Young Philo T. Farnsworth in Utah. Inventor Philo T . Farnsworth was born in a log cabin on his grandfather’s remote ranch in southwest Utah on August 19, 1906.  His family was of early settler Mormon stock.  Despite the classic 19th Century pioneer circumstances of his birth, Farnsworth would help reshape the modern world with his inventions. By 1918 the family was ranching on its own in southern Idaho .   The new homestead had its own small generator and was primitively wired for lighting and some farm equipment.  Young Philo, a tinkerer in the great tradition and a devotee of Popular Mechanics was soon busy adapting other gadgets and appliances to being run by electricity. Farnswor...

This is a repost from May 3, 2014 If you have flown in an airplane more than once, you have likely had the frustrating experience of loading onto the plane only to be told that for some reason the flight … Continue reading →

Honey in the Rock, may we embody generosity every day, this giving and receiving that nurtures and thickens connections with good feelings and enoughness and more than enoughness. May our generosity ensure the armor of supremacist notions no longer fit our frames, too binding, too tight, as they have been...

The following image traced the history of the Church of the Larger Fellowship from the first Unitarian “Post Office Missions” in the 1800s, through to the present day. To view a larger version of this visual timeline, click on the image below, or on this link.  

As a Unitarian Universalist congregation with no geographical boundary, we create global spiritual community, rooted in profound love, which cultivates wonder, imagination, and the courage to act. —Church of the Larger Fellowship Mission Statement

Playfulness is often a silly act between two people done by one to make the other smile…for example, sneaking quietly up to someone who is waiting for you and tapping them on the shoulder opposite where you are–they turn and don’t see who did it, but when they turn and see you, you both smile.  … Continue reading silly

This morning I deliver a box to the Walton Art Center in Fayetteville for an art show that will feature works by Northwest Arkansas Artist.  The box they selected for the show is made of maple with a lid made of spalted maple. The keys at the corners are walnut. The lid opens without hinges. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

A repost from May 4, 2014 Are we there yet?  The age-old cry from children in the back of the car, impatient to reach the intended destination.  Weary, cranky, eager to get this part of the trip over with so … Continue reading →

                                                         Fantasmagorie --the first hand drawn animation film. Animated films are big business today.   They dominate family audience releases on the big screen which now sees dozens of films released each year from major American production companies and others from around the world.   These days most are either computer generated or stop action clay modeling.   Many are in 3-D.    Only a relative handful are animated by hand in the laborious process of shooting individual cells.   That process still dominates television cartoons from prime time network and cable shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy and kiddy fare on popular basic cable networks .

Correspondent Elyse Welles discusses recent findings from the continuing excavation at Pompeii and images of visit to the site. Continue reading Hearth shrine found in Pompeii points to new understandings of ancient Roman beliefs: the largest Pompeii excavation in a generation at The Wild Hunt.

This small lift lid box is intended to illustrate how color can be used to create a sense of unity within a box. The black lines of spalted sycamore invited the use of a black shaker knob on top and black stained dowels to interlock the mitered corners. These three things were purposely related to each other in my process of design. Note also how the darker grain of the ash box mirrors similar tones to be found in the lid. Note also how the chamfer on the top edge of the box captures and reflects more light, framing the lid in light. A sense of unity in a box is created by an interplay of design elements. Color and line are powerful forces in design. An interesting thing about the chamfer used along the top edge of this box. A roundover ...

By Naomi McDougall Jones | Because filmmaking is hard—for anyone, even in the best circumstances—I am well aware that there are still skeptics about whether there is discrimination against women in Hollywood at all. Thus far, I’ve built the case, I hope, for what is happening. But if you work long enough and hard enough at it, you could suggest reasons why discrimination wasn’t at the heart of each anecdote and career story I’ve provided. Let’s zoom out, then, to look at the wide shot of what is happening to women and their careers in Hollywood. Let’s look at the data.

“Fashion should be playful.” -Paloma Picasso How have you expressed your playfulness through clothing or style?

