Martin - ProfilesArchive

About Me

NAMASTE ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .... "One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them." . - Virginia Woolf (no relation) ............................................................ ............................................................ How true ............................................................ .......................................................... . .. . . . I honestly did once touch the fringe of a rainbow, atop a round tower, in Kilkenny. My friend David O'Connor was with me at the time; he touched it too.. . . .Having the time of my life. I like where I'm at in my life ... this did not come easily, let alone quickly. I am happily married & have one daughter; my wife is originally from Madrid and is a gifted photographer. Our daughter is eight and a half (!) and amazing (although I suspect she cheats at cards)...................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .................................... I enjoy languages, word play. I lived in the Chicago area for most of my life -- spent 1 year in Ireland as an undergraduate; as a result, am still hooked on Dunhill (menthol), Guinness, Cadbury's & Winegums. Am a student of the Civil War & Mr. Lincoln. Have strong intuition. Write letters to the editor occasionally. I tend to be introverted - well, that was the term I used when I was younger. Now, the proper term I suppose is "reserved." (N.B., my most recent MBTI indicates that I've become more extraverted - pigs will fly!)....................................................... ............................................................ ...Prediction November 2008 ............................................................ ..................................

Electoral College Prediction Map - Predict the winner of the general election. Use the map to experiment with winning combinations of states. Save your prediction and send it to friends.

............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................... I prize loyalty, creativity, integrity, humor, compassion, intelligence, spirituality; these are qualities with which "to grow a soul." (Wm. E. Channing's phrase)..................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ..... . ............................................................ ............................................................ ..........................................................Tw o quotes that resonate with me: the first is by Immanuel Kant: "Two things fill the heart with delight; the starlit sky above, and the moral law within." ............................................................ ............................................................ ......................................................... .The second is by Nietzsche: "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................... My Religious Compatibility, according to beliefnet.com: 1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)2. Liberal Quakers (94%)3. Secular Humanism (94%)4. Neo-Pagan (86%)5. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (82%)6. Theravada Buddhism (76%)7. Mahayana Buddhism (70%)8. New Age (67%)9. Taoism (66%)10. Nontheist (63%)11. BahÃ¡'Ã Faith (59%)12. Orthodox Quaker (57%)13. Reform Judaism (50%)14. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (49%)15. Jainism (49%)16. Hinduism (46%)17. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (45%)18. New Thought (43%)19. Sikhism (41%)20. Scientology (39%)21. Jehovah's Witness (32%)22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (32%) 23. Seventh Day Adventist (30%)24. Orthodox Judaism (20%)25. Eastern Orthodox (18%) 26. Islam (18%)27. Roman Catholic (18%) ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ...... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .......................... I play chess tolerably well, am very good at checkers. I probably spend too much time plating computer games, e.g. Civilization. Favorite haunts: old cemetaries, the Art Institute, the Green Mill, the Oriental Institute, coffee shops, petrified forests, thrift stores, 2nd hand book stores, Shiloh, the shoreline. I don't care about ringtones - I care more about the quality of the conversation. I don't own an ipod - I can recall music in my head. I prefer an appointment book that I have to write in with ink & I scribble my thoughts on scraps of paper. I like to make to-do lists ... and, occasionally, I pay attention to them. While I do occasionally watch (a few) sports games on TV, I don't particularly care about any team -- but I do really like Wrigley Field. Regardless of who's winning. Oh, and I love ART (my original major). I used to paint in oils & will get back to it one day. I also used to do a lot in photography & write a lot of poetry; these too I hope to return to.......................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ...........................................................Favorite lands, other than here: Spain, Ireland, France. I really hope to visit India, Japan, Wales, Scotland & Egypt before I die. Favorite cities: Dublin; Madrid; Chicago; Florence; Boston; Springfield; St. Louis; Paris. I am a dual citizen; born in the US and I added Irish citizenship some years later. Favorite holidays: Halloween/samhain, Thanksgiving; Christmas................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ .......I like coffee. Lots of it. I generally don't drink soft drinks, but if I had to choose one, it would be ginger ale......................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ...........................................................Favorite comedians (not in any particular order): Monty Python, Tracy Ullman, Bob Newhart, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Bill Murray, Woody Allen, Dave Allen, Peter Sellers, Danny Kaye; Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres; Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy; Gene Wilder; Teri Garr; Zero Mostel; Steve Martin; Jerry Seinfeld, Penn & Teller; Will Smith; Carol Burnett. As far as my favorite humorists, the short list includes: Will Rogers, Mark Twain & Abraham Lincoln. ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ........................................................ For a few sermon transcripts & articles, go to www.aluuc.org - (visit) Minister and/or the Woulfe's Den ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ........................................................ ARE YOU A CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR? One of the things that I have been doing here in Springfield is helping young men (and women) begin the paperwork to establish that they are Conscientious Objectors. There is no draft at present but it may come. The time to declare oneself a CO is now, if you ethically & morally object to warfare. If you are interested, you may contact me for more information. ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
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Your Inner European is Irish!
Sprited and boisterous!
You drink everyone under the table....................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ..........................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ........................................................ Celebs/notable persons I've met (sometimes fleetingly, to be sure): John Wayne, Vincent Price; Howard Cosell; Harry Carey; Kavitha Kardoza; Sen. Barack Obama; Andrew Young; Sen. Dick Durbin; Eric Idle; Rev. William Shultz; Mike Royko; Shirley Temple Black; Arun Gandhi; Martin Marty; Rev. O. Eugene Pickett; Rev. John Beuhrens; Arthur Peacock; Ralph Wendell Burhoe; Wendy Donniger; Ioan Petru Culianu; James Luther Adams; Paul Rusesabagina; ............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................

