Jim Wallis interview

Powells.com has an interview with Sojourners' Jim Wallis.

For the uninformed among you, Wallis is now guest-blogging at Letters from Kamp Krusty.

"Key Life" leader lights up

Oh, no! He's smokin'! It's okay, though. Steve Camp says t'aint a sin.

I know this post sounds rather snarky, but I am serious when I say that I agree with Steve Camp on this. I don't think it's smart to either start or to continue smoking for health reasons, but I don't consider it a sin.

Colts 41, Saints 10

The NFL Kick-off happened last night. The New Orleans Saints came to town with hopes of beating the reigning Super Bowl champion Colts, only to have a crushing defeat. The score was 10 all at the half, but the Colts offensive line came alive in the second half.

The season has begun!

It is kinda funny that the Colts would score 41 in their first official game following their win at Super Bowl 41.

Be sure to stop by Stampede Blue.

proof that Christians have no creative "marketing" ideas

This shirt. Is it an "evangelistic tool?" Is it an insult, showing that Christianity is a religion "even a caveman/neanderthal can believe?" Who can say?

AND: This. Because not everyone can work at Dunder-Mifflin.

bow down to your iDol

The iPod touch. Everything but the phone. Oh, yes, and the iPhone is getting cheaper...er, less expensive.

"I'm running for president of the United States."

Said right Fred.

I think this was a good move for him. On the night of yet another GOP debate, Thompson was able to bring attention to himself. Making the announcement on the Tonight show worked well for Arnold Schwarzeneggar, so I'm sure Thompson thinks it will work well for him. Thompson may take some initial heat for missing all the debates so far in 2007, but I don't see it really affecting him in the future. Honestly, how much of the public has been paying attention to the debates?




Joshua Claybourn sees Thompson as the great Republican hope.

Whatever happened to Kerouac?

I realize that's I said I would be blogging through On the Road, but I've been so taken with this book lately, I haven't read much of it. I will get back to it, though. For now, satisfy yourself with this article.

Here is Kerouac with Steve Allen:

there's a sponge by my spleen!

Scary!

Indiana hospitals and surgery centers committed 85 serious and preventable errors last year, according to the final report of the state's new system to record medical errors.

The most common errors were 26 instances of serious bedsores that developed after a patient was admitted to a hospital and 23 instances of a foreign object, such as a sponge, being left inside a patient after surgery.

State officials say such information is vital to helping doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals work together to help improve patient safety. They say the new reporting requirement, ordered by Gov. Mitch Daniels to start in 2006, will ultimately pay off in improved patient care.

Good news for my hospital, though. We had zero errors.

God loves Iowa

I'm quite certain that God does indeed love Iowa, but this is going a bit too far:

God's will is for Iowa to have the first-in-the-nation caucus, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson told a crowd here Monday.

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary," Richardson, New Mexico's governor, said at the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic. "And I want you to know who was the first candidate to sign a pledge not to campaign anywhere if they got ahead of Iowa. It was Bill Richardson."

Is he merely pandering to religious folks, or is something more going on?

Labor Day fair

We attended the Labor Day parade in Westville (Illinois) yesterday, just a few miles south of where my in-laws live in Tilton. As is usually the case with most parades, the older veterans were the first ones to walk:



There were many police cruisers, sheriff cars and ambulances in the parade, all with sirens blaring. We saw firetrucks both traditional red...

... and yellow.

No small town parade is complete without the ones running for local office:

Do you see how high the temperature rose?

quote for the day

"We are never more like the Devil than when we lie."

Erwin Lutzer, pastor of Moody Church in Chicago

Calvinism and the collapsed bridge

There's an important discussion of which you should be aware. Is God in control of everything that happens, or do some things happen that He does not intend? How you answer the question depends greatly upon your views of God's power and of history.

Pastor John Piper of Desiring God Ministries sees the Minnesota bridge collapse from a few weeks ago as evidence that God is at work in the world.

All of us have sinned against God, not just against man. This is an outrage ten thousand times worse than the collapse of the 35W bridge. That any human is breathing at this minute on this planet is sheer mercy from God. God makes the sun rise and the rain fall on those who do not treasure him above all else. He causes the heart to beat and the lungs to work for millions of people who deserve his wrath. This is a view of reality that desperately needs to be taught in our churches, so that we are prepared for the calamities of the world.

The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.

Greg Boyd points out what he believes to be errors in Piper's line of thinking. He concludes:

There’s undoubtedly plenty of blame to go around for why this bridge collapsed, ranging from fallen cosmic powers to a wrongly prioritized government to the wrongly prioritized people who elected these officials into office without holding them sufficiently accountable. But if you accept that God created a world with free agents, the one being you don’t need to blame is God.

If, on the other hand, you don’t accept that the cosmos is populated with free agents who can therefore make decisions that are contrary to God’s will, then you have an even greater problem. (This is the camp the pastor whose blog I’m discussing is in). For in this case one has to explain how everyone can deserve to die when everything every person has ever done, however sinful, was part of God’s great plan from the start!

Not only this, but if angels and people don’t have free will that can go against God’s will, then it’s no longer adequate to say God “allowed” a bridge to fall. You have to say God “caused” the bridge to fall. Other agents may have been instrumental in bringing about the collapse of the bridge, but they only did what God’s sovereign plan decreed they do. So one is fudging words to say God “allowed” the bridge to fall and that God is not to blame for the bridge falling.

In the end, this view requires that we accept that God punishes people with catastrophes – and then eternally in hell -- for doing precisely what he predestined them to do. Good luck making sense out of that!

