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Spore Creature Creator

Last week I downloaded the trial version of Spore Creature Creator. I liked it so much that I download the full version and pre-ordered Spore Galatic Edition--which will allow my creatures to evolve and explore their own universe. Here's a short movie I made of one of my creatures--the Amants...

If the movie is stipped out of the email version of this post (and it probably will be) visit the blog version at http://johnclintonbradley.blogspot.com/.

American Prayer

This music video in support of Barack Obama is powerful!

Festus est arrivé!

Odd Festus, a 4-year-old greyhound recently retired from racing in Florida, became part of our queer household today. So far he seems to be adjusting well. Here are a few photos...

Festus est arrivé!

Festus has an impressive pedigree and racing record--having won 16 out of 153 races!

Matt Wins Gold

I forgot to blog it at the time, but I was extremely proud when Matthew Mitcham of Australia--who is openly gay--won Olympic gold last week in the men's 10-meter platform dive. Matt's sexual orientation was not mentioned by NBC. Heck, they hardly showed his almost flawless dives until he started climbing the leader board. Too bad the rainbow flag couldn't have been a raised along with the Australian flag when he was presented with his medal!

Reentry

I've been back home for 2 weeks now. Reentry was hard and fast...

I started attending a Wednesday night class in Dialectal Behavior Therapy [DBT] to improve my own emotional wellness.

I went to Chicago to give a couple of presentations at the Midwestern Regional Integrity Conference. I spoke about what happened at Lambeth and what's next for the Episcopal Church. About 20 people attended.



Michael and I have decide to adopt a greyhound thru Greyhound Adoption of Greater Rochester. Last Sunday we had a home visit by two greyhounds and their human companions to make sure we were suitable parents. We passed the test. Next Saturday we picked up "Odd Festus"--who has just retired from racing in Florida. We haven't see his photo yet, but here's the description: "Festus is not odd at all. He is an 82 lb. fawn male who is 4 years old. He is friendly, calm, and is cat friendly." Transition could be challenging for him and us, since racing dogs know nothing about living in houses with humans.

For Integrity, I finished writing objectives for a $50,000 grant from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

I took off Thursday and Friday to spend time with our 8-year old nephew, Marcus. The first day we went to the Seabreeze Amusement Park. Marcus had to be coaxed onto some of the scarier rides. Uncle John could not be coaxed onto rides likely to cause motion sickness!

The second day we visited the recently expanded Strong National Museum of Play. The highlight for me was the new butterfly garden.

Yesterday afternoon we took a long bike ride along the Erie Canal from Pittsford to Fairport.

Lambeth Conference Photos

Some of the photos I took before and during the Lambeth Conference are now available here.

Happy 70th Birthday, Momma!

On Monday I flew from London-Heathrow to Washington-Dulles, then to Atlanta.

On Tuesday morning I met Michael in Atlanta, we flew to Tallahassee, then we drove west to Sister Cindy's farm in Bascom. Momma & Daddy came over in the late afternoon. Momma was really surprised and glad to see Michael and me. We had a nice dinner together, cake a bit later, then opened present. I brought some Chanel No. 5 from the duty-free shop at Heathrow. Sister Edith took the photo above using the timed-delay shoot feature. I showed photos form my trips to England and Wales.

On Wednesday morning Momma, Daddy, Michael, and me tried to visit Marianna Caverns. Unfortunately, we discovered they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because of budget cuts. We drove thru the park and then at lunch at an okay restaurant named "The Gazebo." After a long nap, Cindy and Edith joined us and we drove back to Marianna for dinner at a gourmet restaurant named "Madison's Warehouse." I had a tasty spinach salad with citrus balsamic dressing and the best salmon croquettes I ever put in my mouth. Came home and looked at 500 photos that Edith digitized.

Lambeth Letters

Me on the campus of the University of Kent where most of the Lambeth Conference was held. If you look closely you can see Canterbury Cathedral in the background.



My personal adventures at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury are chronicled on our 2+ parish blog...

• Lambeth Letter #1
• Lambeth Letter #2
• Lambeth Letter #3
• Lambeth Letter #4
• Lambeth Letter #5
• Lambeth Letter #6

I blogged much more as IntegrityUSA@gmail.com on Walking With Integrity.

Uncle Charlie

Daddy's younger brother, Charlie, died last week and was buried today. Here's the obituary...

