Conversations@Intersections

She jumps

2012-01-27T10:29:00.001+13:00

She jumps.

No one is watching.

Doesn't seem to matter to her.

There's a personal freedom in what she's doing.

Ouch!

She bends over double to inspect the surface then brushes the trampoline free of debris.

She goes on jumping.

Are you spiritual?

2012-01-23T00:30:00.000+13:00

What do ya reckon?

"Spirituality exists wherever we struggle with the issue of how our lives fit into the greater cosmic scheme of things. This is true even when our questions never give way to specific answers or give rise to specific practices such as prayer or meditation. We encounter spiritual issues every time we wonder where the universe comes from, why we are here, or what happens when we die. We also become spiritual when we become moved by values such as beauty, love, or creativity that seem to reveal a meaning or power beyond our visible world. An idea or practice is "spiritual" when it reveals our personal desire to establish a felt-relationship with the deepest meanings or powers governing life."

A quote from an article comparing and contrasting the concepts spiritual and religious.

Appropriate technology: iPad and poetry?

2012-01-22T19:49:00.001+13:00

•Apple announced platforms for etextbooks today, digital educational materials students will access through their iPads and iPhones.

Imagine how much lighter their backpacks will be! Why carry around the weight of the whole book when you're only using it a chapter at a time?

Would it be okay to read Norton's Anthologies of poetry and literature on an iPad? Seems wrong somehow.

Thoreau? Burns? James Whitcomb Riley?

The weight and thin paper seemed to add something to the experience.

•They read Scripture off an iPhone during worship today.

The worship team wanted passages scattered through the preamble to a song. Just brief bursts of Scripture to highlight, emphasize, punctuate the verses in the song. It was terrific! Their faces hidden behind sheets of white paper wouldn't have been as friendly. Juggling Bibles and finding the many passages while holding mics would have been awkward.

So is it okay to read poetry off an iPad? The times they are a changin'.

Posted on the go.

Marshmallows

2012-01-20T08:02:00.001+13:00

Sitting by the campfire this morning, quiet & peaceful, the aroma of cold ashes in the air.

The sparrows fly in and clean up the dropped marshmallows; those objects of disappointment and tears from last night. The birds peck and pull at the gooey globs. One scrawny frantic bird gets a white glob on top of his beak. It seems to frustrate him, but soon he's back in the fray.

Young boys arrive and run up and down and back and forth on the wooden skateboard ramp: a seemingly senseless expense of energy like hamsters in a wheel. Another boy runs from his family's cluster of tents toward the toilet with his hand over his mouth. I think it all has something to do with the marshmallows.

Gulls arrive but don't seem to care about the white goo. They search the lawn for bits of sausage and larger morsels.

A sparrow notices a pink marshmallow and jumps over to that rock. After a couple of tastes, he flies off. Other birds sample the pink goo, but they don't stay longer than two pecks.

Is it the artificial colouring that puts them off?

Behaviour observed is not behaviour explained, though it's fun to try.

- Posted using BlogPress mobile.

Religion, religious, religiously: words or lifestyles?

2012-01-15T11:53:00.001+13:00

How do you reconcile Amos 5:21 with James 1:27? Look 'em up!

No one verse stands above another. All Scripture must be interpreted by all Scripture.... so what do ya reckon?

Tall Skinny Kiwi, Andrew Jones discusses the viral Youtube video Religion: Love it and Hate it

Discussion going on about a YouTube video released this week with 10 million hits already. "Why I hate religion but love Jesus" by spoken word artist Jefferson Bethke, was also the most watched video on Facebook.

"Jeff seems a nice guy and his message sounds like mine when I was his age. Some people are confused by his take on religion and statements that Jesus came to abolish it.

Here's my take:
Tall Skinny Kiwi Blog

Check out Spiritual, but not religious from BeliefNet's Robert C Fuller

And an older Conversations@Intersections post from 2008, Not Casual, Comfortable or Convenient.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Celebrate Diversity of Opinion, Perspective

2012-01-10T17:13:00.001+13:00

"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking."

George Patton

The Story; The End

2012-01-07T00:15:00.000+13:00

The day drug on.
Energy levels were low.
The rain continued to pour.

Books waited on the shelves.
Impetus was gone.
They'd still be there tomorrow.

Yet once inside the story,
a good and gripping story,
nothing could distract attention.

But then, the story would end.
Disappointing really.
Not the plot, but that it should end.
That writer and reader and characters must now part.

Therein may be the seed of hesitation;
reluctance to begin what must end,
Fickle relationships limited to page numbers.

Give me something to read

2012-01-06T00:22:00.002+13:00

Lists abound at the end of the year . . . best films, books, games, apps . . . .

