{"id":1918,"date":"2007-06-09T09:58:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-09T09:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/random-ruminations\/"},"modified":"2011-11-01T15:15:41","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T19:15:41","slug":"random-ruminations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/random-ruminations.html","title":{"rendered":"random ruminations"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><a href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rmq1GojkXII\/AAAAAAAAANI\/vhqKY348rWo\/s1600-h\/finger+wagging.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rmq1GojkXII\/AAAAAAAAANI\/vhqKY348rWo\/s400\/finger+wagging.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>Dear Diary,<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<div>Jan is drying her hair and soon we\u2019ll be taking the train into Boston for the annual Gay Pride parade. The First Unitarian Society in Newton always has a presence, and is usually padded out with a few members of the Boundless Way Zen crowd. It is gratifying to hear that Duval Patrick will be the first sitting governor of the Commonwealth to join in the parade. As we\u2019re coming on the Constitutional Convention that will decide whether marriage rights will go on the ballot here, it is a significant gesture. Me, I\u2019m decked out in my clericals for one of the one or two times in a year that I wear \u2019em. Sadly, even with my weight loss it turns out I have a waddle hanging over the collar. Sigh. Still, it\u2019s part of the job, show the flag, or at least the clerical support for this event, hanging fat or not\u2026<\/div>\n<div>Later this afternoon the congregation will be gathering to celebrate the forty-five year tenure of our music director. Quite an accomplishment! And going out at the top of her game. An even greater accomplishment, I think.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>As this is a monkey mind column I\u2019ll throw in a brief rant on the current state of television advertising. This morning for the upteenth time I\u2019ve seen the ad where someone steals a friend\u2019s coffee drink, but because of satisfaction with the drink, common civility not to mention legality all go out the window. Perhaps I\u2019m feeling slightly curmudgeonly, but this sort of ad where people step on others in order to get the commodity, whether stranger, friend or relative, is a sad comment on our current state of affairs. <\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>I\u2019ll end with on a positve note. I\u2019m now about a quarter of the way into John Dunning\u2019s <em>The Bookwoman\u2019s Last Fling<\/em>. It\u2019s the fifth installment of the Cliff Janeway Bookman mysteries, and is a genuine delight. If you like the idea of a hardboiled detective who is also an accomplished rare book dealer, you can\u2019t go wrong with this series which begins with <em>Booked to Die<\/em>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"blogger-post-footer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/33904114-8595954683453495534?l=monkeymindonline.blogspot.com\" alt=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Diary, Jan is drying her hair and soon we\u2019ll be taking the train into Boston for the annual Gay Pride parade. The First Unitarian Society in Newton always has a presence, and is usually padded out with a few members of the Boundless Way Zen crowd. It is gratifying to hear that Duval Patrick [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>random ruminations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dear Diary, Jan is drying her hair and soon we&#039;ll be taking the train into Boston for the annual Gay Pride parade. The First Unitarian Society in Newton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/random-ruminations.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"random ruminations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Diary, Jan is drying her hair and soon we&#039;ll be taking the train into Boston for the annual Gay Pride parade. The First Unitarian Society in Newton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/random-ruminations.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Monkey Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-06-09T09:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-11-01T19:15:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rmq1GojkXII\/AAAAAAAAANI\/vhqKY348rWo\/s400\/finger+wagging.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Ford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Ford\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/random-ruminations.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/random-ruminations.html\",\"name\":\"random ruminations\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-06-09T09:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-11-01T19:15:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb\"},\"description\":\"Dear Diary, Jan is drying her hair and soon we'll be taking the train into Boston for the annual Gay Pride parade. 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