Yes, I am still a luddite. Can't help it. Two children under age 5, a congregation, the biological need for food and sleep... it's too much to keep up with how to work the VCR, the DVD player, my XM radio, online banking, the office spreadsheet, my cell phone, mail merge, listservs, voicemail, and my camera. Now that I look over that list, I believe I am a modified luddite. I only want to destroy the technological advancements I can't figure out.
All of this is to explain why I have put the following link below in an unacceptable fashion. It is Schott's Sunday NY Times essay on the many ways to get your money's worth from a book. Schott is an unrepentant book abuser after my own heart. He is rather low-tech, too, which I admire greatly. Hope you can link. If not, well, life isn't easy either. Consider it a life lesson.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/books/review/Schott.t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Rules for Church
Just because we are creedless doesn't mean we are rule-less. There are a few simple rules to being a Unitarian Universalist church member, or at least there should be. Here are a few that come to mind off the top of my head in no particular order...
* Try to sing along. Hymns are not about performance, perfection, or complete agreement with the lyrics or key signature. We sing hymns to lift up collectively ideas, questions, hopes, inspiration. The service is not about the service leader, it is about the congregation. Singing is one of the things the congregation does to lend its voice. Even when the voice is off-key.
* Look around and say hi. This isn't the opera or the movies. If you come to a church, the people around you are THE CHURCH. Check them out. Say hello. And if they look unfamiliar, start up a conversation.
* Your book addiction is encouraged here. Are you constantly interested in learning new things? Do you have multiple library cards, an Amazon account, and are on a first name basis with all the new and used book sellers in town? We are only going to encourage you in these efforts.
* Whine about money at your own peril. If you have some savings and are able to pay your normal living bills each month with money left over for movies and eating out, you are better off than almost every UU church I know. There is no amorphous "they" in a church spending "your" money. If you want to deny your friends' children new curricula and well-lit, well-heated areas to learn and play at church, then look those little kiddies in the eyes and say so. Otherwise, take part in the process to make your church successful in its mission.
* We are pretty free and easy on the dress code, but show some respect. The guy in the tie is always easy to spot, and we think he's cool for being a rebel. The guy in the "Bite Me" shirt, well, not so much.
* Church ain't no secret. Talk to your children about their classes and services you attended. Talk to your friends about ideas and questions that came to you during the service. Talk to other church members about theological and philosophical questions you have. And practice the name, it's tricky. Uni-tar-i-an Uni-ver-sal-ist. The order does matter.
* Admit ignorance. There is this faulty assumption that you have to be part of a brain trust to be a UU. Not at all. What I know as a UU I found out by asking the greatest question of humankind: Huh? You aren't going to hurt this church by asking questions. Just be prepared to get a variety of answers on some things.
* Come back. We aren't perfect. Someone will forget to say hi. Someone will wish you a peaceful solstice, forgetting that you are a practicing UU Buddhist. You'll come to a service that doesn't move you. These are normal parts of church life. But we keep coming back. And we strive to be gentle and honest with one another in ways that are not well-modeled in the rest of society.
Church isn't a gathering of people poised on the edge of perfection. It isn't a movie or a sitcom whose purpose it is to make you happy and comfortable. Church isn't always easy. But then again, neither are you. And neither am I. And yet, we are still welcome at church to share our finest hours, and our most difficult.
That is why we are not a social club, not a discussion group. A Unitarian Universalist church is a group of people of all ages who support each other through life's changes, encourage one another to spiritual depth and intellectual growth, work to improve the community we live in (and beyond), and celebrate what it means to be human in an amazing and fragile world. All of this we do in the spirit of a long and rich religious heritage and in the distant light of hope for a better future.
And with a few rules.
* Try to sing along. Hymns are not about performance, perfection, or complete agreement with the lyrics or key signature. We sing hymns to lift up collectively ideas, questions, hopes, inspiration. The service is not about the service leader, it is about the congregation. Singing is one of the things the congregation does to lend its voice. Even when the voice is off-key.
* Look around and say hi. This isn't the opera or the movies. If you come to a church, the people around you are THE CHURCH. Check them out. Say hello. And if they look unfamiliar, start up a conversation.
