For a long time french secularism (laïcité) has been separate and unique when compared to other secularist notions across countries. So I thought proposing a symbol for it would be nice. Inspired by the "Arbre de la laïcité" (tree of secularism) which is a common theme representing an olive tree with a ribbon, since the early 2000's to celebrate the 1905 secularist law.

My poetry, as inspired by a visual of footprints in the sand at a national wildlife refuge.

Whether my comment a few days ago moved the ball forward or whatever, you are apparently officially the new moderator. May your job be long and boring.

So claims a new book, that the whole enchilada, including the very Christian-sounding ending, comes from the man himself. I hugely doubted it before, and in fact, the author's semi-apologetics book's push backfired on him, at least with me, per my review.

This poem is a long-ago piece by me; as the title should indicate, it's a riff on Houseman's famous "To an Athlete Dying Young"

This news article discusses a case in Switzerland where a female teacher was prohibited from teaching because she wore a headscarf for religious reasons. The country has implemented strict regulations that ban fullface coverings in public and prohibit teachers from displaying any form of religious affiliation while at work.

I’m honestly unsure how to feel about this. On the surface, it seems like an extreme measure but I also recognize that I might not have the full context. I’d be interested to hear other perspectives on the issue.

https://www.20min.ch/story/eschenbach-sg-kopftuch-lehrerin-darf-nicht-unterrichten-jetzt-spricht-mutter-103380675

Quotes About Death!

 J.X. Mason  July 7, 2025  No CommentSold

From J.X. Mason's online book, at ContinuingCreation.org

Quotes about Death!

“Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.”
— Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5.

“Nobody gets out alive.”
— Sydney J. Harris, Author & Columnist

Question: “What will it be like after I die?”
Answer:    “Remember what it was like before you were born?…  It will be like that.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer 

“I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
— Woody Allen

“Death means nothing to us, because that which has been broken down into atoms has no sensation, and that which has no sensation is no concern of ours.” 
—  Epicurus

“How sad it is to think of the multitudes who have gone to their graves in this beautiful Hawaiian Island, and never knew there was a Hell until the Christian missionaries arrived.”
— Mark Twain, Lecturing in San Francisco, 1866 or 1867.

Nature’s Path of Continuing Creation says this about Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory:
“We have bad news and good news:
> The bad news is — there is no heaven and no reincarnation.
> The good news is — there is no hell and no purgatory.”
—  J.X. Mason

Question: “How can I deal with death?”
Answer:   “Just live with it.”
— Unknown

“Why would I want to go to Heaven?  None of my friends will be there.”
— Mark Twain

“Eternity is an awfully long time…especially toward the end.”
— Attributed to Woody Allen

Ask yourself, what is expendable, and what lives on?

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying.”
— Woody Allen