Happy Birthday, Blog!

In honor of this blog's birthday, here's a beautiful image I found, which is the cover to a book called, Le géant de la grande forêt. 

The book looks awesome!  

My intention for the coming year, maybe after Easter, is to try to do some more writing here.  Maybe focus on some responses to the Lectionary readings each week.  That's ambitious, I know. 

Thanks for reading!

On my Mind

Last night I watched War Dance, a beautiful documentary about children in Northern Uganda, on a recommendation from a dear friend. I know a little bit about Uganda from a blog I read, "the Journey", but I had no idea how gorgeous the landscape is. Both the movie and the blog start with pretty simple ideas: children from the war zone preparing for a dance competition, a missionary taking in abandoned girls and forming a family through adoption. But the messages of hope, resilience, love and strength that pour out of both are astounding.

I also got my alumnae magazine in the mail over the Thanksgiving holiday. One of the features was on the recent conference that was held there: "Heritage and Hope: Women's Education in a Global Context". Reading the article, the speakers all seemed to have some good things to say. And then I came to the highlights from Nicholas Kristof's Keynote:

Kristof expressed his distress over the political polarization between US Christian evangelicals and secular feminists, particularly in the area of reproductive health that prevents them from joining forces to combat such abuses as human trafficking.
"There are a lot of Christian evangelical groups in Sudan and Congo that have done fabulous work," he said. "At the end of the day, everybody believes passionately that 14-year-old girls should not be kidnapped and locked up in brothels."
Squeamishness over talking about sexuality also concerns him. "One of the impediments to girls' staying in high school that most people have learned about only in the last decade is the difficulty of managing menstruation," he said. "Girls never raised it with school authorities or aid workers before because the subject was taboo. If you can keep a girl in high school by providing her with sanitary pads, that is such a cheap intervention." pg 25, Alumnae Bulletin, November, 2010

That stopped me cold. He is SO RIGHT. I feel that polarization a lot. As a liberal Christian, I can see both sides of each coin. And meanwhile, there is work that all of us could be doing. We can't do everything, perhaps, but we could do something, instead of arguing amongst ourselves. Right? What can I do? What can we do? What do you think?


P.S. There are [of course] a bunch of non-profit organizations that have sprung out of the above-mentioned projects. Half the Sky, out of Nicholas Kristof's work, Shine Global which supported War Dance, and Amazima Ministries which grew out of "the Journey". Go check them out, and see if they appeal to you. Maybe these groups are the way forward for action.

Spirituality news!

So the friend of my friend, Rainn Wilson, has come out with a new book, SoulPancake. The website of the same name is where I got the idea to do my Lenten Spiritual Exercise. Boy was that life-changing! I found an interview with Rainn here. Great stuff!

Happy Halloween, Happy Samhain, Good Day of the Dead to you all!

Extra Insight

I went to Ray's funeral today. It was a "good" one, by my standards. I thought the priest's homily was excellent, a good reminder about forgiveness. And helpful for me in my continuing struggle with another friend's death.

Anyways, I was reading my horoscope from Rob Brezsny for this week, and thought I'd share, it's very appropriate for me right now:

I hope you won't merely wander around the frontier. I hope you'll undertake a meticulous yet expansive exploration of that virgin territory. Here are some tips on how to proceed: 1. Formulate specific questions about what you're looking for. 2. Develop a hypothesis for the experiments you want to carry out. 3. Ignore what doesn't interest you and pounce only on what stirs your fascination. Halloween costume suggestion: an alien anthropologist visiting Earth from another planet; a time-traveler from the future who's doing a documentary on this historical moment; a religious pilgrim who's keeping a detailed journal.

I am listening to "Personal Jesus" right now as I type..... synchronicity??

P.S. Don't forget it's Daylight Savings time this weekend - Fall Back!