Teachers and activists Harriette and Harry T. Moore were killed in a Ku Klux Klan terror bombing. File under outrageous injustice—a day late and a dollar short.   On August 16, 2006 Florida Attorney General Charlie Christ, a Republican who later served a term as Governor and who ultimately became a Democrat after endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election, announced that four white men had been identified as likely responsible for the house bombing that killed Civil Rights champions Harry and Harriette Moore on Christmas 1951.   All four men were conveniently already dead. Their identities were hardly an impenetrable mystery for all of those years.   One man, Joseph Cox, committed suicide in 1952 the day after FBI agents inter...

Vocalist and guitarist Carrie MacDonald will be a featured performer at the Compassion for Campers is Counting on You benefit at Crystal Lake Brewing. Compassion for Campers (C4C), the program that provides essential gear and equipment to the unhoused and underhoused population of McHenry County, has scheduled a special benefit program.   Compassion for Campers is Counting On You will be held at Crystal Lake Brewing, 190 North Main Street, Crystal Lake on Wednesday, August 30 from 6 to 9 pm. According to C4C coordinator and spokesperson Patrick Murfin, the program which distributes its supplies at the Community Services Days at Willow Friendship Center, 100 South Main Street in Crystal Lake on the first and third Fridays of every month ...

This is a repost from May 5, 2014 On any given day, I do not spend much time on philosophy. Don’t get me wrong, philosophy is a fine and noble subject, and someone needs to study it… just not me. … Continue reading →

    As it happens it was today, the 16th of August in 1930, that’s 93 years ago today, that Ub Iwerks produced his first theatrical cartoon short since a fight with Walt Disney and leaving employment with Disney studios earlier that year. Featuring his character Flip the Frog, Fiddlesticks was the first cartoon filmed […]

We did not have an in-person worship service on Sunday, 25 June 2023. Since church staff and church members were attending the 2023 Unitarian Universalist General Assembly (GA) in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, we had an all-ages potluck and watched the livestream video of the Sunday GA worship from Pittsburg instead. You can watch the GA worship … Continue reading "25 June 2023 UUA General Assembly Sunday Worship"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "18 June 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "11 June 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "4 June 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

We grieve deeply the tragic fires on Maui. Our sorrow is sharp as we consider all that has been lost, that we as a species are losing in this season of weather events that are dangerous, even catastrophic. What is precious enough to commit to ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Aug. 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions flew largely under the radar of local media when it opened a packed agenda for the week at Chicago’s McCormick Place on Monday despite being the largest and widest international assembly of religions from every continent and faith tradition.   It also has historic roots in one of the city’s seminal events—The World Columbian Exhibition of 1893. Officially the seventh gathering since a centennial revival in 1993—the 2021 gathering had to be held on-line due to the global coronavirus pandemic—the theme this year is “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights.”   It attracts participants from more than 200 diverse religious, indigenous, and secular beliefs from more ...

The waxworm is a honeybee pest that may offer some new ways to manage plastic pollution. Continue reading Honeybee enemy may offer a solution to plastic pollution at The Wild Hunt.

Remembering Maiken (Dani) Cooper August 15, 2023 Last November, Maiken (Dani) Cooper was shot by the RCMP, resulting in an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of British Columbia. In its recently released report (August 3, 2023), the IIO announced that it found no wrongdoing by the RCMP officer involved in the shooting. Maiken […] The post Remembering Maiken (Dani) Cooper first appeared on Canadian Unitarian Council Conseil unitarien du Canada. The post Remembering Maiken (Dani) Cooper appeared first on Canadian Unitarian Council Conseil unitarien du Canada.

Just a listicle. I’m still kind of jetlagged. Five Things That Are Great About Being Home Luna She seems very pleased also. Photo by Munchkin. Being able to read all the books I’ve been ordering all summer. Most are for the grad school class that starts next month. I opened all the packages from Better […]

“It’s sort of a mental attitude about critical thinking and curiosity. It’s about mindset of looking at the world in a playful and curious and creative way.” -Adam Savage What sparks your curiosity?

 Gratitude and Prayer - an audio reflection

Heather Cox Richardson in her daily newsletter, Letters from an American noted a significant court finding in Montana, concerning the violation of the state's constitution by the state's continued and continuing support for the fossil fuel industries. In 1972 the state of Montana adopted an amendment stating,"    “[t]he state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations," and thus commanding the state legislature to make rules protecting the environment.  In a rare court case on behalf of the children of Montana, a federal judge, as described by Richardson, agreed with the children that " the state’s support for coal, oil, and gas violated their constit...

