I’d like to find out more about this Divine Glory brand sandpaper I pulled off this old belt sander but all the search results are Christian allegories.
Dahlia with bees plus Pete, one of the neighborhood cats who sometimes stops by to look over our doings.
@tinyroofnail Oh, our dog must be very happy.
Showy sunflowers
@toddgrotenhuis All very good options.
@tinyroofnail Hahaha! I'm a bookshelf creeper too!
For a few years now, our two cats have had nice high spots to get away from it all. From the chair they go up the stairs to the top of the bookcase. A piece of plywood holds up those white drapes (leftover from the previous owner) and forms a bridge to the other bookcase. Rory sleeps on the bridge.
@Denny Good post. This is something that was discussed in a Mortise and Tenon podcast at some point. We've all been told that "easy" is the goal. "Labor saving devices." But what if maximal ease is not a good goal? Granted, we don't want to go back to a time when it was all hard toil all the time. But it's also not true that more manual ways (and more ecologically responsible ways) of doing things are as time consuming or hard as we're led to believe.
“We have the wrong type of undead culture.” No ghosts; only zombies. Good post from Paul Watson.
@mbkriegh I know what you mean. Sometimes it seems like we're in a murder-suicide pact. But, personally, I try not to dwell too long on that level; I have no control there. What I can do, however, is reframe the way I see the world. No idea if it will make a difference to the world at large, but it makes a difference in my little world.
@JohnBrady @tinyroofnail The Psalms are one of those resources that I was talking about with @bbowman. Psalm 29 has always been one of my favorites: the voice of the Lord animating the shaking trees.
@bbowman Panpsychism is interesting for sure, and I hope it continues to be considered. Panpsychism seems to be trying to get to "consciousness is fundamental" from a more materialist approach, which is fine but has its own problems.
Less is More is a wonderful book and it was my introduction to degrowth as well. Also, I agree that monotheism has resources to address the problem. I'd be thrilled to see more of those resources developed so that they can make their way out of the religious intellectuals' world and into the pews where they can start having an impact on regular Christians' lives.
@tinyroofnail That's a very good description for the book of Job!
John Michael Greer, A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism:
Much of polytheist theology can be seen as the application of ecological thinking to religion.
This snaps together several pieces in my mind. There has been a revival (relatively speaking) of polytheism in the years since the rise of ecological thinking. The dominant model of monotheism is of a king and the ruled, which has sometimes had what we might call poor historical consequences. A polytheism rooted in ecological thinking could be a shift from a hierarchical “great chain of being” to a relationship of reciprocity.
@ReaderJohn Oh cool. Yes, I know him as John also.
Also, I always think of your name as John. If we ever meet in person you’ll have to forgive me. 😂
@ReaderJohn He's the composer and his wife is the physician. He does have sons, but I don't know much about them.
@JohnBrady Yes, he's a great guy and very interesting. In his 70s, I think. His musical compositions have been played everywhere from the concert halls of Europe to our local children's dance school. He also pays Darcy to look after his cats while he's on vacation with his wife. :)
My friend and neighbor has a new book out today from Ancient Faith: Holy Fools: The Lives of Twenty Fools for Christ.
@tinyroofnail That is a great line. And I can respect that Mainer attitude, even if I can’t quite get there myself. 😄
Sierra Ferrell’s harmony on this song takes me straight back to childhood in Trinity Pentecost Mission in Springville.
We just watched “Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre” (1996) and it was very good. I read the novel many years ago so I don’t recall details well enough to know how faithful it was to the book. But now I want to watch other adaptations. Recommendations?
@mineinmono Send some of that our way, please.
@Denny YouTube is also the main way I discover music. I also discovered Shakey Graves there along with another Sierra—Sierra Ferrell, who has become one of my favorites. Thanks for the video; I’ll check it out.
@mineinmono @JohnBrady For all the real ills of social media, this post got at least a couple of people to sign up for things.
@JohnBrady “For many Americans, political opinions are a substitute for personal checks.” For sure. It’s a real problem for me: I’m naturally “in my head” and I have to regularly remind myself that thinking about something is not doing something.
@tinyroofnail Good post. I don’t have anything beyond that to say because I’m as saddened and baffled as you.
@JohnBrady Broken link.
@ReaderJohn She’s new to me also! I’ll be listening to more from her for sure.
@jtr I’m going to make my way through some of those links. I’ve know the song for years, of course, but nothing about the story behind it. Thanks for sharing!
- One of the smoothest key changes I’ve ever heard.
- Canst thou shred on a mandolin? Yea, verily.
@Annie That's a beautiful response. I'll be thinking about this one. Thank you for posting it.
I’ve thought about this video shared by Denny several times over the past couple of days. Our cultural expectations of what constitutes a good life can blind us to the possibilities found by others. I’m trying–haltingly and inconsistently, to be sure–to extricate myself from that worldview.
The most trustworthy people in the world are those who have been to the underworld. Those who’ve been torn open, rearranged, and made new by suffering. Myths are riddled with descents into the underworld wherein the hero confronts the darkness of the shadowy depths and reemerges with gifts and lessons. This is a kind of wisdom that is not on offer in the clouds or on earth. It can only be found below.
Hanging cayennes are so pretty. And that’s red switchgrass to the left.
I like the “On this Day” feature here at micro.blog. Today it brought up a thought experiment about consciousness from last year. Still seems like an interesting possibility to me, combining something like panpsychism with something like reincarnation.
People ought to be warned about middle age. My daughter is 18 and needs help dealing with increasingly adult situations. My mom is 78 and is able to handle very little by herself anymore. Increasing pressure and responsibilities at work. I know it happens to everyone. Nevertheless, it’s a lot!
That’s some big tomatoes! They’re an heirloom variety; unfortunately the person we got them from couldn’t remember the name. My tomato-loving wife likes them, though, so that’s all that matters.
My newsletter subscriptions are shifting in the right direction: less cultural criticism, more woodworking.
Picked up an unusual (to me), older nativity set today. The images are decals/stickers, not painted. Nevertheless, it caught my eye and it was inexpensive at $15.
Entrance to the back yard. Watch out for hanging cucumbers!
Bad news: I got a minor cut from one of my chisels. Good news: I’ve successfully put a sharp edge on a chisel.
Today is Darcy’s first day on her new job at Bath and Body Works. It’s a new chapter for her!