My Christmas Letter

On 25 Dec, 2008 By mpm With 1 Comments

I always think that I'll get my act together and write a letter that I send out to all of my friends, that summarizes my year, etc. And I never actually get to it. So this year, I figured I'd blog it, and hopefully many of the folks I'd want to send it to will end up reading it. It's been a hectic year of change and upheaval. One year ago today, Ruth and I were having dinner at my parent's house in NY. That October, we'd just moved into our house in Shelburne Falls, thinking we'd be there for a while. A couple of months later, in February, Ruth decided to move back to CA permanently, and I followed in September. Now I live in a group house with several other people, in a neighborhood in Oakland called Fruitvale. Living in the city has its tradeoffs. On one hand, there is the lack of quiet, lots of crowds of people, and traffic. Things just take a little longer. It takes longer to get from point A to point B. Longer to park the car. Longer to wait in line for things. One has to worry about whether one's house is locked, whether or not valuables are visible in one's car, and be just more aware of things. But on the other side, there are tons of things to do, a virtually never-ending supply of good, cheap, ethnic restaurants, independant and foriegn movies come here first, there is a fabulous, and really diverse meditation community which I think could pretty much only exist here, and there is a general richness in the cultural landscape that I am surprised that I went without for so long. I love it that pretty much every day (unless I stay at home) I see people around me who look a lot like me. I even see plenty of people who fit somewhere in the "african-american/queer/alternative/educated" relatively narrow cultural slice that I occupy. Seeing myself reflected back to me everyday has a value that I don't know that I anticipated. And besides all that happened to me in 2008, much happened in the country, and the world. We elected the first non-white president in history. We are suffering an economic collapse that may, eventually, rival that of the Great Depression. We have a lot of tough times ahead, and I know that I have my own set of interesting challenges ahead of me as well. I hope this note finds you all in good spirits, and may peace and joy find its way to you in the coming year.

An idea

On 06 Dec, 2008 By mpm

It's clearly been quite a while since I've posted here. Mostly, it's because I haven't been as immersed in writing as I was this summer. I've been thinking a lot about the process of getting published, and my own relatively ambivalent relationship with traditional publishing, since I have been, for a long time in my work life, an open content advocate: that is, creating content that is open for people to get access to, change, remix, etc. A prime example of someone who does that is Cory Doctorow. So I have been thinking of creating an alternative avenue for SF writers to have their work read.

It made me think of the major reasons people want to be published:

• recognition
• broad audience
• potential income

and why readers buy published books:

• they know there has been a vettting process - so some level of quality is generally assumed
• it's in an easy-to-read form.

So I'm pondering an on-line community that can provide most (or all) of these for both authors and readers. Don't have many details yet, but it's in percolation mode.

The new meaning of Black Friday

On 30 Nov, 2008 By mpm With 6 Comments

You probably heard: a worker at Wal-Mart was trampled to death (and others injured) during a mad rush on the store because of sales this Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Apparently, two thousand people were willing to wait in line for hours, and rush the store entrance at 5:00 am to get the best deals on plasma screen TVs and Nintendo Wiis. I've been trying, ever since I heard about it, to wrap my mind around it. To understand why people are desperate enough for consumer goods that they are willing to not only wait hours in line, but trample people along the way. Of course, I live a privileged life, comparatively. I may be losing my health insurance, but what is true is that the \$200 price differential between a plasma screen TV last week, and the sale price this week isn't enough to break the bank (although it begs the question - if it is enough, should one be buying that thing in the first place?) I also don't have children or a partner who expect things for Christmas, so I have absolutely no externally imposed holiday shopping stress. Given the deepening economic crisis, and impending collapse of our unsustainable system, I think maybe this should provide an object lesson to us. Is anything that anyone obtained on Black Friday worth even one death (or one injury)? Buy Nothing Day is, at least, one way to make sure you don't get hurt while out shopping on Black Friday. But perhaps it will be a way to move us from the unsustainable path that we've been on, to one that is more sustainable for the future. I'm celebrating "Buy Nothing Christmas" - a relatively new tradition that I will continue from now, forward. I try not to buy anything except food and necessities between now and Christmas, and I'll be donating livestock from the Heifer Project in honor of family members, and creating a cool mix tape for friends. I want to celebrate Jesus' birthday (yes, yes, I know it's not really his birthday, but that's for another post) in a way that he might appreciate, not in a way that I can be sure he would distain.

Proposition 8: fear on both sides

On 09 Nov, 2008 By mpm With 3 Comments

I've been thinking a lot about Proposition 8 - both before the election, and after it. In truth I have mixed feelings about the whole gay marriage thing (for example, how it happened that lesbians went from thinking it was an institution of patriarchy to something we wanted,) but that's a different post for a different time. I'm saddened, of course, that a lot of people in California voted to add a discriminatory amendment to the consitution. What has been troubling me lately is the response among some in the LGBT community to demonize those who voted for Prop 8 (for example, on one local e-mail list I'm on, they are being called "H8ters", and often painted with the same brush.) I think until we are willing to look at why people chose to vote for Proposition 8 squarely, we won't be in a position to take right action. It's far to simplistic to suggest that it's simply because they hate us. And I think it's also too simplistic to suggest that they all just listened to their pastors and were brainwashed. I'm sure that there are some people who fit in those categories, but I refuse to think that explains it all - that it explains that the majority (slim, but still) of voters in California felt strongly enough about this to vote for an amendment to the state constituion, to put their check/arrow/finger next to the line that said "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry." Why is it that people fight against civil rights? What is it that causes them to cast ballots, or act in ways that promote discrimination? Fear is most often the motivation for treating other human beings badly. You ask: what are they afraid of? I suspect they are afraid of the same things we are: they feel their life threatened by change, and they want to have an explanation for it. They want to have a way to understand what they can do to make things better. They happen to understand it in ways that are far different than we do - but I refuse to think that most of them actively wish us harm. (Perhaps I'm naiive, but I'm stubborn.) And, for our part, we feel scared too. We feel scared that our rights will be taken away permanently, and that our lives will be threatened. But we can't act out of fear - we need to act out of compassion and a desire for dialogue. And, of course, we do need to act clearly and strongly to challenge proposition 8 both in court, and with another ballot measure next cycle.

What I need from Obama

On 06 Nov, 2008 By mpm With 5 Comments

I wasn't going to blog about the election. Mostly because I don't really have anything especially articulate to say about what happened on Tuesday that hasn't already been said, not only about Obama's win, but about the passage of Proposition 8 in California. I talked with my parents election night, and they said they could have never imagined a Black man as President in their lifetimes. Even I found it hard to imagine, even with Hollywood's suggestions. And, of course, the passage of Proposition 8 is a sad counterpoint to the amazingness of Obama's election. But what I'm writing about is that I need something from President Barack Obama. And I need it right now. I moved from a state that guarantees reasonably priced health insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions to a state that makes it impossible to get reasonably-priced insurance with pre-existing conditions. In California, as someone who is self-employed, It seems I can't join a group to get reasonable coverage without getting a job. I thought that HIPPA would save me, because I've had coverage. But it will cost me almost 2/3 of what I pay each month in rent to get HIPPA coverage, which, at the moment, feels pretty unaffordable. And the state plan (called the California Major Risk Program) will cost only a little less (and covers a lot less, and only provides up to \$75,000 in coverage.)  And as someone who has liked being self-employed, it makes me think maybe I should get a job. Or I may end up going without insurance for a while (that is, until Obama fixes things,) which feels very scary. I have always been an advocate single payer health care, but between having a stable academic job, then living in Massachusetts, it never occurred to me that this particular situation would happen to me. It always felt a lot easier to call this system corrupt and evil, when I wasn't caught in it. Caught in it, it feels like there is something wrong with me. The rejection letters I get from insurers make me feel like it's my fault that they won't insure me. Of course, it's not my fault. It's the fault of insurance companies only interested in profit, and politicians without the courage to do something about it. I know fixing this is high on President-elect Obama's list of things to do. If only for selfish reasons, I hope he gets to it sooner rather than later.