This is a repost from May 6, 2014 The mountains of north Alabama are home to me, and there are many beautiful places there to visit, still largely untouched by developers or even park fences.  There is a spot in … Continue reading →

      In Japan today, the 15th of August, is marked as a time to celebrate the life of the second founder of Soto Zen in that country, Keizan Jokin. He’s a fascinating figure, one I wish was a bit better known among Zen students in the West. He is, among other things, the […]

The pop star Chynna Phillips (from the group Wilson Phillips) was on Family Feud a while back, and just before she had to answer questions to win money for a charity she needed to psyche herself up, so she started … Continue reading →

For a long time, Job agrees with Stephen Colbert.  You know, Job. The one whose life was the epitome of #blessed. That is, until he lost everything.  His money. His land.  All ten of his children. Even his own health. By … Continue reading →

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Parliament of the World's Religions begins, Cherry Hill Seminary has new mission and vision statements, cosmic question marks and more events and gatherings. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of August 13, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Taken with a Fuji X-T2 using Kevin Mullin’s “Parr” recipe Just click on the photo to enlarge it  

This is a repost from May 7, 2014 About a week ago I went for a walk with my ten year-old son and our next door neighbor’s nine year-old daughter, in our surrounding neighborhood.  Before we even got off our … Continue reading →

                        Memory is such a tricky thing. I have a memory that some gnostic schools, perhaps it was the Valentinian school, which required potential initiates to compose their own gospel. However, I’m having a little trouble finding the citation. And I notice among the […]

Who’s a good dog? Yes, you’re a good dog. Who’s the best dog? Yes, you’re the best dog. Be a good dog.

When you have a church that is bound together by a promise rather than a belief system, you free people to be honest about what they believe and don’t believe. At All Souls Unitarian Church, in Tulsa, over 2,000 members are united by a covenant of love and service. That means that we have Christians, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, and people who draw from a mixture of faiths and philosophies, all together in one community. One member said recently, “After listening to the sermons for two years, I realized it isn’t Jesus that I don’t like; it is the version […] The post Love Beyond Belief appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act.  Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, behind the President was the administration point person for the Act. Note— Your scribe, the Old Man, in the interest of transparency admits that he is a recipient of Social Security and Medicare and damn glad of it! On August 14, 1935 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.  It was the crowning achievement of the New Deal.   It has rightly been acclaimed “the most successful American anti-poverty program in history.”  Once considered so popular that proposals to alter or abolish it were widely considered the third rail of American politics—too dangerous to seriously advance.  But that was before years...

In an opinion piece on Religion News Service, Tyler Huckabee quotes from an interview with Russell Moore. Moore has become semi-famous for having called out the Southern Baptist Conference on their sex abuse crisis, and getting savaged for it. Anyway, in the interview Moore says: “…multiple pastors [told] me, essentially, the same story about quoting … Continue reading ""

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "28 May 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Meg Elison reviews Liam Gavin's 2016 occult horror drama, A Dark Song, for our Classics of Pagan Cinema series. Continue reading Classics of Pagan Cinema: A Dark Song at The Wild Hunt.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "21 May 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "14 May 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "7 May 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Hiking hats do wear out, but this one isn’t quite done yet, just a little worse for wear. Kind of like my body feels sometimes. Aging isn’t particularly fun, but it is important to keep going and keep moving and be thankful that I still can. The heat slowed me down again this week, with […]

In the face of so much uncertainty and chaos in our world, we're all looking for a way to forge meaningful connections and make a difference. None of us are alone in this desire. This week, some reflections on what Unitarian Universalism has to offer those in search of meaning in community.