Blog Action Day [350.org]

350.org is the first large-scale grassroots global campaign against climate change. Its supporters include leading scientists, the governments of 92 countries, and a huge variety of environmental, health, development and religious NGOs. All
agree that current atmospheric levels of CO2 -- 390 parts per million -- are causing damage to the planet and to its most vulnerable people, and that government action at the United Nations Copenhagen climate conference is required to bring the earth's carbon level swiftly down to 350 ppm.

What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million" (ppm), so 350 ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM -- a "people powered movement" that is made of of people like you in every corner of the planet.

Go to 350.org for more info.

Religious Art in the News

BREAKING:

Religious art in the news! I read about this first on the Huffington Post, which got the news from Mother Jones. The artist Jon McNaughton and his painting, "One Nation Under God" was "above the fold" on the Huffington Post this morning.

I finally got to the artist's website to take a look but wasn't able to use the roll-over feature to identify the people in the painting - I think it's overwhelmed by hits.

I don't agree with McNaughton's politics, and I'm always a little suspicious when artists try to conflate religion and politics - but it happens a lot. He's chosen a scene which he is hoping will visually spread his beliefs. That's what I like about religious art - the use of symbols to get ideas across.

He's heavy handed in this case, and McNaughton uses words to describe the message of the image, which also waters it down (imo). The painting feels pedantic to me. I don't think it's as successful as other political uses of the image of Jesus because of all his explication.

But, it's exciting to see religious art make news!

Cool Architectural Idea

I don't know if this really counts as religious art, but it certainly is a cool idea. bldgblog featured the work of Yousef Al-Mehdari, an architecture student as part of an upcoming exhibition at the dreamspace gallery in London.


The work reminds me of the Alhambra, in Spain - gorgeous. And, since I've seen the "anatomy" exhibit of Dr. Gunther Von Haagens' "Bodyworlds," I can appreciate the link bldgblog is making. As ever, keep up the great work!


The inscription reads - "There is no other help than the help that comes from God, the clement and merciful One."

Kismet

I seriously DO love the web. There is so much synchronicity that is proved to me, almost daily, that I am amazed.

Anyway, I went to one of my favorite blogs this morning, bldgblog, and saw this post about the "Landscapes of Quarantine" show announced by the blogger:

Quarantine is both an ancient spatial practice and a state of monitored isolation, dating back at least to the Black Death – if not to Christ's 40 days in the desert – yet it has re-emerged today as an issue of urgent biological, political, and even architectural importance in an era of global tourism and flu pandemics.

Quarantine touches on serious constitutional issues associated with involuntary medical isolation, as well as on questions of governmental authority, regional jurisdiction, and the limits of inter-state cooperation. Quarantine is as much a matter of national security, public safety, and agricultural biodiversity as it is an entry point into discussions of race, purity, and unacknowledged discrimination.

And when I went to religious imagery in culture the topic of their most recent post was called "exclusion" which is where I found the image (above) by Will Govus. It's a great photo - why are the surveillance cameras there??

Cool, right!?! Those of you who know me, know how much I love the liturgical season of Lent. But I had never really thought of Jesus' 40 days in the desert as a self-imposed quarantine. Which makes me think about not only the fast, but the idea of quarantine all the more. For those who haven't read it, I recommend Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year". Not as great as Moll Flanders (imo), but a great description of the need for effective quarantines.

Under the Hagia Sophia

Found this link in my daily blog-reading and am amazed [thanks bldgblog for your awesomeness, as always!]. It just sounds SO COOL! Like Jacques Cousteau meets Indiana Jones. Or Steve Zissou!

Anyway, on one of my visits to Turkey, we stumbled across an excavated-but-abandoned archaeological site which had been flooded. The doorway arches loomed out of the water, and frogs were splashing around. I felt like I'd found Atlantis or something. But tunnels under the Hagia Sophia sounds so Byzantine!! [get it?]

I can't find the upcoming film of the expeditions at the site on IMDB yet, but according to the Hürriyet article,

His 50-minute documentary, “Ayasofya’nın Derinliklerinde” (In the Depths of Hagia Sophia), will compete at international festivals starting in the fall.

