I live in North Bend, WA, in the mountains east of Seattle. I work as a software engineer, photographer, writer, teacher, spiritual director and social media consultant.
Pat Loughery's blog at the intersection of culture, spirituality and technology
Henderson, Jim. The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam’s Rib Is No Longer Willing To Be the Church’s Backbone? Barna. Feb. 2012. c.284p. ISBN 9781414337302. pap. $14.99. REL
Henderson (Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians) tells the stories here of many women who, despite their predominance in the life, membership, and mission of most churches and denominations, are routinely rebuked and squashed, if not worse. Henderson’s crucial insight is that the central feature of Christianity is—ought to be—“giving power away, particularly to those who lack it,” not craving or needing power or keeping it from women. VERDICT Insightful and moving, Henderson’s book is a mirror of what Christian spirituality ought to be; good for church groups and pastors as well as individual readers.
I'm very much looking forward to reading this book. Preordered it - you should too!!
This will be a very short diary. It will not contain any links or any scholarly references. It is about a very narrow topic, from a very personal, subjective perspective.
The topic at hand is what Martin Luther King actually did, what it was that he actually accomplished.
The reason I'm posting this is because there were dueling diaries over the weekend about Dr. King's legacy, and there is a diary up now (not on the rec list but on the recent list) entitled, "Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Dream Not Yet Realized." I'm sure the diarist means well as did the others. But what most people who reference Dr. King seem not to know is how Dr. King actually changed the subjective experience of life in the United States for African Americans. And yeah, I said for African Americans, not for Americans, because his main impact was his effect on the lives of African Americans, not on Americans in general. His main impact was not to make white people nicer or fairer. That's why some of us who are African Americans get a bit possessive about his legacy. Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, despite what our civil religion tells us, is not color blind.
Read the whole thing.
The good news: Governor Gregoire’s $3.6 billion transportation plan includes a small increase in the oil barrel fee to help pay for maintenance of existing state transportation facilities.
The bad news: The plan does not even mention biking and walking, let alone provide funding for Safe Routes to School and other programs that encourage active alternatives to driving.
Going into the legislative session, it’s up to our representatives to make sure the needs of all Washington residents are met no matter how they get around, and to ensure our state also takes positive steps towards a healthier, safer and more economically and environmentally sustainable future.
Washington State’s largest employment and economic center has the second highest bicycle commuting rate in the country (in fact, 15 percent of people who work in downtown Seattle walk or bike there, and only 34 percent of drive alone). At minimum, the state should fund transportation needs proportionally to how the people of Washington move themselves and their goods today. That means tens of millions of dollars from this plan should go to projects that keep people biking and walking. Anything beyond that would be a wise investment in the future.
And it is an investment that would pay off. Increased walking and biking can save the state an enormous amount of money in healthcare costs, and walking and biking projects create more jobs per dollar spent than highway projects. Given that the state is already juggling a handful of multibillion-dollar car-centric projects (deep bore tunnel, Columbia River Crossing, 520 Bridge I-405 expansion, etc), it is simply unacceptable to leave biking and walking out of this funding plan.
Blake Trask of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington expressed similar concerns with Publicola:
“The [operations and maintenance money] is great, but we’re hoping it can be improved to include some of those active transportation options.” Currently, he said, “This package does not include anything for safe routes to school, anything for bike and pedestrian safety and mobility, anything for active transportation, period.”
Here’s is Cascade Bicycle Club’s response:
Today, Governor Chris Gregoire proposed a $3.6 billion package of transportation investments funded through a suite of fees. Building on the recommendations of the Connecting Washington task force, the proposed package prioritizes operations and maintenance while providing cities and counties with additional options to raise revenue for maintenance and transit.
“We commend Governor Gregoire for proposing a transportation package that prioritizes preserving and extending the life of our current transportation system,” said Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club (Cascade). “We also commend the governor for proposing a revenue source that helps reduce our dependence on oil and for providing local jurisdictions with additional revenue options for supplementary improvements. We strongly agree with the governor that Washington needs to ‘build a transportation system that’s better than the other guys’; but that means we must do more than repair the crumbling relics of the past. Across America and around the world, cities, states and countries are investing in and prioritizing their bicycle, pedestrian and transit networks because they are the key to prosperity in the economy of the future; Washington must do the same.”
