champagne glasses

2016 in review

I hope you’ve had a wonderful solstice, Christmas, or whatever you celebrate. If you don’t celebrate anything at all, I hope you’re having an enjoyable break from work. I can’t believe how fast 2016 went! I know I say that every year. Politically and socially, it’s been a bumpy year, but personally it was mostly …

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Wedding rings on a white rose

We’re engaged!

We’re engaged! It was not a big, romantic gesture. Neither of us got down on one knee, held a flash mob, or write it across the sky. We talked about it one day, nodded, smiled, and said, “Let’s do it.” Theo and I decided to to get engaged in mid-August. I wanted to tell everyone …

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effective altruism donation jar

An Introduction to Effective Altruism

Effective altruism is about the most effective ways to benefit others. Most people I know are concerned about the world. Some care deeply about the environment and many are passionate about a variety of social issues. We support crowdfunding campaigns, attend public demonstrations, sign petitions, and generously donate to charity. But how effective is this? I’ve been thinking …

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Environment - polar bear on melting ice

Life and death: the environment

Last week, in response to a thoughtful and complicated question that one of my friends posed, I wrote 4 reasons Pagans aren’t environmentally responsible. I don’t want to be all doom and gloom and complain without offering positive and actionable things people can do to help the environment. The Life and Death writing prompt is as good as …

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Child holding Halloween pumpkin.

Dear Australia, it’s okay to celebrate Halloween

It’s my third Halloween in Australia, and it’s not a popular holiday here, but it’s growing in popularity. According to the Australian social research company McCrindle: “Those in Generation Y (aged 18-31) were far more likely to have celebrated Halloween in the past than Generation X (aged 32-46) and the Baby Boomers (aged 46-65). When …

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