Weekly Blog Round-Up

Talking about sex from the conservative christian point of view. Not mine, but I share a lot of her goals! Found on BlogHer.

It WOULD have to be a Welshman who is an agricultural saboteur! Sheesh! from bldgblog

Art-o-matic via TreeHugger

Apparently, it's not just me. "Even The Rich are Taking Home-Made Sandwiches for Office Lunches." On TreeHugger

Cool! From Pruned - an anonymous hugging wall!

Mexico Cooks wooden boxes photo.

From Idle Speculations the Presentation in the Temple is a feast day that also happens on/near February 2nd. Terry has some examples of religious art depicting the presentation. See, I love these ancient churches in Turkey.

World Wetlands Day on Pruned. Here are their top 8? reasons to support wetlands:

1) Wetlands are "the kidneys of the landscape," able to filter out pollutants from, for instance, agricultural runoffs and urban effluents.

2) Because of their bioremediating properties, wetlands can be a cheap alternative to municipal waste water treatment.

3) During particularly heavy storm events, they act as temporary water storage tanks. They then release the excess water slowly rather than in a deluge, lowering flood heights and minimizing the damage of valuable property downstream.

4) Wetlands also store carbon within their live and preserved (peat) plant biomass instead of releasing it to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Therefore, wetlands world-wide help to moderate global climate change.

5) Along the coast, they are good at mitigating the effects of hurricane storm surges, tsunamis, and the less energetic but no less destructive normal ebb and flow of ocean waves.

6) Wetlands help to replenish aquifers that so many people depend on.

7) They are "biological supermarkets," producing annual commercial harvests of fish and shellfish that sometimes amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. Indeed, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood.

8) As eco-attractions, they inject a sizable amount of tourist income to the local economy.

Wetlands, in other words, provide so many beneficial services for people that they are very much deserving of a sacrificial virgin. Or two.

Marisa Tomei on Fug - but in the "well played" column. I think she looks fantastic. Are those Bjorn Weckstrom pieces she's wearing? I totally love the Fug Report, which is where I found this photo.

It would be nice if Republicans got it, and would stop being the "party of No" but they won't. via NYT.

Google Oceans. Sounds pretty cool! Via BBC

From a friend on Facebook, this discussion of school lunches just reflects my own views so closely. This was written by President Obama's new chef, on his blog: Hull House Kitchen.

Interesting point - that we humans are not really thinking about our "place" within the world-wide ecosystem. And we may end up paying a dear price for that ignorance. Trust TreeHugger to shine a light on this issue. Upshot: it will take a multi-disciplinary course of action.

From BlogHer, here's a v. interesting look at Saints' lives from the viewpoint of someone who was raised Catholic and remembers the "Saints Days" and how exotic the names and stories sounded. She asks us:

"Saints were exotic, mysterious, and did magical things.

It got me thinking -- if I could name five women to Sainthood (spiritual sainthood) what measuring stick would I use and who would be my first five saints?

I guess I would choose woman who lived exemplary lives, role models, grounded and inspiring women. I would choose women who helped me move along spiritually in some way, even if we had never met.

Here is my list -- at least the one I have in my soul tonight. They are in no particular order. Now who is on your list? And why?"

They aren't all women, but nonetheless, my votes for saints.:

Ladybird, a dear friend who has taught me so much about life and its peaks and valleys.
Hiphopopotamus and Rhymenocerous, another dear friend, who has taught me about spirituality and light. She has the sunniest disposition I know.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health
Lawrence Marshall, The Northwestern Law prof. who researched convictions and led to IL Gov. Ryan putting a moratorium on all death row convictions.

There are more, but they aren't coming to mind just yet. Pass it on....

Life Paths

I guess today I'm thinking about paths...

It started w/the bldgblog post about ancient roads. I used to love looking for and finding Roman Roads when my family lived in Britain. We would be out driving and my dad the Classics professor would point them out. That and the square field divisions on the Welsh hillsides. Those Romans sure were organized. Brutal, and organized.

And then the "free range kids" idea has been bumping around for a little while now. But I guess the New York Sun columnist decided to start a blog based on all the response she's received on her piece. I say she's definitely on to something!

And finally, leesee at Hasta Los Gatos Quieren Zapatos was blown away by "Meeting David Wilson" - and she wasn't alone. It sounds like this show is similar to the PBS documentary on African American genealogy called, African American Lives (Parts 1 and 2). I caught Part 1 last year, and missed Part 2 when it was on in February. I'm hoping it comes out on Netflix soon!

A Sad Day, I Guess

"Two miners in Hirwaun, near Merthyr Tydfill, console each other after finishing their final shift at Tower Colliery as the last deep mine in Wales shuts." from: BBC

It's bittersweet really. I mean, no one should work that far underground. It's always hard when "a way of life" has to end.

Welsh Religious Artist's Work

Wow! Thanks to Terry at Idle Speculations for posting this. Amazing!

Go Phillies!

I'm wearing red today! The school kids in Philadelphia had a relaxed uniform today so they could wear red & white to school.

It's amazing, because those are the same colors of the Welsh Rugby team. When I was in Kindergarten in Lampeter, Wales, all the kids wore red and white when they were in, AND WON the championship game. It was pandemonium!

Here in Philly, we're hoping for a trip to the World Series. It's a city full of optimistic dreamers, and we're used to being let down.... But maybe, just maybe, this time, we can pull it off! I just hope Jimmy Rollins' SI cover won't be the jinx that does it.

Veronica

Easter is usually an emotional service for me. I think about all the people I've known and loved who have died. I remember them all during the service. Especially at communion. I feel like that's the most spectacular aspect of communion - that the same ritualized meal has happened for more than 2,000 years and all the people before me who partook of it are, in a way, present with me when I'm at the rail too.

The music also grabs me, the Welsh hymns in particular. This year we didn't have any, but whenever we bust out with "Cwm Rhondda" I think fondly of my Mam-gu who could play the piano by ear and was a real church-goer.

But recently I've been thinking about my lost pregnancy. I guess it started when I read my friend Jessica's extremely eloquent and poignant blog post about miscarriage. She addressed the feelings of loss and what-might-have-been so well. When I was going through that terrible experience, there were two things that helped me through it:

1. Realizing that I wasn't alone - that other people that I know and love had also gone through it. They talked to me about it, and told me that the pain would, one day, lessen.
2. Naming the pregnancy.

To help me with the mourning process I named the pregnancy Veronica. Josiah and I had used botanical names for our other children, and I love the veronica flower. But I also felt that the miscarriage experience had led me to see God's face. Through the pain and sadness, little Veronica would be a reminder that God is there. Like when St Veronica wiped Jesus' brow and his image appeared on her cloth. I felt that by acknowledging God in my life, just barely touching God's presence and awesomeness, I could come out the other side of my grief with a tangible reminder of God.

Being pregnant had already made me feel the presence of the divine - it's a miracle that babies get born, period! The miscarriage made me realize that I have faith in God [a minor miracle in itself]. And that life comes and goes. I'll always remember what might have been with little Veronica.