One interesting list I stumbled upon in my rambles around the WWW is at Give Me Something to Read and is a list of interesting articles chosen as this year's highlights.

Give Me Something To Read describes itself as "A hand-picked selection of the finest articles and essays saved with Instapaper." Instapaper is a useful way to save bits that you see online, but on't have time to read right then. You add it to your list of Read Laters and then it is accessible on your iPad, laptop, smart phone or in any internet cafe around the world. Instapaper is free ad handy. I recommend it.

So whether you bookmark Give Me Something to Read, register for Instapaper or just find an interesting article from the list, I hope this blog post has added value for you today.

Sometimes Conversations@Intersections is about me and my wanderings, and sometimes it is helpful things I've discovered that I want to share with you. I'm not sure why you stopped in here, os why you return, but I'm glad to have intersected with you and hope it was of some value to you.

It's an odd thing, this internet. Conversations take place over keyboards rather than around tables. Maybe we should have Meet-ups as Tweeters do.

Chocolate: Darker the better

2012-01-05T00:09:00.001+13:00

Did you get any chocolate for Christmas?

For those of you in the cooler seasons right now, do you reach for hot chocolate to warm your insides?

The chocolate itself is not bad for us, in fact, it has some good benefits. But what is mixed in with the chocolate might be additives that add more than you want!

Check out what Jennifer Bowden has to say in The NZ Listener's Nutrition column.

Download Jennifer's free Food Diary from Thinking Nutrition.

Unknowns

2012-01-04T00:30:00.000+13:00

Locals lean, smoking, waiting for their bus

to suburbs and streets unknown to me.

She passes with hollow eyes,

not really seeing the familiar footpath unfolding before her.

Just arrived, with a foreign perspective,

I see their city differently from them, with an unknowing.

Networks and collaboration in Blogging

2012-01-02T00:06:00.005+13:00

How do you find content to read on the internet? It's not hard to find content, but to find the stuff that's most interesting to you?

Do you check the blog rolls of bloggers you read? Many blogs do have recommended blogs listed in the sidebar or links.

Have you heard of collaborative blogging where more than one person provides the content? It might give you more value with less web searching, bringing all the articles together in one place.

Some bloggers use a blog hop, they network their blogs together with others for maximum exposure, a circle of similar yet different commentators on life & it's components.

Check out one such hop on my friend Shanda's blog. Shanda has lived in at least 7 countries and traveled in many more. She has a soft heart and a good mind and a fun family.

Cheryl is another blogging friend to be found at In the Life of a Busy Woman. Cheryl writes of home and heart, from a Christian perspective, as a working wife & mom with teenagers and a university student. Her blog roll includes thinkers and book blogs and an interesting assortment.

Angela Richards writes of Living Overseas and Loving it, the perspective of a foreigner married to a foreigner and raising kids with the best of both worlds. I knew Angela before she was a foreigner, but then have visited in her home in various cities.

Diary of A Goldfish promotes Blogging Against Disablism Day in early May each year by encouraging people to blog about disability and then to link all those blogs via her site. Who do you know who might like to join in that conversation this year?

The Cosy Bookshop is a work in progress with authorship shared between 5 busy women who have an idea. This blog is like an incubator, sometimes neglected as life-here-and-now demands more attention. The main thing about this blog is that the blog is not the main thing; The Cosy Bookshop is. Well, it will be when two of the five of us have done their small business course and can eliminate many mistakes before we make them.

There are webrings too, where people share a blog, link in and out of it. Usually there is a commonality that makes sense and attracts both readers of writers of similar ilk. My friend Jemma is part of one at RevGalBlogPals ~a circle of friends since 2005~. That circle is primarily women in Christian ministry from around the world.

All kinds of groups, clubs and organisations are using blogs as a communal web presence, a repository of info, opinion and advice.

Where do you find good content? Twitter, StumbleUpon, Flipboard . . .?

Are you part of a webring, blog hop or co-author a blog?

Tips for collaborative blogging from ProBlogger and from BrainZooming
One thing to watch out for is splogging where comments on blogs are SPAM used to advertise something unrelated to the blogger.

Blogging is a funny thing. It doesn't shout for attention, but is satisfying somehow, at least to this blog writer.

Dissatisfied

2012-01-01T00:28:00.000+13:00

She approaches confidently,

asking how my dinner is,

with no idea I sent my meal back last Sunday, dissatisfied.

She approaches timidly,

wondering how my dinner is,

and passes by with no idea what she’ll eat tonight, dissatisfied.

Slow food, near it’s source

2011-12-31T00:25:00.000+13:00

Though we arrived late to the Farmer’s Market, after the cold had chased the buskers away,

we hunted and gathered, and interacted with the producers themselves. Buying food nearer

to it’s source is satisfying, and knowing the financial gain was going only into the pockets

of those who did the work, more so.