* Your book addiction is encouraged here. Are you constantly interested in learning new things? Do you have multiple library cards, an Amazon account, and are on a first name basis with all the new and used book sellers in town? We are only going to encourage you in these efforts.
* Whine about money at your own peril. If you have some savings and are able to pay your normal living bills each month with money left over for movies and eating out, you are better off than almost every UU church I know. There is no amorphous "they" in a church spending "your" money. If you want to deny your friends' children new curricula and well-lit, well-heated areas to learn and play at church, then look those little kiddies in the eyes and say so. Otherwise, take part in the process to make your church successful in its mission.
* We are pretty free and easy on the dress code, but show some respect. The guy in the tie is always easy to spot, and we think he's cool for being a rebel. The guy in the "Bite Me" shirt, well, not so much.
* Church ain't no secret. Talk to your children about their classes and services you attended. Talk to your friends about ideas and questions that came to you during the service. Talk to other church members about theological and philosophical questions you have. And practice the name, it's tricky. Uni-tar-i-an Uni-ver-sal-ist. The order does matter.
* Admit ignorance. There is this faulty assumption that you have to be part of a brain trust to be a UU. Not at all. What I know as a UU I found out by asking the greatest question of humankind: Huh? You aren't going to hurt this church by asking questions. Just be prepared to get a variety of answers on some things.
* Come back. We aren't perfect. Someone will forget to say hi. Someone will wish you a peaceful solstice, forgetting that you are a practicing UU Buddhist. You'll come to a service that doesn't move you. These are normal parts of church life. But we keep coming back. And we strive to be gentle and honest with one another in ways that are not well-modeled in the rest of society.
Church isn't a gathering of people poised on the edge of perfection. It isn't a movie or a sitcom whose purpose it is to make you happy and comfortable. Church isn't always easy. But then again, neither are you. And neither am I. And yet, we are still welcome at church to share our finest hours, and our most difficult.
That is why we are not a social club, not a discussion group. A Unitarian Universalist church is a group of people of all ages who support each other through life's changes, encourage one another to spiritual depth and intellectual growth, work to improve the community we live in (and beyond), and celebrate what it means to be human in an amazing and fragile world. All of this we do in the spirit of a long and rich religious heritage and in the distant light of hope for a better future.
And with a few rules.
Friday, March 02, 2007
More on Celebrity
A follow-up to my last post. Just so you know that there is a heart somewhere in my angry little chest, let's talk about celebrity in a more positive light. I've been thinking all week on my disdain and disgust over the spectacle that followed the untimely death of Ms. Smith. I've divided my extreme reaction to a few basic causes.
Cause #1 - I don't even follow this stuff and I saw this woman dying young and in despair years ago. She was a prescription drug addict, objectified by an entire nation, and suffered the worst loss imaginable - the death of a child. How was it that America couldn't take its collective eyes off her when many of us didn't have the stomach to watch?
Cause #2 - I haven't watched TV in months so I had unreasonably high expectations of what I might find there. Hopes which were, of course, dashed miserably.
Cause #3 -I wasn't a fan of Anna Nicole. If I had been a fan, well then...
Unless afflicted with terminal narcissism, or chronic apathy, we are all a fan of someone. My four year old is a fan of Spider Man. My mama is a fan of some former presidents of the Southern liberal persuasion. I am a fan of... well, I'll come back to that. But we all have our people for whom we are willing to wait in lines for tickets, we'll drive hours to see, or we'll act like 1960's teenagers cheering the British Invasion if we encounter them.
So let me just say that I would not have been nearly so harsh if Fox News and friends had run marathon coverage of the following events.
* Dave Grohl's baby daughter's first steps.
* A six hour Billy Collins documentary including lectures, interviews, and a call-in show
* Clive Owen reading the ingredient list of Frosted Wheat
*Anything with the AbFab girls
I also would have been more interested if Anna Nicole had been alive and watching all this somewhere. I'm sure she would have had some oddly slurred malapropism laced commentary. God rest her poor soul.
Cause #1 - I don't even follow this stuff and I saw this woman dying young and in despair years ago. She was a prescription drug addict, objectified by an entire nation, and suffered the worst loss imaginable - the death of a child. How was it that America couldn't take its collective eyes off her when many of us didn't have the stomach to watch?
