What I’ve Been Reading Recently
Recently, I’ve been sharing blog posts about things I’ve been reading online. Mostly, it is a way of saving links I found interesting, with a little added commentary and placed into a broader context. Right now an important broader context for me is my faith journey and how it relates to my campaign for State Representative. Reading some of the stories I link to will give people a better view of what is shaping some of my thinking.
Racism, Kaepernick, etc.
I am particularly concerned with addressing racism. It is something I’ve often spoken about in terms of health disparities, and in terms of the role churches can have in addressing racism. Some of the articles around Colin Kaepernick are particularly interesting.
Why Christian Parents Should Celebrate The Biblical Example of Colin Kaepernick
KING: Dear White America, which form of protest do you actually prefer?
How People of Color Can Protest “The Right Way” for White America
Institutional Racism Is Our Way of Life
No, 'Denali' is not a Kenyan word for 'black power'
(Leads to a side thought about learning at least the basics of Native America languages
Co-Creating Effective & Inclusive Organizations
I’ve also been interested in the idea of counter narrative. What are the stories of our country when not told from a dominant white male perspective? One article that caught my attention, that I’ve only scanned and hope to come back and read more closely is Deep in the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom
Here in Connecticut
Reverend Barber spoke at CCSU in New Britain. I’ve been particularly interested in his work with Repairers of the Breach and The Moral Revival.
A recent big news story was Judge strikes down state education aid choices as ‘irrational’ and up in Boston, there was the article, The Storm Is Coming, a very interesting article on urban planning in the age of climate change.
On a broader topic, there is the Human and nature dynamics (HANDY): Modeling inequality and use of resources in the collapse or sustainability of societies
Dakota Access
I’m also interested in the Dakota Access protests, for what they say about our countries relationship to Native Americans and how it relates to climate change.
‘Our cause is just,’ says tribal leader in pipeline protest
PROTECTION OF SACRED SITES LEADS TO CLASH WITH DAKOTA ACCESS PRIVATE SECURITY
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests In North Dakota Turn Violent
Neil Young Protests Dakota Access Pipeline With 'Indian Givers' Video
Alabama, Georgia declare state of emergency after pipeline spill
Tim Kaine
I found this article about Tim Kaine’s experiences when he was younger particularly interesting
Tim Kaine In Honduras, a Spiritual and Political Awakening for Tim Kaine
CPE type thoughts
One article that jumped out at me was:
How to Tell a Mother Her Child Is Dead
In part, it relates to issues of gun violence in America. It is also useful in thinking about clinical pastoral education.
Faith and Politics
One article on faith and politics I read was The intersection of faith, the Episcopal Church, and politics It is an older article, but still interesting. It hits many issues I am currently struggling with.
Lectionary
In the lectionary, I’ve been reading the lessons appointed for the feast of Albrecht Dürer, 1528, Matthias Grünewald, 1529, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1553, and for the feast of Elie Naud, Huguenot Witness to the Faith, 1722
The Feast of James Chisholm (Wikipedia article about James Chisholm
Arts
Edward Albee, Pulitzer-winning playwright of modern masterpieces, dies at 88. I was in several of his plays in high school. I shared a link to Zoo Story on Facebook.
It provided an interesting contrast to a video about intergenerational programs. I’ve been thinking about these a little in terms of Arden House and Dinner for a Dollar.
Other stuff
Three articles that come together in an interesting way for me right now are
Spirituality of Letting Go:, The Disease of Being Busy. and Between the World and Me: Empathy Is a Privilege. There is a lot that can be unpacked from these three articles. I would love a chance to come back and think about them and write more about them,
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
- Robert Frost.
Blockchains
One topic I’ve been interested in recently is blockchains. It is another one of those paths I keep meaning to come back to, but never quite make it. Two webpages recently caught my attention. ONC picks 15 blockchain ideas as challenge winners and Caitlin Long’s website where she writes a lot about blockchains.
Random other links include, Adjective Order in English Grammar. a database of Pokemon types
Reading about blood cells: Blood Cell Counts,
Mean corpuscular volume,
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration
Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW)
Back to school
Flash Mob "One Day More" (Les Mis...with CC subtitles) - West Des Moines Schools - Welcome Back