Obama Pumpkin Carving

Get your Obama pumpkin carving template FREE here:

http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_lifestyles/political_pumpkins/

My dog sitting beside an Obama 08 pumpkin

UU CD review: Very busy with grad school

Grad school is eating me alive (but in a good way) so I’ll continue to post very infrequently.

Here’s a review of Dana Decker’s UU worship cd.

http://pomomusings.com/2008/10/13/dana-decker-when-we-sing/

Please visit Dana’s site and support this UU venture. If we don’t support efforts like this, they will not exist.

www.danadecker.com

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UU AFFIRMATION

I believe in my right to search for the good, to choose it for myself, and hold it in my heart.

I affirm this right in you as well.

Together we share in the joy of community, the power of reverence, and the responsibilities of freedom.

This is the promise of my heart extended to you, as we walk on separate paths, together.

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Introducing a new UU album- positive contemporary music

Atop the DiscoverUU.com website is an add for a new UU album of contemporary music I think EVERY UU should own. Not only is it important to support artists who apply their talents to service something we all care so deeply in, but the quality of this particular work is simply amazing.

Dana Decker is a professional musician who gathered some premiere recording artists in Los Angeles and the result was a clean, rich sound. The variety of music is stunning. Each song is catchy, moving, and inspirational. I love the positive vibe I get from listening to it, and hope to hear many of these songs incorporated into church services around the country through choir or small ensemble use.

In full disclosure, my wife Brindin Sawyer is the vocalist on a few of the tracks. She sang at the opening ceremonies at GA a couple of years ago in Portland with Dana’s band to great reception.

Music and art is a powerful way to get a message or world view across to large groups of people. Let’s support these artists or this kind of work will go away.

Please check it out. I think you can listen to a large portion of the album for free online.

To visit the site, click on the banner below.

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UU AFFIRMATION

I believe in my right to search for the good, to choose it for myself, and hold it in my heart.

I affirm this right in you as well.

Together we share in the joy of community, the power of reverence, and the responsibilities of freedom.

This is the promise of my heart extended to you, as we walk on separate paths, together.

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Visit DiscoverUU.com for UU News, plus the best minister blog posts and sermon podcasts.

Dancing Across the Interconnected Web

I had this video sent to me by some of my UU friends.

It’s pretty amazing to see a guy able to travel this much in one lifetime, let alone at this young age. I don’t think we’ll see this kind of travel as natural resources become more and more scarce.

Wall-E: the near-silent post apocalyptic robot love movie for kids

It’s a beautiful movie for adults and children alike.

Go see it.

There’s a lot to like about this flick. I can’t believe that kids will sit silently through this flick, but they do! They’re enraptured by the movements of the little droid with a big heart that can’t even speak more than a few words.

UUs will appreciate the political and environmental themes driving the world we’ve left to Wall-E. It’s one big constant endorsement of the Seven Principles. It does it all without being preachy, AND it’s a good movie.

Visit DiscoverUU.com for all your GA Updates

Live blogging ministers, links to live video streaming GA events, more…

Visit DiscoverUU.com

UU News, plus the best minister blog posts and sermon podcasts.

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UU AFFIRMATION

I believe in my right to search for the good, to choose it for myself, and hold it in my heart.

I affirm this right in you as well.

Together we share in the joy of community, the power of reverence, and the challenge of freedom.

This is the promise of my heart extended to you, as we walk on separate paths, together.

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UUA General Assembly streaming live

From the UUA web site:

Watch General Assembly 2008 on Streaming Media!

Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) General Assembly (GA) can come to you—all you need is Windows Media Player, an Internet connection, and speakers!

Live Streaming Video

Please note: the “live video” links will only work during the specific dates and times listed below.

[CLICK BELOW]

• Live Video on Windows Media Player (High Bandwidth) (Low Bandwidth)

When live events are not streaming, whet your appetite (and test your system) by watching some of what’s already happened—after events have passed, archived video (in RealVideo as well as in Windows Media format) will be provided as quickly as we can process the files for permanent access. See our Technical Notes for more information.

Live Broadcast Schedule / Video for Passed Events

All times listed are Eastern Daylight Time.

