow (Saturday) at 2:00 pm EST. Then the polls will close and all will be right with the world. For the time being.
Now, to assign blame. That’s the Christian thing to do, right? We have several working theories:
1. Hildegard of Bingen, furious at losing such a close battle to Egeria, pulled the plug out of holy spite.
2. Cuthbert’s otters got loose and gnawed through the wires.
3. The Celebrity Bloggers failed in their coup attempt to unseat the SEC.
4. Feral cats, irate that there is no Official Cat of Lent Madness, scratched the server to death.
5. The collective price paid for those who have faltered in their Lenten disciplines.
6. Al Gore.
7. The Wrath of the Archbishops.
8. Those who skip Lent altogether and gorge themselves on Easter Peeps. On Good Friday.
9. The scapegoat from Leviticus 16:10.
10. Needless to say, Scott blames Tim and Tim blames Scott.
Thank you for your forbearance during this brief glimpse into a life devoid of Lent Madness. It was indeed a harrowing vision of Dante-esque proportions.
Tim & Scott
Supreme Executive Committee
118 comments on “We're baaaaaaaaaack...”
How about that good old standard.....the devil did it.
Another reason. Swithun was sent back to the swamps....
I confess. I may have spoken too vehemently at Feral Cat Feeding Station #127. These slights tend to get out of paw sometimes.
Another poll!! Which these "theories" are worthy of blame? Choose 3 (seems like a good number)
Amused that it could be the Otters #2
love the cats too much to think it was the Ferals #4 since they have enough to worry about (seeking a home, food & shelter!)
Definitely could see the Peeps! #8
Thanks to David & amazed at technology that Scott assisted from Rwanda!!!
These are amazing times!
**gasp** Hildegard lost?? My mandolin practice session will be more subdued.
#6. He who brought the Internet into this world can take it out.
Did you all let the Commission on Ministry see this side of you BEFORE ordination?
The ravenous seals are winning, hurray!
And yes, thank you so much for providing Lent Madness although it seems somehow wrong to look forward to Lent every year. Should we repent for enjoying Lent so much? Should we give up Lenten Madness for Lent? No, that seems more Calvinist than Episcopal.
And here I thought I was getting an error message for being in Hawaii!!
Tom, Scott, et al., my heart is full. Thanks so much for the gift of guffaws! I have been in sore need of laughter of late.
It's4:48pm pat here in california. We are still unable to access voting site.
My theory for all problems on the Internet Highway is that Albreich (the malevolent dwarf from the Wagner Ring Cycle - who stole the Rhinegold, killed his brother etc etc etc) and who currently lives on the Internet Highway and in the Cloud -- he who is pure evil must have been bored and decided to wreck havoc on LM for fun.
It was the ravenous seals, looking for another tasty saint.
I'm with the otters... cute but potentially damaging. I have some experience with flying squirrels.. also very cute, but not good tenants.
In addition to the Benjamin Britten anthem mentioned earlier today, Herbert Howells also wrote a beautiful anthem, Hymn to St. Cecelia, around a text by Ursula Vaughn Williams.
In terms of website hosting may I recommend Dragon Networks, which runs Episcopal Church Web Hosting, which provides free website hosting to small Episcopal parishes. If Forward Movement is going to pay for website hosting for Lent Madness, then they should pay an organization that is helping small parishes move forward into the Internet age.
My 2¢, your exchange rate may vary.
I think the real real reason the site was down was that the Archbishops are mad that Maple Anglican gave up using the Clairvoyatron for Lent 2015 and they have no way of commincating their thoughts on this year's voting to us! Maybe if we start a social media campaign with the hashtag #BringBackTheArchbishops we might be allowed to hear from their Graces again.
It really was Kaspar who entranced Amahl with his box.Balthazar was the "sad dark king". I am loving all the comments about Amahl, one of my favorite stories since forever. Go, Balthazar!
Could NEVER EVER HAVE BEEN WORK OF FERAL S
I was sooo punctual in my voting Friday I managed to cast my ballot before the compouter meltdown. I noticed I was the 41st person to vote. I wonder if those first few votes were recorded. I send this comment with fear and trepidation scince I may have been the final vote.... the straw so to speak.
or ferrets either
My choice for scapegoat: #8. And Peeps are not even worth it. Chocolate bunnies, on the other hand ...
I was so sorry to see (after I voted for him) that Baltazar was being trounced, because I was excited to learn that there is more credibility to his story than I ever expected...ok, a miniscule more. But still. Cecilia will (probably) get my vote next time she comes around.
I think this whole thing is obviously a giant publicity stunt!
Now I know why we should all have a copy "Saintly Scoeboard"
How fortuitous the system went down just as our server went down here. I live in a remote area so I would not have had the opportunity to vote at all if your system didn't go down too. So fun spending Saturday morning catching up on all the rukus as wl as the seriously intended commentary.
I'm sorry I missed this vote when I was never able to get into Friday's site, but at least now I know that it was the gremlins again and not the fault of my computer ! Does this mean I get to vote twice the next time ?
I thought I had accidentally been cast out into the Lent Madness darkness
Did you vote twice or something?
Another theory . . . the Patron Saint of the Internet, Isadore of Seville, is miffed at not being in the running this year.