“Especially during these challenging economic times, if we are going to spend billions of limited taxpayer dollars on our transportation system, we must do more than tread water and maintain the status quo,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager for Cascade. “We should make smart, cost-effective investments that maximize the movement of people and goods in Washington state. Bicycle, pedestrian and transit projects reduce congestion and our dependence on oil, create more jobs than highway construction, improve public health, provide Washingtonians with more options to safely get where they need to go and prepare our state for the future. We thank Gov. Gregoire for starting this important conversation and look forward to working with the legislature and the governor to balance this package with adequate funding for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets & Main Street Highways and Regional Mobility grant programs.”
For more on the plan, see the stories at Seattle Transit Blog and the Seattle Times.
Below is the governor’s transportation plan brief (note that there is literally no mention of walking or biking in this document about the state’s “critical needs”):
More on the plan:
connectwa
Original Page: http://seattlebikeblog.com/2012/01/11/governor%e2%80%99s-3-6-billion-transpo-plan-makes-no-mention-of-walking-and-biking/
Ebert writes pretty accurately about why movie theatres are losing revenues.
We used to have a GREAT low-priced theatre in the small town I live in. New owners took over, raised prices to near-"big city" levels, and told its audience to deal with it. We're going far less often as a result.
Here are my favorite album releases from 2011. I'm keeping this list short, because there are heads-and-shoulders winners here.
5. The Roots - Undun
I liked this one at first, but the more I relisten the more I get out of it. Undun is The Great Hip-Hop Opera, a concept album with a deep story. This one will be on a lot of favorites lists 10+ years from now.
Spin did a great interview with drummer/bandleader ?uestlove about the album and the band's approach.
4. Wilco - The Whole Love
Wilco's albums are love-or-leave. Because Wilco has been so many bands over its lifespan, and because they aim high, their fans can find a lot to fault in the band's continuing stylistic changes. I love the shift to a more electronic and less rock-story Wilco in this album. That's mostly because genius guitarist Nels Cline shines in the opening track, "The Art of Almost", and his influence on the band is growing. He's truly impressive as a musician, and I say that as somebody who tends not to like free jazz, which is Cline's home. (Bonus listen, though - explore the Nels Cline Singers' Initiate
And Jeff Tweedy's lyrics are as good as ever and perhaps more positive than they've been for quite a while.
3. Dawes - Nothing is Wrong
I ran into Dawes in several end-of-year lists and have been crazy in love with their sound. One such list was this one from American Songwriter, which in addition to Jason Isbell also named Wilco and Drive-By Truckers to their Top 10, and count those folks as fine songwriters also. So I paid attention finally.
Writers call Dawes' vibe "that Laurel Canyon sound", reminiscent of The Band, the Byrds, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young. I can hear some of that in the warm flow, but mostly I hear earnest roots rock with good vocals, nice lyrics and a great sounding Telecaster.
I'm told that Dawes is a better live band than they are on the album. I'm looking forward to finding out.
2. Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
Three-guitar, three-songwriter Southern Rock lives!
As a good intro to this album, listen to the track "Used To Be A Cop". If you like that song - the lyrical story, the powerful aggression, the groove - you'll love the Truckers. Or listen to the title track, or recently-departed bassist Shonna Tucker's haunting take on Eddie Hinton's "Where's Eddie", or laconic crooner/guitarist Mike Cooley's sly wit in "Cartoon Gold". It's not DBT's best album by a long shot, but it's a darn fine one.
Here's a video of Used to Be a Cop:
and Cooley doing a pre-recorded Cartoon Gold:
See this band live if you have the chance. Bring earplugs.
1. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Here We Rest
The new album by Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit came released on the same day as Alison Krauss & Union Station's album. I'm a huge fan of AKUS, but I think I've listened to their new album a few times all year, and Here We Rest is by far my favorite album of '11.
