Apatosaurus

Big purchase

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:15:40 -0500

I’ll be making a big, life-changing purchase in the coming week…

Wish me luck.

Good luck!

Things that ACTUALLY happened at the Unitarian Church service today:

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:41:44 -0500

a grown woman wore overalls

people put pebbles in a bowl of water as they talked about their joys and sorrows…it felt a bit like AA

a GIANT roach crawled across the isle and I grabbed Nat whilst pointing at said roach

kids were annoying

trannys wearing santa hats

the depiction of the story of joseph and mary and mary’s immaculate conception felt like “a bit of a mockery” to my mother in law

grown men wore towels on their heads so to look like shepherds

we sang jingle bells while a gay dude played the piano

we learned the difference between indigo and blue

we found out where all the weird kids from high school go when they grow up

the minister/pastor/whatever gave everyone a fist bump instead of a handshake

everyone was uncomfortable at least once

…but through all of this weirdness I could hold my wife’s hand, so let’s call it a draw.

Yep. Sounds about right. Except the roach; that’s unusual. Which congregation did you go to?

Incidentally, the clergy person is usually referred to as the minister.

ackb: Winter wonderland. There are places on the roof where the...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:30:39 -0500

ackb:

Winter wonderland.

There are places on the roof where the snow is almost four feet deep.

fouroneoh: Baltimore - Fells Point in...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:26:00 -0500

fouroneoh:

Baltimore - Fells Point in December

(via heyitstanya)

"One interpretation of the nativity story in Luke is that the manger was offered out of kindness, a..."

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:23:00 -0500

“

One interpretation of the nativity story in Luke is that the manger was offered out of kindness, a creative solution when room was scarce. In the book of Luke, the word that gets translated as “inn” is “kataluma.” A kataluma could be the upstairs room of a family home rather than a hotel. The first floor of the home is where the family’s animals were brought inside to keep them warm and safe. There would be more room downstairs for a guest family to spread out. It might have been like offering to let a family set up in the garage rather than having them sleep on the couch in the living room.

It’s possible that the writer of Luke was trying to make a point about creating room where we didn’t see it before. Perhaps the story helps question our assumptions about the limits of hospitality. At the very least, the story asks listeners to expand the number of places where God might be found. Not only in the sacred shrines, not only among kings and heads of state, the holy is also found among everyday beings of flesh and blood.

In this story, the Divine is incarnate in a human body. Talk about making room! How can there be enough space for the immediate and the transcendent in one body? It seems like a person ought to split at the seams. Yet I think it’s true that all of our bodies are sacred. We have more room within than we imagine.

”

- Lyn Cox, via Fire of Thought - Room At The Inn

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:53:14 -0500

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

- Lucille Ball (via lickystickypickyme) (via quote-book) (via ackb)

lyndseydyan: Pin

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:40:50 -0500

lyndseydyan:

Pin

ackb: Trying to stay warm

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:54:06 -0500

ackb:

Trying to stay warm

Evolvems transformable plushies from Think Geek, via Dinochick...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:10:08 -0500

Evolvems transformable plushies from Think Geek, via Dinochick Blogs: Last minute Christmas gift?

Happy 8th Night!

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:56:13 -0500

Happy 8th Night!

Lucy and me getting ready for the blizzard

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:11:19 -0500

Lucy and me getting ready for the blizzard

"Luke refers to the census partly to make the point that Roman power jerked people like Joseph and..."

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:53:27 -0500

“Luke refers to the census partly to make the point that Roman power jerked people like Joseph and Mary around, and made the common people dance to their tune. One of the several reasons Jesus was popular with the common people was because they, quite correctly, saw him as a figure of resistance. To imply, then, that the Biblical witness encourages being a dutiful little citizen of the Empire, and doing obediently all that the Empire says, is quite a bit off the mark. There are good reasons for participating in the American census, but one of them is not because Jesus wants you to obey the government.”

- Rev. John Petty, via progressive involvement: The apostle Luke was not a promoter of Roman power

Click through to see the poster that he’s writing about.

Planning a DC wedding?

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:35:55 -0500

Does marriage equality open your ears to wedding bells?

Let me know if you are looking for an officiant.

"District of Columbia (DC) Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed a marriage equality bill into law on December..."

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:13:09 -0500

“District of Columbia (DC) Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed a marriage equality bill into law on December 18, 2009. Fenty signed the legislation at a public ceremony held at All Souls Church, Unitarian, located in the diverse neighborhood of Columbia Heights.”

- UUA: Unitarian Universalist Leaders Applaud Signing of DC Equal Marriage Legislation

Let Us Hold That For You

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:17:41 -0500

I strongly believe that one of the tasks of people in community - any community, any network of people who depend on and care for each other - is to be the stewards of memory and hope when one of their number is doing the hard work of coping with despair. This doesn’t mean that community members admonish each other to buck up and be cheerful on demand. This means that, when someone is carrying a burden on a difficult journey, we protect what is precious. Memories of beauty, knowledge that we are not abandoned, hope for better days … these seem like fragile ornaments to juggle when we have to manage something as heavy and clumsy as the challenges of mortal life. Obviously, we share the weight of each other’s burdens whenever possible. But when there’s something you just have to carry by yourself, let us hold the pieces of memory and hope, travel with you, and give them back when you are ready to receive them.

Water conservation order lifted as crews work to repair main break -- baltimoresun.com

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:22:45 -0500

Water conservation order lifted as crews work to repair main break -- baltimoresun.com

"Anybody who gets a water bill from the city [Baltimore] should conserve water,” Kocher said...."

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:02:06 -0500

““Anybody who gets a water bill from the city [Baltimore] should conserve water,” Kocher said. The surrounding counties buy water from Baltimore, according to the spokesman. Crews hoped to repair the chlorinator within a few hours, but until then, the lack of service “limits our capacity to put water in the system,” Kocher said. “The water is safe, but don’t use it unless you absolutely have to,” he said.”

- Water main break prompts order to conserve in city, surrounding counties — baltimoresun.com

Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union » One Christmas Wish

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:05:23 -0500

Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union » One Christmas Wish:

Martin Gill is one of the parents in the ongoing court case in Florida challenging that state’s law barring gay and lesbian people from adopting. In this guest post, he doesn’t dwell on the court case, but rather ends up suggesting that we consider the needs of adolescents and teens in our holiday charity gifts.

Just moved up

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:26:53 -0500

to 10th in line at the post office. Holiday cheer FTW!

nexter

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:23:05 -0500

ackb:

IRL [in real life] doesn’t seem right given how much of my [real] life is spent online

AFK [away from keyboard] is also technically inaccurate, since I’m never truly away from my keyboard

Ondiru suggests IHR [in huggable range]

That’s hard to argue with.

Some of us have a larger IHR radius than others. I do like the reality of hugging.