Going out on a limb

On 06 Nov, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

I'm going to go out on a really thin limb here, and feel free to saw it off in the comments. :-) If you haven't been to change.gov yet, you need to go. Now. I'll be here when you come back. There is little question that Obama was Presidential Candidate 2.0. And it's becoming increasigly clear that he'll be President 2.0. What made this possible? Of course, without his intelligence, and desire to be involving and inclusive, it wouldn't have happened. But there is no question that there is a technical aspect to what made this possible. New technologies, the web, Web 2.0 services like Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, text messaging, all of these made this possible. Plus some amazing underlying technical infrastructure. It engaged voters (largely young voters, but others as well.) It allowed people to get involved and helped motivate. So, to go even deeper, what made all of this possible? Well, Web 2.0 depends largely on two things: open standards, and open source software. It is my arguement that without these two things, Obama would not have been able to harness the technology in the way that he did. He might have won anyway, but I think that these two factors made it a lot easier. And I think that they will be key to providing Government 2.0, which is as technically transparent and open as it hopefully will be in actuality. Open Source software and open standards are the foundations of Web 2.0. Open standards are now becoming de-riguer for application developers, and even proprietary vendors are adopting longstanding ideas and methods from free and open source software. I think the next 4-8 years are going to prove Yochai Benkler right.

My 'hood

On 26 Oct, 2008 By mpm

I have been thinking a lot about where I live, and the kind of place it is, and how it is so completely different than anywhere else I've ever lived before. I live in Fruitvale. It is a neighborhood in Oakland that is incredibly diverse, although by far the largest population here is Latino. The census data from my zip code says that about 1/2 of the households are Latino, and the rest are divided up between Whites (next largest group), Blacks, and Asians. My immediate neighborhood is interesting. It is not quiet. There are barking dogs (I could write a whole treatise on cultural differences in relationships with dogs,) souped up cars that roar loudly down the street, the occasional really loud party where rap or salsa is played, and the general noise of the city. One hears gunshots on occasion, and a housemate's bicycle was stolen (locked, in front of our house) by the neighbor who, apparently, has been stealing from his neighbors for 25 years. But, we have a neighborhood watch, and it actually feels very safe - I live on a dead-end street, and many of the houses are owned by people related to each other (not to the stealing neighbor, however.) Oakland continues to spark in me very interesting ruminations about race and class in this country because of the juxtapositions and intersections. Ruth now lives about 6 minutes away from me, one zip code up. She lives in a quiet, sedate neigbhoorhood called Glenview. Instead of aging American cars and pickup trucks, European and high-end Japanese cars predominate. There are only wooden fences, instead of chain-link. All of the yards and houses are impeccably maintained, and houses cost twice (or more) what they cost in my neighborhood. But both neighborhoods share the Farmer Joe's supermarket, and we are both closest to the same Peet's coffee place. It's a very odd juxtaposition. And, the choice has been primarily mine. Unlike many, who are limited by income, credit-worthiness or both, I could as easily live where Ruth is living than live here. But I chose to live here. Some of the choice, of course, had to do with this house (it's a wonderful space) and my fabulous housemates. But there was something that drew me to this neighborhood as well. Somehow, my life in college towns didn't prepare me for this. I went to a wonderful festival this morning, Dia de los Muertos, in what I guess could be called the center of Fruitvale. It was a lot of fun, and the coolest part of it, for me was that the festival wasn't for me. People like me (people who do not have Mexican ancestry) were basically an afterthought. Everything was in Spanish, and I almost felt like I had been transported to Mexico. I was probably part of the 10% of the people there who were not Latino. I keep watching, and learning, and hoping to find my place here.

Unpacking and settling in

On 13 Oct, 2008 By mpm With 1 Comments

I hate unpacking. Of course, I hate packing too, and I think packing is worse. But unpacking is a pain, too. I'm finally settled in my new place, have all of the stuff out of the garage where it's been stored for a few weeks, and am now faced with a mound of boxes. It's at this stage that I want to become someone who has almost no stuff. I think fondly back in the days (college) when I could fit everything I owned into the trunk of my parent's car. What's funny is that I own a lot less stuff than I did in early 2005, before I ditched most of it, and went to seminary. But stuff has a way of accumulating, and by now, I have a lot more stuff. I'm enjoying Fruitvale, the neighborhood of the home I now live in. Fruitvale isn't quite "the hood", but it sure isn't Piedmont or Glenview. I'm learning a lot about neighborhoods in Oakland, and what their reputations are, what their makeup is, and how they feel. Fruitvale is very multi-ethnic - part of it is heavily African-American, then it starts to blend into a part that is heavily Latino. It's vibrant and active. There are some great taco trucks and little produce/grocery stores, and a little restaurant down the street that makes good Licuados (basically sweetened fruit smoothies.) Living in Oakland is about as far from living in Western Mass as you can imagine in so many ways. It's noisy and crowded. It's incredibly diverse. People of color are a majority of the population in most places in Oakland (with some exceptions - Rockridge/Elmwood, and the Oakland hills for instance - all upscale areas.) Oakland is an incredibly interesting study in race and class, and how those manifest itself in how and where people live. The cool thing, though, is that it is just as progressive, and even queerer. That's been fun. So far, I'm really enjoying being here. I'm not really missing New England yet, although I am missing my friends there. And I found my sources for cider, an important fall thing. Weird too, being able to get local(ish - from Oregon) fresh apple cider and local strawberries at the same time! It's going to take me a while to get used to that.

My move to the big city

On 17 Sep, 2008 By mpm

I've been in the Bay Area now for 2 weeks, exactly. It's been enlightening, broadening, frustrating, triggering, happy, sad, giddy, and scary experience. Finding a place to live has been one of the most difficult experiences I've been through lately. A lot of that is the varied parts of me that feel drawn to different things. I've been mostly looking at studios and one bedroom apartments in Oakland, Berkeley, and surroundings. I toyed with living in SF, although it feels much more costly. I've thought about living in a cooperative household again (which I'm moving more toward right now.) I also came right smack up against my own naivete this last few days, when I gave a check, signed a lease, and was given the keys to an apartment (an interesting, funky apartment that I liked,) only to find out that the landlord decided not to rent to me after all, for reasons that made no sense at all (they were basically just excuses - I imagine he decided to give the place to a friend, or some such.) The way it happened all seemed kind of strange, but I figured that he was just one of those laid back, somewhat disorganized people (like me.) He might indeed be like that, but add a streak of dishonesty and lack of straightforwardness to it. It means I have to start all over again, which is not the worst thing in the world. Perhaps, what's true, is that it provided an opening for the exact right situation to appear.