New John the Baptist Icon

The site religious imagery in culture has been blowing me away recently with their posts. This image they found at Carioca Studio. Go check out the "Work" section, under Icons, and you'll find more beautiful images, including one, of (I think) Mary Magdalene, my other favorite saint.

Amazing work!

Translating Mary

My dear friend, Mama K has a new blog: Filling the Chalice. It's awesome! [Way to go Mama K!]

Anyways, I can relate to her recent post on "language barrier" in chruch - the spiritual/religious sphere. She and I talk about this a fair amount. But, being raised in the Episcopal church, the liturgical year, and Bible stories are my foundation. So, when people talk using those terms, I "get it". Even though my most "spiritual" (spiritually moving - that brought me back to religion) was during a Wiccan ceremony. That was when I realized that there was a cosmic force that was powerful out there.

But for me to understand and participate in religion, I need to have a community and a structure, I can't create it from scratch (which is how all the Wiccan groups have been that I've been involved in, and it's too hard for me). But, what I love about the Church's liturgical calendar, is that it pretty much follows the Solar calendar* (which is the foundation of Wiccan practice - along with the Lunar calendar, of course).

Anyways, I had an epiphany when I read the Mists of Avalon, and thought about Mary as the continuation of the Goddess in mainstream Chrisitian practice. That she's never gone away. And that is a thought that gives me a lot of comfort.

* I'll write more about this later, but I'm planning a St John the Baptist's Day celebration for our church on June 24th. Stay tuned for more details.

La Pieta OR "Heaven to Hell" by Lachapelle, and more

WOW. Not sure about Courtney Love as Mary, but....

Thanks to religious imagery in culture for the image. Be sure to visit their blog for more fantastic religious art and images. They've been posting some amazing stuff recently - keep up the great work!

I just found this link to the outstanding work of Azerbaijani photographer Rena Effendi today, via Heading East. You've got to check it out. You'll understand the connection when you get there. Fantastic work!

Weekly Blog Roundup

RELIGIOUS ART:

I love some of these images from Idle Speculations, I can't choose! the tree of virtue and the tree of vice to the left.

CULTURE:

How to have a good self body image, as a mom, but also impart good messages to our daughters about their bodies from Jezebel commenting on the original WaPo article. Makes a ton of sense.

An ode to godparenting from BlogHer echoes my feelings exactly. Thank you again, Lakshmi & Sam!

Egyptian pyramid photo of noblewoman's tomb cia BBC.

Interesting take on the dilemma that is Facebook from Huff Po (which is another thing I must check daily).

Some guy at CNN has a crush on Michelle Obama - I guess I do too then.

More on the impending demise of Gourmet. I wish it didn't have to be this way! via Gawker.

Fug Madness is right around the corner, y'all!

SHOPPING:

Dag! How did I miss this?? From my pal Jennifer Westhoven's blog: free Chanel 19?!?!? So bummed I missed it.

Cadbury Dairy Milk goes Fair Trade!!! This is awesome news, just in time for Easter. [Think they planned it that way??] via BBC.

Here is some worrying news about the state of hiring in this country . Yes, we should hire capable Americans for American jobs. But one thing this article points out is that

"Deep, long-term shortcomings in the U.S. education system have left the country dependent on foreign-born scientists, engineers, computer specialists and other highly skilled workers to fuel the research and innovation that drive economic growth."

Right. And who knows how long it will take to correct this. from Workforce Week, found via BBC.

ART:
Idea of the North - photographs by Birthe Piontek found on "Heading East". Beautiful and haunting photos. Wow.

two amazing shows at Penn's ICA right now:
1) Dread, by Joshua Mosley is a fantastic short film (with sculptures!) that might just blow your mind. Pascal and Rousseau feature prominently.
2) Touch Sensitive by Anthony Campuzano's fantastic art that uses text and bright colors. I was very moved by his work, even though it seems very simple when you enter the space, the ideas involved are very powerful. Two fantastic shows you won't want to miss if you're in/near Philadelphia.