I suggest it's far more biblical, and far more rational, to simply say that in a fallen, oppressed world, bridges sometimes collapse -- and leave it at that. Rather than trying to see the vindictive hand of God behind catastrophes, it’s wiser to simply acknowledge that the world is an oppressed place where things sometimes go tragically wrong and focus all of our mental and physical energy turning from our self-centered ways to carry out God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Dr. Roger Olson of Truett Theological Seminary believes that God's character is distorted if seen through Calvinism's lens.

A well-known Christian author and speaker pastors a church within a mile of the collapsed bridge. To him and his followers, God foreordained, planned and indirectly (if not directly) caused the event.

A popular Christian band sings "There is a reason" for everything. They mean God renders everything certain and has a good purpose for whatever happens. The pastor and the band are Christian determinists. Both happen to adhere to a form of Protestant theology called Calvinism.

This theology is sweeping up thousands of impressionable young Christians. It provides a seemingly simple answer to the problem of evil. Even what we call evil is planned and rendered certain by God because it is necessary for a greater good.

But wait. What about God's character? Is God, then, the author of evil? Most Calvinists don't want to say it. But logic seems to demand it. If God plans something and renders it certain, how is he not culpable for it? Here is where things get murky.

Some Calvinists will say he's not guilty because he has a good intention for the event -- to bring good out of it, but the Bible expressly forbids doing evil for the sake of good.

Many conservative Christians wince at the idea that God is limited. But what if God limits himself so that much of what happens in the world is due to human finitude and fallenness? What if God is in charge but not in control? What if God wishes that things could be otherwise and someday will make all things perfect?

That seems more like the God of the Bible than the all-determining deity of Calvinism.

Prosthesis believes Olson wants to make God in his own image:

We all have a tendency to try to make God into our own image. We want God to act in the way that we think is right. And when God doesn't meet our own expectations, the curse of the fall leads us to think that we, rather than God, is right.

If we can take anything away from Olson's essay, it is that Calvinists need to be careful in how they articulate God's sovereignty. God has given humans authority over his creation. We are responsible for caring for it, tending to it, and cultivating it. When a bridge falls, you better believe that one or more of God's caretakers royally screwed up. But you also better believe that no thing, no event, no bridge collapse, no deaths of 98 year old great-grandmothers, can happen apart from the will of our Father.

Rick Phillips believes Olson has written some "damning words":

So here we have it, from the keyboard of one of the most prominent postconservative thinkers today: He objects that the biblical God is frightening (as if a more preferable God would not be frightening) and he cannot tell the biblical God from the devil. Things really are much worse than we thought out there in post-evangelical land. It argues to me that Reformed theologians must be more bold and aggressive in our biblical portrayal of the true God. And we must take up this more aggressive stance not merely to win the debate with our postconservative fellows, but for the sake of their souls.

new schizophrenia drug

The Eli Lilly company seems to have manufactured a drug that's going to work well in the fight against schizophrenia - a drug that counters the symtoms of schizophrenia without producing the side effects other drugs have caused. The drug is still in the testing phase, and it will be a few years before we know more. Still, this is some good news.

Happy Labor Day!

Let's all celebrate our ability to work by taking the day off!

And on this Labor Day, let's remember that even children need to work. Just click here to see what I mean - uh, I mean what Pastor Brad means.

Mother Teresa

Many people are talking about the recent Time article Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith. I wanted to include some links as much for myself as for anyone.

• Mother Teresa's "Crisis of Faith"
• Mother Teresa and the Crisis of Faith
• Mother Teresa and the Mystery of God's Absence
• Mother Teresa's Redemption

"Lost on Gilligan's Island"

Thanks to Cindy Swanson for this clip.

the mournful beast

She looks a little sad. Is she depressed?

the latest "one to watch" at the U.S. Open

Ahsha Rolle. She's on to round 3, after defeating 17-seed Tatiana Golovin.

UPDATE: Rolle didn't survive the 3rd round. She's out. :(

"Become a Better You"

Back in April, I mentioned that Texas pastor Joel Osteen was about to publish another book, Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life. I haven't read the book, of course (it will be released on October 15), but I can only imagine what it contains: various self-help platitudes sided with Bible verses to make it seem more Christian. Honestly, what more can he bring to the self-help/self-improvement aisle that hasn't already been brought? Peruse this list and see how many books are there that offer advice on ways for one to improve one's life. You'd think everyone in America would be self-actualized millionaires by now.

Michael Spencer, never one to mince words, writes a letter to CBD about their endorsement of Osteen's latest book.

the lowdown (or downlow) on jeans

In a growing number of communities, a person wearing sagging jeans can be charged with a criminal offense.

JAMARCUS MARSHALL, a 17-year-old high school sophomore in ansfield, La., believes that no one should be able to tell him how low to wear his jeans. “It’s up to the person who’s wearing the pants,” he said.

Mr. Marshall’s sagging pants, a style popularized in the early 1990s by
hip-hop artists, are becoming a criminal offense in a growing number of communities, including his own.

Starting in Louisiana, an intensifying push by lawmakers has determined pants worn low enough to expose underwear poses a threat to the public, and they have enacted indecency ordinances to stop it.

Males in Delcambre, Louisiana who are charged with this crime (let's be honest, these are males that are doing this - I've never seen a female wear their pants below their hips) may have to pay a $500 fine or spend six months in jail. The Louisiana town of Mansfield has lesser fines and a reduced time in jail.

The article mentions that the phenomenon of sagging pants began in prison, when inmates often wore baggy clothes without belts (this was done out of fear of suicide). It doesn't mention, however, that inmates often took someone wearing sagging pants as a sign that he wanted sexual relations. We've all learned this week that tapping one's foot in a bathroom stall can be seen as a sign of sexual desire. In today's world, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find something that isn't associated with sexuality.

Castro votes Democratic?

Okay, not really. He's just saying that he believes a Clinton-Obama ticket would be "invincible." However, he wanted to make sure his fellow Cubans knew he is no fan of democracy.

