tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16559845104398933482024-03-13T22:20:33.429+00:00sandboxthoughts out and thoughts inGillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-11649695320614841722010-08-13T12:38:00.002+01:002010-08-13T13:07:46.264+01:00Bobby and Vicar<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">For me there's one thing missing from the bits of commentary I've heard on BBB2's 'Rev' programme. First, thanks to Judith Ley and guests for an informative look at it on her Manx Radio show last Sunday morning. Some non-clergy friends of mine were perplexed by the extreme picture portrayed in the sixth episode but in spite of that, as Judith's guests say, the overall story is true to life. John Coldwell, Marc Wolverson, Mary Railton-Crowder and Gareth Moore, all see the power of the calling to this particular walk of life. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The powerful bit that no-one's mentioned is the way in which the bobby (Policeman Lloyd played by Javone Prince?) delivered the telling 'call' to Adam, like the quiet voice of God, to minister to the dying woman in need. It's not just 'God and me' in our Christian life ... but God delivers messages, advice and challenge to us through all kinds of people, often seemingly unlikely, who usually aren't even aware that they are doing it.<br /><br />Thanks to Javone Prince for his subtle performance, as his character unwittingly 'ministered' to the floundering vicar.</span></div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-58450812740661812332010-03-23T22:34:00.000+00:002010-03-23T22:37:39.405+00:00How to hide JesusThis <a href="http://www.rejesus.co.uk/site/module/steve_turners_poems/P12/">poem by Steve Turner</a> (on ReJesus) sums it up brilliantly ...Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-76419376228918280232010-01-09T10:50:00.005+00:002010-01-09T11:15:35.433+00:00next 365 days ~ and NOW as well ...Southern Sudan has a referendum next year, 2011, on unity or independence ~ and it's no secret that the 12 months leading up to this will be tense and very dangerous, as highlighted in the <a href="http://www.sudan365.org/en-watch.html">Sudan365 movement</a>. <div><br /></div><div>This almost puts into the shade the national elections due April <b><i>this</i></b> year, 2010, which are no less important.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please remember all concerned, especially my friend <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/acc14/3514049155/">Enock Tombe</a>. He has been <a href="http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=4652">seconded from his post as Provincial Secretary for the Episcopal Church of Sudan</a>, to be leader of a High Committee for Elections for Eastern Equatoria, one of 25 states in the Sudan. </div><div><br /></div><div>Life must be very demanding for people like Enock and their families right now.</div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-14161461054719869192009-11-26T22:35:00.001+00:002009-11-26T22:37:11.239+00:00short, sharp, and right on the pointA clear message from ffinlo costain about myths and facts of carbon offsetting ...<div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:monospace;font-size:13px;"><embed src="http://www.manxtube.com/player.swf" width="360" height="270" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="width=360&height=270&file=http://www.manxtube.com/flvideo/1288.flvℑ=http://www.manxtube.com/thumb/1_1288.jpg&displayheight=270&link=http://www.manxtube.com/video/1288/Separate-the-rainforest-from-the-trees&searchbar=false&linkfromdisplay=true&recommendations=http://www.manxtube.com/feed_embed.php?v=66792401a6972d477dcc" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> </span></div></div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-87256084709549035582009-11-26T13:10:00.005+00:002009-11-26T16:29:29.672+00:00PR grief<div>There's a story on the wires that three clergymen have 'openly condemned' a new video game about violence and the occult.</div><div><br /></div><div>At least some of this report on the three clergy's response is fictitious ....</div><div><br /></div><div>A senior colleague of mine was asked his view by a ‘journalist’ who telephoned; he declined to comment, and he referred her to people in other parts of the Church of England with knowledge of the occult. So his alleged criticism of the game must therefore be a figment of her (or someone else’s) imagination.</div><div><br /></div><div>It subsequently turned out that the "journalist" is associated in some way with the PR company promoting the game ~ who are now publishing a carefully-phrased statement by a spokesman of the video company, "responding" to the clergy and slagging off 'religious people' (meaning the church).</div><div><br /></div><div>Certainly my colleague didn’t make the criticism ascribed to him. Perhaps the video company spokesman never said what he’s quoted as saying either.</div><div><br /></div><div>It’s all just good PR … isn’t it?</div><div><br /></div><div>My personal view is that this is carefully constructed, dishonest and manipulative and it's a model of disreputable practice.</div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-76605737808882252782009-09-19T14:25:00.004+01:002009-11-26T16:27:06.823+00:00Gin and chantsSooo busy having a wonderful new life working with people in the churches of Sodor and Man that I haven't done any posts for months. <div><br /></div><div>But I so enjoyed <a href="http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/blog_post.asp?id=80988">this comment</a> on Dave Walker's Church Times blog (from Stefan, on 3 September) that it was worth breaking the silence ....