Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category

The Seekers – 2009

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Back in 2004 I wrote a holiday message about our Christmas tree titled The Seekers. It turned out to be one of the most popular essays of that era.  We put up a Christmas tree last week for the first time since then. It was amazing to realize it had been five years since we'd either ...

Outside the Fishbowl – 2009/10/06

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

When you're inside the United States, it is nearly impossible to realize how insular it is, especially related to information and perspective. Since we're going to be here for a while, I'm providing a semi-regular injection of outside perspectives and information gleaned from other cultures, counties and regions in an effort ...

The Lost Purpose

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

I recently read Dan Brown’s new thriller novel, The Lost Symbol. I promise not to reveal any plot twists or surprise endings. However, I will say that there was only one plot twist that I found truly surprising, and that is indicative of my feelings about the book as a whole. In ...

A Milestone. Or Not.

Friday, June 5th, 2009

After 9/11, and especially after visiting ground zero, I had some strong personal reactions. I wrote some magazine columns and also wrote quite a bit about the issues and challenges surrounding the event in non-commercial venues. In addition to doing what I could within my sphere of influence and expertise, I also ...

The Endorsement from Hell

Friday, October 31st, 2008

I was forwarded a copy of "The Endorsement from Hell," a recent editorial by Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times. My comments on the editorial follow the "Read more" link. Mr. Kristoff's editorial follows my comments.

The Missing 12 Days of September

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

On the night of Wednesday, September 2nd, 1752, John Hackney closed his eyes and went to sleep. When he awoke to the dawn, it was Thursday, September 14th, 1752. Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.hackneys.com/docs/12days.pdf .  

The Room of Wakes

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

  For 391 years no outsider walked the passageways.   For 391 years no outsider touched the walls.   For 391 years no outsider saw the interior.   Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/peru/docs/roomofwakes.pdf .

La Tirana

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

  Every year there is a festival at La Tirana, Chile.   La Tirana has about 250 full time residents.   Over 10,000 people come to La Tirana for the festival.   This year, we were two of those people. Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/chile/docs/latirana.pdf .

The Inferno of La Cruz

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Thursday, 17 January, 2008   Our rig came off the ship at 6:20AM on Sunday, 14 January.   We had a chance to partially inspect the rig later that day and knew it was damaged, perhaps destroyed. We sold our house to clear the decks for these years of travel, so this meant ...

A Battle of Boyne Veteran

Friday, September 28th, 2007

I was doing some research for a project yesterday and came across the clipping that follows. It is an excerpt from the March 5, 1776 issue of the Londonderry Journal, the newspaper of the time in what is now Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Several things are interesting about it. First is the extraordinary age ...