"Both of them feel the sacred duty of demanding 'a democratic government in Cuba,'" Castro wrote. "They are not making politics: they are playing a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon."

Castro went on to say he prefers playing Clue on Sunday afternoons.

what is his marital status again?

Devlin Barrett, a writer for the Associated Press, has written this article about Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City: Bloomberg: unwed fathers boost poverty.

Barrett must really want his readers to take notice of Bloomberg's marital status, because he mentions it twice: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a divorced, billionaire dad..., and Fathers have been missing from the table," said the mayor, a divorced father of two who made a fortune creating an eponymous financial data firm. Apparently Barrett didn't think his readers would catch it the first time, so he had to type it again.

the puppet master dance

You can learn a new dance from Frodo Baggins himself. You can dance like the little hobbit, or you can dance like the green-striped guy (which is how I usually dance) - it's entirely up to you!

life lists

Do you have one? If so, what are some of your life goals?

A handy resource guide, at least for the traveller, is this book, specially made for such lists.

we had a lunar eclipse this morning

Did you see it?

Hoosier politics

I sometimes think I don't spend enough time talking about things pertaining to Indiana, my current home state. So that I may remedy the situation, I direct your attention to two political Hoosier stories.

1. Mayor Bart Peterson does indeed have a challenger for the fall - Greg Ballard. He has a website and a blog (through Blogger!).

2. U.S. Rep Julia Carson announced her plan to run for office in 2008. Even though she's been plagued with health problems and has missed votes on the House floor, she thinks she should still be able to drive around Washington.

the parting of the Whites

I want to say from the beginning that this story saddens me. I'm not linking to it because I want to make any proclamations, declarations, or condemnations. There are certain sites in the Christian blogosphere that seem to relish reporting these kinds of stories, if only to show how "their" kind of Christianity is so much better and more true than "some other kind." I'm linking to it because I think it stirs up many issues with which Christians must wrestle. I have many questions about this, and no answers.

Randy and Paula White, the founders and co-pastors of what has been one of the nation's biggest and fastest-growing churches, plan to divorce.

Members of Without Walls International Church reacted with tears and a chorus of "Oh, no's" after the Whites' announcement at Thursday night's service.

Randy called Paula to the podium about an hour into the service. He was somber; Paula appeared choked up.

I'd be interested in knowing about the sermon that Randy preached. What do you speak about just before you tell your congregation that you're divorcing your wife? Did Randy think, Well, these people are here for a sermon, so I'll give them one and then we'll tell them we're divorcing?

"It's the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my entire life," he told the congregation, describing Paula as an exceptional woman, mother and preacher.

She pledged to return frequently to preach.

Randy had been married before, so is he saying that divorcing his first wife was not a difficult decision?

If Randy is going to continue to pastor at the church (and I see no biblical basis for him to be able to do so), why would Paula return every so often?

The Whites, who've been married nearly 18 years, said in interviews that the split is amicable and comes after visits to counselors over several years.

They blame two lives going in different directions.

If they've been married for so many years and have done so much together, how do their lives go "in different directions?"

He and Paula said the split involves no third party on either side.

What biblical basis enables them to continue their "ministry" if they are divorcing for reasons other than adultery?

(Without Walls church board member Alick Clarke) partially blamed the couple's breakup on their devotion to preaching a prosperity message, exhorting followers to give more money to the church in order to be blessed with greater wealth.

"Too many ministries have become big business. That message is desecrating the church today," said Clarke, adding that he was disturbed to learn that with revenues at $40 million last year, the church was $22 million in debt.

"That's just not right."

Well said, Mr. Clarke.

For the first time in human history, the images’ power and allure have supplanted that of real naked women. Today, real naked women are just bad porn.

Great article by Naomi Wolf on the subject of porn. A sample:

The reason to turn off the porn might become, to thoughtful people, not a moral one but, in a way, a physical- and emotional-health one; you might want to rethink your constant access to porn in the same way that, if you want to be an athlete, you rethink your smoking. The evidence is in: Greater supply of the stimulant equals diminished capacity.

After all, pornography works in the most basic of ways on the brain: It is Pavlovian. An orgasm is one of the biggest reinforcers imaginable. If you associate orgasm with your wife, a kiss, a scent, a body, that is what, over time, will turn you on; if you open your focus to an endless stream of ever-more-transgressive images of cybersex slaves, that is what it will take to turn you on. The ubiquity of sexual images does not free eros but dilutes it.

Of course, the Christian can not escape the moral implications and soul-destroying power of pornography.

He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah

Were the Beatles talking about Jesus? The pastoral staff at this church seems to think so. If you can't make it to the Tulsa church to hear the series, consider reading this.

Decision Card

The decision card at my church doesn't look like this one. Click on the various options.

(TY, BHT)

Open season

Yes, kids, the U.S. Open has come once again. The last of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments starts later today in not-quite-NYC Flushing Meadows. The fun of Arthur Ashe Kid's Day has faded with the sunset, and the athletes will now get down to business.

With the still-strong Venus Williams, the formidable Justine Henin, and the lovely Maria Sharapova, the women's draw should prove to be very entertaining television. As for the men.... well, I have to admit that I've grown bored with Roger Federer. I admire his abilities and accomplishments, but let's face it - perfection just isn't exciting.

the believer's blessing in Christ

Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things and heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guaranteer of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)

the buff presidency

What do you want your national leaders to look like? Do they need to be fit? Does it matter if they have "let themselves go?" William Howard Taft was our heaviest president, and I don't think his weight would make him electable in these modern times. With the exception of Bill Clinton, our recent presidents have been fairly physically fit. George W. Bush jogs regularly, and it shows. However, I don't think that "W" would do what the 54-year-old Russian president Vladmir Putin has done: take off his shirt to pose for cameras.

of the making of many books, there is no end

How many books did you read last year, if any? This article claims that one of every four adults didn't read a single page of a book.