We have now lived in our home in Portland for 7 years, and are gradually getting to know the plants around us. We have our share of invasive plants, but today I want to highlight a few of the beautiful native wildflowers that are blooming right now in our yard. They come up on their […]

My daughter begged me to buy her a Rubik’s cube. When it arrived, she played with it for a few minutes and declared that it was a lot harder than she thought it was going to be. She asked me to solve it, and was astonished when I told her that I’d been playing with … Continue reading challenge

Note —Here is the text of my remarks about Carlos Cortez a today’s book launch and exhibit opening at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. My name is Patrick Murfin. I was Carlos Cortez’s close friend and Fellow Worker in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) from 1968.   We collaborated in the Chicago Branch, at General Headquarters and on the Industrial Worker , lived together twice, and worked at the same trade school as custodians.   I am an amateur historian who co-authored The IWW:   It’s First Seventy Years 1905-1975 with Fred W. Thompson.   I have continued as a life-long social justice activist, is an obscure poet, and maintain a daily blog Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout—An Eclectic Journal of Opini...

Please join us on Sunday (13 August 2023) at 11:00 AM for our annual water communion worship service — an all-ages celebration where we return after the summer with with Rev. Barbara Jarrell and the All Souls congregation. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (13 August 2023)"

We will have a potluck lunch with live music provided by Bob Jordan, Gail Burt, and Jean Kelly immediately after our 11:00 AM worship on 13 August 2023. Bring a dish to pass or just show up to join us after the 11:00 AM service for a potluck featuring live music by our own Bob … Continue reading "Potluck Lunch with Live Music (13 August 2023)"

Please join us on Sunday (13 August 2023) for our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall and also on Zoom. Since it’s our first time for us to meet together after a 3 week break, … Continue reading "Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education — 13 August 2023"

Please join us for our end of summer swim party for all ages on Sunday (13 August 2023) from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. This swim party will happen at the home of Kathy Osuch and Mike Roberts. Join us on Sunday afternoon — and please note the different time for this year’s swim party. … Continue reading "End of Summer Swim Party (13 August 2023)"

All Souls is hosting an Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) Basic Workshop with facilitators Kathy Osuch, Susan Yellott, and Bob Jordan. Here are the dates / times for this workshop: Friday, 18 August 2023 // 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM Saturday, 19 August 2023 // 9:00 AM – 12:15 PM //  1:15 PM – 5:00 … Continue reading "Alternatives to Violence Project Basic Workshop (18-20 August 2023)"

Please join us next Tuesday (15 August 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Our weekly Zoom lunch is going dual-platform — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Weekend Editor Eric O. Scott critiques the way philanthropy structures our ideas about the pagan past to match the priorities of museum mega-donors. Continue reading Editorial: Philanthropy is the problem at The Wild Hunt.

                                          I have seen the freest and best educated… in the happiest circumstances the world can afford; yet it seemed that a cloud hung on their brow and they appeared serious and almost sad even […]

I recovered enough to make my way to the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, and I am making  my way around  it very slowly. Joy was right; I wouldn’t want to have missed this. I like the strabismus-eyed angels: And these 17th-century trompe-l’oeil diamond patterns. They look like they truly jut out from the wall: But […]

My taught me to skip stones on a calm, clear lake. Choose a flat stone if you can find it. Flick with your wrist just so. Let it go parallel to the surface of the water. Sometimes, if you’re careful, there’s magic. Four, five, six skips!  -Michael Tino (CLF) How have you found magic in … Continue reading skipping stones

This is a box that I made while teaching at Arrowmont in 2002. I wanted to suggest to my students the incorporation of found objects, so we took a brief walk across campus to see what we could find. The piece of weathered wood on top is one that I found and decided to incorporate unaltered in my own box.  The body of the box and the lid, are made with sycamore displaying its typical lacewood pattern found when it is quarter sawn. I used the hidden spline joint in the corners, and brass pins to elevate the piece of found wood on top. This box is  out in the world someplace unknown, as are most of the boxes I've made. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.  

The glorious charge of the German cavalry at Haelen, Belgium as portrayed in propaganda for the folks back home. It should have been a perfectly splendid affray at the onset of what all sides seemed to think would be a glorious war providing for noble spectacle and opportunities for gallantry and honors sadly missing from Europe for generations .   The Great War was all shiny and new and all of the powers leaping madly into the melee were sure of rapid victory and Christmas at home.   And what could be a more fitting opening chapter than a clash between the dashing cavalry of two opposing armies, each still fitted out in splendor as if for a victory parade down a broad avenue.   It happened near a river ford town named   Haelen in Be...

