Being among several people in Herrang who are doing really interesting, creative things with their lives has got my brain spinning. Over the past six months or so, I've been thinking about a major life shift. As I scheme about this next phase of my life, this is a good time to think about how…
Search Results for: quaker
Birthday Festivities Continued: Smoked Montreal Meat & The Big Apple for Dessert
The festivities continued on my actual birthday, Saturday, July 3. It began with an incredible lunch at the Mile End Delicatessan in Boerum Hil, Brooklyn. I've been wanting to go to this place since it opened a few months ago. Passing it by on my way home from Quaker Meeting, there were always long lines…
Friends & Family Gather for Dedication of Frankie Manning’s Headstone
Yesterday afternoon, a small gathering of about 50 family, friends and fans assembled at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx at the gravesite of legendary swing dancer Frankie Manning. The occasion was a dedication of the new headstone for his grave which was completed a little more than a year after Frankie's passing. It was…
What Being Stuck in the Denver Airport Taught Me about Kindness
My message this morning at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting: Over the past few days, I have spent way too many hours in airports. I was traveling to San Jose, California with a teenager so that we could give a presentation at a youth conference there. Our flight plans unfortunately had us flying through Denver, which was…
“Next Fall”: a witty play about faith and relationships
My friend Josephine and I got to check out the wonderful new play “Next Fall” at the Helen Hayes Theater not long ago. Given how much the live theater scene in New York has suffered during the economic downturn, I’m impressed with any new production that doesn’t have puppets, showstopping musical numbers, or movie stars…
A Year of Traveling: Where to go and why
My friends Dave and Kim, after a couple of years of planning and saving, are doing what I'm sure you have fantasized about from your cubicle: a year of traveling around the world. Their itinerary is taking them to a ridiculous amount of cool places, from Macchu Picchu to Bali to Sweden to Uganda. For…
Rikomatic’s 2009 Year in Review
I'm not sure anything could encapsulate my entire year better than this one picture from the New York Times. For me it was a sublime, bittersweet moment — leading hundreds of people marching, dancing, clapping, making music, laughing and crying in celebration of the life of one humble man who touched us all. The year…
The Bounty of Silence
Someone at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting this morning told me that I should really be collecting my spoken messages and putting them in a book. I suppose this is my way of honoring that sweet sentiment. This is the message I shared this morning at Brooklyn Meeting (more or less): I spent this Thanksgiving with a…
One Minute for Peace: A Bigger Piece for Peace (video)
Here’s a one minute video entitled “A Bigger Piece for Peace” conceived, written and filmed by young people at the Brooklyn Quaker Meeting. I did the editing / post-production of this little video, which will be submitted to the “Bridge Film Festival,” sponsored by the Brooklyn Friends School. The short video has got a great…
Thoughts on balance and the Spirit
I had a lot of really interesting conversations with Quakers this weekend on the subject of "Balance," which was the theme of the retreat I was attending. I wanted to capture some of the best bits of insight here so I can come back to it later. Imbalance and Fear We talked about what makes…