Art Blog by Bob's monthly poll has me sweatin' to the oldies! Puts me in the mood for some hard rock.

I knew there was another reason I love Joss Wheadon - his craftiness! I love the part about his interview in Crocheting Monthly, from BlogHer.

Office cubicles from around the world from the TIME website.

How to be a mermaid/merman via Blogfish and Oceana.

Obamas turn White House organic! More on the "New Victory Garden" in the US. Yeah! From TreeHugger.

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....

Weekly Blog Round-Up

RELIGIOUS ART (sort of):

• Busty Virgin Mary - via Iconia. thanks, Menachem! See my earlier post about Religion & Sex for another blend of images.
  

POLITICS:

• This makes me happy - a v. blue country from Gallup Polls via NYT.
• Hillary is taking on Human Trafficking, and I say, rock on, sister. I haven't agreed with much Hillary has said over the past year, but this? I can 100% get behind her on this. From Emerging Pensées.
• More about Lilly Ledbetter and equal pay! from NYT, and here, at Jezebel - WITH PHOTO!
• When was the last time I agreed whole-heartedly with something an Editorial Board of a newspaper wrote, especially the NYT. But, these are amazing times!
• These people are jerks! via Huff Po
• Al Arabiya Interview w/President Obama

But ultimately, people are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions and my administration's actions. And I think that what you will see over the next several years is that I'm not going to agree with everything that some Muslim leader may say, or what's on a television station in the Arab world -- but I think that what you'll see is somebody who is listening, who is respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and a lack of opportunity. I want to make sure that I'm speaking to them, as well.
This snippet found Justin Webb's BBC Blog but full text on Politco

GREEN:

• Green Patriot Posters. The contest is announced here at Huff Po.
• From Pruned: Fascinating article on desert xeriscaping to form a green belt across the desert in Western China.
• Harder to hate Walmart - they've built the largest Solar Array in Latin America - via TreeHugger.
• Obama's all for Oil Independence! From the BBC.
• I ask myself this question a lot - "What ever Happened to Jimmy Carter's Solar Panels?" via TreeHugger
• Even more on the Eeeewwww: from BLDGBLOG, but previously in the news lots of places.
• From AmericaBlog - And NOW we find out that high fructose corn syrup has Mercury in it too! A pox on ALL their houses. Can we PLEASE get the FDA back on track. dag!
• Obama is awesome for the greens (as in, those who support green initiatives, not "the Greens" who supported the Terrible Nader). I felt so let down after Clinton. He just signed a bunch of executive orders at the end of his presidency, and really didn't give a rat's @$$ about the environment - even with Al Goregeous on board. A travesty. Well, hopefully this isn't too little, too late. From TreeHugger.

STUFF I LIKE:

• Up Helly Aa photos - from the BBC.
• Whither Joaquin? via gawker
• Even though we had a snow day this week, Spring will be here soon, and so will soccer season. I don't know when La Segunda will start, but probably next fall, so I will heed this sports advice from BlogHer.
• "The Case Against Candy Land" from Boing Boing. OMG - he's RIGHT! no wonder I am bored to tears playing Candy Land. Maybe it's NOT that I'm a bad mom, bored playing "classic board games" with my daughter. No, it's THE GAME we're playing.
• I just love Gawker. This time, re: "Iggy Pop, Insurance Stooge."
• Plus, google maps now shows VP's house. Talk about "Lord of the Underworld's lair."! also from Gawker.
• East German time capsule. This is so cool! via BBC
• Creepy! Wired, via AmericaBlog.
• A stroll down memory lane - 1992 on Jezebel -

In the interview accompanying these shots of Marky Mark, he uses the word "dope" over and over again. "I think of myself as a very flavorsome rapper. I'm versatile and that's what I think makes my style so dope," he says. "I did a dope rap on voting for MTV. I just started getting hip on voting." Winter 1992.

