Music - all kinds
Certain TV programs (but not network TV)
Theatre
Dance
Museums
Belgium
Paris
Sunny days
The sound of rain at night
Bleating foghorns
Good coffee
Just about anything chocolate (dark preferred)
Life with Jerry
My church family
Penguins
Saying my prayers in the morning
Fred
Times of silence
Laughter
The sounds of children at play
The Pacific Ocean
.... more to come
4/16/2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Everything's a reboot
I came across this today at Daily Kos. Given the tenor of the times I think it says a whole bunch of things worth taking note of.
2/9/2015
2/9/2015
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for non-profit research and educational or criticism purposes only. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. All Internet references or images, unless otherwise stated, are assumed to be in the public domain, and used under any fair use regulations for research, educational and/or criticism purposes only, without profit, payment or commercial gain under any laws relevant, including distribution under Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47, Sections 1030 & 107 U.S.C. In the event of any copyright laws being infringed, upon such proof, any copyright material will be removed without delay. It is not the intent of the author of this blog to infringe the copyrights of others.
Friday, February 6, 2015
There are some things which really bother me
I was just reading some report of an interview with a person representing The Family Research Council, a well-beloved group among certain conservative elements of our society. The man was talking about (no surprise here) homosexuality and how it's against God and how it's immoral and wicked and a certain road to hell. My first reaction was to stop and check that my brain would not explode. This is about the 10 gazillionth time I've heard all this cant. What bothers me about it is that those who hold such views appear to me to be hiding behind the skirts of religion in a somewhat anemic, if strident, attempt to hide their ignorance and their fear of those who are not like them. To me such a use of religion goes against everything that religion is supposed to stand for. I am a Christian and happy to be so. I believe that religion is not something to be manipulated in order for me to prove some point or another. Religion is but one way for people to connect with the divine; but it is definitely note a code of rules to be slavishly and unquestionably obeyed so as to avoid a trip to hell. Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians claim to follow, was not about rules. Even the most cursory reading of the gospel narratives show that. His teachings and his example dramatically demonstrate this. Yet, some Christians seem not to have gotten the message here and go off on tangents having to do with Moses of the Old Testament and Paul of the New, neither of whom can claim primacy over Jesus. Sure, Moses and Paul did come out with many things people would consider inspired by the Deity; but they were also products of their own times and places as some of their ideas clearly show. The Bible is not, as some might hold, one book that was dictated directly by God into someone's ear. It is a collection of works spanning many centuries. Each book of the Bible tells us something about who the author was and what he though about things. Now what the author thought and wrote down might not be the actual word from on high, but rather his own musings and observations. We must look at the holy writings of any religious tradition for what they are. We must use out rational mind and critical thinking in order to sort out the things which are of benefit to us and to the world while putting aside things that really don't help. To evangelicals and to others who follow the Christian path I say: read your Bible. Really read it. Use your brains when doing so. Your faith will not suffer by using your brains and the sense of human reason you have. Indeed your own faith might be strengthened. Faith is a strange thing. It is a conundrum. Each person's faith is unique and personal to that person, whether it is faith in a deity or faith in one's inner convictions or faith in the inner light .... there are as many ways of faith as there are people on the earth and no one way is ipso facto the one and only true way for everyone. It's up to us Christians to understand this and to act upon it in our daily lives.
End of today's rant
2/6/2015
End of today's rant
2/6/2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Hello and welcome to my blog.
My name is Richard. I am 74 years old. And there's lots of other stuff that will come to light as this blog grows. I created this blog to more or less serve as a platform for me to sound off about things I read and hear in the media; hence, since my interests are wide, there will be lots of stuff for me to talk about and reflect upon here.
More about me: I like music of many kinds, but my preference is for what people call "classical". You know - the "high brow" stuff like Bach and Mozart and Shostakovich (lots more); but I also like jazz and some popular stuff too. I think that you can't be "snooty" about music since music is a universal language that is spoken in many ways, each way having its own message to convey. I keep and open ear and an open mind in the music department. Theatre is also a particular love of mind, as is dance. Here too I refuse to be snooty. There's nothing about the works of Shakespeare or the choreography of George Balanchine that makes them any better than the material in those genres which are being produced nowadays. Oh, yes, I like movies too and I'm something of a movie junkie. If it's on the screen and it moves, I will watch it. Film is a unique art form for me and each one I see, whether it's a "classic" from yesteryear or the latest "zombies from outer space" movie each one has its own unique merits - though in some instances those merits might be hard to pinpoint.
