“Our souls speak a language that is beyond human understanding. A connection so rare the universe won’t let us part.” – Nikki Rowe. I was so glad to discover the school of thought that a soulmate is not necessarily only your life partner. Soul connections are always special. Soul connections are profound in ways that are beyond physical attraction or someone’s charm. One cannot be told what such a connection is, it has to be experienced to be truly understood. It can be your friend, your parent, your sibling, a stranger with whom you meet and connect so intently that it feels like the stars align perfectly whenever you interact. People think a soul mate is your perfect fit,...
Lovecraftian horror evokes the fear of what we don't understand. Cosmic horror is built on ideas from beyond space and science that push us beyond our limits. Sometimes, though, it comes closer to home, and what we once thought we knew of our natural world is revealed as lies. Sometimes the horror comes from the mistrust of others around us, and here H.P Lovecraft's biggest flaw is revealed. There's a virulent strain of racism in many of Lovecraft's stories that can't be ignored.The best love letters to the genre Lovecraft helped to create often turn these flaws upside down. The fear of the Other remains, but masters like Guillermo Del Toro and John Carpenter move it away from racist tropes...
When Matt Montaño returned to New Mexico after a brief stint with the Texas Education Agency, he knew his students in Bernalillo deserved teachers who understood their experiences.“One of the biggest components of what our teachers need is to understand the cultural context, the linguistic context that our students have, so they can frame their educational experience within those contexts,” says Montaño, who is now the superintendent of the Bernalillo Public Schools system.Research confirms Montaño’s philosophy: Students who learn from teachers of the same race have better educational outcomes—especially for young people in low-income homes.To validate this reality, at the beginning of the school year Montaño lobbied his district’s school board, which serves seven nearby pueblos, to equalize pay between...
Zoë Petersen, Deseret News This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night.For many Americans, playing Wordle is already a daily ritual. Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, recently moved to turn it into an openly religious one. During the season of Lent, which spans from Ash Wednesday (observed on March 2 this year) to Easter, the church is offering a daily Wordle game tied to the scripture reading from the previous Sunday. Participants have six chances to guess each day’s word. Afterward, whether they’re successful or not, they can read a short message from a congregational leader on the term’s spiritual significance. The...
HuffPost Canada was abruptly shut down on March 9, 2020, by Buzzfeed as part of a broad restructuring plan for the company. This closure came two weeks after two dozen workers filed for union certification. (Shutterstock)From prioritizing diversity to a bottom-up editorial process and using traditional marketing practices to develop journalistic stories, HuffPost Canada was a digital-first innovator. Then it was shut down. It’s now been a year since the small newsroom closed. Trying to make a big impact, HuffPost Canada fought against the narrative that it prioritized free content over quality journalism. Those who worked there thought they were playing an important role. Now that it’s shuttered, they’re moving on to different newsrooms, bringing experience that could influence practice...
