I lost touch with Bill and Anne Osborne many years ago. An online search tells me that Bill died in 2018; Anne is likely still living in Victoria somewhere. (Please forward this blog to her if you are in contact with her.) We shared music, church, and the arts together in the mid-1970s. Bill was... Continue Reading →
A very personal Dictionary of Quotations
Not everyone has their own personal Dictionary of Quotations, myself included. It is time, however, to rectify that omission. I love hunting down quotations, for sermons, articles, or blogs. So often, others can say things better than I can. So I will use their words, with attribution. I remember buying my first Oxford Dictionary of... Continue Reading →
Formation for Christians โ Wisdom from Joan Chittester
[Joan Chittester remains one of the most dynamic and insightful writers on faith and justice today] Today prophets of pietism tell us to "pray for peace" and "pray that God's will be done." And this is certainly important. But they do not demand that we ourselves do something to ensure either. Instead, the professional pietist... Continue Reading →
I would love to see this exhibit myself
Driving School' was shot by Fred Herzog in 1959. Photo courtesy Equinox Gallery/Estate of Fred Herzog Brendan Kergin at Vancouver is Awesome.com A Colour Legacy is the name of a recently published book and incoming exhibit celebrating Vancouver's most famous street photographer. Later this month, the show will open in Vancouver with more than 60... Continue Reading →
Conscience can be revived โ Everyone has a part to play
By Henry A. Giroux at Truthout Published May 9, 2026 - This article is reprinted with permission under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) - Long . . . But worth a careful read [Henry A Giroux] Under the Trump regime, the United States has entered a dark age in which conscience is not merely ignored... Continue Reading →
More on leadership
With thanks to The Conversation.com // Published: May 7, 2026 Dogs display many traits of great leaders โ here are 5 breeds that can be your leadership role models I have been a dog lover ever since I was a kid and have spent years learning about the temperaments and histories of different dog breeds, as... Continue Reading →
The legacy of Rachel Held Evans
A Memory from Jim Palmer on Facebook About eighteen years ago a young woman named Rachel Held Evans contacted me because she was beginning to see Christianity differently and wanted to write about it. She sent me her manuscript, and we worked on her book together. She published four books in total. I got to... Continue Reading →
Another well deserved prize for Maggie Helwig and her homeless community โ Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community
A video of her acceptance speech at the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is here A transcript is below. (Check against delivery.) [Maggie Helwig] This is not my book. This book belongs to a community. I am cognizant that I am in the kind of room which I am not in very often, and... Continue Reading →
Literary guardrails in an AI world
Ken Gray, with materials from CBC News, Apr 12, 2026 Jenna Benchetrit explores AI implications for writers. โHi; my name is Ken.โ โHi Ken.โ โI occasionally use AI.โ โWow; did you make that up yourself Ken? Or did AI help? And if it did, how did AI help you?โ โNo I did not use AI... Continue Reading →
Moving on
She is so beautiful. I cannot believe my good fortune to have found a partner in love who is not only smart, and tenacious, and principled, and funny โ and did I say, gorgeous? Of course healthy relationships must be more than skin deep. But beautiful skin, dark hair, and blue eyes, a fit and... Continue Reading →