And finally, Lakshmi turned me on to this blog last week "Career Hope and Advice for Everyone Starting Over", and I love it. This is the kind of stuff I talk about with Ladybird a lot. And Angie and I just had a marathon convo about these same ideas - so maybe we're all on the same wavelength or something. I have recently found some contentment at work, but it's been a struggle. [Perhaps someday I will share the saga of my volunteer post I had to quit this fall out of frustration. People can be tough.]

I will leave you with this (long) quotation from her latest post, "Are Your Friends and Family Inspiring You? Or Retiring You?"

I don't know who said it, but you've probably also heard the truism that "we see things not as they are but as we are." (Somebody please write in and tell me who said it!) And that is consistent with what Deutschman was saying about "frames." We see and believe things according to elements we already believe to be legitimate truths in life.

So. If you think all workplaces are Dickensian workhouses, that's probably all you're going to find, because you don't have the faith, vision, or expectation of finding anything better for yourself. And if you are surrounded by friends who firmly believe the same, you're at a huge disadvantage even if you do aspire for better for yourself. You're going to be constantly surrounded by debilitating messages that your dreams for something better are pointless. So, from their perspective, you might as well take what you get and suck it up. That's reality, sweetie. Deal with it. Really? I beg to differ.

It's not just friends telling you discouraging things about the world. It could be family members telling you discouraging things about yourself. This is especially common in families with neglectful, abusive, substance-abusing parents. Children of these households very commonly take on unconsciously assigned roles like the Scapegoat, the Troublemaker, the Over-Achiever, the Good One. If that's the case with you, and you're trying to thrive in a world of your own making, hoping for a better life in a healthier world, you could be upsetting the rest of the family. You're breaking the rules, getting a little "full of yourself," or "too big for your britches." And someone is going to want to remind you – often forcefully – that it's futile to aspire for anything better. And heaven help you if you actually reach for a way to love yourself.

Weekly Blog Round-Up

UPDATE: Ladybird & Andy - You gotta check this out: the Heavy Metal Band Names Flow Chart! On Comic vs. Audience, via Boing Boing.

WOW - look at the detail. The tear glistens!!! - Thanks, as ever, Terry from Idle Speculations

"awesome president is awesome" from Buzzfeed

Green roof on Huff Po

Why Former Energy Secretary Should Keep His Mouth Shut! Amen, brother! from TreeHugger.

I truly loathe Bush. I wonder if he will ever get his just desserts. Story from Gawker.

Poe in 50's Hipster Argot. If that's not your thing, just read Poe aloud. Both from Boing Boing.

Holy moly! crochet coral reef!! From Boing Boing.

Gotta love Gawker for their assessment of Obama Staffers' discontent with the White House tech environment. Muddle through like the rest of us, OK?

Too geeky for words - Planet of the Apes font from Boing Boing.

Obama's first act is to halt Bush's last-ditch efforts to wreck stuff. Via TreeHugger.

Roma (Gypsy) History - Here is a pretty detailed (harsh) account from the BBC of Roma suffering during the Holocaust.

If you like birds, there are some beautiful photos over at Peregrinations Ornithologiques!

Cheap food is back. So say we all. There is a spread in the Philadelphia Inquirer in this week's food section about Mac & Cheese - for exactly this reason - it's cheap!

And, finally, my horoscope (Pisces) from Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology:

Once every few years, a panel of Hindu and Buddhist judges in Nepal chooses a new "living goddess," a young girl who serves, until she reaches puberty, as an incarnation of the deity Taleju. One of the tests each candidate must pass in order to be eligible for the role is this: She must show no fear as she spends a night alone in a room filled with the bloody heads of ritually killed buffaloes and goats. I'd like you to consider the possibility of carrying out a more humane equivalent of that ceremony, Pisces. For one night, keep symbols of what you're afraid of in the place where you sleep. To do so would be an excellent way to earn the right to graduate to the next level of your spiritual evolution.

