Reviews and Comments

Claiborne's common prayer is primarily pointed at introducing the liturgy to evangelicals. Evangelicals traditionally have been weary of anything traditional, religious, or repeadative, but with today's western "church" leaving more questions than answers geared towards making seekers feel welcome rather than challenging believers, many young endangering are looking to the past to improve their future. Common Prayer is based, in part, on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but it's been "updated" to remove the barrier of the three year cycle to a more digestable one year. It ads to the daily liturgy some modern readings about MLK, Ghandi, Sojourner Truth, and others that can inspire Christians of today. Its designed to be used in communion with other belivers, such as in the radical monestosem that Shane is known for.

Most of the contents is absolutely available free of charge on their website commonprayer.net but it's so much better to have a dead tree in your hand.

The only down side to the pocket edition is it's small size, unlike traditional daily liturgies you'll need some additional books at hand such as a bible and a hymnal. This ends up mashing commonprayer.net almost necessary anyway, and for me the internet is a place far too distracting to help direct prayer with the all mighty.

Big Bill Haywood was raised in Salt Lake City, because that's where his family was forced to deboard the train headed to the California Gold Rush as they realized his younger brother wasn't with them. His father passed not long after getting established in Utah. Bill had to be the man of the house since a young age. He has his first strike when he was 11 years old after her mother lent him out to a distant uncle for farm work, and the uncle wouldn't even give him a water break. By the time he is 15 he's out of school and working as a miner full time. Living in the bunk house with everyone else.

He's introducted to the ideals of socialism by an old member of the Knights of Labor and clings to it for the rest of his life.

What I found most surprising is how firmly Haywood is convienced their is no God while everyone close to him has such faith. His wife is a believer in Christian Science, his mother an Episcopalian, in whose church Haywood is confirmed only because his mom knowns no other way to legally get his name changed so that he can pay honor to his late father without a religious ceremony, and he indicates he had seen Bringham Young in the temple, so he must have spent some time in the LDS Church without actually admitting such.

Joining the Western Federation of Miners not long after he starts in his chosen profession they are able to levy for stronger involvement in many mines. Though his description of a bull pen I learned really what the boss class can do.

Never again! He lost his eye in a mining accident. By the time he was in his 30s his Fellow Workers elected him the Secretary-Treasurer of the WFM. I was surprised that after this he never went back to manual labor again. While there he set off the IWW one Big Union for all industries. The first convention in Chicago sounds like a heck of an adventure.

I was surprised, but probably shouldn't have been, that by the end of that first year of the IWW there were two different groups claiming to be the only legitmate union. In-fighting and sidetrackign since the beginning. Haywood is accused of murder, which he claims is is only because he organized well.

My "favorite" legal troupe here was the little girl who was shot by a police officer and Haywood and two additional organizers are tried as responsible for the murder because the girl wouldn't have been on the picket line to be shot if they hadn't called a Strike.

After reading his autobiography I am only further convinced that there needs to be a movie of which he is the primary subject. I still think the one scene with Haywood was the best of the 80s masterpiece "Reds"

Mexican Masks wasn't really what I hoped it would be. Cordry clearly has a great understanding of masks used by what he refers to as Mexican Indians. He lived among them for years and collected as many as he was able to barter for. He found in many states & villagers the locals had abandoned the ritualistic dances that used such masks in favor of the Catholicism of Spain that few had any idea what they were even used for anymore. I feel like Conley was trying to make a big beautiful coffee table book full of pictures of these masks from his private collection and many others'. It also appears he wanted to create a serious academic work, well cited and pear reviewed. I think what we got was neither. it was hard to read in that it would often reference photos on completely different pages, ideas are repeated many times "as stated previously..." & many other troupes that even in public school we were recommended against "I will cover that in Chapter 10." Not to mention times discussing the colors of particular masks and referincing a picture that the publisher included in B & W to save $$.

To be fair the publisher said Cordy finished the book only 2 days before he died and it was nearly 3 years later before it was published. He very well may have been trying to write two different books and his wife & UT just put them together for their simplicity.

What I liked best was the reflection of masks and dances that were continued to be used after most villagers converted to Christianity, such as images of bad gods having horns added to make them devils & demons and changing others, like say replacing a fertility god with the virgin Mary. Though most regions this is not so.

Some of his personal 1970s biases were present, like blaming the Catholic Church for opressing history, and defining art as something men did while crafts being women's work.

Given that I still was able to get done with in in like 2 weeks I believe it was worthy of "I liked it" = 3 Stars.