Cause #2 - I haven't watched TV in months so I had unreasonably high expectations of what I might find there. Hopes which were, of course, dashed miserably.
Cause #3 -I wasn't a fan of Anna Nicole. If I had been a fan, well then...
Unless afflicted with terminal narcissism, or chronic apathy, we are all a fan of someone. My four year old is a fan of Spider Man. My mama is a fan of some former presidents of the Southern liberal persuasion. I am a fan of... well, I'll come back to that. But we all have our people for whom we are willing to wait in lines for tickets, we'll drive hours to see, or we'll act like 1960's teenagers cheering the British Invasion if we encounter them.
So let me just say that I would not have been nearly so harsh if Fox News and friends had run marathon coverage of the following events.
* Dave Grohl's baby daughter's first steps.
* A six hour Billy Collins documentary including lectures, interviews, and a call-in show
* Clive Owen reading the ingredient list of Frosted Wheat
*Anything with the AbFab girls
I also would have been more interested if Anna Nicole had been alive and watching all this somewhere. I'm sure she would have had some oddly slurred malapropism laced commentary. God rest her poor soul.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Unpleasant Unreality
I had a lovely couple of days last week on my annual trek to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. I spent much of my 60 hours away from home (and offspring) quiliting, looking at quilts, talking about quilts, or buying tools to use for later quilting. However, even I can't totally immerse myself in quilt-ness, so I used the alone time to re-acquaint myself with America by watching television.
Wow. So this is who we are now?
It's really all about blondes?
Dead blondes.
Estranged blonde mamas.
Blondes in rehab.
Blondes on the run, the red carpet, the runway.
Really?
Wow. Pathetic.
At first I thought it was a joke. I thought it was just a blip in the news cycle. But then a reporter said that America had been watching the saga of the dead blonde's court battle for a week. A week!? Here's a news flash: she is still dead and she will have to be buried somewhere. Why does anyone but those who knew her care?
Honestly, I've been present at a couple of hundred burials and with all the opportunities for visitation before me, I only visit a dozen or so grave sites. Is America really planning on laying flowers at the grave of someone who was famous for being famous?
Of course not, you say.
Silly minister, you say. That's not why we are watching. We are watching because...
Now think.
Think a good long minute. There is no ending to that sentence that is at all flattering to you. None whatsoever.
Just as there is no good reason to watch serial killer movies, know the names of actors' offspring, or read any printed material in the grocery check out line. There is no good reason to gape at the misfortunes of others no matter how astonishing their physical appearance and public attention-seeking behavior.
I know why America is watching and I am disappointed in us all. It is unseemly. Tasteless. Disrespectful to self and others. Not to mention BORING. All the mysteries and marvels in the natural world around us, and we use our attention on this? If not star gazing or learning oceanography, we could at least be memorizing poetry, learning auto repair, feeding the hungry, curing athlete's foot. Instead we are keeping the Fox network afloat? Again, let me say, pathetic.
So, now I'm back from vacation and back to my crippled TV. Back to the world where people are all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors. (And where in my circles at least, the blondes are pretty much like the rest of us, but look better in pastels and white.) The world where potty training is news. The world where I wouldn't have time to watch TV even if my TV worked. (Netflix is making a fortune off of us.) And while I am disgusted at what passes for news in this country, I'm also wiser from the experience.
I noticed this morning that what drew my eye to the paper was a very lovely dress on an actor, not a well-written commentary or investigative report. I noticed that I read the comics before I read the world news. I noticed that I wanted to read the recipes, the personal interest columns, the weather even, all to avoid the news from the war or the local crime report. I noticed that paying attention to the stupid and ludicrous is easier than being a good citizen. And that is what all this pathetic gossip which is news in drag, bad drag is: EASY.
It's Easy, this celebrity rubber-necking. I understand but I'm just not a fan of Easy. When the time comes for the news networks to have marathons on where Easy will be buried I'll be otherwise occupied visiting the graves of Difficult and Unwieldy, Confusing and Depressing, and Amazingly Complex. Those graves have been around for years and could use some flowers. But then again, Easy doesn't look like it's dying any time soon.
Wow. So this is who we are now?
It's really all about blondes?
Dead blondes.
Estranged blonde mamas.
Blondes in rehab.
Blondes on the run, the red carpet, the runway.
