Random

• SLUMBURBIA -- "Come see: this is what happens when money and market, alone, guide the way we live." Hmm? I'm not sure that this is the whole picture. But it's worth a read. ~ link

• "THE LEGENDARY EGYPTIAN 'boy king' Tutankhamun, commonly known as King Tut, died of conditions including malaria and complications from a leg fracture, according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association." The genetic inbreeding in the royal family probably didn't help him out either.~ link

• WILD POLAR BEAR in Scotland & analyzing DNA from cattle extinct for 400 years. ~ link

• THE COASTAL REDWOODS of California are in danger because of the decrease in levels of summer coastal fog. ~ link

• WE CONTINUE TO HEAR of relief effort failures in Haiti with materials stacked at the airport and lack of distribution systems. Covenant World Relief, on the other hand, works through existing networks and has an incredible list of accomplishments to this point. I'm so proud of CWR and what they do, and how they do it without a lot of media hoopla, hype, or drama. They quietly go in, build relationships, and get the job done. ~ link

• FOR $100/EACH we could send hexayurt plywood structures as emergency housing. They're better than tents -- especially once hurricane season starts. There are lots of people with cool housing ideas but they need production and distribution partners. Perhaps some of the relief money could go to hiring locals to assemble structures. ~ link

• I PLANTED the jujube stick that Brad Chang (Kevin's father) gave me. There is not much root to it now but I'm trusting that it will become a tree. It's an experiment.

• THE STATS on statistical changes in the US religious bodies are out. This is the rundown on the 10 largest tribes. ~ link

1. Roman Catholic Church, 68,115,001 members, up 1.49%

2. Southern Baptist Convention, 16,228,438 members, down 0.24%

3. The United Methodist Church, 7,853,987 members, down 0.98%

4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5,974,041 members, up 1.71%

5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no membership updates reported.

6. National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc, 5 million members, no membership updates reported.

7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,633,887 members, down 1.62%

8. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., 3.5 million members, no membership updates reported.

9. Assemblies of God, 2,899,702 members, up 1.27%

10. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 2,844,952 members, down 3.28%

The Church of God in Christ, the National Baptist Convention, USA, and the National Baptist Convention of America didn't report statistics again. I am guessing that they have each experienced significant decline.