observations thought fodder

Facebook Is Our New Town Square

I promised a second blog post that was inspired by this Facebook meme. Here it is. As much as we might hate it, Facebook has become our new town square. Starting in this last U.S. pre-election cycle, political posts overtook Facebook as individuals shared their views and tried to sway family, friends and co-workers  with their opinions. Often, nasty things were said. Post-election, the political sharing has become more intense as citizens attempt to figure…

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observations thought fodder

We Need to Stop Treating the U.S. Government Like a Furnace

This meme greeted me on Facebook one day and it irked me, as often these Facebook memes do. Usually, it’s because they strip complicated issues down and leave important parts out, serving as sound bites that rarely get analyzed. I can’t not analyze them and argue back. This one is so irksome to me that it’s generating at least 2 blog posts. Here’s the first. Until the most recent election cycle and the takeover of…

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thought fodder

What Is Your Concept of God?

Quick, without over-thinking it … Is God male or female? What color is God? What is God like in terms of personality? Have you ever asked anyone who is not your gender, race, or religion what their concept of God is? If you are like most Christians in the United States, you grew up with this concept of God: God is the stern, white, old guy on the right, using his finger to spark the…

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reading thought fodder

The Prescient “Dark Age Ahead”

Working in the field of public history, one cannot escape hearing about Jane Jacobs eventually. She was a journalist who ended up in the field of architecture, becoming an outspoken advocate for sane development that is more adapted to humans than cars. The book most mentioned within the Jane Jacobs canon is “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.” I have never read it, but a tweet (by Richard Florida, I believe) led me to Jane…

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observations

Have You Ever Just Craved a Hot Dog?

It started subconsciously. With a conversation in which someone mentioned a hot dog, being fed to gar fish and snapping turtles no less. By evening, I was craving a hot dog. But, I didn’t get a hot dog. The craving stayed with me. By the next evening, when Hubby called wondering what we were having for dinner, I asked him to bring home hot dogs, which left his craving for burritos unmet. My favorite hot…

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