Mystical Murmurs: My Interfaith Life

I've been engrossed lately in reading Bishop Gene Robinson's Lambeth blog, which you can find here . I recommend it to everyone . Though he has been, sadly, excluded from the formal proceedings, Bishop Robinson has managed to connect in a positive way with many, many people who are showing support. Please join me in praying for a successful journey for him, and a bit more tolerance on the part of certain Bishops I will not name. But we all know who they are.

I just found this on Closeted Pastor's blog, and thought it might be fun to pass along. I will never live long enough to do all this reading, I am sure! And, before you ask, just seeing the movie doesn't count! I was already tempted by that! 1) Look at the list and bold those you have read. 2) Italicize those you intend to read. 3) Underline the books you LOVE (I’ve used an asterisk instead) 4) Reprint this list in your own blogs 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien* 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee* 6 The Bible* 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens* 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott* 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy* 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier* 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien*

I'm hastily getting ready to go to Portland, Oregon, to a professional convention ... so I thought I would leave a little musical fun for you all while I'm gone. The group below is known as Joe Trio (I'm not sure why, because none of them is named Joe). They're based in Vancouver, BC, but tour all over. Check out their web site, which is is lighthearted and full of animal noises. The Youtube selection below is described as " a Joe Trio take on Led Zeppelin's Black Dog and various JS Bach themes combined." The performers are, from left, Cameron Wilson, Allen Stiles, and Charles Inkman. Charles is my neighbor's brother, and a lot of fun to hang out with. Enjoy!

That's the new buzzword now, right? " Staycation "? The word for time off when you can't afford the gas to go anywhere ... Well, I recently took a week off, having realized that I was going to max out my vacation time and stop accruing new days otherwise. J. took a few days off, too, and we did day trips. We didn't especially save on gas, but at least we could sleep in our own bed at night and save a lodging fee. The first day trip was to Cape May, NJ , an old Victorian resort still largely undiscovered by the condo builders ( shhh !...). This is one of my favorite places in the world. The "boardwalk" is made of concrete. The carnival rides are nonexistent. It's very quiet. The picture above was taken as a storm passed by offshore. I love the dark sky against the sea! We had a nice lunch (far too much food, but what the heck!) in a restaurant located on a pier. Later in the day, it cleared up a bit. J. doesn't much care for the beach,