The Lebanese woman’s recipe of spinach stuffed bread with a tang of lemon went nicely

with ‘young’ Colin’s cheese and the venison salami I’m to “hang unwrapped by it’s string.”

Add all of these to the tomato, lentil & pumpkin soup made by my friend, and we feasted.

Food is best shared, most satisfying when hungry and long remembered when the procurement takes time.

Knitting Therapy

2011-12-30T00:07:00.000+13:00

I've seen babies rub the satin edge of their blanket and men stroke their dog's fur.

What do you do that might compare? Read on . . .

Knitting is becoming the in thing in younger generations, not just the domain of nana's anymore.

Several of my friends knit or crochet. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was a girl, but I've done nothing of that sort for many years, and don't now.

I garden, make photographs, read, try to paint sometimes . . . .

In a television show called NCIS, you might see Gibbs working on a boat he is building in his basement. A few visitors have commented on the potential difficulty of getting the boat out. Gibbs just looks at them like they're dumb; they just don't get it.

It's about the making of the thing.

Knitting can be like that too, from yarn to thing with a couple of sticks. Click on the cartoon to the left and you'll be taken to the rest of the story; how knitting can be therapeutic, how the process and the rhythm connects with the knitter on an emotional level.

What do you do that might compare?

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands,

just as we instructed you before." 1 Thessalonians 4:11

“Crisps, lollies or biscuits?”

2011-12-29T00:31:00.000+13:00

“Crisps, lollies or biscuits?” she said as she paid attention to passengers in each row.

It was only after I heard it for the seventh or eighth time that I realized how foreign

those words would be to someone unfamiliar with the Queen’s English, or any of it’s

colonial derivatives.

NZ673, Auckland to Dunedin, 2 Nov 2011

Grief: The Aggrieved & Their friends

2011-12-28T00:30:00.001+13:00

People act oddly when others are grieving. Some personality types want to fix things, remove the offense so their friend will cheer up. Others avoid the aggrieved, possibly feeling ineffectual and frustrated. Some cannot empathise at all and others say really stupid things.

I like what Stephen Marsh has written about Job's friends.

Doesn't everyone know that when you have grief or sorrow, what your life really needs is someone to shout at you?

Of course what they are really doing is trying to make sense of Job's problems. They want:

The universe to make sense.
The universe to make sense in a way that assures them that they are innoculated or protected against bad things happening to them.
Job to get over it so he is not a cloud in their lives.
To "help" without actually having to do anything.

Helping a friend in grief is not easy.
Trying to make sense of and understand is challenging for them, let alone for those who are step or two removed. Sometimes it is good to ask your friend how you can help. They may not know, but at least voicing your desire and accompanying ignorance will allow for better communication and lowered expectations.

Oh, and there's no quick fix for grief.
It's different for everyone, it cycles around over time. Two to three years down the road, a parent who has lost a child may still regularly feel the loss acutely. While life must go on, especially if there are other children, it'll never be the same. Never.

32 panes

2011-12-27T00:32:00.000+13:00

The view from my cell-like room is breathtaking; old homes

brightly painted, rooflines with character, pointing toward green hilltops guarding the horizon.

I see through old windows , painted, grouted and latched nearly shut with big brass handles.

32 panes of glass break the tableau into parts, or is it 32 paintings brought together as a mural of the whole?

otiose: another new word

2011-12-27T00:09:00.001+13:00

adjective

being at leisure; idle; indolent.

ineffective or futile.

superfluous or useless.

Don't think I've EVER seen or used this word before . . . . probably heard it along the way, but didn't understand what was being said. Context gives me heaps o'hints.

Christmas Etymology

2011-12-26T00:24:00.001+13:00

The word "Christmas" originated as a compound meaning "Christ's mass". It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah"; and mæsse is from Latinmissa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form "Christenmas" was also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal; it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse, literally "Christian mass".

Day of Birth

"Xmas" is an abbreviation of Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous style guides discourage its use; it has precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).

In addition to "Christmas", the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, "midwinter", or, more rarely, as Nātiuiteð (from Latin nātīvitās below).

"Nativity", meaning "birth", is from Latin nātīvitās.

In Old English, Gēola ("Yule") referred to the period corresponding to January and December; the cognate Old Norse Jól was later the name of a pagan Scandinavian holiday which merged with Christmas around 1000.

"Noel" (or "Nowell") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis (diēs), "(day) of birth".

See also BOXING DAY, a post explaining a British tradition of the day after Christmas, which it is already in much of the world. World Clock Day & Nite Map

Boxing Day got its name from an old tradition when employers boxed gifts for their workers on the day after Christmas. Was it an after thought or left overs or . . . .

What would he like? What do I have?