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

There seems to be two ways to take this information: snarky or serious.

Baptizoblogodebate

Justin Taylor has the roundup.

Where do I personally stand? I'm a credobaptist.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Although I certainly monitor the programs my daughters watch, I usually don't sit down and watch the shows with them (unless they ask me to, of course). However, I think this is one show I may have to make time for ---



Trippy fun!

when your drummer is an animal, you can't go wrong

Here's a list of the ten best bands that never existed. I've always been a fan of the #1 band.

Hurricane Dean

Please pray for those in Mexico who are about to face Dean's fury.

Snow wants more dough

The lead story in this grouping focuses on the increasingly loud sound of crickets at Camp Casey. As intriguing as all things Cindy Sheehan are, I was more interested in the second story, where these words are found:

White House spokesman Tony Snow intends to leave his job before the president's term ends in January 2009. Speaking on Hugh Hewitt's radio show last week, Snow, a Fox News Channel personality who took a serious salary cut to become Bush's press secretary last year, said he needs more money than his $168,000 White House wage. Snow, who is battling a recurrence of colon cancer, did not name a departure date.

"When I have something to announce, I'll let everyone know," he told us via e-mail.

I'm wondering two things.

(1.) How much is the deductible for health insurance obtained through the White House?

(2.) How much money does Tony Snow need to make? $168,000 a year would make life quite comfortable for me.

Everybody into the pool!

File this under "Things We Already Knew"

The magical duo of Siegfried and Roy have announced that they are gay.

Pat better have the maniacal laugh down pat

It's not just the Republican senators who want to be in movies. Democratic senators do, too. Or, at least, one does - Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont. He's going to be in the next Batman film, The Dark Knight. He's done some voiceovers on Batman cartoons.

The longtime Batman fan would reveal little about his role other than he is called the "distinguished gentleman."

"It's a pretty tense scene," said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's going to be a very interesting one."

Ten tidbits 4

01. Matt Schmucker asks an intriguing question: Is the idea of eternity and the believer's ultimate end simply lost to the modern church?

02. Does Jesus want us to have universal healthcare? J.P. Moreland says no.

03. Can't get enough of Starbucks? Go here to get the gossip. Really, no one can get enough these days. Even if you can't stand the hot viscous stuff, you've certainly been inside a Starbucks at least once in your life. Don't lie and say you haven't...

04. Daniel Pulliam at Get Religion examines a story by Eileen Flynn on the emerging church.

05. What not to name your blog. For the record: I have only been called "Brownie" a few times in my life - a college roommate tried to give me a nickname, but nothing stuck. Does it qualify as something "not to name your blog?" That's for you, dear reader, to judge.

06. 2008 Presidential Election Candidates on the Issues.

07. How do you become a better writer?

08. Pastor John Piper believes the prosperity gospel to be deceitful and deadly.

09. Back to the future, new urbanism style.

10. Joe Carter, whose regular postings of "33 Things" are the inspiration for my "Ten Tidbits," is getting a book published. It's on my list!

Seaside Interfaith Chapel

Seaside Interfaith Chapel
Originally uploaded by Good Brownie

No trip to Panama City is complete without a visit to the little town of Seaside, only a half hour away. Seaside, founded in the 1980's, is considered one of the first New Urbanist communities. Many of the outside shots of "The Truman Show" were filmed here. CBS featured Seaside in a story a new urbanism shown on the 8/5/07 edition of their "Sunday Morning" show.

This is the Seaside Interfaith Chapel, created to "look like" a chapel without actually using any form of religious symbolism - no cross, no star of David, no crescent moon.

the State Fair odd couple

I've gone to the Indiana State Fair every summer that we have lived in this state. I think it's a trip everyone should take, especially if you have kids. The excitement of the rides on the midway... the odd mixture of animal and food smells... the glorious bites of fried dough....

One thing I noticed this year, that I hadn't before, is when it comes to animal barns, the rabbits and the chickens get the shaft. The larger animals have their own barns. The Swine Barn, which always has the world's largest and second largest boar. The Horse Barn. The Cow Barn. The Sheep Barn. But the rabbits and chickens? They have to share. All because they're small and take up less space, so there's room for them to be grouped together. Size discrimination exists even in the animal kingdom.

Anyway, here's a shot of some blue-ribbon winning rabbits:

2 white rabbits
Originally uploaded by Good Brownie

Here's one of the many chickens in the barn, which surprisingly wasn't as noisy as you would think. Of course, we were there in the afternoon - I can't imagine what it's like when the sun is rising.

rooster
Originally uploaded by Good Brownie

Cajun corn fritters

I took the family to the Indiana State Fair on Tuesday. The Sweet One went to her first day in the second grade, and got out early because the school ran for only half the day. Just like last year, we decided to spend the other half of the day at the fair.

One of the big food items at the fair this year is the cajun corn fritter. The corn fritter isn't cajun by itself, it has a little help from the accompanying cream sauce.


Not as much corn in the fritters as I would have liked, but they were still delicious. The sauce, which appeared to be composed of sour cream, cajun seasoning, and jalapenos, had just enough heat.

Here's how I looked after eating the fritters:

what does he sound like?

a reptilian danger

An Australian man, trapped by crocodiles, waited in a tree for a week before he was rescued (TY, Althouse). He only had two meat sandwiches to satisfy his hunger while he waited for salvation. He saw the crocs in the day and heard them at night, so he knew they didn't stray far from him.

His problems began after he fell off his horse while out in the northern Australia outback.

Dazed and bleeding, he climbed back on his horse and hoped it would lead him home. It was only when he regained his senses he realised he had been taken deep into a crocodile-infested swamp.