Jason Isbell may be tagged as "formerly of the Drive-By Truckers", but this new band stands powerfully on its own. Isbell is the best songwriter on the scene today, standing out in a year that saw releases by Drive-By Truckers, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Lucinda Williams and Wilco, all of whom are giants in their genres. Isbell writes lyrics that stick with you (and the songs grow well.
Here's the opening stanza of the album's opening track, Alabama Pines:
I moved into this room, if you could call it that, a week ago.
I never do what I'm supposed to do.
I hardly even know my name anymore.
When no one calls it out, it kinda vanishes away.
Like his former bandmates in the Drive-By Truckers, Isbell can tell a heck of a story in song lyrics. Heck, just go read the lyrics, and then listen.
The band came to Seattle (twice, but I caught them the first time through). I photographed the band and posted images here. http://www.ishootyoulive.com/Music/Live/Jasn-Isbell-and-400-Unit/
Very honorable mention: Damien Jurado
Seattle alt-folk genius Damien Jurado is finishing up an album that will release in 2012. That's good news, but the amazing preview of the first track from that album is my favorite tease of things to come. Treat yourself and download "Nothing is the News" from the upcoming Maraqopa here.
Preview of Things to Come: Pickwick
I can't stop talking about these guys. Partly because they're friends of mine, but mostly because 2011 has been the Year of Pickwick in Seattle indie music. Half of the photos at my photo site are of Pickwick, including this set from their sold-out show at the Neptune Theatre: http://www.ishootyoulive.com/Music/Live/Pickwick-12-8-2011-Neptune/
Local music blog Sound on the Sound recorded a video at the beginning of what was a rocket year for the band - and they've grown a lot since. But this will give you a sense of who they are:
http://www.soundonthesound.com/2011/01/19/live-from-the-basement-pickwick/
SotS ended the year with this great description:
Pickwick simply puts on a hell of a show. They defy expectation with their sound, their Star Wars-centered banter, by getting Ballard Ave (and beyond) to dance, and the pipes on Galen Disston. Dark doo-wop and call-and-response songs about death and destruction both physical and spiritual, often inspired by musical heroes of the band (Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson, Richard Swift) — Pickwick writes smart songs and put on performances that manage to appeal to my two month old niece, my nearly 70 year old parents, Seattle’s alt-weeklies and the managers from all over the country who clamored to sign them this summer. On the strength of these shows, hooks for miles, and the broadness of that appeal, Pickwick has gone from opening shows to 30 people to being asked to summer festivals and headlining a sold-out 1,000 person Neptune Theater, in just a year. In 2012, with their first major tours on the horizon and their debut full length to be released (likely on whatever label is lucky enough to be chosen by the band), I foresee the same pattern playing out all over the country … only skipping that whole playing to 30 people in towns they’ve never visited and it happening much, much faster. (abbey)
They've gotten love from indie music powerhouse KEXP.org, just finished recording their first full-length LP with Richard Swift, and they'll be showing up at festivals near you in 2012. I can't wait.
https://www.facebook.com/music/playlist/Pats-Top-5-Albums-of-2011/10151092400...
Admittedly I'm a sucker for a good social network, but I'm really not trying to sign up for every new fad that comes along. Only the good ones.
A few days ago John Chandler brought Lendle to my attention. Poking around a bit, I like what I see.
Its basic idea is crowd-sourcing the borrowing and lending of Kindle books, with incentives to be active. Lendle acts as a matchmaker between people who have Kindle books they’re willing to lend, and folks who want to borrow a Kindle edition of a book. The service is a bit rough (they don’t scrape my Amazon collections account for owned books and I have to enter them manually, for example), but it’s a nifty idea.
Site signup is free, with a premium tier option. Borrowing a book is free as long as somebody else in the system has it and has offered to loan it out. You spend a credit to do so; you earn credits mainly by loaning your own books. The neat thing is that you earn a small fee each time you lend, and they pay out Amazon gift cards in $10 increments. I can see the growing over time, and I’ll definitely look here for books if they’re not at the library, or the wait is too long.