2011-12-25T00:08:00.001+13:00

The Little Drummer Boy is a song, a story, of an impoverished boy wanting to give something to another boy.

What would he like? What do I have?

It's not that much different even now.
That sums up the life of a Jesus follower quite well, I'd say.

What would he like? What do I have? What would he like? What do I have?
What would he like? What do I have? What would he like? What do I have? What would he like?
What do I have? What would he like? What do I have? What would he like? What do I have?
What would he like? What do I have? What would he like? What do I have?
What would he like?

copywrite Jill Shaw 2011

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown"

2011-12-24T00:02:00.000+13:00

Make the Message accessible!

2011-12-22T00:14:00.001+13:00

I work with students and tech savvy people.

This video contextualizes the nativity for them.

Amazingly well thought out and executed.

Reframe the old message and make it accessible.

God put on flesh; musta been uncomfortable sometimes.

How an we offer access to the message today?

Digital Nativity for Tech Savvy Viewers Speaks Their Language

Difficult or Lonely Christmas?

2011-12-21T00:45:00.005+13:00

How have your circumstances changed since last Christmas?

Drastically? Incrementally?
For the better, or not?

As we go about our business, it might be easier on those we care about if we realised that Christmas and holidays are not always jolly celebrations.

We know people for whom this is likely to be their last Christmas. They may be aware of it, or those closest to them may be harbouring that thought. It will cast a shadow, to some degree, over how they go about these next days and weeks.

Others are eager for the holidays to be behind us all because they feel they have little to celebrate this year. Losses have changed things for them in ways we may not consider as wish them a Merry Christmas.

Celebrations are good.
Lives and losses worth grieving are good too.

Those "good" things may not be easily compatible.

Let's Handle With Care those we care about.

Check a previous Conversations@Intersections post about
managing illness and potential loss during the holidays
and another about planning ahead to spend the day as well as possible.

Struggling through Christmas

You can also check Hospice, Aged, Mental Health or Grief
websites and forums for suggestions and support.

"To each his own" or "No accounting for taste"?

2011-12-20T00:35:00.000+13:00

Those of us in the Southern Hemisphere are not in need of such knitted items, but I thought I'd give the Northern Hemisphere friends a heads up. Though my grandmother would have lovingly knitted a couple of these, most of them are something even a Weasley wouldn't wear.

My personal favourite is shown here.

For the others, click on the link below.

The 12 ugliest Christmas sweaters, voted upon and selected by people in the know . . . . at CollectorsWeekly.com staff.

Christmas shopping? Fair Trade

2011-12-20T00:06:00.001+13:00

If you're not quite done yet, consider what you can buy locally. Is there a market where handmade goods are sold by the maker?

How about a craft co-op nearby where you can buy unique items that will say "I picked this just for you". That's in contrast to the scenario where someone walks in with 27 identical gifts, without tags, and distributes them to each relative. One-size-fits-all is handy for the purchaser, but not the recipients . . . unless of course it's the new Fiskars scissors that do multiple things or that 5-in-1 tool from the paint store or . . . oh, sorry. I digress.

Uhm, what about Fair Trade?
What about profits going to the one who provided the idea, initiative and sweat? I know distribution is vital to commerce and should be rewarded, but when distributors make disproportionately more than producers then the balance of power has shifted and the production is likely to dry up.

Fair Trade is a system of exchange that honors
producers, communities, consumers, and the
environment. It is a model for the global economy
rooted in people-to-people connections, justice,
and sustainability.

In this economic season price matters, but ethics do too.

Shop ethically when at all possible.
Pay fair prices for items and do not reward modern day slavery of sweat shops where employees are sporadically paid and not free to change their situation. Many have had their passports confiscated and live in cramped squalor.

Fair trade is good. It makes the world a more equitable place.
Click to download a Fair Trade Finder App.

Conversations@Intersections

She jumps

Are you spiritual?

Appropriate technology: iPad and poetry?

Marshmallows

Religion, religious, religiously: words or lifestyles?

Celebrate Diversity of Opinion, Perspective

The Story; The End

Give me something to read

Chocolate: Darker the better

Unknowns

Networks and collaboration in Blogging

Dissatisfied

Slow food, near it’s source

Knitting Therapy

“Crisps, lollies or biscuits?”

Grief: The Aggrieved & Their friends

32 panes

otiose: another new word

o·ti·ose

Christmas Etymology

What would he like? What do I have?

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown"

Make the Message accessible!

I work with students and tech savvy people.

This video contextualizes the nativity for them.

Amazingly well thought out and executed.

Reframe the old message and make it accessible.

God put on flesh; musta been uncomfortable sometimes.

How an we offer access to the message today?

Difficult or Lonely Christmas?

"To each his own" or "No accounting for taste"?

Christmas shopping? Fair Trade