Weekly Blog Round Up

My friend Karen sent me this image of Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses, it's from the Fleischer Art Memorial, here in Philadelphia. It's done in the style of a Madonna, but is of an Old Testament subject.

Interesting. I'll have to go see it in person! Below is another view of Moses in the bull rushes from Idle Speculations for comparison.

Words of wisdom from our trusty Church Administrator about open sourcing one's life. A very good read.

5 suggestions for Change.gov from boing boing.

Green gingerbread competition for the season.

A Pruned article about re-purposing canals. Is there something other than green-ways that we can do with these things? I think of the canal in my hometown. What memories!

Batgirl wants fair pay!

Chicago sit-in pays off for workers. Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope for the workers in this country after all.

I'm still not gonna darken Walmart's door, but if Blogfish says they are helping to stop overfishing, I'll say, good job. On that.

A cute hippo! Love the hippos. Even if they are aggressive and hate humans.

Awesome images of "re-sampled space" from bldgblog.

This weekend will be our family's holiday baking weekend. Unfortunately my flu bug has prevented Lakshmi, Sam and Awesome Godson from coming over. He's still brand-new, and though I approve of sharing, I do not approve of giving the gift of flu to an infant. SO. We will be cooking with just the Grand Forêts present. Our cookie list this year is as follows:

• gingersnaps
• chocolate star cookies with crushed peppermint
• Austrian jam cookies
• mock mincemeat mini-tarts
• "Cherry Garcia" "Dunking Platters"
• and fudge

Have a great weekend, all!

Weekly Blog Round-Up

Apparently, this is the correct video of Angie and Neil at the Flaming Lips' Halloween Parade of a 1,000 flaming skeletons. Look at the 17 seconds marker for Angie and Neil turning around to look. I guess there was awesome music coming from behind them.

Obama on food policy from Boing Boing.

Finnish landscape from Villipiha.

"One Nation, Under Cupcakes" good job Philly!

An overheard dream about Abe Lincoln from Heading East.

Michelle O. in the fab red dress from Huff Po.

Hipsters no more? because of Obama? A treatise on the hipster scene and why to not diss those who work(ed) for Obama, from Gawker. Original source here.

Rebooting computing from Kimberly Blessing. I'm so into usability. Could be interesting to go, but not sure I'm hands-on enough. My cuz is though.

Spooky Polish forest. I'd love to check out this part of the world, in nice weather. Thanks to Vrbovan Blog for the image.

Obama family's secret service names - love them! From Huff Po.

Bush snubbed. wow. it's sorta hard to watch, and realize how much the rest of the world disliked this guy.


And finally, the Dot Earth readers' "10 Earthly Ideas on a Budget" - suggestions for Obama to consider for a greener US. Excellent. I especially love # 10, the idea of a Victory Garden at the White House. Aparently, Eleanor Roosevelt planted one, back in the day.

Weekly Blog Round-Up

Here are some beautiful photos of small African American churches - "cathedrals" in Chicago, by photographer Dave Jordano. Found on Pruned.

A NYT article in the travel section about staying in monasteries in Europe.

"Yes We Carve" Pumpkins for Obama on youtube.

And in the "big picture," a discussion of the visual impact over course of election of Obama posters & design.

"Let them eat cup cake(s)!" - Kirsten Dunst with a cupcake from the fabulous Sofia Coppola film, Marie Antoinette. I loved that she used 80's music to set many of the scenes. Somehow they worked perfectly. Photo from Cupcakes Take the Cake.

Maureen Dowd on Powell's endorsement of Obama, Muslims in America, and I can't believe I agree with her.

Greenspan recants. Great. What a jerk. This is just like McNamara book finally admitting the mistakes made in Vietnam.

Obama votive candle

A new (to me) goddess site.

A hilarious piece from Larry David about how tough to wait out election from HuffPo.

And as a counterpoint to Larry David, I leave you with a note from my guy, Rob Brezsny on how to get through this election:

Dear Readers,

Before the last U.S. presidential election in 2004, What Is Enlightenment? magazine posed the following query to five religious leaders: "Many people argue that the upcoming presidential election is the most important in our lifetime. Do you agree?"