"I had to get off the horse and fall on the long 8ft (2.4m) high swamp grass to clear a path, when I fell straight into a crocodile nest," he told Brisbane's Courier Newspaper.

"That spooked me. There were some monstrous tracks and the big ones are never far from the nest.

"I couldn't go back, it was too far and too dangerous, so I headed to the nearest high ground and stayed there, hoping someone would come and find me before the crocs did."

As I mentioned earlier, I had my own reptilian encounter when I went to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, Florida (see the third picture in this post). Alligators have flatter snouts than crocodiles, so you can determine the creature in the water is definitely an alligator. It was just lying in the water near the shore, and there didn't appear to be any nests around. I felt fairly confident in my safety for two reasons: (1) there were other people around me, gawking and snapping pictures in silence - I was fairly confident I wouldn't be the alligator's first choice if it decided to attack; and (2) numerous trees, with branches low enough for humans to climb, lined the path to where the alligator lay.

Of course, I'm not the only one who's met Florida gators in the wild. Thomas had a very close encounter with one: "And we got chased by an alligator AS BIG AS ME! Dad was so brave he carried me away from the swamp and we got away."

the invisible touch

For our viewing pleasure, let's watch Hillary's TV spot:


Wow. Stunning, no? She wants to help out all "The Invisibles," from mothers to soldiers in Iraq.

A few things come to mind:

(1) What exactly does she mean by "invisible?" As her husband pointedly illustrated the need for definition when he told us that it all depends upon what the definition of "is" is, we need a good definition here.

(2) If someone is "invisible," how is she able to see them? Does she have special glasses?

(3) With her six-and-a-half relatively unremarkable years of public service (and you can't really count eight years as First Lady), how is she the best one qualified to serve "The Invisibles?"

my mortgage is a reasonable $4000/month!

Do you live in an expensive city?

Forget coffee when it's time to sober up. Instead, check out the real estate listings in New York or Los Angeles.

There, buyers pay $1 million for a property that might fetch half that elsewhere. The disparity illustrates how affordability has been spiraling out of control in places on the East and West coasts.

For example, in the first quarter of 2001, 42.3% of homes sold in Los
Angeles were available to the median earning household. But in the irst quarter of 2007, only 3% of homes sold there were affordable to those households earning the median income. This is based on data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo that assumes a 10% down payment, a 6.1% mortgage, and tax and insurance costs calculated by the Federal Housing Finance Board.

Housing prices may be going down, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to secure a loan. Pretty soon, only celebrities will be able to afford to live in Los Angeles. Perhaps that's how they want it.

Here are the top ten "least affordable markets":

01. L.A.
02. San Francisco
03. San Diego
04. New York
05. Miami
06. Sacramento
07. Las Vegas
08. Seattle
09. Boston
10. Orlando

If you're wanting to live in one of these cities, you may want to check out this list. Med school looks awfully inviting, doesn't it?

Is Romney stronger than we thought?

Perhaps so.

the Demo-Kos-ic party

I've been perusing Ann Althouse's blog since I've returned from my little hiatus, and I realized I had missed the whole Yearly Kos thing while I was sunning myself in Florida. In one of her posts, she mentioned some statements made by the Yearly Kos founder himself during a speech (which you can find if you follow the links):

Just a year ago, we were a freakish curiosity.

I stood before you at the first YearlyKos conference and declared that we “had arrived”.

People snickered and mocked me. Those reporters at the back of the room. They were laughing at me. They were laughing at us.

But then Ned Lamont kicked Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic Party.

I had a couple thoughts:

(1.) Why is Kos so jubilant that someone has been "kicked out" of the Democratic Party? Doesn't he care about attracting people to the party, and keeping people in the party who seem on the cusp of disappearing? I don't think the Donkeys can afford to rid themselves of people during this critical time, even those who don't perfectly line themselves up with the ideals of certain liberal/progressive blogs.

(2.) Kos should really ask Ned Lamont if he thinks he did a lot of good (especially for himself) by getting Lieberman "kicked out." I don't believe that anyone is going around calling Lamont "Senator" like they are Lieberman.

Speaking of Ned Lamont, he doesn't want to fade into the sunset. See?

she knows Starbucks

After we dropped off our oldest daughter at a friend's house, The Wife and I decided to pull into a Starbucks for a little treat.

My youngest daughter - who is not yet three years old, mind you - apparently knew what we were doing, for she screamed from the backseat, "I want coffee!"

What have we created?

sweet sweet tea

My father was born among the misty Tennesse mountains in the early 1930's, which technically makes him an Appalachian. He's been living in Ohio since he was nearly ten, so he doesn't have much about him that is Southern in any real sense of the term.

If my father isn't really a Southern man, I'm even less of one. The only claim I have to Dixieland is that I have some relatives still found among the Tennessee mountains and valleys. I certainly don't speak with a Southern accent, and I'm no fan of bluegrass music. However, I love Southern food. Give me chicken fried steak, fried okra and some grits, and I'm a happy man. Even deeper than the food, though, is an abiding love of the luscious, quintessential Southern drink: sweet tea. Sure, it's liquid candy, but my taste buds think nothing is finer.

"It is the most disappointing field of candidates..."

"...looking on both sides of the aisle, that I’ve seen in my lifetime. I don’t remember an election where less people have got me excited from either side..."

So said Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and former chief counsel for President Nixon. Really, I'm inclined to agree.

the P.C.B. wildlife

We are able to see several wild animals on our trip to the Florida Panhandle. Some were right on the beach, and some were found in PC Sister's house.

