Several people at Quaker Meeting today wanted me to share this message I spoke at Meeting for Worship this morning. So here’s the gist of it: Last night I attended two dances. I ended the evening at a soul party in Fort Greene. There was a certain kind of joy in the room, with a …
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What to wear to my Time Out: New York photo shoot?
I am apparently appearing in the annual "Singles" issue of Time Out New York , which is pretty exciting. Every year, they profile 100 eligible people in their magazine and on the web (i.e. this profile.) I was selected because they needed to fill that all important Quaker/b-boy/Pacific Islander demographic. I have a photo shoot…
Chosen One (a poem)
Thinking about nontheist Quakers has brought to mind some of my older writings during my spiritual meanderings over the years. Here's a poem I wrote in 1997 called "Chosen One" that questions the belief in an interventionist, personal god. In a related now, it's nice to see my piece on Quathiests was republished on the…
Learning to love and accept “Quatheists” (Nontheist Friends) at Powell House
For three days I have been at the beautiful Powell House Quaker retreat center, up in Old Chatham, New York. I have been attending a workshop on “nontheist Quakers” led by Robin Alpern and Zach Alexander with about 16 other Quakers from around the northeast area. I arrived with a good dose of skepticism about…
Responsible, Sustainable Holiday Shopping in NYC
I just got home from hopefully the last round of shopping for holiday presents this year. Yes, we are in a recession. But the stores and holiday markets are still packed with people busy stimulating the economy, as Mayor Bloomberg keeps telling us to do. I will be the first to admit that I probably…
“Muxlim” virtual world closed due to griefer attacks
I just tried to register and log-in to the new “Muxlim Pal” virtual world, recently launched in beta. The website explains that Muxlim Pal is “the first Muslim virtual world providing a new kind of family friendly social online environment for your entertainment.” It is built on top of the Muxlim social network which has…
Holding each other in the Light
One of my favorite Quaker practices is during Meeting for Worship when we allow time for people to share particular situations or people that they want the Meeting to "hold in the Light." At Brooklyn Meeting, this happens at the end of Meeting for Worship, when the person sitting "head of Meeting" welcomes anyone to…
Thomas Kelly on the spiritual discipline of saying “No”
This passage from the Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly's book A Testimony of Devotion really speaks to my condition: "The concern-oriented life is ordered and organized from within. And we learn to say No as well as Yes by attending to the guidance of an inner responsibility. Quaker simplicity needs to be expressed not merely in…
“America’s Diplomat” the MMO? Fer real?
Joseph DeLappe is most well known for his "Dead-in-Iraq" activism in the MMO "America’s Army." He’s been pissing off gamers for awhile now by going into the first-person-shooter and typing into open chat the names of all the service people killed in the line of duty in Iraq. Now’s he’s on to bigger and better…
Tai Chi in Cuyler Gore park in Fort Greene (video)
I overslept and missed Quaker Meeting this morning. So I decided instead to do some tai chi chuan in Cuyler Gore park across from my apartment in Fort Greene. It was a brisk but sunny Fall morning, with the breeze whipping around the orange and yellow leaves. Lovely conditions for some tai chi. Here’s a…