Bradley, Charles Henry, 72, of Ruskin passed away June 24, 2008. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Alfred and Edith. Charlie retired from Tampa Electric Company where he worked as a lineman for 37 years and was a member of IBEW #108. He was a Southern Baptist, a veteran of the Army, and a current member and former Governor of the Moose Lodge #813 in Ruskin, FL. He is survived by four sons, Charles “Chuck” H., Jr., and wife Debbie of Valrico, Timothy A. and wife Kelly of Sundance, Kenneth W. of Clearwater and Christopher R. and wife Kim of Carrollton, TX, step-son Henry Bartlett and wife Stacey of Tallahassee, brother John C. and wife Sylvia of Bascom, FL, two sisters, Patsy and husband Ernie of Ohio and Betty of Iowa and eight grandchildren. Visitation will be Sunday, June 29, from 5:00-7:00 P.M. at Lewers Funeral Home in Ruskin. Funeral service will be Monday, June 30, 11:00 A.M., at 1st Baptist Church of Ruskin, 820 College Ave. West. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Charlie's name to Mooseheart Foundation which is a safe home for children providing a home like setting, and offering education and religious training for residents. Contributions may be mailed to Development Director at Moose International, Mooseheart, IL 60539-1100.


An online memorial with photos from his life are available at http://mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=2507290.

Ben Missing In Action

Still grieving Bert, we now seem to be missing Ben. We last saw him Saturday night--when the neighborhood 20somethings were partying hard. I fear he got hit by a drunk driver.

Monday I checked the animal shelters and called the microchip company. No luck.

Ben was supposed to be an inside cat, but he made it quite clear he want to an outside cat--escaping whenever the door opened and crying constantly to be let out. So, this spring I gave up trying to cloister him. Ben loved his new freedom. He lost weight. He killed a couple of mice and a bird. He hung around on the porch. We went on walks with Bert.

Ben was obnoxious but affectionate. We miss him. I hope by some miracle he will find his way home.

Trek Lime

Bought a new bicycle today--a Trek Lime--at Full Moon Vista. [Michael Davis, a parishioner at our church, works there a few hours each week.] It's exactly what I wanted--a simple bike that shifts automatically and brakes using the pedals. It's a grown-up version of what I had as a kid. I hope to bike to work when the weather is nice and do more recreational biking.

Goodbye, Cuthbert

We euthanized Cuthbert [a.k.a. Bert] today. He had been gradually losing control of the back half of his body while his front half remained in relatively good shape. So, it was very hard to decide when enough was enough. I reached that point a couple of weeks ago. Michael made the decision today. Above is a final photo I took just before we took him to the vet. Below is Michael's tribute to our friend.

Untroubled Joy: For Cuthbert

Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and untroubled joy.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Cuthbert died today. Cuthbert was a 14-15 year old dog of mixed Collie and Labrador breed and John and my companion in life for more than 13 years. Cuthbert simply got old and it finally came time to assist him in his death. It was, of course, an excruciating thing to do.

Everything I would say about Cuthbert sounds trite, but nevertheless true. He was a dog’s dog, a faithful companion, a lover of life. I ran across the above quote from Dostoyevsky while looking for a prayer to say with him as he died. The words "untroubled joy" struck me hard. That’s it! That’s the quality Cuthbert brought to life.

And he, in his dog’s way, was an evangelist of this joy. There were very few people Cuthbert ever met who he could not charm, even a few non-dog people. He was the resident extrovert in our house, making friends at light speed compared to his dads.

Cuthbert was God’s gift to us and to the world, and part of what it means that he had the gift of "untroubled joy" was that he was quite comfortable with that, as most animals are. We humans are too frequently not quite comfortable with the gift that we are to creation, therefore our joy is "troubled." I take that to mean that it is often inaccessible, smothered by life’s myriad anxieties, doubts and fears.

A month or so ago it occurred to me that Cuthbert's tail was no longer wagging. It was a sure sign that his zest for life was flagging and that the end was coming near. This was of massive significance since he always greeted people he knew with a propeller for a tail. That propeller was a sign of his untroubled joy. I remember it well as he ran across the cemetery in my last parish one day carrying something in his mouth that looked like a rock. When he dropped it at my feet I could see it was a turtle, and he was uncontrollably happy that he had caught it!

It is a sad day for us. Our friend is dead. But we do not sorrow as those without hope. The new creation for which we all long has a place in it for creatures with untroubled joy.

This Is Not Your Mother's Episcopal Church

Prince Singh was consecrated as the new Bishop of Rochester today during a colorful, diverse, and joyful service. I captured most of it on my Sony Cybershot and edited it down to a 15-minute video...