Category Religion
Dervish Dance
I had mixed feelings about attending – but I am glad I did. Whirling dervishes are part of an obscure branch of Islam, an ecstatic dance performed only in a few places. I won’t go into details, you can look it up. I am extremely reluctant to contribute financially to something I don’t believe in, […]
The Big Give
I’m not really a garage sale sort of person. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate a bargain, but driving from place to place looking for one doesn’t appeal to me. It seems too much like work. I know there are people for whom garage sales are a major hobby. They are up at the […]
Mamertine Prison
It was the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. That was just a coincidence. Even though I am a skeptic I paid the small admission fee to see the cell where Paul (and supposedly Peter too) was held during his time as a prisoner in Rome. I am a skeptic. If you want me […]
The Church
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” That line is a paraphrase of a statement popularized by philosopher George Santayana. It was running through my mind a lot this week, with the news that Ottawa’s Northwestern United Church building is being sold to the mosque next door. I assume the reason […]
The Mosque
The first mosque I ever visited was in a Toronto building that started its life as a Presbyterian church. I don’t think that usage was predestined. It was the Summer of 1989 and the mosque visit was part of an orientation session being given before we moved to Africa. I think the idea was that, […]
Public Transit
Taking the bus is relatively boring. You get on, you pay your fare, you get off at your destination. One bus looks just like every other bus. It wasn’t like that when we visited Malta. The buses had a uniform colour scheme, but there was room for personalization and individuality. They’ve changed the system since […]
My Memory Fails Me
It is Sunday, and on Sundays I often post a small photo essay of a church or churches I have visited on my travels. Today is one of those days. However I feel a little embarrassed that today I can share the pictures but don’t have any information. For some reason, when I went to […]
Bric A Brac VII – The Church
On my desk and shelves, in my home office and in my office on Parliament Hill are some objects that have a certain amount of significance in my life but which are otherwise useless. It is not like I need more ornamentation or decorations after all. Each one though has a story attached to it, […]
Remembering Johnny
It’s Easter, and today I miss Johnny Hart. The creator of two popular late 20th century comic strips died in 2007. Neither the Wizard of Id nor B.C. is among my all-time favourite strips. I am more partial to Doonesbury, Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. Still, most of the time I would find […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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