After registering almost a month ago, I finally was able to log into the new "Muxlim Pal" virtual world. As you will recall, the owners of Muxlim had restricted access to the new virtual world due to griefer attacks that started after the BBC published a story about Muxlim Pal. Now apparently they have dealt…
Category: The Spirit
Menorah at Hudson NY Amtrak Station?
I saw this tiny menorah today in front of one of the ticket booths at the Hudson, NY Amtrak Station. Strange for many reasons. First off, Hannukah has been long over. Second, all the candles are still unlit. I don't get it. At least give out some chocolate gelt if you are going to display…
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…
Reading List: Star Trek comics, Quaker mystics, b-girls, and small town drama
I've been trying to get caught up on my reading list. Here's some of the great stuff that's on my bookshelf: The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole by Stephanie Doyon A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly Star Trek New Frontier by Peter David We B*girlz by Martha Cooper and Nika Kramer More about each…
Learning about “nontheist Quakers” this weekend at Powell House
I'm going on a somewhat last minute trip up to the Quaker retreat center Powell House in Old Chatham, NY. I've been wanting to head up to Powell House for the past few months. Danielle from Brooklyn Meeting offered to get a car and drive up, so I jumped at the opportunity. The occasion is…
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…
A Quaker Christmas Tree?
This afternoon I was surprised to see that there is a Christmas tree in the "coffee hour" area of the Brooklyn Quaker Meeting that I attend. Apparently Brooklyn Meeting even holds a "Christmas Tree Festival" for our young people where Santa Claus makes an appearance! I find this all vaguely disconcerting and un-Quakerly. Historically, Quakers…
“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…