Evangelicals and Torture

On 11 Sep, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

There is a conference happening now (appropriate to the date, I guess) sponsored by Evangelicals for Human Rights: "A National Summit on Torture: religious faith, torture, and our national soul". Accompanying that conference was a poll (PDF) of southern evangelicals on torture. The findings are deeply disturbing. One thing that strikes me so clearly about this is the complete disconnect between evangelicals' supposed adherence to biblical literalism and their political beliefs. Here are some findings from the poll:

• Only 22% of those surveyed believe that torture is never justified. The rest think it can be rarely, sometimes, or often justified. Will someone tell me where in the Bible Jesus said that torturing your enemies was OK?
• 48% think that the "golden rule" isn't relevant to torture - the golden rule being that things that one wouldn't want to be used against the US shouldn't be used against others. I take this to mean that 48% of the evangelicals in this poll would redact Matthew 7:12 from the Bible.
• Even those who use Christian teachings, 42% think torture can be sometimes or often justified. I really want chapter and verse on that one.

This just pisses me off. These are the self-same evangelicals that will point to passages in the Bible that are a whole lot less obvious to condemn gays and lesbians and women who make the difficult choice to have an abortion. Please. Be consistent, or leave me the f**k alone. I am glad that an organization like Evangelicals for Human Rights exists, and I hope that they are able to really reach other Evangelicals, and perhaps explain the Bible to them? Hat tip to Faith in Public Life for the info.

"Home", sweet "home"

On 04 Sep, 2008 By mpm With 3 Comments

I made it to Oakland last night, after a long, crazy day driving from Blackfoot Idaho, to Oakland. On Tuesday, I'd driven through Yellowstone, which was quite wonderful. But I was getting tired, and cranky, and realizing that I was ready to be done already with this road trip, so I got up early, and drove long. I gained an hour along the way, which helped me get here just in time for dinner. I'm a bit disoriented, and not quite sure which end us up. And, it's HOT here, which I am not enjoying. This is one really, really huge country - you realize how much space there is when you drive across it. In general, I had a good time, but I'm also quite ready to be here - to find my way to getting rid of those quotation marks.

Big Sky, and The End of Food

On 31 Aug, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

I am now west of the Mississippi, in a small town called Windom, Minnesota. One of the things that happened between Indiana and Minnesota is that the landscape changed dramatically. The landscape in eastern Indiana is flatter, and with some fewer trees than the landscape of New York state and New England, but it doesn't really have the big sky. But a few miles over the Mississippi, past the "Driftless Area" (thanks to Gabe Ormsby for that info in response to my twitter request for information on the hills there) the land gets really flat, and the sky gets big. Ironically, (or not, I guess) I spent most of today, as I was driving by farm after farm in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, listening to the audiobook "The End of Food." It's a depressing listen, although it's all really good to know and understand. And, since I am watching TV for Gustav information, I have gotten to see advertisements for food I've never seen, and after hearing the book, it's hard to look at them and think them innocuous. Anyway, I like driving in Big Sky country, and I've got a whole lot of it to go, so that's a good thing. And I also have several more depressing nonfiction audiobooks, but I did also get Stephen Colbert's "I am America and So Can You" which I'm looking forward to listening to.

My tribe(s)

On 31 Aug, 2008 By mpm

I have lived most of my adult life in comfortable, progressive enclaves (Cleveland Heights, OH, Western MA, Bay Area, CA - the one exception was Fort Collins, CO,) I have gotten really used to having people around me who feel like, for want of a better phrase, part of my tribe. Of course, my tribe is really more than one tribe. There is the GLBT tribe. The progressive religious tribe. There is the geek tribe. The crunchy-granola tribe. The academic tribe. Some days I feel more like a member of one or another - in some situations (say, a Science Fiction Convention) one tribe predominates. As I'm driving across country, driving through areas that don't have many of my tribe members (of any kind) I've had some interesting tribal experiences - ones that make me think more about what this tribal thing means. In a Whole Foods in Cleveland, where I stopped to stock up on food I knew I wasn't going to be able to find in the nation's midsection, I was waiting to ask the person in the health section about whether they had something. She was talking with an African American woman with a heavy southern accent, straightened hair, who was asking very beginner questions about healthy diets. I was certainly happy to hear that she was interested, but it was an interesting situation (I gave her some advice about food. Of course, I'm much better at knowing about healthy diets than actually following through, but that's a different blog post.) As I got my Elderberry lozenges (I feel like I might be fighting a cold), I was going down a different aisle, and I saw ahead of me a straight, but clearly "groovy" African American couple - the woman had a short afro, they were wearing the "right" kind of sandals, and their food basket was filled with the right kind of healthy/foodie food, and I thought, they are part of my tribe. As I drive in my car down the Interstate, I see occasional cars with rainbow stickers of one type or another, or, say, Obama stickers, and I think "my tribe." I see guys driving Harleys and I think "not my tribe." Or the "Jesus is Lord" stickers. Not my tribe, even though we both spend Sundays in church. Why is it that we humans are so tribal - that it is so easy for us to think of people as "not part of our tribe" - thus, well, less worthy of our attention, or makes us less willing to engage? I remember hearing an interview with the author of the book The Big Sort, who basically suggested that people in the US have physically sorted themselves into like-minded communities, which actually makes it harder for people with different ideas and values to talk to one another, since we don't live together much anymore. On one hand, I do see this as problematic. It is a problem that I might not feel as willing or able to talk with someone who isn't in my tribe. On the other hand, my own (and many people's) choices about where to live are not just a matter of preference (which the author suggests) but actually a matter of safety. One of the hallmarks of my time in Fort Collins (which, admittedly, was 20 years ago - I know it has changed since) was that I didn't always feel physically safe as an African American, or a lesbian. (The gay bar had been burned to the ground by arson the year before I moved there.) Hate crimes still happen, and it's pretty natural to leave a place you don't feel safe. And it's also natural to leave a place you don't feel comfortable, or find a place you'll find more comfortable, even if you don't feel physically threatened. And, at the end of this long trip, I'll arrive back in the Bay Area, a very comfortable, very progressive place, with lots of people of my tribe(s). And that will feel good. But I'll still be pondering this.

Journeys

On 29 Aug, 2008 By mpm With 1 Comments

I'm sitting in upstate NY - a town called Apalachin, in a part of NY I've never been. It's the southern part, just above the PA border. It's funny, I've driven across the state on RT 90, probably a dozen times or more, but this time, I decided to try something a little different. It's an interesting part of NY state - very wooded and rural, but not touristy/resort rural, more like industrial rural. Binghamton, which I thought of as a college town, looks more like a working town. Of course, that was just passing through. I did get to watch Obama's acceptance speech last night, before I left on this trip. It was interesting, and I expect that I'll have a post or two about Obama sometime after I've settled down - I've been thinking a lot about the significance of his candidacy - as well as the pitfalls. After I said goodbye to Ruth at the airport this early afternoon (she's flying back to CA, so she's ahead of me many miles by now) I was thinking about all of the places I've been in my life, and all of the kinds of journeys I've been on - both inner and outer. This is yet another one, at yet another stage of my life. In some ways, I can feel my age - I can feel myself leaving middle age. Maybe it's the cranky body after days of stressful effort. Maybe it's the familiarity of a ritual that I seem to partake in often: rearranging my life to fit a new internal reality - a new way of being human in the world - and remembering all of the other journeys of this sort I have taken in my  life. I expect tomorrow to be one of my long days - it would be great to make it to Indiana by the end of the day, and I probably will. I'm most excited about my drive through South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho - I want to take my time there. These are areas I haven't been to since I took a trip as a part of a travel camp 34 years ago. I have only snippets of memories of the Badlands and Rapid City. If I feel like it, and have time, I'll be driving through Oregon, to then take the coast road down to the Bay Area. I think that would be a great close to the trip. But, like one of my favorite poems, Ithaca by C.P. Cavafy, it is the journey that is the most important, not the destination. And I hope that I can stay present and open for the riches that this journey will bring me.

