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My friend Richard with a long view of the election in Mississippi: “History asks more of us than to marvel at how far we have come. It asks whether we will tend what others planted at such terrible cost… whether we will leave to those who come after us a world less burdened with wounds.”
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If you’re a preacher, what’s the text and theme for your sermon tomorrow? I’m coming from 1 Peter 5:6-11, “We are secure in God’s care.”
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“Because chatbots are so humanlike, we trust our most intimate and vulnerable feelings to machines. Then we look to machines to tell us what it means to be human.”
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Spotted this good looking green heron during my hike at the Indiana National Lakeshore this morning.
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Had a wonderful time speaking at the Montreat College convocation this morning and had a bit of time to enjoy the Blue Ridge Parkway before heading to the airport for my flight home.
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Really wonderful to be back in western North Carolina, if even for just 24 hours, where autumn is just beginning its spectacular entrance.
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A gorgeous day for a hike on the Paul Douglass trail at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
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These are the two books I think about every single time another tech leader warns about the existential risks posed by A.I. while simultaneously developing the technology as quickly as possible.
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In today’s newsletter I mention five things that have recently held my attention.
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My wife is the lead gardener for the community gardens our church cares for on the grounds of a local public elementary school. It’s alway fun to visit this time of year when everything is showing off.
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Last week, on my way through Grand Rapids, I stopped by the Baker Book House to wander the extensive used books stacks. I was lucky to have escaped with just these!
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Some generous friends have lent me their farmhouse for my annual late-summer pilgrimage to northern Michigan. The back porch view has given me plenty of opportunities to practice my nature journaling.
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A few weeks ago, during a day-trip to visit the University of Illinois for our 12th-grader, we stopped into the Jane Addams Bookshop. Madeline L’Engle’s memoir about her marriage to Hugh Franklin was an immediate purchase.
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We made it to the southernmost place in the U.S. yesterday. Everything about the place – sun, wind, waves – was harsh and impressive… and far more moving that I’d anticipated.
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Got up with the sun this morning for an early hike on the Makāula-‘O’oma Trails about 20 minutes up the hill from Kailua-Kona. Lots of unfamiliar (to my Midwestern ears) birdsong, but these red-masked parakeets we’re easy to pick-out above the other chatter.
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We visited Punalu’u Black Sand Beach Beach yesterday and got to share the views with a couple of gorgeous green turtles. I wish I knew how old they are.
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Today began with an early alarm and, after a bunch of hours en-route, ended with dear friends over dinner and a gorgeous sunset on the Island of Hawaii (the big island).
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After our serendipitous breakfast in Sioux Falls last month, @davoh gave me a copy of a book he co-authored about fishing the waters of Appalachia. I’m no angler but the book is fantastic, a reminder of the six years I lived in-between eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
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Rode up to my favorite patio this morning for some continuing education.
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Magnifica Humanitas: “Technological innovations, including artificial intelligence… must be evaluated by asking a crucial question: Do they truly help individuals and peoples to become more humane and fraternal, while respecting our common home and future generations.”
Anyone else reading this?
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Magnifica Humanitas: “Technological innovations, including artificial intelligence… must be evaluated by asking a crucial question: Do they truly help individuals and peoples to become more humane and fraternal, while respecting our common home and future generations.”
Anyone else reading this?
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Sabbatical has meant I’ve most been away from Chicago this summer. A few days at home means a quiet morning enjoying my favorite cinnamon roll (laminated dough, raisins) on Medeci’s sidewalk cafe.
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Next up, The Glorians. My first time reading Terry Tempest Williams.
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I lugged this 800 page doorstop to Costa Rica, the Black Hills, and just finished it here in northern Michigan. Worth it! Mostly a romp through primary sources by an expert and playful guide, McCarraher’s case about our collective Mammon-worship is hard to deny.
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From the scorching heat of the Black Hills last week to the fall-like temperatures of Lake Ann, MI. The smoke has dissipated and it’s shaping up to be a perfect day for a bike ride on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.
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