This reptile was swimming in the pond near the pool at my Cincy Sister's house:

This delicious crustaceon lurked along the shorelines of St. Andrews State Park:

I was about to step in the waters of a black lagoon when I spotted this creature:
And this fearsome beast was at PC Sister's home!

leaving Panama City Beach

I'm back to my real life, after spending eight great days in Florida. The Wife and I took the kids and spent some time on our own and with family members. We stayed at Cincy Sister's second house in Panama City Beach, which she purchased a few years ago. It's about 15 minutes away from PC Sister's place. It's a nice little house in a nice section of town. There is the main room, a kitchen/dining room combo, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sitting room, and a screened-in outside room. There are two pools and a clubhouse nearby as well. The neighborhood is composed of people who live there full-time as well as the seasonal/sometime dwellers like Cincy Sister.

We mostly ate our meals in the house, purchasing goodies at the beachside Wal-Mart and a nearby Winn-Dixie. We did eat a couple meals out, one of which was at the touristy Pineapple Willy's. I had an oyster po-boy:

Hiatus

So many people are taking a break from blogging right now, so I must throw the proverbial hat in the ring as well. I'll be visiting family down in Florida, including this guy if he isn't as busy as he was in April. I'll have my laptop with me, but I don't know if I'll be able to figure out how to Wi-Fi down there, so...

Happy birthday, Harry Potter

If he weren't fictional, the Boy Who Lived would now be 26 years old.

In his honour, visit the site of his creator, J.K. Rowling.

my house

Last year on this date, I was talking about purchasing my first home. What a year it has been since then! We closed in mid-August. The house was ours on September 1, but we didn't officially move in until Here's what we've done to the house:

• All rooms in the house were painted a different color than what they had been.
• The carpet spreading across the living room, dining room, and hallway was removed, and the floor boards were given a nice dark stain.
• Metal closet doors were removed, replaced by white wooden doors.
• We put new linoleum flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. (Yes, one bathroom in the house. I live with three females, so imagine how tough it is sometimes...)
• We replaced the sink in the bathroom.
• We removed all the old kitchen cabinets and put in new ones, enlarging the kitchen. And, by "we," I mean Pete the English Guy we hired through Lowe's.

The rich and the poor (in manners)

I rather like this article by Peggy Noonan. A taste:

The gap between rich and poor is great, and there is plenty of want, and also confusion. What the superrich do for a living now often seems utterly incomprehensible, and has for at least a generation. There is no word for it, only an image. There's a big pile of coins on a table. The rich shove their hands in, raise them, and as the coins sift through their fingers it makes . . . a bigger pile of coins. Then they sift through it again and the pile gets bigger again.

A general rule: If you are told what someone does for a living and it makes sense to you--orthodontist, store owner, professor--that means he's not rich. But if it's a man in a suit who does something that takes him five sentences to explain and still you walk away confused, and castigating yourself as to why you couldn't understand the central facts of the acquisition of wealth in the age you live in--well, chances are you just talked to a billionaire.

Surveillance cameras

Privacy has its limits. We have them in Indy - are you being watched in your town?

Human Tetris

I wouldn't do well at this.

50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill

This list strikes me as something likely found within the pages of People or Us Weekly magazines, not on The Hill website where supposedly serious information is disseminated. But I guess the superficiality of physical appearance doesn't really compare to the superficiality of some politicians.

Indiana's own Brad Ellsworth, who left behind his job as a sheriff to serve the Indiana 8th district in the House of Representatives, tops the list. His physical attractiveness, which makes "women of all ages and political persuasions swoon ," is of the kind to make even Jack Kennedy jealous. Had Ellsworth been alive in Kennedy's time, no doubt Marilyn Monroe would have deemed him more intriguing than certain fellows with New England accents.

Ask not for whom the cat purrs. He purrs for thee...

Oscar the cat has an unusual ability: he senses when some Rhode Island dwellers are about to die.

Motivational posters for emerging Christians

Funny stuff. From the Pyromaniacs, natch.

Albert Ellis, 1913-2007

Albert Ellis, the recognized father of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), has died at age 93.

“The trouble with most therapy is that it helps you to feel better,” he said in a 2004 article in The New York Times. “But you don’t get better. You have to back it up with action, action, action.”

Very true, Dr. Ellis.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

I was tempted to pick up J.K. Rowling's most recent book last Saturday at 12:01 AM. I chose not to order the book in advance so I could have my options open. I changed my mind when I passed by the local Border's bookstore and saw the crowd of people. After spending time with the family on Saturday morning and afternoon, I went to the nearest Wal-Mart and bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. That's my copy there in the picture. (Spoilers abound if you chose to go any further....)

I greatly enjoyed Deathly Hallows. It seems a fitting end to one of the more incredible series of books in history. I don't know that I'd rank it up there with Lord of the Rings or C.S. Lewis' Narnia series, but it's pretty close. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a greater trio of friends in literature than Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, joins my list of favorite literary villains, alongside Madame DeFarge of A Tale of Two Cities.

Harry lived on, able to enjoy a life with Ginny and their children. Hermione and Ron stayed together as well. Voldemort met his sticky end. There were losses as well, most notably Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Fred Weasley. I wasn't upset by their losses as I was when Harry's faithful owl and Dobby the elf passed.

I have to confess that my favorite character is Harry's Potions teacher, Severus Snape. Snape is Rowling's greatest creation, and one of the most complex characters of any media (literature or film). He appeared to walk on two paths at once, siding with both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. He seemed so villainous in all of Half-Blood Prince and for most of Deathly Hallows. He proved himself on the side of right when Harry gathered up Snape's memories as he died and placed them in the Pensieve. I suspected that Snape was in love with Lily Evans Potter, but I thought that there would be more to it than that. However, Snape's love was enough to have him give his ultimate loyalty to Dumbledore. "The Prince's Tale" was my favorite chapter in the book, and possibly the whole series.

