Just fun–great and wonderful fun. Enjoy it all.

(Please note the content of this piece may not be appropriate for some blog readers–KSH).

The shift in the gay movement away from demanding equal rights and towards calling for recognition of the idea that gayness is “natural” occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Feeling under attack from a conservative backlash, gay-rights activists in the West started to argue, very defensively, that being gay was a simple biological trait and therefore it should not be criticised….

The aim of those who bang on endlessly about how beetles and penguins are just as likely as humans to be gay is to avoid testy moral debate about homosexuality in favour of effectively presenting gayness almost as an animalistic instinct, which therefore cannot be helped or “corrected” and which should not be criticised.

Homosexuality is not “natural”. It is not a mere biological instinct. Rather, like all human relations and interactions, it is a complex mix of desire and choice and love and lust. The campaigners who hold up the grunting antics of penguins and dogs as evidence that being gay is okay imagine that they are doing gay people a favour….

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I will take comments on this submitted by email only to at KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

According to the sources, [Dean] Beck and [Bishop] Matthews disagreed on the vexed and complex issue of what to do about the severely damaged cathedral, one of New Zealand’s most instantly recognised and loved buildings.

They say Matthews appears to favour demolishing the cathedral and building a new church, either on the same site or elsewhere. Beck, it is said, wants to repair the cathedral and restore it to its former glory.

They also disagree over the distribution of fundraising money ”“ the bishop wanting to scatter the money among all of Christchurch’s parishes. The bishop is said to have taken full control of all decisions, leaving Beck out in the cold.

Read it all.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Simply stunning–watch it all.

I found it there-heh.

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

Watch it all–wonderful fare from Theoryfilms; KSH.

You just have to love it, watch it all.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

–John F. Kennedy

There are 19 in all–check them out.

G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” If one can say with confidence that those on the extreme ends of the political and religious spectrum””left or right””are not known for their senses of humor, Henson surely must have been on to something. Where others found potential bitterness, he found the thread of human foibles; his lighthearted irreverence was as universal as the appeal of his characters.

Henson may have preached self-belief, but all his stories find people desperately in need of (and finding!) help from others. Despite the sometimes insufferable can’t-we-all-just-get-along aspect of Sesame Street (and let’s face it, Fraggle Rock) much of Henson’s work dealt more seriously with human suffering, both self-inflicted and otherwise. The Dark Crystal (1982) is nothing if not a parable of Fall and Redemption, and Labyrinth (1986) has a distinctly Pilgrim’s Progress-like, um, progression. Henson may have believed with all his heart in a “positive view of life,” but his work reflects a larger truth.

Indeed, Henson understood that to truly reach another person, you must aim beyond the intellect, at the heart””at the unguarded, joyful corner of the soul known as the inner child, which, incidentally, is where Jesus was especially focused.

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A $15 million rebuilding effort lies ahead for the Washington National Cathedral, and questions remain about whether that amount is sufficient, said Andrew Hullinger, the cathedral’s senior director of finance and administration.

Extensive earthquake damage to the stone cathedral on Aug. 23 includes fallen hand-carved angel and cherub carvings and stone chunks, cracks, crevasses and fissures, Hullinger said at a forum at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase, Md. A $2 million stabilization program made it possible to reopen the cathedral Nov. 12 for the consecration of the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde as the ninth Bishop of Washington.

“The earthquake shook with such force and such violence it just blew these stones apart,” Hullinger said, adding that he does not want to imagine the damage if the brief quake had lasted longer.

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[KIM] LAWTON: Father James Martin says humor is an underappreciated value in the spiritual life. Martin has written a new book called Between Heaven and Mirth. He says humor, laughter and joy are essential elements of spiritual health.

[THE REV. JAMES] MARTIN [SJ]: If you’re not finding joy in your faith, there’s something wrong with the way you are looking at your faith. And humor keeps us human, basically, brings us down to earth and reminds us that we’re not God.

LAWTON: Martin says all too often, joy has a “disreputable reputation” in religious circles.

MARTIN (in speech): Have you ever been to Mass where the priest says (in boring voice) “And so we join with choirs of angels and their unending hymn of praise, holy, holy, holy Lord?” And you think, if that’s the way the choirs of angels are singing their praise we are in big trouble. (laughter)

Read or watch it all.

