Skip to main content

First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language

· 2 min read

In honor and memory of Mr. Ronald White, of St. Paul, MN, I set out this evening to find a documentary on the Ojibwe people and/or language. His story, as a part of that people, is not mine to tell (in so far as I know some miniscule part). So I will share this documentary. It does not sugar coat the past, but neither does it dwell on it. It dwells on the present and the future of the native language and culture of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other areas around the Great Lakes.

Two of many items that grabbed my attention and reflection: (1) opening comments noting how many people are concerned with the loss of habitat, but are not also concerned or knowledgeable about the loss of cultures. (2) "You don't have to say 'respect your elders' in Ojibwe - its built right in" — "elderly man" is "great being," and "elderly woman" is "she who holds together". Words for the sun and grandfather are the same, as are grandmother and the moon. You could ask "is the moon up?" and mean "is grandmother stirring?"

First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language on PBS.

Portals to Freedom, by Howard Colby Ives

· 5 min read

book cover

More than merely a memoir, Portals to Freedom by Howard Colby Ives is both a loving portrait of a "holy man" and a deeply personal exploration of the slow convergence between intellectualism and spirituality. Ives, a former Unitarian minister, wrote Portals to Freedom nearly eighty years ago. His aim was to recount his experiences, still vivid 25 years after the fact, of sitting "at the feet of the master" in a nearly literal sense — that is, of spending time in the company of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, head of the Bahá’í Faith from his father’s death in 1892 until his own in 1921. In various cultural terms, you might call him a holy man, a guru, a saint; Bahá’is simply call him "the Master."

Love God Heal Earth, by Rev Canon Sally G. Bingham, et al.

· 3 min read

book cover

Love God Heal Earth is a compilation of essays, from leaders of 11 religions and denominations, that delve into the religious call for a transition to a sustainable way of life. While not devoid of science, this book presents a deeply spiritual, personal, and hopeful message that moves beyond the intellectual reality of global climate change. In other words, it is a powerful complement to the grim facts of An Inconvenient Truth.

Public Comment on Proposed EPA Standards for New Fossil-Fuel Power Plants

· 4 min read

The EPA has a proposed new standard for fossil fuel-burning power plants, which will be constructed in the future, that will help ensure a lower carbon future and hopefully spur innovation in the electric industry. They are accepting public comments through June 25th.  There are a number of organizations that will help you provide comments directly to the EPA, such as the National Council of Churches (dead link removed; SF 2025) or the Union of Concerned Scientists (dead link removed; SF 2025). My letter, with extra citations, is below.

Advancement of Women: a Baha'i Perspective by Janet A. Khan and Peter J. Khan

· 3 min read

book cover

In this scholarly work, Janet and Peter Khan present the theological grounding, social context, historical action, and modern implementation of the concept of "equality between the sexes" as found in the Bahá'í Faith. Well researched and clearly written, the book has much to offer to those who, from any background, wish to better understand the underpinnings and the implications of this critical spiritual principle.

Degradation and Upliftment in Literature

· 4 min read

latter of divine ascent

What books leave you feeling misanthropic? And what books lift your spirit, restoring a sense of faith in humanity? In this household we are currently reading Crime and Punishment and Mockingjay, which, in some unremembered way, triggered this discussion. Reviewing the many books we have read in common, we came up with a short list of those at the pinnacle for us. We ruled out anything too obvious, e.g. no dystopian novels, and no… well, I guess we don't even know about novels that are deliberately or obviously uplifting. I presume they exist, but I couldn't tell you the name of one.

Review: Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided By Tests

· 3 min read

Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests by Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce

I did not realize how much I still have to learn about writing good object-oriented (OO) code, and about hewing to a tight test driven development (TDD) methodology, before I read Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided By Tests. My education in OO and unit testing has been largely theoretical, with no time spent directly learning from experienced OO programmers; my best mentor was a COBOL coder. Books like Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software ("Gang of Four"), Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and Iterative Development, Xunit Test Patterns: Refactoring Test Code, and others are wonderful but have few detailed real-world business-case examples.

safnet logo