Category: Popular Culture

Are You Willing to Commit to Proximity and Presence?

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Two Very Different Events Brought Home Lessons on How We Connect

 I had the opportunity recently to attend two very different events. Different, but both highlighted how we connect – or fail to connect – with each other. The thread of connection reminded me how important human communication can be. If you doubt that, take a look around at our national conversations today. Still think we are doing OK? Yeah, me neither.

Let’s Get Close

The first event was a presentation by a well-known social activist. This is a man who has done a lot of good in the world.

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Two Updates + New Thoughts on an Old Topic – National Service

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National service would be a fitting addition to the upcoming political season

First, a Look Back at Last Week

 I would like to revisit the idea of national service as a rite of passage. But first, let’s update two topics discussed last week

First- We discussed earlier a shameful 5-4 Supreme Court decision. The Court allowed Alabama to execute a man without a representative from his faith (Muslim) being with him at his execution. The rationale? He waited too long to ask, and the state did not have a Muslim cleric on its staff roster.

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That First Grade Teacher – An Homage to Teachers

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Reflecting Back Reminds Us of the Powerful Role Teachers Play in Our Lives

Unless you have children in school, you may forget about teachers for long stretches of time. You don’t see them, don’t have the opportunity to talk with many of them. But over the last year or so, teachers have reminded us they are here. Teachers have been on strike from coast to coast, in a desperate effort to get justice on many fronts. For the most part, the tactic has worked. It is forcing governors and legislators to recognize the vital role these people serve.

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Last Week We Savaged “Fashion.” Let’s Move on to “Dressing Up.”

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Dressing Up to Send Message

Last week we had some fun at the expense of the fashion industry. Most of us seemed to agree -the fashion industry may not represent civilization’s best.

So, let’s take another step. Since we have decided to forego fashion’s extremes, when might we want to dress with a bit more than usual care? There are some important reasons for doing so, and fashion has nothing to do with it.

Dress Code? We Don’t Need No Stinking Dress Code! Or Do We?

I am fortunate enough to live in a great area in which casual is the universal uniform of the day.

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It’s a Grab Bag Blog Today! Something for Everyone

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Enjoy a Collection of Assorted News, Human Interest, and Other Tidbits. Part of our Hey, Look at That! Series.

Today I am pleased to share an assortment of articles and information that I have come across. I found them fascinating. Sometimes fun, sometimes infuriating, but consistently good to know. This like going through your garage to organize a yard sale. I found some items to share.

I am constantly collecting bits of information and entertainment. Every once in a while, its’ time to share a few. Today is such a day.

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Clearly, I Need Fashion Help

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The Fashion Industry is a Major Financial and Publicity Phenomenon. Why?

Thinking About Fashion

The fashion industry and its satellites have been exceptionally visible of late. It is that time of year wherein Fashion Week takes place in key centers. We lived in Paris and New York; we saw how big a deal these events are for those in and admiring of the fashion bubble.

The passing of Karl Lagerfeld, a legend in the business, also generated a lot of commentary of late. I don’t know much about Lagerfeld or his work.

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Accountability, Atonement, and Forgiveness: The Search is On

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Some Important, Long Standing Wrongs Are Getting Justice. Can We Get This Right?

Some Days It Is Hard to Look in the Mirror, America

This is a blog posting I was not keen on writing. So much is at play around issues involving racism and sexual misconduct. Nothing seems easy to address. A lot of wrongs got a pass for way too long from way too many people. Too many of us live in blissful ignorance of what it is like to be a woman in Hollywood or a black man walking down a street.

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Are We Actually THAT Shortsighted and Selfish?

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Our choices for transportation don’t say much for us

American automotive firms are pretty much getting out of the car business. They are going almost exclusively to trucks and SUVs. They are leaving the automobile market to foreign companies.

One cannot blame them for this – they are going where the market tells them. You and I pretty much determine what General Motors, et al manufacture.

People have gone in this direction on a large scale because gasoline is a bit cheaper these days. Gas is not costly; so, gas mileage is not much of a factor for many of us anymore.

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Happy Birthday! Who Says So?!

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Are We Commemorating These Things Correctly? Perhaps Not.

 

Like a great number of people, I am marking a birthday this month. (Time now for the obligatory What? Again? Already? comment). As such passages do, this one has caused me to reflect a bit on birthdays; what they mean, and what we do with them. Let’s take a brief look.

About Birthdays

First of all, it is a bit odd when you think about it that most such events congratulate the person who was born. While our day of birth is important to us each and all,

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I Would Like to Have Your Eulogy Now, Please

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Let’s Stop Saying “I never knew that!” About Someone We Just Lost

I do not wish to dampen anyone’s holiday spirits today but know that we are about to reflect on the loss of those close to us. But take heart! This is actually an upbeat discussion. You will like where we are at the end of this posting.

We recently had the bitter-sweet experience in a memorial service for an old friend. Bitter, of course, because of the loss. Sweet for all the wonderful, funny recollections brought forth. This was typical of such Unitarian Universalists gatherings.

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