My Interests

Affiliations: ACLU, UUMA, hUUmanists, NAACP, PORA, St. Andrew's Society, Springfield Commission of Community Relations, N-SSA, CWSA, Rotary, Amnesty International . ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ...................................................... .Hobbies and Interests: Unitarian Universalism; Art (Modigliani, DADA, Delvaux; Chagall; Goya, etc.); labyrinths; reading; writing; poetry slams; Photography; films in old cinemas; coffee & conversation; thrift stores; blackpowder shooting; letterpresses; dancing; parades; comets, meteor showers & stars....................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .......................Turn Offs: earthquakes, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes; volcanic eruptions; tsunamis; bitter cold; falling through the ice; house fires; totalling a car; sunburn; extreme humidity; asthma attacks; being beaten with brass knuckles; being knived; hand caught in a printing press; hand cut deeply by a ski rope; being in the line of fire by an idiot security guard; poison ivy/sumac/oak (I've experienced 18/21 of these now)

I'd like to meet:

............................................................ ............................................................ .........................................................If you tell stories well ... in particular, the story of your life. You know that character is ultimately more important than intelligence or charisma. Someone who has learned to laugh, even (especially?) at oneself. Someone who reads the newspaper, dreams, draws, wants to make the world a better place. Yet still can find time to dance, drink a beer, try Ethiopian & Indian food and induge in euchre and/or hearts...................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ...................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ...................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ........................................................

Music:

Favorite Music (When you've lived long enough, and been exposed to diverse genres, the list can get somewhat long): rock & roll (especially vintage); 60's Motown, soul + R&B; Classical; traditional Celtic; Bluegrass; reggae; the Blues; swing; cajun; rockabilly; ragtime; folk; small doses of C&W; smaller doses of jazz . . . .Artists I especially enjoy: Kinks, Beatles, Rolling Stones; Doors; Kate Bush; REM; Marina V; Talking Heads; Elvis Costello; The Police; Berlin; Violent Femmes; Tracy Chapman; Tom Waits, Alanis Morissette; Cat Stevens; Supertramp; Ray Charles; Aretha Franklin; James Taylor; Sam Cooke; the Roches; Mozart; Beethoven; J. Strauss; Chieftains; Wolfe Tones; Buddy Holly; Everly Brothers; Beach Boys; Procol Harum; Muddy Waters, BB King, Blind John, Howling Wolf; Madonna; Patula Clark; No Doubt; Traffic; Christine Lavin; Steve Goodman; Arlo Guthrie; Stevie Wonder; The Cars; Eurythmics; The Cure; Go Gos; Garbage; 10,000 Maniacs; Fleetwood Mac; Las Ketchup; Sinead O'Conner; Andreas Vollenweider; ELO; Chris Isaak; David Bowie; Patti Smith; Mediaeval Baebes; Buckwheat Zydeco; Indigo Girls; Cheryl Crow; Melissa Ethridge; Stevie Ray Vaughn; Marvin Gaye; Otis Redding; Paul Simon (+/- Garfunkle); Bob Seger: Queen; Michelle Branch; John Mellencamp; Johnny Cash; Tom T. Hall; Patsy Cline; Dave Brubeck Quartet; Ramsey Lewis; Johnny Horton; CCR; CSN&Y; REO; Siouxsie; Guess Who; Gordon Lightfoot; Who; Eagles; Cheap Trick; Harry Chapin; Jim Croce; Frank Sinatra; Head East; Badfinger; Bruce Springstein; Neil Diamond; Zepplin; lots of 80's new wave; John Phillips Sousa and yes, even ABBA.. . . . I think that the best dance song overall of the 20th century was "In The Mood" & that the two most outstanding, creative songs of the same century were "Rhapsody in Blue" and "A Day in the Life.". . . . The Greatest Music Videos of all time MUST include: Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams" + REM, "Losing My Religion" & "Man on the Moon" + Elvis Costello, "Veronica" + B52s, "Roam" + the Police, "Every Breath You Take" & "Wrapped Around Your Finger" + Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love". . . . As an aside: Bowling for Soup's "1985" left me in stitches

Movies:

Favorite Movies: . Hard Day's Night (1964); Diva (1981); Dr. Zhivago (1965); the Hunger (1983); A Night to Remember (1958); Casablanca (1942); Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet (1968); Groundhog Day (1993); Chocolat (2000); My Life as a Dog (1985); The Innocents (1961); Dances with Wolves (1990); Jean de Florette (1986), Manon des Sources (1986); Amelie (2001); Hotel Rwanda (2004); A Christmas Carol (especially the 1951 one with Alastair Sim & the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart); Stranger than Paradise (1984); Amadeus (1984); Schindler's List (1993); Glory (1989); Razor's Edge (1984); Inherit the Wind (1960); Life is Beautiful (1997); Being There (1979); Harold & Maude (1971); Gandhi (1982); Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939); Crash (2004); Titanic (1997); Big (1988); Like Water for Chocolate (1992); Love & Sex (2000); Brigadoon (1954); Fiddler on the Roof (1971); Corpse Bride (2005); The Sea Inside (2004); The Man Who Would Be King (1975); Somewhere In Time (1980); Field of Dreams (1989); Do the Right Thing (1989); The Crying Game (1992); Parenthood (1989); Shaun of the Dead (2004); Time Bandits (1981); Babette's Feast (1987); Stop Making Sense (1984); Alien (1979); Bedazzled (the 1967 original!); Saved (2004); Barry Lyndon (1975); Citizen Kane (1941); Sunset Blvd (1950); King of Hearts (1966); Educating Rita (1983); There's Something About Mary (1998); Young Frankenstein (1974); Saving Private Ryan (1998); Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1947); Mary Poppins (1964); Sound of Music (1965); Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); It's a Wonderful Life (1946); Fried Green Tomatoes (1991); The Thing (1982); Beetlegeuse (1988); Princess Bride (1987); Fisher King (1991); Boy's Town (1938); Going My Way (1944); Die Hard (1988); Lethal Weapon (1987); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Blazing Saddles (1974); The 400 Blows (1959); Il Postino (1994); 1900 (1976); After the Fox (1966); Pink Panther (1963); A Shot in the Dark (1964); To Sir, With Love (1967); James Bond films (esp. Sean Connery); Master & Commander (2003); Animal House (1978); Apocalypse Now (1979); Bladerunner (1982); The Quiet Man (1952); Spaghetti Westerns; Open City (1945); Innocent Blood (1992); Night of the Living Dead (1968); The Quiet Earth (1985); Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982); Victor/Victoria (1982); Grand Illusion (1937); Yentl (1983); Cold Mountain (2003); The Red Badge of Courage (1951); Shoes of the Fisherman (1968); Man for All Seasons (1966); To Be or Not to Be (both, but especially the 1940 version); LOTR trilogy; Harry Potter series; Cat People (1982); The Return of Martin Guerre (1982); The Mission (1986); Mediteranneo (1991); The Great Santini (1979); When Harry Met Sally (1989); Paris,Texas (1984); Bowling for Columbine (2002); Farenheit 9/11 (2004); Roger & Me (1989); 9/11 (2002); What Dreams May Come (1998); El Norte (1983); Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985); The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988); The Apostle (1997); Hunt for Red October (1990); The Russians are Coming (1966); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966); The Producers (1968); practically every Woody Allen film; Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997); Brazil (1985); Metropolis (1927); All of Me (1984); The Great Escape (1963); The Professionals (1966); The Fugitive (1993); Stalag 17 (1953); Shane (1953); Outlaw Josey Wales (1976); Little Big Man (1970); The Graduate (1967); The Godfather (1972); The Terminator (1984) & Terminator 2 (1991); The Little Shop at the Corner (1940)/Youâ€™ve Got Mail (1998); Sleepless in Seattle (1993); Zulu (1964); Zulu Dawn (1979); Rudy (1993); Men of Honor (2002); Remember the Titans (2000); All Quiet on The Western Front (1930 & 1979); Henry V (1989); Flash Gordon (1980); Calendar Girls (2003); The Full Monty (1997); James & The Giant Peach (1996); All That Jazz (1979); the Sting (1973); Jesus Christ Superstar (1973); Moonstruck (1987); The Commitments (1991), Rocky Horror (1975); Bull Durham (1988); Little Miss Sunshine (2006); the Wedding Banquet (1993); Everything is Illuminated (2005); Drumline (2002); Four Friends (1981); the Four Feathers (1939, 2002); Enchanted (2007); Letters from Iwo Jima (2006); Seven Samauri..................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ... ............................................................ ............................................................ ..........................................................