Flying Starlings from www.carlpendle.com on Vimeo.

Great music, great photography, and oh those birds! Watch it all–KSH.

Never perhaps in all history””certainly never within the recollection of living men and women””has the world and civilization been so shaken to its very foundations; never before in all the world have those things which enabled men to perceive the finger of God in things on the earth been so assaulted and outraged and obscured as in the cruelties and terror of the world war. Never in the memory of living men and woemn has the world been in so shattered and chaotic a condition in its social and economic aspects as it is to-day. The horrors of the aftermath of war,””pestilence, famine, starvation, loss of family and friends, and means of livelihood””bear down upon countless of thousands of the people of the world. Perhaps it is not strange that under these burdens many in the agony and bitterness of despair are tempted to cry out that they are forsaken. And when in their despair they cry out, Where is God?, perhaps it is not surprising that many new and strange preachers should spring up to lure men away with fair promises and false hopes, and with misguided exhortation to say: “Follow me, and I will show you a new way to the Promised Land”; and others, inspired by the Devil himself to say: “Let us destroy this world with its civilization and divide the spoils among ourselves.”

Just as commerce and industry stagger and reel in the receding wave from an unsound prosperity, just as economic currents when turned from their natural channels swirl round and round in a whirlpool of confusion threatening to draw to destruction in the vortex much of the world’s economic fabric, so too, do the resulting passions and despair of men and women tend to tear them away from the moorings of their old faith and to cast them adrift to be tossed hither and thither, the prey of the winds and the whims of every passing hour.

No fair googling or researching first, etc.–take a guess. Then see who it is and read it all.

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Watch it all.

24 Hours on an Aircraft Carrier from The Seventh Movement on Vimeo.

Watch it all.

ROFL–read it all.

Vultures Chose Me from Green Renaissance on Vimeo.

Watch it all, yet another reminder as to why Vimeo is one of the best sites on the web–KSH.

Read it all from the local paper.

Dr Halapua acknowledges that Tuvalu’s present plight has been brought on by drought.

It rained in Tuvalu last Thursday for about three minutes ”“ and that’s the first rain they’ve seen during their rainy season. There’s no more forecast for the next three months, either.

There are, as far as Archbishop Halapua knows, very few ”“ if any ”“ Anglicans living on Tuvalu.

But that doesn’t mean he didn’t need to go there.

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Watch it all–tremendous stuff.

ChristChurch Cathedral ”“ the icon of that quake-crippled city, and the most recognised church in New Zealand ”“ is to be deconsecrated ahead of partial demolition.

Bishop Victoria Matthews confirmed in a press conference in Christchurch today that the cathedral would have to be partly demolished, and further engineering measures taken to make the rest of the building safe.

Until the demolition work is actually underway it won’t be clear how much more of the cathedral will have to be brought down.

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Christ Church Cathedral leaders could have to find up to $50 million to rebuild their quake-damaged building.

The cathedral will be deconsecrated and partially demolished at the cost of $4m to make it safe, Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews announced yesterday.

A final decision would be made once the controlled demolition and temporary holding measures were completed.

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…today the Diocese of Christchurch issued a statement saying it is considering all options for all of its churches, buildings and other facilities following the recent quakes.

“This is a challenging and complex process and extensive consultation is required with a range of stakeholders along with the need to commission expert analysis and technical reports,” said Bishop Victoria Matthew.

“With all sites, including the Christchurch Cathedral in the central city, safety is the first priority.

“A final decision won’t be made until all of the information and reports are received by the various church entities and the options and ramifications considered.

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My point here is that, in matters of the heart, males have the brains of a walnut. No, wait! That is not my point. My point is that perhaps you women could cut us males a little bit of slack in the move-making process, because we are under a lot of stress. I vividly remember when I was in 10th grade, and I wanted to call a girl named Patty and ask her to a dance, and before I picked up the phone, I spent maybe 28 hours rehearsing exactly what I was going to say. So when I actually made the call, I was pretty smooth.

“Hello, Dance?” I said. “This is Patty. Do you want to go to the Dave with me?”

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