Mika and I went to the Keg restaurant with our good friends Jason and Fran to celebrate Mika’s 40th birthday. Two happy couples getting together to celebrate a milestone in Mika’s life. Mika and I are in our 15th year together and life is great!
Video produced and published by Geoffrey
How often have I heard it said that it is the precepts of Christianity that are the foundation of Western civilization? When confronted with this claim, my typical response is to roll my eyes and think, “that old chestnut.” This is particularly the case when the claim is framed so egregiously by the likes of Glenn Beck, who stated, in referring to origins of the United States, “it is God’s finger that wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This is God’s country; these are God’s rights. I have no idea what he wants us to do with them, other than protect them, and stand with Him.” (As cited in Tony’s Curricublog) While it is easy to dismiss such claims as stuff and nonsense, it is worth considering the role of religious belief in the growth and development of Western civilization, its transition from the primacy of Christian doctrine in public life to the rise of liberal democracy and the rule of law in the secular nation-state, though not in the way many religious folks, such as Glenn Beck, imagine it to be. Continue reading
Red-winged blackbird nest in the cattails in a pond next to the Rideau River, May 2, 2013. I will keep an eye on this nest over the next several weeks, from a safe distance, to see how the blackbirds make out in their effort to raise a brood of chicks.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Painted turtle sunning himself on a log in a pond next to the Rideau River, May 2, 20.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Hen buffleheads on the Rideau River, May 2, 2013.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Mallard drake feeding on a pond next to the Rideau River, April 30, 2013.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Female red-winged blackbird at the edge of a pond next to the Rideau River, April 30, 2013.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Dogtooth violets in bloom with insects on the blossoms. Can anyone identify the insects? Photographed in a wooded area next to the Rideau River, April 30, 2013.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Recently, Mika and I attended a meeting of gay and lesbian Catholics. Several people of all ages were in attendance. We had a very interesting discussion and it was very nice meeting these people. Among those present was a young gay man, Jesse, who has faith in Christ and the Roman Catholic Church. Jesse, like so many gay people, just wants to find conjugal love and companionship with someone who happens to be the same sex. Jesse took the time to write a heartfelt letter to Pope Francis, explaining who he is, that he is gay, leading a very normal life, hoping to have married life with a man someday and asking for acceptance in the Church. He expressed some concern he might face excommunication for what he wrote, but we assured him this is not very likely. What he can realistically expect is a polite reply from the appropriate branch of the Vatican bureaucracy thanking him for his letter and reminding him that as Roman Catholic it is expected that he abstain from sex outside of marriage. That the Church does not accept same sex relationships at present leaves him in a bind.
Continue reading
Song sparrow photographed in a tree on parkland in Ottawa, Ontario, April 28, 2013.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Geoffrey & Mika 