on the Pilgrimage

I was driving home this evening and got to thinking about religion and religions ... an organized system of beliefs put forth by this culture or that one and called 'a religion'. Dictionary.com defines 'religion' thusly: [1] A belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. (a) A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. (b) The life or condition of a person in a religious order. [2] A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. [3] A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. It would seem to me that by this, the concept of 'religion' is purely a human creation. One belief system over another. One person (or group's) explanation of their beliefs. That's all any 'religion' is, isn't it? And then I got to thinking about humanity - the human element of this equation. I m...

A couple of Saturdays ago, I had an incredible experience ... something that heretofore has not been an encounter for me. That evening, I got an invite to join a friend and attend the final DJD (Decidedly Jazz Danceworks) performance called 'Jam!'. Now, I've heard of DJD before, but never knew much about them other than they were a jazz dance company (and I understood jazz dance to be a form more free and less technical) ... and as much as I love to watch dance performances (I had seasons tickets to the RWB - Royal Winnipeg Ballet - before moving west, and I'm a HUGE musical fan), this never seemed to twig my interest. That Saturday night I ate my words. "We're dedicated to preserving the roots of jazz dance through public performance and education. DJD's unique, rooted style of jazz dance has been a major factor in the box office success of our company. Wherever possible our performances combine live jazz music with jazz dance, exploring that ext...

I have been trying to post something here for the longest time, and it just hasn't been taking. This is a test post - to see if I am able to post or not. In this small space, I want to recommend a book to those out there that care to read. It is called "How To Be A Canadian; Even if You Are Already One" by Will and Ian Ferguson. Since I'm not sure if this whole thing will post or not, I'm not going to go into a HUGE review, but enough to say that I have NEVER laughed as much or as loud as I did reading this book. Reading it in bed has been deadly - waking up the house!! There are 17 chapters, and if you're not laughing ridiculously, you're amazed at how true the content is!! Chapters include: (1) Introduction (How to find Canada on a map) (2) Canada: A Rich Tapestry of who to hate and why (How to mingle with Canadians) (3) A Cross-Canada Tour (How to get Lost) (4) Learning the Language (How to talk like a Canadian) (5) Leisure Activitie...

There is a movie out that is causing all sorts of controversy, particularly in the Christian camps. On a discussion board on which I occasionally post, someone started a thread about the movie 'Saved!' by stating "It really irritated me when I saw the preview for this new movie that's out called "SAVED". It really just goes to show that Satan can't come up with anything on his own and is trying to cash in on renewed interest of Jesus in Hollywood and the rest of the world." You know what irritates me? Christians that miss the point!!! I spent some time today and posted a response - my second and last on this thread. Here is my reflection ... (and no, I have not seen the movie yet, but I certainly will!!) I wonder what sort of trouble this will get me into ~~~~????? ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I've decided that if a person wants to draw conclusions based on what select critics say and if they only...

Just a short note ... tonight is the 6th game of the Stanley Cup, and thanx to a 15 min. overtime goal in the 5th game, the Calgary Flames are poised to take the Cup tonight. The game is in Calgary. The place is the Pengrowth Saddledome. The city is crazy. Somewhere when they first began the playoffs, a statistician at the UofC did an analysis of the stats. He said that Calgary would win the Cup in 6 games. Later tonight we will know if that is a good statistician or not. I am crossing my fingers. GO FLAMES GO!!!!!