Really?
Wow. Pathetic.
At first I thought it was a joke. I thought it was just a blip in the news cycle. But then a reporter said that America had been watching the saga of the dead blonde's court battle for a week. A week!? Here's a news flash: she is still dead and she will have to be buried somewhere. Why does anyone but those who knew her care?
Honestly, I've been present at a couple of hundred burials and with all the opportunities for visitation before me, I only visit a dozen or so grave sites. Is America really planning on laying flowers at the grave of someone who was famous for being famous?
Of course not, you say.
Silly minister, you say. That's not why we are watching. We are watching because...
Now think.
Think a good long minute. There is no ending to that sentence that is at all flattering to you. None whatsoever.
Just as there is no good reason to watch serial killer movies, know the names of actors' offspring, or read any printed material in the grocery check out line. There is no good reason to gape at the misfortunes of others no matter how astonishing their physical appearance and public attention-seeking behavior.
I know why America is watching and I am disappointed in us all. It is unseemly. Tasteless. Disrespectful to self and others. Not to mention BORING. All the mysteries and marvels in the natural world around us, and we use our attention on this? If not star gazing or learning oceanography, we could at least be memorizing poetry, learning auto repair, feeding the hungry, curing athlete's foot. Instead we are keeping the Fox network afloat? Again, let me say, pathetic.
So, now I'm back from vacation and back to my crippled TV. Back to the world where people are all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors. (And where in my circles at least, the blondes are pretty much like the rest of us, but look better in pastels and white.) The world where potty training is news. The world where I wouldn't have time to watch TV even if my TV worked. (Netflix is making a fortune off of us.) And while I am disgusted at what passes for news in this country, I'm also wiser from the experience.
I noticed this morning that what drew my eye to the paper was a very lovely dress on an actor, not a well-written commentary or investigative report. I noticed that I read the comics before I read the world news. I noticed that I wanted to read the recipes, the personal interest columns, the weather even, all to avoid the news from the war or the local crime report. I noticed that paying attention to the stupid and ludicrous is easier than being a good citizen. And that is what all this pathetic gossip which is news in drag, bad drag is: EASY.
It's Easy, this celebrity rubber-necking. I understand but I'm just not a fan of Easy. When the time comes for the news networks to have marathons on where Easy will be buried I'll be otherwise occupied visiting the graves of Difficult and Unwieldy, Confusing and Depressing, and Amazingly Complex. Those graves have been around for years and could use some flowers. But then again, Easy doesn't look like it's dying any time soon.
Hot Topics in Book Groups
For those of you who have not made any of the book groups, just a taste of what the most engaging, enraging, exciting books of the year have been.
The Sparrow - This sci-fi surprise choice has brought about almost constant conversation. People in other book groups are talking about this one. Of all the books discussed this year, it would appear that this is the one you should be reading.
The Great Transformation - This one required the group to have two meetings. Further discussion has ensued in the Bible class and the New UU class. It appears that this is the book most likely to keep you thinking, talking, and re-reading.
The Wake of War - This non-fiction collection of first person interviews is a must read before you pick up the paper or listen to the talk radio pundits. The lack of commentary is a bonus in the book. The people of Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan do all the talking. Much of what is currently happening is predicted three years ago by the people interviewed in this book.
Snow - One of the most stunning pieces of literature, it is the beautiful writing that makes this one so amazing. And since it appears we won't be seeing any snow this year, the constant blizzard in the background is a bonus.
The Sparrow - This sci-fi surprise choice has brought about almost constant conversation. People in other book groups are talking about this one. Of all the books discussed this year, it would appear that this is the one you should be reading.
The Great Transformation - This one required the group to have two meetings. Further discussion has ensued in the Bible class and the New UU class. It appears that this is the book most likely to keep you thinking, talking, and re-reading.
The Wake of War - This non-fiction collection of first person interviews is a must read before you pick up the paper or listen to the talk radio pundits. The lack of commentary is a bonus in the book. The people of Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan do all the talking. Much of what is currently happening is predicted three years ago by the people interviewed in this book.
Snow - One of the most stunning pieces of literature, it is the beautiful writing that makes this one so amazing. And since it appears we won't be seeing any snow this year, the constant blizzard in the background is a bonus.
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