The main limitation to the site is not Lendle's fault, but shared responsibility between Amazon and its publishers. Not all Kindle books are lendable, and of those that are lendable, most only allow the book to be lent out once (ever). However, I can see this restriction being eased in the future, and even if it's not... I am happy to loan out my physical books and borrow physical books, and purchase the ones I really need to keep (or authors I really want to directly support).
The site makes part of its income from Kindle referral fees (clickthrough to buy a book from Amazon and the site owners get a small percentage spiff). They also make money from advertising and from selling the premium subscriptions.
If you sign up at Lendle, consider using my referral code is AD0ME0U3. Signing up friends earns me a borrowing credit or two.
After a few days of work with the site, I have a few nitpicks:
A couple of nifty surprises that I didn't expect.
and earned $0.30, then I loaned A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition
and earned $0.19.In thinking through the long-term site arc, here's the risk I see: I'm going to want to borrow more books than I am able to lend. Not all of the books that I've offered to lend will be interesting to others. So there may be some decay in site utility to each user over time. However, if publishers revisit these loaning restrictions, that decay arc gets a lot flatter.
Amazon themselves offer a Kindle book lending service to their Prime customers. I have yet to use it, but it's simple - of the books they offer to lend (again not all publishers participate), you can borrow one book per month and keep it as long as you like.
In all, it's a fun idea. It doesn't replace GoodReads or LibraryThing as more general book sites, but it does do the ebook lending thing really well given current business practices.
Sign up at Lendle, and consider using my referral code is AD0ME0U3. My profile page is at http://lendle.me/users/wayoflife.
As I mentioned earlier, this has been a banner year for reading for me. Here are some of my favorites from this year.
Some brief notes:
1) I didn't set out to pick 11 books, actually. That was a happy coincidence. I just picked my favorites, wrote them up and then numbered them.
2) The ordering isn't all that important, though they're roughly about where I'd stack them.
3) As you'll see along the way, these are not books published in '11, just books that I read for the first time in '11 (and first timers only; no fair putting Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community in there.
So away we go.
11. The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America
I've lived in the greater Seattle area for half of my adult life now, but I don't know much about the local history. This book taught me deeply. It's the story of the white settlement of the region and the first territorial governor's "interactions" with the local native peoples - and really, about his culture's attempt to exterminate them. Very detailed, very thoughtful and thorough. If you're a Manifest Destinarian, you may find yourself nodding your head as you read along; if you're not, you'll be screaming and throwing the book against the wall, then going to get it again to see what happens next.
10. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
The introduction to this new prayer book was well worth the price of admission. It's thematically interesting, Biblically sound and engaging. Great balance of stories, written prayer, themes and Biblical text. I have it on my Kindle and reach for it often, though truthfully it's kind of hard to navigate an electronic version of a prayer book with all the flipping forward and back that's involved. However, this is the best content to my tastes.
9. To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Invocations and Blessings
My winner of the year for Most Beautiful and Best Poetry (though I did really enjoy some Rilke this year).
These are absolutely gorgeous poetic words of blessing for everyday events in life: birth, illness, breaking up, entering adulthood, meeting a stranger, so many others.
For a fantastic interview of O'Donohue, see Krista Tippett's podcast On Being, at http://being.publicradio.org/programs/20... completed just prior to his untimely death. It helps so much to hear his words with his brogue.
I love this book so much I have purchased the hardcover, Kindle and audiobook versions. And I'm a cheapskate.
8. A Visit from the Goon Squad
This is a collection of stories about an interconnected group of friends with a music and culture backdrop. The novel moves forward and backward in time, changes voices, and includes a chapter (my favorite of the book) told in PowerPoint slides. It sounds corny, but it's so well done and so witty and interesting to read that it was a joy to continue through. It was a bit of a head trip to keep track of the characters though - who's who, who's related how to who, and who we have met before in which phase. I will reread this and keep a notepad for characters.