</div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-50544448409897214262009-06-15T12:44:00.003+01:002009-06-15T12:54:02.077+01:00virtual diocesesJust as I was coming to the end of a trawl through diocesan websites - and any good examples I could find - the CofE mission team have a link to a much more <a href="http://davidkeen.blogspot.com/2009/05/fresh-expressions-diocese-by-diocese.html">thorough and helpful job of it</a> already done by David Keen! <div><br /></div><div>(I'd love to know whether his title's a deliberate pun .... )</div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-57140411106004649002009-02-25T21:08:00.009+00:002009-02-25T22:39:46.193+00:00smuttyBack in my childhood we had a white cat with a grey smudge on his forehead like a smudge of soot so his name was Smutty. Our parents probably knew it well, but it wasn't until later at school that I understood the double meaning.<div><br /></div><div>Ash Wednesday today, and we hear the words - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=3&verse=19&version=31&context=verse">you are dust and to dust you will return</a></span> * - and we get that ash symbol smudged onto our forehead ... so then we're all smutty. </div><div><br /></div><div>And that's it. We're remembering we are prone to smuttiness.</div><div><br /></div><div>The days of Lent give us the prompt and the opportunity to think about that, to engage with the wilderness experience, and explore how we can live differently.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our Vicar Tony reminded us this evening that though the wilderness experience is not comfortable, it is not a process of punishment but a process of discovery so that we can blossom and grow - and relating to this there's a reference to crocuses in the <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2035:1-2;&version=31;">promise by the prophet Isaiah</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div style="float: left; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gillpoole/3307322472/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/3307322472_da05bcca3b_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>And we remember that the 40 days and 40 nights Jesus Christ spent in the desert (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-6a25Yo2wE&feature=related">Si Smith portrays them delightfully in '40'</a>) were the prelude to his liberating teaching, example, life, death and resurrection.</div><div><br /></div><div>* [pssst: listen to Dust from Dubb & Coyote available from <a href="http://www.proost.co.uk/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1">Proost</a> - brilliant! (audio section, title nine, item one)] </div></div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-56661150386371742712009-02-18T10:49:00.002+00:002009-02-18T11:18:56.719+00:00laughing and smilingThanks to <a href="http://godspace.wordpress.com/">Christine Sine</a> for pointing to <a href="http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/02/17/9-ways-that-humor-heals/">this lovely piece</a> about the healing of humour.<div><br /></div><div>Smiling's good for you too! [This is a <a href="http://www.parishnursing.co.uk">Parish Nursing</a> poster]</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-monospace; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gillpoole/3289501025/" title="smiling is good for you by crunklygill, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/3289501025_9bdf9a6e1a.jpg" width="351" height="500" alt="smiling is good for you" /></a></span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-69937952020771574142009-02-17T13:16:00.006+00:002009-02-17T14:14:49.151+00:00Ironic?<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gillpoole/3286972051/" title="Iconic ironic by crunklygill, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3434/3286972051_e023afd040.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Iconic ironic" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>... certainly poignant for those who've lost theirs.</div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-32385623825922344452009-02-17T12:51:00.006+00:002009-02-17T14:08:48.629+00:00Stunning writing by Dave Bookless, A Rocha<div style="text-align: left;">The latest A Rocha magazine is out - and it contains a stunning piece of writing by Dave Bookless (co-founder of A Rocha UK) about good leadership and healthy life. We can all learn from this candid account of tough choices.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Among his thoughtful points Dave says</div><div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">... there is a painful sense of erosion in stepping back from leadership</span></span></blockquote></div><div><blockquote>and</blockquote></div><div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Whilst I've been speaking about God's call to get deeply stuck into the places where He plants us, I have been losing touch with the place and people to which God has called me.</span></span></blockquote></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.arocha.org/resources/skins/gb-navigate/images/logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 132px; height: 57px;" src="http://www.arocha.org/resources/skins/gb-navigate/images/logo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />(It's the Spring 2009 edition - not yet on the <a href="http://www.arocha.org/gb-en/news.html">A Rocha UK</a> website.)</div>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-2591340626106264842009-02-11T18:05:00.004+00:002009-02-11T18:13:12.299+00:00Lloyds TSB decision about Gaza relief organizationThis information about a <a href="http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/EthicalConsumerBlogs/tabid/62/EntryId/262/Default.aspx">decision by Lloyds TSB</a> is 2 months old. <br /><br />It really took me by surprise when I stumbled on it just now.