By religion I am a Christian. By denomination I am a Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). I am active in my parish as its sacristan. What's that? you may ask. Well, think of what we used to call "women's work" - cleaning, washing, ironing, putting the house in order - and that's what I do. I'm glad we don't call it women's work any longer since there's no rule saying a man can't or shouldn't do these kinds of things. In addition to sacristan duties I serve in various roles in the liturgical rites of my parish. I've been doing all this for about 20 years and I love it, even though there are some times when there's tons of stuff to be done. Christmas and Easter come to mind right off since these are the major feasts of the Christian Church and as such deserve a bit of a fuss.
My politics? Well, I'm Democrat with liberal tendencies by party affiliation; but I'm careful to learn what the other party/parties have to say about important life-affecting issues and what candidates for office are being put forth. It's important to get the fullest picture of things before heading for the voting booth. I believe that it is the duty of every citizen to register and to vote. If political things don't go the way you like, but you didn't get off your duff and vote you really don't have much room to gripe. Votes do count, though sometimes it might seem they don't.
Other stuff: In January 2014 my domestic partner and I got legally married after having been together for some 38 years. It was the happiest day of my life; and I long for the day when marriage equality will be a given in these United States. There will always be people who are against this and often these people cite religious reasons for their unreadiness. But this is not a religious matter. It is a secular matter, a civic matter; and it pertains to the notion that all citizens are to be treated equally under the law. There can't be a "separate but equal" thing because separate is never equal. Never was, never will be.
Over and out for now.
2/2/2015
More about me: I like music of many kinds, but my preference is for what people call "classical". You know - the "high brow" stuff like Bach and Mozart and Shostakovich (lots more); but I also like jazz and some popular stuff too. I think that you can't be "snooty" about music since music is a universal language that is spoken in many ways, each way having its own message to convey. I keep and open ear and an open mind in the music department. Theatre is also a particular love of mind, as is dance. Here too I refuse to be snooty. There's nothing about the works of Shakespeare or the choreography of George Balanchine that makes them any better than the material in those genres which are being produced nowadays. Oh, yes, I like movies too and I'm something of a movie junkie. If it's on the screen and it moves, I will watch it. Film is a unique art form for me and each one I see, whether it's a "classic" from yesteryear or the latest "zombies from outer space" movie each one has its own unique merits - though in some instances those merits might be hard to pinpoint.
By religion I am a Christian. By denomination I am a Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). I am active in my parish as its sacristan. What's that? you may ask. Well, think of what we used to call "women's work" - cleaning, washing, ironing, putting the house in order - and that's what I do. I'm glad we don't call it women's work any longer since there's no rule saying a man can't or shouldn't do these kinds of things. In addition to sacristan duties I serve in various roles in the liturgical rites of my parish. I've been doing all this for about 20 years and I love it, even though there are some times when there's tons of stuff to be done. Christmas and Easter come to mind right off since these are the major feasts of the Christian Church and as such deserve a bit of a fuss.
My politics? Well, I'm Democrat with liberal tendencies by party affiliation; but I'm careful to learn what the other party/parties have to say about important life-affecting issues and what candidates for office are being put forth. It's important to get the fullest picture of things before heading for the voting booth. I believe that it is the duty of every citizen to register and to vote. If political things don't go the way you like, but you didn't get off your duff and vote you really don't have much room to gripe. Votes do count, though sometimes it might seem they don't.
Other stuff: In January 2014 my domestic partner and I got legally married after having been together for some 38 years. It was the happiest day of my life; and I long for the day when marriage equality will be a given in these United States. There will always be people who are against this and often these people cite religious reasons for their unreadiness. But this is not a religious matter. It is a secular matter, a civic matter; and it pertains to the notion that all citizens are to be treated equally under the law. There can't be a "separate but equal" thing because separate is never equal. Never was, never will be.
Over and out for now.
2/2/2015
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