Wednesday, June 25

1030 Plenary I (Gini Courter, Moderator) and Opening Worship—including the Sources Cantata!
RealVideo | Windows Media

Thursday, June 26

8:00 – 8:25 a.m.
2002 Worship led by Rev. Sarah Lammert

8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
2004 Plenary II

8:00 – 9:30 p.m.
2073 Service of the Living Tradition—Sermon by Rev. Victoria Safford

Friday, June 27

8:00 – 8:25 a.m.
3002 Worship led by Rev. Fredric J. Muir

8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
3004 Plenary III

8:00 – 9:30 p.m.
3073 Synergy: A Multigenerational Celebration of Bridging and Collaboration

Saturday, June 28

8:00 – 8:25 a.m.
4002 Worship: Worshipping Together, Witnessing Together led by the Commission on Social Witness with Rev. Dan Schatz, homilist

8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
4004 Plenary IV

6:45 – 8:00 p.m.
4059 UUA Presidential Candidates’ Forum with Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman and Rev. Peter Morales, Candidates

8:30 – 9:30 p.m.
4061 Ware Lecture delivered by Van Jones

Sunday, June 29

9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
5003 Sunday Morning Worship led by Rev. William Sinkford, Rev. Marta Valentin, Mimi Bornstein, with Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, preacher

10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
5005 Plenary V

3:15 – 5:30 p.m.
5028 Plenary VI

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
5029 Closing Ceremony

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UU AFFIRMATION

I believe in my right to search for the good, to choose it for myself, and hold it in my heart.

I affirm this right in you as well.

Together we share in the joy of community, the power of reverence, and the challenge of freedom.

This is the promise of my heart extended to you, as we walk on separate paths, together.

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Visit DiscoverUU.com for UU News, plus the best minister blog posts and sermon podcasts.

I really enjoyed this article in UUWorld

‘This present paradise’

For almost 1,000 years, the Christian church emphasized paradise, not Crucifixion. How we can rediscover paradise today.
By Rita Nakashima Brock And Rebecca Ann Parker
Summer 2008 5.15.08

http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/107992.shtml

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UU AFFIRMATION

I believe in my right to search for the good, to choose it for myself, and hold it in my heart.

I affirm this right in you as well.

Together we share in the joy of community, the power of reverence, and the challenge of freedom.

This is the promise of my heart extended to you, as we walk on separate paths, together.

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Visit DiscoverUU.com for UU News, plus the best minister blog posts and sermon podcasts.

Genetically altered bug excriment produces $50 barrell oil

WOW!

I suppose we all knew this day was coming.

Silicon Valley company LS9 is using bugs eating agricultural waste and turning it into renewable Oil 2.0 in a process that is carbon negative, because the carbon it emits will be less than the carbon of the raw materials for which it was made. LS9 hopes to have a demonstration-scale plant ready by 2010.

From the Times Online:

For fermentation to take place you need raw material, or feedstock, as it is known in the biofuels industry. Anything will do as long as it can be broken down into sugars, with the byproduct ideally burnt to produce electricity to run the plant.

The company is not interested in using corn as feedstock, given the much-publicised problems created by using food crops for fuel, such as the tortilla inflation that recently caused food riots in Mexico City. Instead, different types of agricultural waste will be used according to whatever makes sense for the local climate and economy: wheat straw in California, for example, or woodchips in the South.

Using genetically modified bugs for fermentation is essentially the same as using natural bacteria to produce ethanol, although the energy-intensive final process of distillation is virtually eliminated because the bugs excrete a substance that is almost pump-ready.

Today at 5pm…

Today at 5pm Californians of any gender will be able to legally marry one another in celebration of their love.

I spoke to a few friends, asking them whether they intended to take advantage of this new possibility before them. All of them planned to wait to see what happened with the proposed state consitutional ammendment that will be before voters at the upcoming national election.

“I don’t want to get married and then have it taken away from me,” I was told.

Understandable, and unfortunate that it’s a very real possibility.

In an election that COULD be about national healing and togetherness, overcoming past bigotry and injustice… but an election that WILL be about ripping the wound caused by those same tensions and fears as far apart as possible to divide and discourage the electorate…

Let’s try to remain a healing voice in the chaos- a resounding affirmation that the majority are over these old ignorances. And let’s extend it beyond race, toward the recognition that everyone has the right to coexist in peace and love.

For more information, or to apply, click here.