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-78497166657469642232008-12-17T10:44:00.001+00:002008-12-17T10:46:07.957+00:00adventOne worth sharing ...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-88339445281455506332008-10-01T14:02:00.006+01:002008-10-31T17:58:22.609+00:00made Vice-President by bloggersInteresting Media Show on R4 today. But then I'm interested in media.<br /><br />Is new media important? Well Sarah Palin <a href="http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/">might vote in favour</a>!<br /><br />The interview with Andy Brickley, whose blog was instrumental in getting Palin known and loved, introduced a blogger with a well-researched and very focused approach.<br /><br />Now what is it that I want to achieve ...Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-74283784657104383412008-07-07T10:51:00.006+01:002008-07-07T13:17:31.501+01:00unexpected social commentaryI've heard that Jay-Z is one of the most successful and creative hip-hop artists of all time. All I knew until Friday night was that his appearance at this year's Glastonbury sparked controversy, so while I was blobbing in front of the TV on Friday evening I stayed up to watch a documentary on BBC2 about the making of one of Jay-Z's albums ~ and I'm glad I did. [Part of a series on Classic Albums directed by Jeremy Marre - this one available on <a href="http://www.woolworths.co.uk/web/jsp/product/index.jsp?pid=50941263">DVD</a>]<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><blockquote>His remarkable rise to fame was heralded by his first album Reasonable Doubt, released in 1996, which broke new ground for rap, telling the bittersweet story of a Brooklyn street hustler with striking, coded lyrics supported by rich soul samples. Jay-Z chose this to be his Classic Album because of the power of its music and the disturbing story it tells.</blockquote></span> I was fascinated by the story it tells. I'm intrigued by the passionate enthusiasm of thousands of people for his music which, though I appreciate it intellectually, gives me only a murmur of aesthetic enjoyment. Most of all, I was captivated by the social commentary that Jay-Z gives.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-30981431051014970352008-06-23T10:08:00.006+01:002008-06-23T10:19:03.018+01:00trains and boats and planes, cars and buses - door to door!Just came across <a href="http://bbc.transportdirect.info/web2/Default.aspx?repeatingloop=Y">this</a> ...<br /><a href="http://bbc.transportdirect.info/web2/Default.aspx?repeatingloop=Y"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jTOF_HgnlM0i-TSAKTuhLxbm6fc_JWJxsclgfLgtkiQXoHKy-m0AEs9qDVJWMYTyFRLvADJyxRg0pW0BCIMRX6y8WxoDFI9cM-6vwcnoRBQh2V9QfQ24M7Zisu4oa78nfhai7EoFOLMw/s1600-h/BBC+travel.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jTOF_HgnlM0i-TSAKTuhLxbm6fc_JWJxsclgfLgtkiQXoHKy-m0AEs9qDVJWMYTyFRLvADJyxRg0pW0BCIMRX6y8WxoDFI9cM-6vwcnoRBQh2V9QfQ24M7Zisu4oa78nfhai7EoFOLMw/s400/BBC+travel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215002749623099314" /></a></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It looks great - well put-together, easy to use.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-3248758154051240772008-05-10T10:30:00.010+01:002008-05-10T13:53:04.485+01:00it's only words. innit?Just finished the very enjoyable read of Melvyn Bragg's "<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventure-English-500-AD-2000/dp/0340829915">The Adventure of English</a>". Thanks to Mr Bragg for a fascinating and diverting journey through the origins, highs, lows, and possible future/s of the English language; and thanks to my good friend who gave me the book for Christmas (2006!)<br /><br />Among the serious learnèd bits you still get the twinkle in Bragg's eye:<br /><blockquote><em>... the complicated English tag system - 'have you?', 'haven't you?', 'could you?', 'couldn't you?', 'won't you?', 'didn't you?' - will most certainly be simplified, </span></em><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books-uk&field-author=David%20Crystal"><em>Professor David Crystal</em></a><em> thinks. His bet is that 'nesspa?' could replace the lot of them. Innit?</span></blockquote></em><br />In an earlier <a href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/referenceandlanguages/0,,1085519,00.html">review for The Guardian</a>, John Mullan comments on the book's weakness in expert authority, but affirms that it's a pithy, accessible narrative. It certainly informed and entertained me.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-8519069562567892662008-04-27T18:03:00.003+01:002008-04-27T18:07:18.203+01:00Tonic from the Independent on SundayMy vicar mentioned this in conversation today.<br /><br />It's the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-ios-happy-list--the-100-816335.html">Independent on Sunday's Happy List </a>- the antedote to the Times on Sunday Rich List.<br /><br />More refreshing I think.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-63025307439601546182008-04-17T15:44:00.002+01:002008-04-17T15:50:01.819+01:00happy snappingSeen <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7351252.stm">this</a>?<br /><br />Worrying, but here's some comfort ...<br /><em><blockquote>If you are a normal person going about your business and you see something you want to take a picture of, then you are fine unless you're taking picture of something inherently private," says Hanna Basha, partner at solicitors Carter-Ruck. "But if it's the London Marathon or something, you're fine.