I probably have more to say on this book particularly and the series as a whole, but I'll stop for now. Why don't you check out what some other people are saying ----

• LaShawn Barber
• Travis Prinzi
• John Mark Reynolds
• Eeyore's Reflections
• Howart's Professor
• Josh Moody

the terror of the beast

Those eyes!! Those horrible eyes!!!!

maybe he considers staying in a Motel 6 as equal to sleeping in the wild...

Over at his blog Smart Christian, Dr. Jackson draws our attention to Bear Grylls, host of the show Man vs. Wild. What Dr. Jackson doesn't mention are the allegations that Grylls' show isn't entirely authentic. Chief among the allegations is that he spent the night in hotels. The Discovery Channel has said the show will be "100% transparent."

A reality show being unauthentic? This is not shocking news, people. Even that Posh Spice "special" had its moments.

health insurance premiums on the rise

According to an article from my hometown paper (since I own a home in Indianapolis, I suppose I must consider it my hometown!), the price of health insurance is on the rise.

Summer and early fall are the times of year when employers negotiate next year's premiums with health insurers.

Indiana may be harder hit than many other parts of the nation.

Nationally, PricewaterhouseCoopers is expecting medical costs for PPOs and HMOs each to rise about 9.9 percent in 2008, still well above the rate of inflation but lower than the 2007 increase of 11.9 percent for PPOs and 11.8 percent for HMOs.

Local insurance brokers say they are expecting rates to increase anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent for PPOs and HMOs, the two most popular types of plans.

"It's a pretty consistent message that your costs are going up, and it's a double-digit increase," said Steve Gregory, director of business development for DeTrude and Co., an Indianapolis insurance broker.

For the record, the hospital that employs me is very concerned about my, shall we say, lifestyle choices. I don't have to pay as much for insurance since I don't smoke and my cholesterol levels are good. However, I would have even less to pay if I dropped a few more pounds. Many companies, and not just hospitals, are taking this approach.

As a side note: No, I haven't had the chance to see Sicko yet. I know that it can be found in some places on the Internet, but who has time to watch it when you've got a daughter who wants to visit the Webkinz site? Besides, I'm torn about seeing it, since it's made by the same man who has made ridiculous statements like these here and who has used this woman as a pawn.

Ah, Doug - I see you've linked to it, too.

"Would you please find a seat? You must understand, distraction kills the anointing..."

... and I won't allow no one to distract me, so sit down now. I am not going to change."

So said Benny Hinn.

Case

Dismissed.

No doubt, many of those opposed to the Bush administration will not see this as any form of exoneration. In fact, I'm quite certain they will suggest that this decision has been clouded by some kind of relationship with the administration, specifically a relationship with the Vice President himself.

Book

Review.

FoodTV controversy

The Bravo network has had several competitive reality shows with controversial competitors. Keith had to leave the third season of "Project Runway" when it was discovered that he had (1) brought design books with him and (2) spent time away from the other contestants to check up on email. Cliff had to leave the second season of "Top Chef" when he physically held Marcel while other contestants acted as if they were going to shave Marcel's head.

Now, it's Food Network's turn to have some controversy on their competitive show, "The Next Food Network Star." Josh Garcia, who went by the nickname JAG, made it to the final two, but was forced to leave after it was revealed he had lied about his past. This statement was show at the end of the show:

“Several months after this episode was taped, Food Network learned that JAG had misrepresented facts about his military service and his culinary training,” the network announced in an on-screen message. “He said he had served in Afghanistan and that he had graduated from cooking school, neither of which is true. When given the opportunity during a press interview, JAG did not set the record straight. Food Network asked JAG to come to New York to discuss the situation.”

Sinead O'Connor's "Christianity"

I read with great interest a recent interview conducted by Christianity Today with musician Sinead O'Connor. I think she has a mesmerizing voice, and her rendition of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U is one of the most haunting songs I've heard. Her infamy certainly increased following a performance on Saturday Night Live, when she tore in half a picture of Pope John Paul II while urging the audience to "fight the real enemy." She has seemed to mellow in the years since then. Even though her CD's haven't burned up the charts since I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, she continues to be prolific.

O'Connor is promoting her new album, Theology, which is reportedly inspired by the Old Testament. As if this wasn't strange enough, the album is supposedly being promoted to Christians. (Gareth Higgins, writing for Beliefnet, proves himself to be a fan.) Read this interview, and see if there is anything remotely Christian about O'Connor's spiritual beliefs.

What does Jesus mean to you?

O'Connor: I've had a lot of faith in Jesus ever since I was a little kid. I always joke with my friends that I have a cab company called "Jesus Cabs." And I tell my friends, "If you ask Jesus for anything, it will happen. But you have to believe that it's going to happen."

What about now? Where do you stand in your faith in Jesus?

O'Connor: I think everybody has an individual relationship with Jesus. I kinda really do believe in this Trinity thing, that God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all one thing. I understand Jesus as being an interceder, someone you ask when you really need a big favor from God. I also feel that Jesus is inside everybody. It's almost like an energy or a thing that lives inside of us.

Bible action figures

It seems to me that these completely trivialize the Gospel, making the central figures of God's Word as nothing more than mere playthings. How are we to see them otherwise?

Spoil her, and she'll put a hex on you

She is not kidding around. She is serious.

Just a few more days....


Get this and other HP countdowns at LeakyNews.com

I want to be Bob Dylan

Here's a shot of female actress Cate Blanchett playing male performer Bob Dylan in the upcoming film I'm Not There, directed by Todd Haynes.

She's not the only one playing Dylan in the film. He's also portrayed by Richard Gere, Christian Bale, and Heath Ledger.

