Summer visitations got an early start last month when the Northeast US “Quaker blogroll”:http://www.nonviolence.org/Quaker/Quaker_places.php converged in my back yard with no agenda to follow and no epistle to write.Front row: “James”:http://curiouspenn.blogspot.com/, “Jeffrey”:http://www.nonviolence.org/martink/archives/000588.php and visitation ringleader “Amanda”:http://ofthebest.blogspot.com/. Back: “Ryan”:http://snorkelinglight.blogspot.com/, “Rob”:http://consider-the-lilies.blogspot.com/, “Me”:/martink, “Theo”:/theo and poor blogless Christina. |
Well since Kwakersaur is inaugurating the “I don’t have anything to post”:http://kwakersaur.blogspot.com/2005/06/i‑dont-have-anything-to-say.html meme, I’ll chime in that I don’t either. Actually I’ve written two and half essays but realized they’re both really for myself. This is how it happens sometimes. I’ve long noticed this phenomenon in fully-formed verbal ministry that I know I’m not supposed to deliver and it feels as if such restraint is sometimes healthy on the blog. The message will reappear in other forums I’m sure, most likely next month’s “Gathering workshop”:www.nonviolence.org/Quaker/strangers with Zachary Moon.
In the meantime, there’s been fresh talk about plain language and dress this week by “Johan Maurer”:http://maurers.home.mindspring.com/2005/06/plain-language.htm, “Claire Reddy”:http://Quakerspeak.blogspot.com/2005/06/simplicity-unfocused-thought-blurt.html and the “Livejournal Quakers”:http://www.livejournal.com/community/Quakers/105292.html. Russ Nelson’s started a “Planet Quaker”:http://planet.Quaker.org/ blog aggregator (which includes Quaker Ranter: thanks!). LizOpp talked about “field testing”:http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com/2005/05/after-annual-sessions.html her upcoming “Quaker identity Gathering workshop”:http://www.fgcquaker.org/gathering/workshops/work36.php at Northern Yearly Meeting sessions and Kiara’s talked about “being field tested by Liz at this year’s NYM sessions”:http://wordspinning.blogspot.com/2005/05/northern-yearly-meeting.html (how cool is that?!).
I’ve been geeking out on “Del.icio.us”:http://del.icio.us/martin_kelley, the “social bookmarking” system and on the esoteric concepts of “tags”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tags, the “semantic web”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_web and “folksonomies”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy. Two weeks ago I would have laughed at these neologisms but I’m beginning to see that there’s something in all this. The only outward form the regulars will see is a more accurate “Related Entries” selection at the bottom of posts (thanks to “Adam Kalsey”:http://kalsey.com/blog/2003/05/related_entries_revisited/) and better visibility in “selected Technorati entries”:http://www.technorati.com/tag/Quaker (which will get less me-centric as I finish tagging my own back posts).
And of course we’re tilling the field, planting a garden, putting up laundry lines and otherwise thoroughly enjoying the first Spring in our new house. It’s bedtime, off to read the radically folksonomic adventures of Sam and “My Car”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060560452 (it’s pure tags: “My name is Sam.” “This is my car.” “I love my car.” I’d worry that not-so-baby Theo is getting too excited by combusion engines if he weren’t even more excited by “dia-di-calschht” aka the “bicycle” Papa rides off to work on.)
For not having anything to say, you sure said a lot! smile Thanks for connecting me with Kiara’s blog: “How cool is that?!”
BTW, on my Mac, I cannot see the photo that you apparently inserted in this post 🙁 …I’m hoping you can do your computer magic so that I’ll be able to see these Friendly faces.
Blessings,
Liz, The Good Raised Up
Hi Liz,
The pictures didn’t show for anyone. Ten years of webmastering and I still don’t know how to hand-code an inline image. (Actually, Julie’s last gymnastics class didn’t show and she came home in an hour earlier than expected last night, just as I posted the entry. I prefered to hang out with her than double-check the post.) The pictures of the bloggers and the car-driving Sam are now visible for all the world’s operating systems.
What I want to know is, did you write the article for the “other Quaker publication” or not? With all the comments that post raised, was it enough to help you write your “rolling up our sleeves” message to Friends?
Hi Robin: Alas, no, nothing written on that count now. There’s lots of things swirling about but the bug hasn’t hit me yet to start typing.
That other publication should just devote an issue to the comments to the post – there’s so much in there!
Your Friend, Martin
I’d just like to say, for the record that it’s “I am Sam,” not “My name is Sam.” Geese, for reading that book a gazillion times you think you’d remember THAT! Oh, and it’s more like, “di-diccchhhh-le.” (Think: Chanukah or challah.) But then poor Martin doesn’t get to hear that word as much since it’s mostly while he’s at work that Theo thinks Martin is wandering around town all day on his “di-diccchhh-le.”