Mata H

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  1. Snowed In With No Power

    3/2/12 12:19pm by Mata H
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    Blizzard

    It snowed recently - only a few inches of snow and sleet fell, but it had almost everyone I know thinking back to our last snowstorm: The Halloween Blizzard.Back then, I was so cold that my eyeballs felt chilly -- even when I closed my eyes.  Read more >

  2. Lent: A Reverse Strategy

    2/22/12 8:49am by Mata H
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    Christ

    Lent - a reflective time that can teach lessons across any and all spiritualities. For Christians, such as myself, who observe it, the meaning of Lent is the traditional one: to make a meaningful sacrifice that allows us to recall and honor Christ's own sacrifice. For other Christians and non-Christians, it can be a confusing time when some folks just give up things they really like. But these next 40 days can be a perfect time to cast off things that needs to be shed...or even the opposite.  Read more >

  3. Etta James -- The Death of a Diva

    1/20/12 8:45pm by Mata H
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    Etta James

    Etta James died on January 20th. She would have turned 74 in five days. If you didn't know Etta, stay here a bit and listen up. Etta did it, lived it, suffered through it, laughed about it, and sang about it for all of us.  Read more >

  4. Sharing a Secret Shame

    11/21/11 9:25am by Mata H
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    Shame Couch

    It was a calm afternoon. An old friend, I'll call her Angela, had stopped by for the afternoon for brunch and coffee. We nibbled healthy foods and joked about weight loss. It is part of our usual inventory of topics. Although we live too far apart to get together often, we do seem to be able to hit a regular and familiar groove after over 25 years of friendship. This time, I had a special insight about occasions of over-eating that I wanted to share with her. But it was not an easy story to tell.  Read more >

  5. Sukkot Takes to the Streets

    10/19/11 8:59am by Mata H
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    Sukkot

    This year, the Jewish tradition of Sukkot took to the streets.The eight-day Jewish holiday of Sukkot (pronounced "sue-COAT") is a celebratory harvest occasion, during which the observant Jewish family will build a temporary dwelling called a "sukkah" (pronounced to rhyme with "BOOK-ah").  Read more >

  6. Rosh Hashanah's Ritual of Tashlich

    9/28/11 7:55am by Mata H
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    Tashlich

    Come sundown, Jewish families all over the world will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Welcome to a sweet year 5772!  Read more >

  7. Easter: Eggs, Memories, Lamb Cakes and the Resurrection

    4/24/11 9:43am by Mata H
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    Easter Eggs

    Easter Sunday is a HUGE Christian holiday, in which we recall the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. It is coincidental with spring, and some would say had pagan roots, because there is a spring goddess named Eostre in Pagan tradition. The name probably did get fuddled by association, but earliest Christians celebrated this day at the same date as Passover, until it was determined that it needed to be held on a Sunday. All that aside, for those of us who celebrate it, Easter can be a rich treasure trove of memories.  Read more >

  8. Skyping into the Seder: When Technology and Holidays Meet

    4/14/11 2:18pm by Mata H
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    Seder Table

    Jack and Estelle and their family unofficially "adopted" me about 30 years ago, and we have became family. I have participated in almost every Passover seder with their family since then. These have largely been in NYC. This year (for a variety of reasons) I am unable to join them all at their son Daniel and his wife Leora's home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I put on a brave face, but my heart was hurting.  Read more >

  9. Hate Groups on the Rise in America

    4/4/11 10:00am by Mata H
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    Stop the Hate

    Hate groups are on the rise. It is getting even more alarming with each passing year. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) tracks hate groups, and has been doing so since the 1980's. The report of hate groups in 2010 issued last month by the SPLC, indicates that there are over 1,000 active hate groups in the US. These are not teenagers on a spur of the moment rampage, or a couple of drunks blaming another race or religion for their problems. These are organized hate groups. They have members, meetings, strategies, websites. They take ugly actions.  Read more >

  10. Josephine Baker: The Exotic Activist

    3/24/11 11:00am by Mata H
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    Josephine Baker

    Josephine Baker, born in St. Louis in 1906, was an astonishing woman. From being the star of the Paris nightclubs and stage to her extensive work with the French underground in WWII to her work with Martin Luther King in the 1960's American Civil Rights Movement, she was indomitable. She was called "Bronze Venus," the "Black Pearl," and even the "Créole Goddess." Star of stage and screen, singer and activist, she became a woman of "firsts."  Read more >

Mata H

Full Name
Mata H
Member Since
February 2006
About Me: 

I am 62, divorced, basically without living relatives, endlessly curious, spiritually imaginative and always embarking on one sort of journey or another. My blog is about that journey, the interconnectedness of all living things, silly birds, odd moments, vibrant seeing, luminous remembering. I am a cancer survivor. I can usually be found blogging  at Time's Fool ~~

School Tags: 

UNebraska,UMass,Hamma School of Theology at Wittenberg University

About Me Tags: 

religion,spiritruality,soul nurturing,politics,everyday events,life in general

Causes Tags: 

freedom of speech,inclusion of ALL in a democracy,education,being honest about the level of racism and classism in America,recognizing that we are part of a world community.

Favorite Tags: 

freedom,happiness,connectedness,faith,my dog,asparagus,my friends,a good cup of coffee,comfortable shoes,jazz, the right shade of lipstick.

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