</blockquote></em><span style="font-size:85%;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">[from the BBC News website]</span></blockquote></span>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-8413964386764707912008-04-03T15:00:00.009+01:002008-04-05T16:44:37.830+01:00Jonny's tinkeringAs he savours ideas from Robert Wuthnow's book <em><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-baby-Boomers-Thirty-Somethings-American/dp/0691127654/ref=sr_1_2?">after the baby boomers: how twenty and thirty-somethings are shaping the future of american religion</a></em> Jonny Baker stirs in some of his own thoughts about the idea of the 'tinkering' approach to religion and spirituality ...<blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">what skills do people need to be able to tinker? and related to this do people need some spiritual capital or theological capital to tinker? this is a challenging area. i think the answer is yes but often people don't have a lot - they think google is enough! a parallel could be drawn here with improvisation in music which will be much richer and more creative if the person knows the traditions and has done the work in terms of learning their craft - that will free them up. the same is true for spirituality - those that know the tradition, the scriptures, the theological takes, spiritual practices, liturgies, other improvisations that have been made etc will have much more to draw on. the problem for churches is that their tradiitions often feel like they are heavily policed, something to be protected rather than something to be creatively opened up, made open source and tinkered with</span>.</blockquote>Another bowlful of thinking for the 21st century, mixed together by <a href="http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/jonnybaker/2008/04/tinkering.html">Jonny Baker</a>.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-88306626622609456062008-04-03T09:44:00.018+01:002008-04-07T20:40:12.582+01:00futuristic, prehistoric ... and nowI lost my bearings as I scurried across University Parks heading to the <a href="http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University Museum of Natural History</a> for the public lecture by <a href="http://www.jamesmartin.com/">James Martin on The Meaning of the 21st Century</a>.<br /><br />Relieved to see others still making their way in to the magnificently monstrous Victorian building as the daylight seeped away on that March evening, I followed the flow to the buzzing lecture theatre where I’d last sat to listen to Philip Pullman some years ago. This evening there were no children in the crowded theatre but students and professors, clearly of various nationalities. And me.<br /><br />James Martin is a physicist and a good communicator. British-born, he is <a href="http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/about/james_martin.cfm">known as “the Guru of the Information Age</a>”. In the lecture “Target Earth: The grandscale problems of the 21st century” he used populist imagery but only for the sake of framing each topic. There was nothing vapid about the data or the thesis. His capacity to encompass knowledge from various major disciplines is stunning. He’s tall and big-boned, looks fit, and speaks unpretentiously. What my small brain found difficult was the leap between the looming reality of mega global issues, and the thesis that if we collectively (at government and corporate level) have the right mind, we have the means to make all turn out well. But in my simple way I trust the thinking of this man.<br /><br />Feedback on their blog invited by The 21st Century School (founded in Oxford by James Martin) focuses on the <a href="http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/blog/index.cfm/2008/3/12/James-Martins-Target-Earth">apparent lack of investment in getting minds changed</a>, while investing generously in further research. But I believe history shows that scientific development is always the trigger of every other shift in human awareness, including social and religious; so, again, I trust the notion that the creation of this multidisciplinary academic research centre has something key to offer to our shared future beyond the 21st century. Alison Stibbe, the School’s Outreach Manager, has responded on the blog saying “the need for understanding and formulating new frameworks for generating positive global collective action has already been identified as a key priority among its aims. We recognise that no single solution will provide the answer to global problems.”<br /><br />I note their mix of complex, high level academic engagement with open access events and interface such as the blogs. <a href="http://www.overcomingbias.com/"><em>Overcoming Bias</em></a>, the Future Humanity Institute blog, covers dead serious stuff and scary funny stuff – like:<br /><blockquote><p><a href="http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/04/arbitrary-silli.html">this post</a> (including <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGxdgNJ_lZM">power to robots</a>. Help!)</p>an amusing <a href="http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/03/amazing-breakth.html">April 1st commentary</a> on scientific breakthroughs and media mindset <p></p></blockquote><br />And look at the breadth of interest covered in <a href="http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/news_and_events/events/">forthcoming events</a> of the 21st Century School.