Hiatus

On 26 Aug, 2008 By mpm

As many of you know, I'm about to make a big move: to the left coast, to the big city of Oakland (or thereabouts). This is a good move for me, in many ways. In one particular way, I'm psyched to get to be in one of the hot spots of my field, and actually have a casual beverage with lots of colleagues I've gotten to know over the years, but have only seen once a year (or less often, even.)  I'm driving cross country, leaving Friday, and arriving sometime during the weekend of the 6th and 7th of September. Taking a slow, leisurely drive. I won't be blogging here, and I know that my work will be cut out for me in terms of catching up when I land.  I'll be blogging on my personal blog as I drive (well, not while I'm driving) and tweeting as well.   

Three days and counting ...

On 25 Aug, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

I'm taking a little break from filling boxes and taking down pictures and wrapping delicate things in newspaper to watch the DNC convention via streaming video (since I don't have a TV.) In three days, a truck is going to come, and take all of my stuff away, to go to California. The next day, I drop Ruth off at the airport, and embark on my solo journey across country. I'm really looking forward to the trip. I'm thinking of it as part retreat, part vision quest, part liminal experience. It's a good thing I love to drive (Ruth doesn't). I love the idea that I'll get to really see and experience the country between where I live now, and where I'll be living. Flying always makes the place I arrive in surreal - I never really quite feel like I've arrived. But traveling by surface - car, train, etc., makes me really know I have arrived. I'm going the northern route - from New York, Ohio, Indiana, through Chicago, up through Wisconsin and a corner of Minnesota. I'll be going to South Dakota, and go through the Badlands. I'm going to drive through Wyoming, and visit Yellowstone. Then through Idaho. It's not clear whether I'll head straight down from Idaho to Nevada, then CA, or go through Oregon to Portland, then down the coast. The latter sounds much more fun, but I don't know how tired I'll be, and what I'll want to do. But in any event, I expect the trip to take me close to a week. I'll be blogging and tweeting along the way, of course (I'm going to put my tweets in the sidebar here.) And I hope to take pictures, and take in the full experience.

Real Live Preacher Takes on Hell

On 17 Aug, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

Real Live Preacher is a blog by a real Baptist minister. I've been reading it pretty consistently since I discovered it quite a number of years ago (pre-seminary).  He even used to have a chat room I would visit on occasion. That's where I met Rev. Sean, a UU Minister (and on the board of Starr King) whose blog, Ministrare, I also read pretty consistently. Anyway, so RLP (or Gordon Atkinson, his real name) is very brave, and quite interesting, too. He has taken on issues of gay marriage, his battle with depression, and a broad range of issues. He has now decided to take on the question of whether or not the Bible really says that non-Christians are going to hell.

THE CHALLENGE: Okay, so here's the deal: if you believe in hell, I want you to help us understand why. I invite anyone who believes that non-Christians are going to an eternal hell to make your case. We're going to play by your rules too. Bible arguments only. Don't explain why you think there should be a hell. Don't tell us that your preacher told you there is a hell. Show us in the scriptures you say you love so dearly. Because if you're talking about hell, you better damn well be able to open your holy book and show us why. And if you can't...well, maybe you shouldn't be talking so much.

You really should go read the whole post. It's great. What I think is great about this is unlike the general progressive/liberal Christian strategy, which basically (for good reason) questions the whole premise of the Bible being the literal truth, thus allowing us to basically throw out things we don't like, RLP is asking people who believe in hell to play by their own rules - that is, prove it using scripture. I can't wait to hear the results.

Two weeks and counting...

On 13 Aug, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

On August 28th, a truck will come and take all of my stuff away, to go to California. It seems unreal, somehow, that it will happen quite so soon. But the date is approaching at a rapid pace. I'm in my standard "moving is chaos" challenging place. I get restless, have insomnia, and indigestion, among other things. It's stressful to move, and it's hard for me to feel grounded and at peace with all of it going on, even though it's all really under control. For me, this emotional state is familiar, having moved so much in the last few years. This time, I'm just trying to be present with it, and accept it, instead of wishing it would go away (because, of course, it won't.) It will be likely more than a month before I have a place to live, and can begin to unpack, so I will have this internally (as well as externally) chaotic place to live with for a while yet. All of that said, I'm excited about the move. I'm starting to already make plans to do things when I arrive, and I'm excited about all of the possibilities. So, just to live through the chaos...

Leave Taking

On 29 Jul, 2008 By mpm With 1 Comments

In a month or so (August 31st to be exact) I have to be out of our house, because we found a renter for September 1 (actually, one of my present housemates is going to take over, and get more housemates - and he already found a bunch.) I'm quite thankful for that, because the housing market is so bad, that for the two months our house was on the market, no one even came to look at it.  Yes, Virginia, the housing market around here is that bad. Our realtor said that basically nothing listed for more than \$200K was selling. Sigh. So ... I'll be hitting the highway again, this time back to California, a little earlier than I expected.  I'm excited to be moving back to the Bay Area - interested in finding out more about all of the varied things I might get connected to, or involved with.{.alignright .size-full .wp-image-576 width="240" height="160"} And there is also sadness - I'm leaving (again) a group of great friends that I'll miss getting to see often. I'm sad to be leaving New England, the part of the country that seems to me to be as much like home as any I've so far found. So I'll be packing, having last lunches and coffees and teas with people for a while, downloading audio books, making playlists, arranging moving logistics, scanning SF Bay Area Craigslist for places to possibly look at when I arrive, and hopefully still manage to work, write and stay sane. Wish me luck. It's an interesting, liminal time.

Cleveland, OH

On 19 Jul, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

Ruth and I are in Cleveland, OH - taking a break from her two-week long residency teaching poetry at Ashland University's MFA writing program. I joined her for the week, and have been doing a bit of work, and a good bit of writing. I'm sitting at a cafe, namely Arabica's cafe, in University Circle. This Arabica was not here when I lived here 20 years ago. There was a single Arabica that had just opened up in Coventry - a fun place to hang out, with people playing chess and go in the back. I was there for countless afternoons and evenings reading and writing, as I was finishing my dissertation. It's fun to be in Cleveland, and interesting. I am remembering all of the things I liked about it when I lived here. Next, back home, time to start thinking about packing, moving, and all of the next steps.

Short Stories

On 16 Jul, 2008 By mpm

So I finally wrote my first bona-fide science fiction short story. It's called A Trip to Orbit. Interestingly, it feels like hard (or semi-hard) sf that turned into somewhat of a family drama. But it was fun to do, and revising it, although it feels like a lot of work, feels so much more manageable than revising my novels!

I surprised myself. I thought that I couldn't come up with a believable plot, or interesting twists, within the confines of less than 8,000 words. But it worked! That was a relief, and, in fact, makes me think that I might work really hard over the next few months on a few short stories, and think about applying to Clarion for next summer. (I had basically assumed I couldn't do Clarion, because I couldn't do short stories.)

I've spent several hours on it so far, and I expect I'll be spending days and weeks on it before I feel like it's done. But I also feel interested and ready to write more stories!