Television:

Current Favorite TV Shows: Real time with Bill Maher; various programs on the History Channel; Simpsons; ND football; Superbowl; World Series; the series on John Adams . ............................................................ ............................................................ .........................................................Two Ken Burns productions that I found riveting: The Civil War and The Donner Party ............................................................ ............................................................ ......................................................... . . GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: Frasier; Home Improvement; Seinfeld; Sex & the City; X Files; Murphy Brown; Mad About You; Bob Newhart Show (x2); SNL; Taxi; Third Rock from the Sun; Hill Street Blues; Star Trek; Star Trek TNG; Babylon 5; Quatum Leap; Married With Children; M*A*S*H; Twilight Zone; Moonlighting; Remington Steel; Columbo; Lou Grant; Mary Tyler Moore; Carol Burnett; Kung Fu; China Beach; Thirty Something; Northern Exposure; Magnum PI; Ghost & Mrs. Muir; Scarecrow & Mrs. King; Creature Features; Black Sheep Squadron; Barney Miller; Smothers Brothers; Get Smart; The Odd Couple; Soap; Benson; Alice; Wings; One Day At A Time; All in the Family; The Jeffersons; Quincy; McCloud; Rockford Files; Night Court; The Wonder Years . ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ....... . . From the BBC/PBS: Sharpe Series, To Serve Them All My Days; I, Claudius; Upstairs/ Downstairs; the Irish RM; Dr. Who (esp. the Tom Baker years!); Monty Python; Dave Allen at Large; Vicar of Digsby; Blake's 7; Fawlty Towers; No, Honestly; the Anne of Green Gables series...................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ..................... . As a kid I liked lots of different shows, including Lost in Space, the Time Travelers, & Gilligen's Island. I never figured out why the Professor couldn't fix the Minnow, though ....

