Religious Education Run Amok

I am all about studying different cultures in school. I don't think it gets addressed near enough and when it it, it is often too distant and remote for the student to get a solid grasp of the culture being examined (especially if it is not a Western culture). This lesson seems a little out of hand, though.

Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson.
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Parents said that their children were made to bend down on their knees on prayer mats which the RE teacher had got out of her cupboard and they were also told to wear Islamic headgear during the lesson on Tuesday afternoon.

I'm pretty sure that one can learn about Muslims and Islam without, you know, actually praying. How about visiting a mosque or something crazy like that? Maybe even talk to a real, live Muslim or two. That's just silly, I suppose.

I'd hate to see this teacher's lesson plan on current events and terrorism.

This Too Shall Pass

A coworker and good friend called me this morning to say that her husband had passed away. When she got out of the shower this morning she found him slumped over in his chair. She called 911 and performed CPR, but to no avail. The doctor said it was a "massive heart attack." He was only 53-years old.

Death is nothing new to our species and nothing I write about it now is going to offer any new insight into it. Today's event, though, reminds me of how fleeting and fragile our meager existence is. No matter what your religion, no matter what you believe about an afterlife (or lack thereof), you have to accept the fact that the life we have right now is tender and precious and gone all too quickly.

Tell the people you care about that you love them. Live every day as if it is your last, for no matter who you are this, too, shall pass.

Mark Twain Superstar

If you're a fan of Mark Twain (and you should be if you are not), then check out the cool article Time has on one of the most influential American authors. Here are some quotes of his that I particularly like.

"All generalizations are false, including this one."

"All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure."

"But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?"

"'Classic.' A book which people praise and don't read."

"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."

"I have been complimented many times and they always embarrass me; I always feel that they have not said enough."

"Often it does seem a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat."

Weekly Music Video

I have a thing for songs about heroes and here is a great one.

Foo Fighters - "My Hero"

Weekly Secret

PostSecret