The politics of race

On 13 Jul, 2008 By mpm With 1 Comments

The brou-ha-ha around Jesse Jackson's comments about Obama, and how he would like to excise a part of Obama's anatomy has been, for me, a very interesting study in the politics race. (When you watch the video, have a look at Jesse Jackson's right hand, and his face, as he makes his comments.) Of course, there is no substantive coverage of what the issues exactly are that Jesse Jackson has with Obama's ideas about reforming Bush's faith-based initiatives. The most substantial coverage is about the drama, the apologies, the repudiation ... Jim Wallis has a view of the new ideas:

Obama affirmed the idea of a faith-based initiative on the solid foundations of both real partnership and the necessary commitment of government to sound public policy to reduce poverty. Prior to today, the danger was that Democrats might revert to old secular biases and end the faith-based program altogether, preferring only public sector approaches as the remedy to poverty instead of also forging vital partnerships with civil society that include the faith community. It was good to see that the failures of the Bush faith-based initiative have not deterred Obama from proposing a robust vision of his own.

From my perspective, I don't know that I would necessarily say that it would have been a bad thing to end the faith-based program altogether - I don't know that it would be from secular bias, but more likely from a healthy appreciation of the separation of church and state, and how difficult it is to have a governmental faith-based initiative, and not run afoul of that in one way or another. On the other hand, it might well be interesting to see what Obama does with this, and whether it really has the kinds of effects he hopes it will. In terms of the politics of race - Jackson says of Obama "he's talking down to Black people on this faith based ..." What did he mean by that? Obviously, I don't know, although I could guess. Others have guessed, too. Here's a comment from Sylvester Brown:

When there are discussions about crime, drug abuse, teen-age sex, divorce or violence, they are presented as "societal problems" in the white community, even though such things permeate all parts of society. Whereas in the black community, these issues are discussed as "black problems." We know that Obama isn't talking down to us. He's talking around us. He's trying to woo white voters who want a president with the juice to tell blacks to clean up their own club.

And there was this comment from David Knowles:

Like Bill Cosby, Obama insists that not all of black America's modern-day problems can be blamed on the legacy of slavery. The "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" approach is not oblivious to historical factors, but it seeks to shift the emphasis for solving problems away from government and toward the individual and the community itself. And now, thanks to Jackson, Obama gets to highlight this message to white America all the more.[]{#cont} Just as significant, in case there was still any doubt about it, is the re-confirmation that Jesse Jackson is no longer the de facto figure-head of black America. Neither is [Al Sharpton]{style="font-weight: bold;"}. In fact, Obama's rise may signal an end to the cult-of-personality, hierarchical pecking-order within the African American community that began (quite understandably) with [Martin Luther King, Jr]{style="font-weight: bold;"}.

Both are really interesting, and, I think, pretty right on. Jesse Jackson (and others) have lived their lives, and built their careers around a very specific kind of construction of race - one that is very much, and literally, black and white (and, to some extent, descendants of slaves and descendants of slave-owners), with few shades of grey. Obama lives in the shades of grey. And because of the changes in demographics, economics and culture of the last 30 years, that's really where we all live, too. In any event, unlike the Reverend Wright brou-ha-ha, this one can only help Obama.

A week of writing, and writers

On 13 Jul, 2008 By mpm

My partner is on the faculty of a low-residency MFA program (she's a poet), and the next two weeks are her residency. I'm hanging out here for the first week - I'll go to craft talks, go to readings, and in between those, and a little bit of work, I'll be writing again.

I'm excited to be doing that - to get a chance to immerse myself again in my writing, and create whatever is next on my writing path. I have a few different places that I'd like to go, and I'd like to spend a little bit of time trying my hand at something that I've thought for a while I can't do - writing short stories.

I love writing (or thinking about) novels. Big sweeping plot lines, complex intertwining storylines, I love all of the space I get in a novel - all of the wide open pages to roam and ramble, and spin out a long story. The short story seems to me too confining. And I don't feel like I have the ability to come up with truly interesting endings - a way to wrap up a story at the same time as you leave space for questions.

But I'm going to try. I feel like writing short stories is a way to hone my craft in a way that will be useful, and can get lost in a novel. I need work on sentences and the use of words. I need work on filling out fully details in scenes. I need work on character development. So it feels like writing short stories will exercise those muscles.

And it's fun to be around writers, even though they are literary (said with a slightly ironic British accent) rather than sci-fi/fantasy writers. So far, though, they all seem to think that writing sci-fi is fun (which, of course, it is).

Back to #1

On 22 Jun, 2008 By mpm

I decided, mostly because I am going to apply for an Astrea Foundation Lesbian Writer's Fund grant, which is due on June 30, to put the second book aside for a while, and concentrate for the next while on re-editing the first book. First, so that I can apply for this grant, and second, so that I can begin to shop the book around. Hopefully, by the end of the summer, I'll have a manuscript that I'm happy with, and I can go back to #2, and, maybe even better, start #3, which has the stories already working their way through my head.

Octavia Butler was born today

On 22 Jun, 2008 By mpm

Today is Octavia Butler's birthday. She would have been 61 years old. There is no question that she has been an important influence in my writing. Her fascinating and brilliant concepts and ideas, her interesting characters, her braveness at tackling really difficult social issues - all are things that made her writing amazing. I hope, someday, that my writing can be 1/2 as good.

It's a good day to mention the Octavia Butler Scholarship that is administered by the Carl Brandon Society. It's a scholarship that pays the way for a writer to go to one of the Clarion Writers workshops. I have to admit that the existence of the two Clarion workshops certainly make me wish I wrote short fiction - but my brain seems not wired that way. But it is a great way for many writers to find their way into the craft of Science Fiction writing.

Changes, again...

On 21 Jun, 2008 By mpm With 1 Comments

{.alignleft .size-medium .wp-image-570 width="240" height="180"}The song by Sophie Hawkins, called "California Here I Come" is playing right now. Not quite by coincidence, it came to mind as I thought of writing this post, so I put it on. But it is one of my favorite songs, no matter where I'm headed. Short story: I'm moving back to the West Coast, specifically back to the Bay Area, sometime between early October and early November. This time, I expect it will be pretty much for good. One never knows, of course, but that's how it feels at the moment. Feel free to say something snide if it doesn't turn out that way. Longer story: It is partially, of course, to be closer to Ruth, who lives in Oakland now. But in this 5 or so month process that I have been through since Ruth decided to go back to California, I have come to realize that there is a lot for me in the Bay Area, and there seems to be a way that I need to grow that will be facilitated by being there. What do I mean? New England has been a wonderful place to live. It still does (and I imagine will always) feel a lot like home. It is cozy and comfortable (except in winter!) A lot of dear friends live here. It's small and handle-able. But in many ways, it's isolated. It's far away from my work contacts, far away from potential clients, and there aren't the kinds of dynamic communities that I got to be a little bit a part of when I lived in Berkeley in 2005-6. My field of work, nonprofit technology, which feels much more chosen rather than accidental now that I got to take a break to go to seminary, could almost be said to be centered in the Bay Area. There are communities of faith that I can be a part of that only exist there (like City of Refuge, Choctmat Halev, and New Spirit Community Church to name just a few.) I mean, where else can you find meditation groups with queer people of color? Or how about butch yoga? I also came to an interesting realization. Having spent most of my life living in settings that are largely white, I feel like I haven't really gotten to fully live out the complexity of my identity. With my move to Oakland, I get to live and move among a lot of other African Americans, who have chosen all sorts of life paths, many as complex and combined as my own (African-American/Lesbian/Geek/Buddhist/Christian/Science Fiction Writer - there may even be more of those than just me!) I got to experience a taste of that when I lived there, but I feel like it will be great to really get to immerse myself in that experience. What's great is that I have a network there already, between work and my old seminary friends, as well as a few other folks I've known who've moved there over the years. I'm excited about the move. And, of course, there is a lot to do (oh, like hopefully sell a house) and such before hand, which is not fun. But I'm just taking it one step at a time.