<br /><br />Back to that night in March: as the lecture ended we all came back to the present day and made our way down the neo-gothic stairs to the grand hall of the museum where we chatted, bought signed copies of James Martin’s book, and drank champagne. And I wandered among the skeletons and models of the massive creatures that walked this planet before humans even began to know they would be part of the future. Then I put on my gloves and hat and went for the bus.Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-86237733410924755092008-03-20T14:47:00.005+00:002008-03-20T14:54:55.854+00:00people most meticulous, endeared to the good<blockquote>The day was Friday.<br /><br />But it was quite unlike any other day.<br /><br />It was a day when men went very grievously astray, so far astray in fact that they involved themselves in the utmost iniquity. Evil overwhelmed them and they were blind to the truth, though it was as clear as the morning sky. Yet for all that they were people of religion and character and the most careful of men about following the right. They were endeared to the good and none were given to profounder meditation. They were of all people most meticulous, tenderly affected towards their nation and their fatherland, sincere in their religious practice and characterized by fervour, courage and integrity. Yet this thorough competence in their religion did not save them from wrongdoing, nor immunize their minds from error. Their sincerity did not guide them to the good. They were a people who took counsel among themselves, yet their counsels led them astray. Their Roman overlords, too, were masters of law and order, yet these proved their undoing. The people of Jerusalem were caught that day in a vortex of seducing factors and, taken unawares amid them, they faltered. Lacking sound and valid criteria of action, they foundered utterly, as if they had been a people with neither reason nor religion.<br /><br />They considered that reason and religion alike laid upon them obligations that transcended the dictates of conscience. They did not realize that when men suffer the loss of conscience there is nothing that can replace it. For human conscience is a torch of the light of God, and without it there is no guidance for mankind. When humanity has no conscience to guide, every virtue collapses, every good turns to evil and all intelligence is crazed.<br /><br />On that day men willed to murder their conscience and that decision constitutes the supreme tragedy of humanity. The events of that day do not simply belong to the annals of early centuries. They are disasters renewed daily in the life of every individual. Men to the end of time will be contemporaries of that memorable day, perpetually in danger of the same sin and wrongdoing into which the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell. The same darkness will be theirs until they are resolute not to transgress the bounds of conscience.</blockquote><br />Egypt: a Muslim reflects on the meaning of the crucifixion.<br /><em>from "A Procession of Prayers : Meditations and Prayers from around the World" edited by John Carden; Cassell 1998</em>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-83308161489697277942008-03-14T10:10:00.004+00:002008-03-20T14:52:26.210+00:00but it's not the bars and pubs that binge!Well I don't think bars and pubs are innocent ~ it's been horrific the way happy hours have developed agressive marketing to make people drink more than they ever need. But people get tanked up even before they go out and it's they who are choosing to get wasted. (I think of that literally; in young people's vocabulary 'getting wasted' is a favoured recreation.) <br /><br />But it seems so obvious that the responsibility for personal choice lies with each one personally. So I'd say Peter Mahaffey makes <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7294860.stm">the best suggestion yet</a> - to fine drunks £100 on the spot - and I can't understand the response of the Government or Alcohol Concern.<br /><br /><em><blockquote>Plastic surgeon Peter Mahaffey told the British Medical Journal police should carry breathalysers and fine those three times over the drink-drive limit. The Bedford Hospital medic said his suggestion came after seeing patients injured in drunken fights and disorder. <br /><br />The government rejected the idea, saying the police already had the ability to deal with problem drinking. <br /><br />And an Alcohol Concern spokesman added: "We would not support this. There are already laws in place to tackle drunken behaviour. We think the government would be much better to force bars and clubs not to serve people when they have had enough."</blockquote></em>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-3436294311741609522008-02-29T10:16:00.007+00:002008-02-29T10:26:27.864+00:00stealing timeSeen in the comments section of the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7269816.stm">BBC online feature about leap year</a> and whose time is it anyway on 29 February?<br /><em><blockquote><blockquote>Temps, rejoice! For once, we have got one over our "permanent member of staff" brethren. <br />Remind them of this at every opportunity. It'll make you more popular.<br /><strong>Jonathan Barnett, London, UK</strong></blockquote></blockquote></em>Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655984510439893348.post-12321392917509516322008-02-28T14:48:00.008+00:002008-02-29T10:27:16.099+00:00just take his shoes off ...My sister's text message today tells me she's having a really good visit to New Zealand. She suggested I look up Napier Cathedral online - and indeed it gives really positive vibes. I found <a href="http://www.waiapu.com/index.php?page=youth">this gentle and touching challenge</a> (Blessed is the mother ...) on the youth worker's page ...Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14152612289285814811noreply@blogger.com0