Books:

............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .....................A few favorite Authors & Books: Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek); John Dewey (A Common Faith); Oscar Wilde (The Happy Prince & Other tales, plays, Dorian Gray, etc.); Martin E. Marty (everything I've read thus far); Douglas Adams (Hitchiker's Guide "trilogy"); WB Yeats (poetry); Rabindranath Tagore (poetry & prose);Milton (Paradise Lost); History (esp., US & European); Calvin & Hobbes; Mark Twain (novels, Letters); Robert Graves (I, Claudius, etc.); C. S. Lewis (Narnia, Screwtape, etc.); J.R.R. Tolkien (Hobbit, LOTR), Walt Whitman (poems); Dr. Seuss (lots); Lincoln (everything); Bernard Cornwall (Richard Sharpe series); Anne Rice (Interview); William & Ariel Durant's History of Civilization; Sandburg (Lincoln, poetry); Edgar Lee Masters (Spoon River); Emily Dickenson (all); T.S. Eliot (most); Aesop (fables); Shakespeare (sonnets & plays); Thich Nath Hanh (various); MLK (various); Sam Harris (End of Faith); some historical fiction, e.g., The Killer Angels; George Bernard Shaw (plays); WWI poets; Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse 5, etc.); Pablo Neruda (poetry); Frank O'Connor (short stories); Bart Ehrman (Misquoting Jesus); Huston Smith; James Luther Adams; Lewis Thomas (Lives of a Cell); Stephen Jay Gould; Steinbeck; O. Henry; Mike Royko; Herman Hesse; Walt Whitman; John Steinbeck; Bill Bryson...................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ...... .Two books that were pivotal in my decision not to pursue a military career: "Dispatches" by Michael Herr & "A Rumor of War" by Phillip Caputo.

Heroes:

Abraham Lincoln; Angela; my mom & dad; Paul Rusesabagina (Hotel Rwanda); John Shelby Spong; George Harrison; John Lennon; Dorothy Day; Nelson Mandela; Rosa Parks; Gandhi; William Ellery Channing; Mark Twain; John Guttenburg; Albert Schweitzer; Joan of Arc; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Robert Ingersoll; Bertrand Russell; Bill Moyers; the late Sen. Paul Simon; Cervantes; Erasmus; Francis Sheehy-Skeffington; John Milton; Robert E. Lee; Thomas More; Beckett; Ray Davies . . . . . .

My Blog

Five Years

This past Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of my ordination. How quickly these years have passed. They have been full, and, on the whole, wonderful.
Posted by Martin on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:07:00 PST

This Years Sermon Topics thus far

January 20 Valuable Exchanges Religious toleration requires an active dialogue with people from different faith traditions. The goal for such persons is conversation rather th...
Posted by Martin on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:51:00 PST

Second Earthquake today!

It happened again - a very short tremor -- at 10:12 am.
Posted by Martin on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:19:00 PST

EARTHQUAKE!

We felt it here in Springfield. I woke up suddenly, the house was shaking & I heard a sound like water rushing by. I thought it must have been a dream - I looked at the clock, 4:35 am....
Posted by Martin on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:34:00 PST

DOG DIARY and CAT DIARY

DOG DIARY: 8:00 AM - Dog food! My favorite thing!9:30 AM - A car ride! My favorite thing!9:40 AM - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!10:30 AM - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!12:0...
Posted by Martin on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:51:00 PST

MySpace, from the Onion

MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless May 30, 2007 | Issue 43"22 BEVERLY HILLS, CAAn estimated 150 million people continued to be without social lives Tuesday as a massive system failure at MySp...
Posted by Martin on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:54:00 PST

coming home

Early Monday, March 31. Springfield is asleep, Madrid is stirring. Soon we will be home.
Posted by Martin on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:23:00 PST

My grandmother

> ..TR> She was my last surviving grandparent. Her husband, Edward, passed away in 1977 as I recall. Gerry was a very strong individual. Rest in peace. Geraldine J. Roethele ...
Posted by Martin on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:26:00 PST

Easter, then Spain

Today is Good Friday - tonight, a labyrinth walk at ALUUC. Sunday is Easter. Next week, we’ll drive up to Chicago & then fly to Spain -- Angela’s sister is getting married....
Posted by Martin on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:00:00 PST

"The Secret" of Spirituality

The Secret of Spirituality by Rev. Martin Woulfe November 7, 2007 . . Two Unitarian Universalist ministers, John Buehrens and Forrest Church, tell the story of a liberal minister of ab...
Posted by Martin on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:59:00 PST