Writing progress

On 07 Jun, 2008 By mpm

As I mentioned before, I'm working through the second novel - pointing out places where I need new scenes, and looking at the over all story arc. But I got a good piece of advice from my partner, who is a writer. It was about working on the settings of the individual scenes so that the reader feels like they are really there.

It's not something that is common in SF writing - some do it well, others don't really do it - it all goes to plot development. I'm thinking more about how to write so that my readers really feel themselves in a scene. Lots of work to do.

Critiquing writing

On 04 Jun, 2008 By mpm

As I said before, I joined Critters, and just in the last week, when I critiqued 3 stories (actually 1 short story and 2 novel excerpts) I learned a lot. My partner says that she thinks writers learn more from critiquing other people's work than they do from getting their own work critiqued, and in just this short experience, I have to agree. So I'm pretty happy with this, and I look forward to critiquing more stories.

A long time ago, I joined Urbis, which is also a critique community, although it's bigger, and covers all genres. So I think I'll also wander back over there. A local friend of mine, who writes fantasy, and I had tried to start a women's science fiction and fantasy writing group, but there wasn't the critical mass here locally. Perhaps these online groups will be helpful.

Are there other online critique groups people belong to? What have your experiences been?

Theology of the Trinity

On 01 Jun, 2008 By mpm

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you probably have picked up that the classic Christian theological concept of the trinity: Father, Son (who was an embodiment of the Father, and died, and was resurrected, etc.) and Holy Spirit is a construct of God that I find hard to embrace. In some ways, I still am pretty much a Unitarian Christian, even though I now attend a church that is part of a trinitarian denomination (UCC). And because of that, the Trinity is in my consciousness quite often. During service, we always sing that Doxology (thankfully, using inclusive language) "Glory be to the Creator, and to the Christ and to the Holy Ghost ..." Today, the pastor of my lovely church, Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, preached a great sermon (as usual) and in it was this nugget: The qualities of water at what is called the "triple point" of water (which is 0.01 degrees C) is where the three phases can coexist in an equilibrium. I love the metaphor - the idea of God, and the qualities of God, being in equilibrium - present all at once - it's all the same substance, like water, but it has three different qualities. I once wrote a paper in seminary about the concept of the Trinity by Julian of Norwich. About one of Julian's metaphors of the Trinity, I wrote:

The triad nature, mercy and grace is very much how I experience God, and God's love. I see God everyday in the natural world. I see the love of God in every leaf, in every rock, in the moo of a cow, the babble of a brook, the flame of a candle. God's nature is what is so close to my eyes and ears, on a daily basis. God's grace I experience in my life. When I find myself in the right place at the right time, I see that as grace. When it's winter (in New England), and I hate the cold, and I look up in the sky, and see the constellation Orion, I feel God's grace.

It seems like this is a theological concept that I'll be chewing on for a while.

A story arc gets meat put on the bones

On 01 Jun, 2008 By mpm

I've realized that I'm really good with the arc of a plot, laying it out, preparing for varied events that add to the plot, writing scenes that are pivitol to it. But I have a hard time with filling necessary (or at least useful) details,  building the tension, expanding on characters, and really doing good description. That's where I'm at right now with the second novel, sequel to the first.

It's actually a fun process - it's before the nitty gritty editing, but after the real creative juices have been flowing to build the world, and build thes story. I'm already pretty clear about the plot for book three, and it's hard to keep myself from plunging into another bout of plot and world-building (the details of a fourth planet get revealed in that book, even though action takes place on all four worlds.)

I'm hoping to finish the first draft of novel 2 soon. What the next question is - what do I do after that?

1) Go back to do edit #2 on the first novel\ 2) Do a full edit on the second novel\ 3) Stop writing for a while and start shopping this stuff around\ 4) Plunge in a write novel #3.

I know what I really *want* to do. I'm just not sure what I *should* do....

A story

On 29 May, 2008 By mpm

This is actually backstory for the sequel to my first novel that I'm writing. But I really like it - it's not quite enough for a short story (and I don't think I'm good at short stories anyway) but I kind of like the way it feels. So here it is ... drafty and all...

Pkygy's Grandmother     She sat in the kitchen, the hearth glowing bright colors, the day's cooking and cleaning done. Now she could indulge in one of her favorite activities. She had always wanted to write, spinning her imagination out into words, bringing new worlds and new ideas into being. It was also her most preciously kept secret. She had been told, all of her life, that the highest, most exalted role for women were to keep the homestead comfortable for her man, bring new Kinder into the world, and raise those children to understand what Kinder culture was, and why it must be preserved as it is. It was what the Kinder Exalted King had meant.  \ She never actively questioned this role. She listened all her life to the priests and chiefs that told it. She watched other women, and some men, who chafed in their roles be punished, knowing she would not ever meet that fate. Yet, always, from when she was very young, and knew how to count the moons, she imagined different worlds, other ways of being. When she learned how to write, it was as if whole new vistas opened up for her. She would spend hours sitting at a table, or at her desk, writing on stolen sheafs of paper. She could never have a comp -- women weren't allowed to use them, except for the crippled comps that gave recipes, or solutions to household problems, or what to do when your baby had colic. And if she had used a comp, her husband would have known she was writing. This way, she could hide the sheets of paper in places that he would not look -- in a chest in her closet, under the undergarments. She had thousands of sheets of writing -- many, many stories, and epics. She had created dozens of new worlds, and imagined many new cultures. One day, about 5 years ago, she decided she wanted to explore the Breft. The Breft were the cursed people who had broken from the Kinder thousands of years ago. The Breft who disliked order. The Breft who scoffed at the Exalted King's wishes for them -- who, in fact, did not even believe in the Exalted King. She had wondered what life would be like without the strictures of Kinder life. What would it mean if she could operate the farm machines? Or spend her time looking at the stars? She poured all of her longing for a different life into the pages, creating new characters. One character that she loved she called "Elfer." Elfer was a woman who chose not to marry or have children. Elfer was a healer and teacher. She imagined Elfer's education, and Elfer's life. She wondered whether or not Elfer would ever take lovers. She imagined Elfer traveling from town to town, city to city, healing those who needed her help, and teaching more to heal as she did. ...   Pkygy walked into the bedroom, that had started to gather dust after his gamma died. He put his bag on the bed, which had been stripped of it's sheets. He loved to spend time with her, helping her bake bread, bringing in wood for her hearth when she could not. Her husband had died many years before she did, and she had only daughters, so all of her children left home to join the households of their husbands, and she was left alone. Pkygy's mother lived the closest -- only a few houses away, and his mother was happy to have Pkyky take care of gamma. Pkygy had a brother, so gamma's house was now his. Pkygy had been with her in the last days of her life, and she had told him of her secret writing. He promised to burn all of the writing, and never tell anyone about it. He opened the closet, and pulled out the chest that was shoved into the corner, and opened it. A few undergarments were laid on top, but underneath he could see thousands of sheets of paper, of all sorts. He picked up the chest, and brought it into the living room. He gathered up a few loads of wood, and started a roaring fire, and sat down at the table next to the fire, and took a few sheafs of paper, and started to read. Many hours later, the fire was still burning, as he kept feeding it wood, not paper. He had tears running down his face. He couldn't possibly burn these. But he could do nothing with them. His family would be shamed horribly if anyone knew that his gamma had written all of this. The stories felt like the door he had always been looking for, the way to find somehow else to feel, somewhere else to be, something else to do. He felt that these stories had to be heard, and read. The only way he knew how to do that, was to tell people that he had written them. He decided to start with one of the most innocuous seeming of stories. This was the story of a Second Chief, and his loyalty to his First Chief, and the sacrifices that he makes. It seemed innocuous on the surface, but if you scratched it, it was a deep questioning of the way things are. He got out his comp, and started typing. ... "Pkygy Hostro Gnova" He heard his voice called. He had been arrested. He had finally published the story that was too obvious, too damning for his local Second Chief to tolerate. He stood up, walked to the front of the room, where the Second Chief sat high above on a raised desk. "Is this story, called "Elfer" yours?Pkygy nodded.\ "Are you sure? Are you taking the blame for someone else? There is no reason to take the punishment of, say, a woman you know who wrote this. And don't take credit  just because some of the silly teachers think it is a masterpiece."\   Pkygy felt torn. Not that he wanted to escape punishment. He wanted his family to escape shame for his gamma's stories. But he also wanted his gamma to be known. It was a masterpiece, and he had been gratified, before he was arrested, to hear that from a number of respected writers. But in the end, it was the secret that he had promised to keep that swayed him.\     "I wrote it. I wrote all of the stories. Just me."\     The Second Chief sighed. "Alright then. 5 years on Rostron, the asteroid mine." He signed some papers, then signaled to two of his guards to take Pkygy away.

