Monthly Archives: February 2010

A Case of the Human Condition: Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder – But What If There’s No Beholder?

A flowering tree grows hidden in the canyon below our house. If no one sees it bloom, is it beautiful? Without a beholder, can there be beauty?

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Book Openers: Georgetown Professor John Esposito on the Future of Islam

Georgetown professor John L. Esposito was working on a book about the future of Islam — pre-9/11. He promptly put it aside in favor of more immediate topics. And now, nearly a decade later, he returns to his subject with the publication of “The Future of Islam.”

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The Writing Room: My Idea of a Good Time — A Week in the Mountains with a Bunch of Other Writers

I’ve attended the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley summer conference three different times and loved every moment. It’s a great chance to meet writers, editors, agents — and work on your writing.

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God’s Big Blog: What a Billion Muslims Really Think

The Bay Area premiere of “Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think” will be screened at 5 p.m., Saturday, February 20, at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland. Also speaking: John Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs at Georgetown University and author of “The Future of Islam.”

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An Case of the Human Condition: A Child Is Born — And So Is a Grandpa

My friend Jake is a man in his prime. He does triathlons, reads good books, knows all the best hiking trails and drinks nice wines. Jake has never been anybody’s rickety old grandpa — until recently, when Jake’s daughter gave birth to a baby girl.

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