That #8 is way too high a number, now that I look at it, but frankly you should read all of these anyway :)
7. The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture
This one wins my "Best Christianity" book of 2011. I've read most of Jonathan Wilson-Hargrove's writing; he's a quiet but strong voice in new Christian monasticism, and this book is hands down his best yet. His thesis is that it's healthy for us, in our highly mobile culture, to root ourselves in a place and a neighborhood, and stay for the long haul. His stories and his wisdom made a profound impact in my restless soul.
6. To Dakar and Back: 21 Days Across North Africa by Motorcycle
Winner of both my Best Motorcycling Book and Best Adventure Travel book awards. Lawrence Hocking (and his ghost-writer, but still) tells the story of his privateer entry into the biggest endurance rally of them all - the Dakar Rally. In the year he ran it, the race was from Paris to Dakar (the course has since moved to South America due to ongoing safety concerns). And quite apart from the normal big-bucks sponsored teams who run this race, Hacking ran it as a solo privateer with minimal financial backing. It's a classic bike/adventure/travel story, and I can't wait for the coverage of the 2012 Dakar Rally to start. I'm pulling for AdvRider forum member Neduro's privateer effort (follow him here).
5. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
This little memoir was my introduction to Japanese dystopian novelist Haruki Murakami. I picked the audiobook from the library to accompany me on a road trip - because I wanted to "read" more running stories. I loved the whimsy, humor and pace of this one. It's a meditation on writing, prayer and daily practices, though it's not a prayer book or a daily practice book. It's subversive in that way. I highly recommend the audiobook version of this, though when I purchase this I will probably buy paper copies to give away and a Kindle version for me to have on hand for frequent re-reads.
4. Brendan: A Novel
This is the most creative novel I read this year - or for may years, for that matter. Buechner writes a historical novel about St. Brendan the Navigator, who - so the lengend goes - sailed an oxhide boat from Ireland's west coast to the Americas, long before Columbus and long before the Vikings. His voyage was filled with fantastic events, and Buechner masterfully brings to life the story and imbues the main character with a depth of personality that had me transfixed. This is a masterpiece; anyone I know who loves historical fiction, history or the Celtic tales must read this one.
3. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
This was my most-fun read of the year. I was spellbound at the story and by how McDougall told it. It's about at least these interwoven themes: Ultramarathon running; the Tarahumara people; running injuries and barefoot running. It was the best-written book I saw this year, and I will reread it many times to come. Even if you're not interested in any of these themes, you'll likely still enjoy this book as long as you like a good non-fiction tale that is well told.
2. The Emperor of All Maladies
This is the most important book of the year. The overwhelming majority (perhaps all) of us have been impacted by cancer. My father, both parents-in-law lost battles to cancer; halfway through my reading of this book my grandma was diagnosed with late-stage and terminal pancreatic cancer. This is the history of cancer and cancer treatment - but if that sounds boring and dry to you, you'll be mesmerized by this one. It's deeply personal, touching and engaging; it's also deeply informative. I've been handing around my copy of this one with high recommendations.
1. The Arrival
I only read one graphic novel this year. Actually, this was my first one ever. It's all downhill from here. This is a purely graphic novel - no words, just art. And the art is mindblowing. The story is of a young husband and father who leaves his home to emigrate to a far-off country in search of work to support his wife and child. Tan's graphics tell the tale in genius fashion - the new land's architecture is bizarre; its written words and street signs are unintelligible. The effect is heartbreaking as you see the confusion that any immigrant would face in a new place. I was amazed at the depth of this story, and the depth of heart within it.
I beg all my friends who have political views on immigration reform to read this and consider what they would do in another's shoes. This graphic novel is simply that powerful.
I love my Moleskine(s). I was surfing around today looking for Moleskine art sketches and found this monster treasury of Moleskinerie tips, tricks and hacks. Enjoy.
I live in North Bend, WA, in the mountains east of Seattle. I work as a software engineer, photographer, writer, teacher, spiritual director and social media consultant.
I live in North Bend, WA, in the mountains east of Seattle. I work as a software engineer, photographer, writer, teacher, spiritual director and social media consultant.
Theme created for Posterous by Obox