After WisCon

On 28 May, 2008 By mpm

I had a blast at WisCon - my first WisCon, my first con, my first time sitting in a big room full of people who love to read and/or write science fiction and fantasy. What a blast.

I came home tired, but fired up to write. And I did. I added a few thousand words to my second novel, which feels great. I ordered a bunch of new fiction writing books from Amazon - mostly about character and dialog and such. I'm really good at plot, story arc, and world building - I seem to have a knack for that, but it's the detail stuff that I need a lot of work on.

And I also have to start thinking about how to find a place to publish the first novel (first in a series of ...?)

Lots to do, lots to learn.

So am I a science fiction writer?

On 25 May, 2008 By mpm

After finding at WisCon that so many women and feminist science fiction writers were on LiveJournal, I realized that one way to connect with this community was to start a LJ blog. I've been a blogger for years, and although I'd certainly heard lots about LJ, I hadn't really known very many people in the communities that I was a part of who used it, so I started on a totally different blogging platform.

It feels like I am just beginning life as a science fiction writer, and it seemed fitting that I would start out a new blog - that seems to actually be the way I do things. I started a spirituality blog when I went to seminary, I started a technology blog when I re-entered the nonprofit technology field after seminary ... so here is my writing blog after my first (hopefully of many) WisCons.

I look forward to making connections here, and talking about writing.

On my way to WisCon

On 21 May, 2008 By mpm

I'm quite excited - I'm on my way to WisCon, a feminist Science Fiction Convention. I'm doing a writing workshop on Friday, which I'm really excited about, then there are lots and lots of things going on until Sunday night. It's my first scifi con, which is kinda funny, since I've been a science fiction fan since I was a little kid. Somehow I missed the con circuit earlier in life. I guess perhaps because I never was the fannish sort. This should be exciting, and it has given my writing a burst of energy - now I just need to find the time to use it!

Where Freedom of Religion and the State Clash

On 19 Apr, 2008 By mpm With 4 Comments

I've been watching the whole saga of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or FLDS). It is a very interesting situation, for sure. There is no question that polygyny (polygamy is a broader term) is oppressive to women and girls (and, also oppressive to boys, since many of them are kicked out of the church so that there is less competition among men for multiple wives.) And, of course, since many of the girls are married off well below the legal age (as young as 14) certainly this practice amounts to institutionalized statutory rape, supposedly legitimized by revelation from God. I don't believe that the FLDS is necessarily any worse than the general population when it comes to child abuse (that is to say, I'm sure the prevalence is as just high, but not necessarily much higher.) And, for me, polygamy (or polyamory - the broad terms meaning sexual and marriage relationships between multiple adults) isn't something that should be regulated by the state. In my opinion, the state really doesn't have any business regulating what consenting adults choose to do. Of course, that's the rub. The girls in the FLDS, even those who are over the marriage age are not likely consenting - or if they are, it is a "consent" born of life-long brainwashing. What if, for example, the FLDS had the same polygynous practices, but women only got married at 18 or older? What do I think about that? Even though I would abhor that situation, I'd have to say that the state should have nothing to do with it. Interestingly enough, polygyny is not something that is especially problematic for the writers of the Bible. It was completely normal to the writers of the Hebrew Bible, and it's acceptability or lack thereof in the early Christian church is debated. Of course, no other forms of polygamy (multiple husbands, or other kinds of combinations) aren't a part of the picture at all. At some point, polygyny became unacceptable, and polygamy is still considered such by our society as a whole. Joseph Smith thought that plural marriage was ordained by God, as a part of his whole idea that believers needed to get back to the Old Testament ways. It was, apparently, not accepted by all followers originally. It eventually became a central part of Mormon religious practice. It was, of course illegal, and eventually, the legal pressure to conform was so great, that the church gave it up. This also lead to the schism which resulted in the FLDS. So to the bigger question - when does the state (and, by extrapolation, the population at large) get to say when a religious practice is not acceptable? I don't think for a moment that the arguments against polygyny in the late 19th century had much to do with women's empowerment - even though that would be more of the argument today. And when does the prevailing morals of the majority, even if not involving laws relating to harming of individuals (such as regulations of relationships between consenting adults) infringe upon the freedom of religious expression? All good questions.

My new church home

On 06 Apr, 2008 By mpm

For the last six weeks or so, I've been making a Sunday morning trek of about 30 minutes almost directly due south from Shelburne Falls, to Haydenville Congregational Church (a member of the UCC, and an Open and Affirming congregation). HCC is pastored by the Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, a local hero to peace activists (and lots of others) in the valley. Starting to get to know a new church community is always a bit of a twitchy experience for me. All of my shy quietness comes out. And then, add to that, my own complex relationship with the religion of my birth, and it makes for an interesting experience. I've been doing some church shopping over the past few months, and finding the right fit felt like an impossible task. There's the challenge of hearing "he" and "him" all the time for God. The challenge of doctrine of various sorts. There is the challenge of my judging mind. Having been to seminary, and having been a bit of a bible geek, it's really hard for me to sit through exegesis that isn't that good (I remember, with some cringes, of a sermon at another church I sat through with about the worst exegesis I could imagine of my favorite parable - the good Samaritan. I felt like I could have done a much better job, and I didn't even take preaching!) I have felt really at home at HCC. It's a very diverse crowd, in age, background and sexuality. And, I'm usually not the only African American there, which is a nice plus for a Congregational church in New England. Everyone really tries hard to be welcoming, and it is truly genuine. And it is clear from what Andrea says (and the way things are done) that people with a very wide range of views are welcome. And, to top it off, Andrea is a great exegete, and a really good preacher. Today was the day that I finally, really felt like this was a community I could become a part of. I was looking forward to going this morning, I have begun to get to know a few faces and names, and the noise in my head finally yielded to just being in the presence of the Divine. Today, Andrea gave a sermon based on the story in Luke about Jesus' appearance to some folks on the walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. And for the first time, I think I actually got a tiny, tiny little hint about what resurrection means to me. I remember two years ago, when I was trying my best to approach the concept of Easter - the Christian concept that I think I probably have the hardest time with, and my very well-intentioned but ill-fated spiritual director said that I needed to experience the presence of the risen Christ. I think I flew out of that room about as fast as I could, under the circumstances (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point.) Today, I think I got a tiny little inkling of what that means to me (and it doesn't really have much to do with any human being actually rising from the dead.) There are several folks I knew from the Unitarian Society in Northampton, which I find really interesting, considering how secular USNF is. Perhaps those folks have been on a similar kind of journey as I. I look forward to talking to them about what drew them to HCC. And I look forward to becoming part of the community.