It’s our last day in Europe. I was waiting for a bus to take me to the National Tile Museum, when I began to feel increasingly sick to my stomach. I headed back to the apartment and got there just in time. While my body was hunched miserably, my mind ran the inventory, as they […]

We will have our monthly building and ground work day on Saturday (12 August 2023) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We will have tasks for all ages and abilities — indoor and outside. And we will have snacks for our volunteers.

Please join us on Saturday (12 August 2023) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. Please note that this group is still meeting via Zoom.  You will need … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (12 August 2023)"

                                    It’s true. I’m pretty relentlessly a fan of the scientific method as it has evolved over the years. I really like what can be found in double blind testing. Certainly by testing claims about what presents, decisions […]

The testimony about UFO activity before a congressional subcommittee signals a change in American culture that is more open to challenging ideas. A recent study by the Pew Research Group found that 65% of Americans now believe that there is intelligent life on other planets and only 12% view UFOs as a security threat.  Continue reading The Aliens are Here – or Maybe They’re Elves? at The Wild Hunt.

Children often believe strange things – I was no exception to this rule. There some things I look back on with amusement and other things I look back on with dismay and regret. But there are some things I believed as a small child that I still believe today.

Excitement in the yard this morning! I woke to see out my window a juvenile hawk standing in the grass between the bird feeder and the elderberry bush. I went outside to take a photo, and they seemed undisturbed by my presence–I got within 4 yards of them. At one point they turned in my […]

I hear this over and over and over again. It’s tied in closely with my other career, sexuality education. People find out someone is pregnant and their first question is, “Are you having a girl or boy?” or “Do you hope it’s a girl or a boy?” And the (progressive?) answer that so many parents-to-be …</p> The post “All I want is for the baby to be healthy!” first appeared on For Parents of Children w/Chronic Illness.

Reposted from June 5, 2014 It was Sunday morning.  I was skipping out of Church at UUCG because of the nasty cold I had. The sneezing, coughing and unending use of tissues made me think better of being in close … Continue reading →

Play can mean endless possibilities. No two moments of play need be alike. No two people play in exactly the same ways. Let go of what you expect and something incredible might happen. Embrace the possibility of today.

I first experienced the island of Maui as many people in the mainland US have…through the lens of tourism.  I was the First Assistant Cruise Director on the Radiance of the Seas cruise ship in 2004 and we had an overnight in Lahaina as part of our repositioning from Alaska to the Caribbean.  Friends of […]

From George Takei's graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy. On August 10, 1988, more than 45 years after the start of internment, the United States government authorized reparations payments to Japanese-Americans detained during World War II . President Ronald Reagan signing the bill apologizing for World War II internment of Japanese-Americans and authorizing largely symbolic reparations. Ten weeks after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D . Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, ordering 120,000 people of Japanese descent—including 75,000 American citizens—into internment camps. The announced purpose was to protect the West Coast from sabotage and collusion with the enemy, but the perceived threat w...

A Prayer forJoy Amid Complexity - Week of August 14, 2023 Lover of Joy, you steady us when we are crumbling apart, and help us shake with rejuvenating laughter when it would be easier to do anything but. You do not deny that life can be painful, or grief-full, or...

“My Amended Creed of Life” (August 1973) & his earlier “My Creed of Life” (February 1965) Imaoka Shin’ichirō —o0o— [Editorial note: In the following, amended version of his “Creed of Life,” I have highlighted in bold type the changes/amendations made by Imaoka Shin’ichirō to his earlier version, which I reproduce at the end of this post.]   I believe in myself. I recognize my own subjectivity and creativity and feel the worth of living in life (生きがい ikigai). Subjectivity and creativity can be rephrased as personality, divinity, and Buddha-nature. I believe in my neighbour. The neighbour is oneself as a neighbour. If I believe in myself, I inevitably believe in my neighbour. I believe in a communal society. ...

I’ve been doing a deep dive into the question: What is religion, anyway? It’s pretty clear that “religion,” as we use it today, is a concept that really arises fairly recently in human history, during the European Enlightenment. From what I can see, the concept of “religion” arose from more than one source. On the … Continue reading "What is religion, anyway?"

