Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
I liked this book by Malcolm Gladwell and give it five stars. He debunks the theory that success is based on talent and instead shows how it is mostly the result of opportunities and hard work. “Outliers” are people that represent a phenomenon outside of everyday experience, but Gladwell shows that these exceptional people are … Read more
It was a pleasure to see “Wicked” on Broadway in New York City. My sister was visiting from North Carolina for the Little People Convention and I came into the city to hang out with my her while her daughter (my niece) relished her scene. I had never before seen so many dwarves in one … Read more
Last year a church here participated in the Field of Flags project displaying 4,576 flags that represented those fallen at that time in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very powerful and sobering to see. Check out the other photos below of this and remember what this day is chiefly about, while we enjoy the freedoms, … Read more
I don’t often merely pass on email I get, but this came from my friend Linda and I found it very apt, particularly since my son thinks he wants to live in Sweden. (Mind you I’m no economist and I’m not attempting to discredit “progressive taxation”…) See the email forward below in blue… and my … Read more
St. John’s College is the school my oldest daughter is interested in attending, that I mentioned in a previous post.
The above two books are the best (non-spiritual) non-fiction I have read since the Omnivore’s Dilemma a few years ago. Now that I have to return them to the library after hogging them for months, I thought I’d review them together since I wrote extensively on the topic of their content in former posts: (see … Read more
I’ve kicked myself all day that I didn’t take my camera. I could have had such great photos to share. I’ve spent the day with my teenage son in the Robotics department of MIT, with the John’s Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Program (see here). It even occurred to me to bring my camera, but … Read more
My non-fiction reading in recent months has been consumed with reading about overfishing. I’ve been a vegetarian for over 25 years, prompted in large part because I read Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe and was moved to do my part for human sustainability. Over fifteen years ago I slowly started phasing in eating fish, needing more protein, and became a piscivore as well as a vegetarian. A couple years ago I was deeply influenced by Micheal Polon’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma to try to eat more organic and local food; I was inspired to reduce my carbon imprint related to food and attempt not to pollute either the earth or my body. It has since become obvious to me that I didn’t really know where my fish was coming from, and whether that was sustainable either. Hence my recent self-education, which has been eye-opening as well.
I have mostly been hand-building in pottery lately (see picture above of my pumpkin leaf), and it has been over a year since I have thrown on the wheel (with my most recent effort the vase seen below.) Anyway, since it has been so long, it was like starting all over again, and my teacher … Read more
I am my church’s representative to our local clergy association. We had our meeting yesterday and I wanted to share one of the things I learned there in case it may someday help someone. A woman woke up in the middle of the night and her husband was stone cold dead next to her. He … Read more
This sounds like heresy and sacrilege in our society. But it is a foundational Christian concept that if correctly adopted would go a long way to solving all the ills that confront us, not only individually, but societally as well. I always thought Jesus sounded harsh asking people to follow him when he wouldn’t let … Read more
I have a homeschooling friend that is frustrated. She said recently , “I don’t have enough creative time for me.” She is overwhelmed with responsibility, obligation, and admirable personal goals, but meanwhile, she’s running dry. This is not an unusual thing from what I hear over my spiritual healing practice line. The “shoulds” take over … Read more
Alexander Graham Bell was attempting to invent a hearing aid. Columbus was trying to get to India. Post-its were born out of glue that didn’t work right. Velcro was invented from pondering annoying burrs stuck to the pants from a walk. Steve Jobs applied what he learned about movement and perception while ballroom dancing to … Read more
The Christian Science Monitor just celebrated its 100th birthday last fall as a respected international daily newspaper. It is now in the process of redesigning itself, converting from a daily paper to a 24/7 online news service, with a paper edition published weekly on Fridays. It is the first newspaper with such a wide audience … Read more
Enjoy these Valentine’s Photos from previous years at our house and enjoy making happy memories today with your loved ones.
A friend of mine also has an early February birthday, so we have fun celebrating together during this birthday season by having a lovely lunch followed by
My twelve year old daughter is doing something called “Brave Writer” as part of her homeschooling curriculum which includes “Tuesday Teatime.”