Race, Gender, Religion, and the mess that is the Democrats

On 13 Mar, 2008 By mpm

I was having fun for a while. Interesting crop of candidates on the Democratic side for once, more than one that I really liked. It looked like there was going to be an interesting contest, one that would be about issues, and not flinging daggers back and forth. I'm not having fun anymore. Hillary Clinton is playing dirty. She is more interested in being President than in rising above the fray, and being honest. Between the extremely problematic comments of Geraldine Ferraro (I am finding it hard to believe that I was really proud of having been to a rally during the '84 election and that I shook her hand,) and the fear-mongering "3am telephone call" commercial, I'm saddened by the whole thing. Keith Olbermann, as usual, has an amazing Special Commentary on the Geraldine Ferraro mess. I could not have said it better. Of course, in this post 9/11 climate, the fear-mongering over the possibility that Barack Obama is a Muslim, which, as he said, is both an insult to him, as a Christian, and an insult to Muslims, plays so well with the fears of many Americans of anyone that might be considered "other", whether it be because of race, national origin, or religion. An interesting poll just came out. Faith in Public Life suggests that since 13% of the people say in the poll that Obama is a Muslim, and that is up from 8% in December, that the rumors are having an effect. I'm not so sure. What's also true is that 37% know he is Protestant, over 18% who knew in December. That's actually a much bigger jump. So I think in some quarters, yes, the rumors are settling in. But a lot of people are learning more about Obama. What true is that even at the same time as we have two historic candidates for the Democratic nomination, all the old crap is still evident. And I'm not sure we've gotten any better at dealing with that crap. And, of course, no matter which one of them wins, because of all of this, it will be that much harder for the Democrats to win in November.

The only thing one can depend on is change

On 16 Feb, 2008 By mpm

I haven't been blogging here much these days. Partially because I've been working really hard technology projects, like my consulting practice, and being Coordinator of the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI). Partially because I'm blogging a lot on my technology blog. Most of the reason that I haven't been blogging much is that I'm at a loss as to what to say. Not because I don't have opinions or thoughts on a wide variety of topics. It's because so much in my life has changed in the last few months, and in the last 3 years, that I think it will take me a while to catch up. You've heard a fair bit over the last year or so about my significant other, Ruth. She came across this quote, which I think is a great description of who we are to each other:

With a kindred spirit we meet our twin flame on a level that has no drama, chaos or karma. We connect to a kindred spirit without needs, wants or expectations. With them we can experience unconditional love in its truest form, where we can be who we are and accept them in the same way. We don't have to heal or change anyone. We can allow the relationship to be what it is without fear of what happens if it ends, without wrapping our emotional or psychological identity into it and truly experiencing it in the present moment, without connecting to the past. -- Jennifer Hoffman

Ruth is, without a doubt, my kindred spirit. And she is, at this moment, making a new life for herself back in the East Bay, in California, while I make a life for myself here, in New England. She left on Wednesday. It would be, of course a massive oversimplification to say that I don't wrap any of my "emotional or psychological identity" into our relationship. But underneath the sadness that accompanies the loss of an attachment to an ideal, rather than reality, is the certainty that we both are doing what is right for us, and we will, in the most important senses, always be together. Today, I feel like I have a bit of whiplash. So much has changed over the past 3 years. None of it was really expected, or part of any "plan." So I need time to rest, be quiet, catch my breath, and move into the next phase of my life. And, if you know anyone who wants to share a wonderful house in Shelburne Falls, have them give me a shout.

Primary election time

On 02 Feb, 2008 By mpm With 2 Comments

Tuesday is SuperDuper Tuesday, where a bunch of states vote in primaries. One of those states is my own, Massachusetts. For a while, I was, ironically, supporting Edwards. Mostly because I really, really don't like Hillary, and I felt like Obama is young, could use more seasoning before being president, and Edwards would have made a great president. (Actually, my dream ticket was Edwards/Obama - 16 years of bliss.) Anyway, now that Edwards has dropped out, I'm going to support Obama wholeheartedly. One thing, though. It appears that some people feel that you can't really be a feminist and be against Hillary. The New York chapter of NOW (National Organization for Women) had this to say about the Kennedy endorsement of Obama:

... And now the greatest betrayal!  We are repaid with his abandonment!  He's picked the new guy over us.  He's joined the list of progressive white men who can't or won't handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton (they will of course say they support a woman president, just not "this" one). ... This latest move by Kennedy, is so telling about the status of and respect for women's rights, women's voices, women's equality, women's authority and our ability -- indeed, our obligation - to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a President that is the first woman after centuries of men who 'know what's best for us.

Huh? I see, so Kennedy is not endorsing what he feels is the best candidate. No, no, he's betraying women! Puleeze! Would they even think of saying such a thing if Elizabeth Dole were running? Hillary Clinton believes in "coercive diplomacy" (if there ever was a contradiction, that is one.) She voted to give the president the authority to go to war in Iraq. She has been completely bought out by the health care industry, and basically no longer believes in universal, single-payer health coverage. She voted for the 700 mile fence along the Mexican border. She voted for the Patriot Act. Twice. I can't, in good conscience, vote for her in the primary. NY NOW's unfortunate perspective (feminist=must be for Clinton) is problematic on its face.  And the truth is, this election isn't about either gender or race. It is a historic occasion that the Democratic party will nominate someone who will be the first in history. That is significant enough. NY NOW's stance (National NOW has been conciliatory) is divisive, at a time that divisiveness is destructive. We are in deep, deep shit as a country, and we need to find a way out of it. If you think Clinton is best (and not just because she has a vagina) then great. And if you think Obama is best (not just because he has dark skin) that's great too. Do we need to add identity politics to an already challenging time?

Faith and the bias of the press

On 05 Jan, 2008 By mpm

It's interesting to think about the press, and the bias the press has, especially in this time. What the press says, and how it says it, is pretty darned important - it's the way that most people get their information about politics, and the presidential campaigns. I've been thinking some about the Obama/Huckabee victories in Iowa, and what people are saying about it. In particular, I've been interested in the whole issue of how faith is playing out - Obama's faith, Huckabee's faith, and the faith of voters. Faith in Public life had this recent post about what was missing.  Two separate polls of Democrats and Republican caucus-goers asked different questions of the Dems and the Republicans. They asked Republicans whether or not they were evangelical, but didn't ask that of the Democrats. Was that because they didn't want to know? Or didn't think it was important? Or didn't care? Faith in Public Life says:

So why are CNN and NBC still treating evangelicals as the Republicans' property? Their polls don't even account for the possibility that evangelicals can play a significant role in the Democratic caucus. That's some serious institutional bias.

It is, indeed. Especially given the fact that progressive evangelicals have been getting a higher profile lately.

They're off!

On 03 Jan, 2008 By mpm

The results from Iowa are in: Obama wins big, as does Huckabee. Edwards comes in second among dems. Hillary Clinton does really badly. I'm happy. I'm not a Clinton fan, honestly (she's too hawkish, too corporate-friendly.) And, as far as I am concerned, Mike Huckabee is probably the republican to beat. Hat tip to Cranky/Happy Cindy for what coverage to follow.

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