The Excitement of Super Tuesday

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What I wrote in the morning: As a Canadian, I can't vote in today's (Super Tuesday) elections. Nonetheless, I was deeply moved by Larry Lessig's 20 minutes or so on why I am 4Barack, Lessig's reminder of the deepest ideals that are at stake in politics, stuff that is all easy to lose sight of in the grime of politics.

At 10pm: I have felt the excitement in the air surrounding the vote today. I'm a bit disappointed that Obama seems to have lost to H. Clinton in California, but I remain hopeful, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the process.

Merry Christmas!

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I find Christmas Day to be an appropriate time to reflect on life.  In between the various feasts of a meal, I relish the food-induced slowdown that brings quiet to a house.  A chilly but sunny day helps with inducing this altered state of consciousness:  awareness, stillness, and repose.  I know such a moment does not last very long.  It's not that I don't have a choice either about when to slow down.   Savor it while it lasts, I say.

Tautologies That Tell Tales; The Pain of Writing

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I rarely post comments on other people's blogs, but an entry on "hidden tautologies" intrigued me: A Philosopher Teases Out Hidden Tautologies - Chronicle.com

It's nice to know I'm not alone. Rachel Toor writes in Chronicle Careers: 10/30/2007: Love to Write? Keep It to Yourself:

    Each time I'm in the throes of writing a book, I realize that I have somehow forgotten how exhausting it is, how much it hurts. After writing for a couple of hours, I have to go lie down, wrist thrown across an aching forehead. It helps only a little to remember that I am not alone, to think of George Orwell's comment that "writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness."

I’m back….

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I kinda fell off the face of the earth, digitally speaking, as I finished up my ATDP course and pushed on a couple of chapters on my book. Focusing on the book all the time helped move it along in the short term but it led to some intense emotional compaction. I continue to focus on the book but I'm starting to let myself dream and plan for life-after-the-book!

Reading short stories again

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I've gotten back into reading -- and enjoying -- short stories. The easiest way for me to settle into a short fiction reading habit is to pick up a random issues from our pile of New Yorkers. Laura and I both recently read David Hoon Kim's Sweetheart Sorrow. I'm looking forward to reading Q. & A.: Living Language, an interview with Kim, to help me sort out some of my questions concerning the story.

What exactly is an “abolitionist church”?

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My church First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, CA has supported the work of the Not For Sale Campaign, a self-described "abolitionist" organization aimed at ending trafficking in human beings. (See for instance, a talk by David Batstone, the leader of Not For Sale at FPCB.) I'm generally supportive of the work of Not For Sale. One concern I do have with Not For Sale is its use of the word "abolitionist", especially as applied to churches. I have been hoping for a stronger definition of what an abolitionist church actually is from Not For Sale than what is currently there (at least as of the end of June.). The page describes "Action Steps" that a church might take to become part of a "movement of Abolitionist churches" but does not define the term "abolitionist".

Silly summations

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One moment, your words shine proudly in cyberia. Then with the hapless application of chmod, the same summations summarily cease.  Then, when you pray to the gods of the ether, the digital data come back.

Pick up that Unix book -- that's all I can say.