Four of the respondents said, in effect, "Yes, because George Bush is bad for America and the world."

But the fifth religious leader, Zen Buddhist Jan Chozen Roshi, replied, "I don't know. Our existence is so short, it's like a dust mote in the eye of God. To say that the time in which my dust mote existed was the most important is a self-centered view."

Roshi's wisdom reminded me of an anecdote told by Henry Kissinger, an American politician who was Secretary of State in the 1970s. Kissinger once asked Chinese premier Zhou Enlai what he thought of the French Revolution, which had happened two centuries earlier. "Too soon to tell," Chou answered.

I always like to keep these ideas in mind, even in times of relative peace and calm. But I'm especially fond of focusing on the very big picture when divine chaos is whirling around -- like now. It helps keep me humble, and discourages me from any temptation I might have to believe I know the Whole Truth about anything, let alone about the mysterious long-term processes at work in the evolution of the human race.

There's another factor that makes me cautious about getting embroiled in partisan politics and the narrow-minded hostility that fuels it. One of my main goals in life is to love everyone with passionate intensity -- no exceptions. Not just the people I find beautiful and helpful and interesting and attractive. But also the people I don't like and the people who don't like me and the people I disagree with and the people who can't or won't do anything for me.

In order to become the gorgeous genius I aspire to be, in order to fulfill the unique destiny I came to Earth to embody, I have to hold EVERYONE in my heart with compassion and empathy. As I contemplate how every single part of creation is interconnected, I've got to be aware that the creatures I'm allergic to and inclined to feel alienated from are also part of the great web of life.

That's my spiritual goal; it's essential to awakening my best self and cultivating a connection to Spirit. It's also my selfish goal; it's critical to my physical and mental health. Hatred always sickens me. Love always invigorates me.

Icon of Christ Sophia, by Robert Lentz, from Trinity Stores

Weekly Blog Round-Up

In case you live under a rock, or NOT in Philadelphia, the Phillies are going to the World Series! Yay Phils! We love you!

Here's an open letter to incoming President on US food policy by Michael Pollan (9 pages!). It's long, but so important!

Just watched Shanghai Noon again last night. I hope Owen Wilson is feeling better. He is such a great comedian. In a related vein, I also hope Heather Locklear feels better too. All in all, depression SUCKS.

More great religious art at Idle Speculations. Thanks, Terry!

Check out this rolling ball of fish - it's a new concept in fish farming and looks pretty cool too

How cool is your congregation?? You could win $5,000!

Sarah Palin's White House. Better with sound ON.

Finally - calling fear-mongering by its name!

Amazing - and creepy photo of McCain that has made the rounds.

A million photos of British Isles. Found on Boing Boing.

A v. moving post about what we are voting for - right on! - from Sirens Chronicles.


Joe.My.God linked to this NYT story, and commented that as a kid he wished he could have gone on the QE2. As a kid, I DID go on the it, and maybe it was because I was 6, and too young to appreciate it, but, the experience was lost on me. There really wasn't anything for kids to do. The funnest part for me and my sister was to press the steward/stewardess buzzers when my parents went out to dinner at night. By the time they got back, all the stews were hanging out in our room. Angie was freaked out by the porthole.

I love Aboriginal Art.

And have I mentioned how much I ALSO love, Rob Brezsny?? My horoscope this week:

In medieval Europe, more resources and human ingenuity were lavished upon cathedrals and churches than on any other buildings. In the last hundred years, the emphasis has been different, having switched to the towering structures that house institutions dedicated to commerce. By that measure, Money is a far more important God than God. During the next few weeks, Pisces, I invite you to buck the modern trend. As an experiment, see if you can devote at least one more percent of your energy and intelligence to matters of the spirit and soul than to the demands of the material realm. I suspect you'll find, ironically, that this will lead to an increase of your mastery over the material realm.