Over two years of excavation, the discovery of a Roman villa on Malta expands our understanding of Roman residential life. Continue reading The Discovery of a Roman Villa in Malta Changes Archaeology at The Wild Hunt.

Taken with a Fuji X-T2 (with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar C Pentax-M 1:3.5 135mm lens) Just click on the photo to enlarge it

Reflections on our 24 hours in Florence, Italy, with some itinerary recommendations. The post 24 Hours in Florence appeared first on Colin Bossen.

A repost from June 13, 2014 We all know of the importance of getting enough sleep, yet so many of us are challenged to do so. It’s so difficult for us to let go of the feeling of forward motion … Continue reading →

“Our family says the same prayer every night before we eat dinner as a way of collecting ourselves after a busy day. We say it together, and we always end with ‘Amen.’ Or rather, we used to end it that way. “You see, for reasons known only to four-year-olds, my oldest son was obsessed with … Continue reading mouths of babes

Looking at art in museums, and also making a drawing of a building in SketchbookX, where I can’t make very precise marks, I noticed how little it takes to show light and shadow. So when we say by this patio at Palacio Viana, Córdoba, I tried to put in just enough to show the light. […]

Norm Siegel, The Old Man, Dave Drayer, Andy Cohen, Cheryl Niemo, and Andy Andrick  lead the audience of the mini-folk festival Jest Plain Folk--Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things in singing Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land. Eleven years ago, it poured rain here in McHenry County.   It came down in buckets in what was a very soggy month.   That put a crimp in plans for an evening mini folk festival we planned for the grounds of what was then called the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry and is now known as Tree of Life UU Congregation.   Undeterred, we moved the program into the sanctuary and a little more than 50 folk slogged through the storm anyway . The program, grandiosely named Just Plain F...

New research takes a fresh look at existing data and busts the hunter-gatherer sex roles myth. Continue reading The male hunter debunked: New research ends myth about hunter-gatherer sex roles at The Wild Hunt.

For generations, Black farmers in the United States have faced harsh treatment from the federal government. Now’s the time for change.

A sermon reflecting on pilgrimage as a spiritual practice, inspired by a backpacking trip in the Gila National Wilderness. The post The Successful Pilgrim appeared first on Colin Bossen.

Sometimes, play gets serious. Sometimes, it gets too serious. A little competition can be healthy to instill excitement, and too much makes us lose sight of our compassion. When have you experienced healthy competition?

My father never wanted a Purple Heart and dodged attempts to pin one on him.   W . M . Murfin served as an Army Medical Corps officer in the Pacific during World War II.   That service included three amphibious landings under fire and front-line service with forward battalion aid stations .   While never seriously wounded he was injured three times including being cut up crawling over barbed wire and scrapes and abrasions rescuing seriously wounded soldiers under fire.   On one day of such rescues when his unit was cut off by the Japanese on Leyte in the Philippines he dragged several men to safety under machine gun fire.   That earned him the Bronze Star .   He was glad to receive that medal and after the War kept it in its presen...

A repost from June 14, 2014 There is an ancient fragment of pre-Christian Irish poetry called the Cauldron of Poesy which I have spent many hours over many years studying. Like most things we call wisdom literature, it continues to … Continue reading →

“I think…that one-sided views are the easiest to express pointedly and with rhetorical effectiveness and that a pervasive human temptation is to content oneself with striking half-truths rather than to seek the balanced whole truth with the persistence and energy needed for success.” — Charles Hartshorne, Insights and Oversights of Great Thinkers: An Evaluation of … Continue reading "Noted, with embarrassment"

We celebrate International Cat Day! Continue reading Celebrating fabulous felines and International Cat Day at The Wild Hunt.

We are delighted to have been collaborating with several of our UU neighbors this summer for shared worship services. For the last worship service of the “Summer Worship On The Road” series, this Sunday, August 13, we will join our friends at First Parish Church in Berlin. Service begins at 10:00 a.m. (Photo credit: Facebook   [ … ] The post Sunday, August 13 ~ Summer Worship On The Road Concludes ~ 10:00 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.