Bob Dylan was recently in town, but I wasn't able to attend the concert because the tickets sold out very quickly. Perhaps next time (out of mind)...

the hopes of Bill Clinton

Bill introduced Hillary on a campaign stop today. "My wife... I hope, the next president of the United States." Interesting phrase choice... I hope. Hearkens back to one of his old campaign slogans, doesn't it? "I still believe in a place called Hope."

may your death be a nonviolent one

Betty Williams, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end conflict in Ireland, had some very unpeaceable thoughts towards the current American president. She spoke them at the International Women's Peace Conference in Dallas, Texas.

"Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said. "No, I don't mean that. How
could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that." As
she made her point, she chuckled and some members of the audience laughed.

What was she thinking? She obviously now believes she wasn't thinking clearly at the time, since she has apologized for those remarks. It would have been better to urge the president to find more peaceful resolutions to matters than what has been done in the past.

what you can do... and one thing you can't

Read this editorial from last Friday's Tribune. No, wait. Let me post it for you in its entirety.

If paying taxes was like ordering off a menu, most people wouldn't eat their veggies. Retirees whose kids are grown could opt out of spending to educate the current generation of kids, and young workers could choose not to contribute to Social Security. Don't want to pay for emergency health care for illegal immigrants? Leave it off your plate. Hate the idea of building a fence along the Mexican border? Just say "no, thank you."

As many as 10,000 Americans withhold all or part of their federal income taxes because they object to U.S. military policy, especially the war in Iraq, according to the New York-based National War Tax Resistance Coordination Committee. This is typically framed as an act of civil disobedience, not unlike Henry David Thoreau's one-night stand in the Walden jail for refusing to pay a poll tax because of his opposition to the Mexican-American War.

Thoreau got a lot of mileage out of his brief incarceration, which inspired an essay later embraced by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi. But today's tax protesters rarely go to jail -- the Internal Revenue Service prefers to quietly garnish their earnings instead. So the public relations payoff is negligible, as is the actual effect on the Pentagon's budget. There are effective ways to oppose the war as a matter of conscience without stiffing your fellow taxpayers.

You can vote. You can run for office. You can march up and down Michigan Avenue wearing a sandwich board and barking into a megaphone. You can cover your car with anti-war bumper stickers, write your congressman, impeach the president, start a blog or bury your local newspaper in letters to the editor.

But pay up.

Last I heard, only members of Congress can "impeach the president." Us common folk can't.

Gloria's goof

Gloria Steinem has an interesting post over at HuffPo where she discusses "chick flicks" versus... well, the term she uses isn't polite. I'm not half as intrigued by her arguments, though, as I am by a typo she made which wasn't caught.

Indeed, as long men are taken seriously when they write about the female half of the world -- and women aren't taken seriously when writing about themselves much less about men or male affairs -- the list of Great Authors will be more about power than about talent.

What about short men?

not long now

Get this and other HP countdowns at LeakyNews.com

The book is being printed in a town very close to me.

my favorite Bugs Bunny short

"What's Opera, Doc?"

Oprah's books

I just picked up a copy of Middlesex, the latest book picked by Oprah to join her illustrious bookshelf. It's a book I've wanted to read for some time now because it reportedly touches on the intriguing themes of gender and identity. The cheapest copy I could find was at Costco, and I was able to get there earlier today. I've read a few of Oprah's past picks, including The Good Earth and her very first one, The Deep End of the Ocean.

Oprah's website has a page for each book she's picked since she resumed her book club a few years ago. Many of the pages focus on the author's life, an examination of the book's characters and themes, and reactions from readers. Compare them with the link that you get for A Million Little Pieces, Oprah's most controversial selection.

Are you reading anything interesting this summer?

Webkinz

Are these the new Beanie Babies? Read here.

one trick pony

Cindy Sheehan once said she was going away, but I guess she's reconsidered that tactic and found it to be... well, when you're not doing anything special, no cameras are going to follow you. Sheehan has decided to run for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's seat if she doesn't introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush within the next two weeks.

Really, what does Sheehan think she can offer? If she would happen to be elected, Bush would not be in the Oval Office anymore. She has never held any kind of office, although it wouldn't be the first time someone with no previous political office made a power grab. I believe the odds are better for San Francisco to fall into the Pacific Ocean than for Pelosi to introduce impeachment articles, so Ms. Sheehan will be running independently.

Ten tidbits 3

01. Joe Carter is a sanctified jerk. He said so himself.

02. Who's that in your rear-view window? It's God.

03. Phil Johnson discusses Benny Hinn, a person who makes any topic more interesting than it was before.

04. I'll do a cameo in Ugly Betty for far less than what Posh Spice was paid.

05. The Daily Mail asks, Won't anyone stand up for God? They refer to books on the best-seller lists, one of which is Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great. I believe Pastor Mark Roberts answers the DM's question.

06. Dan Edelen argues for the church to teach to mastery.

07. The best headline. Ever.

08. Finally! Men and women are seen as equals. When they talk.

09. After his father's death, Pastor John Piper went through his papers and found these words of wisdom.

10. Are you single? Looking for someone? Check out this map. (TY, Doug Masson)

Wimbledon 2007

Venus Williams wins 4th Wimbledon title The big news in the world of tennis today is Venus Williams' win over Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-1. Bartoli stunned Justine Henin in the semi-finals but proved to be no match against Venus. Venus now has as many championshp trophies from the All-England Club as Billie Jean King. Only Martina Navratilova (9) and Steffi Graf (7) have more. Venus is a two-time champion of the U.S. Open.

#1 and #2 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet again. No one's better on clay right now than Nadal, as the last three French Opens have proved. No one's better on grass right now than Federer, as the last four Wimbledons have proved. Who will win this time? Tune in tomorrow...

Ugly Andy There's nothing to say about this, really. I've always thought that Roddick would prove to be a one-hit wonder - he's only won one championship, the U.S. Open in 2003. To have the match in his hand and give it away is completely... well, let's just leave it unsaid.

Update: Federer wins the title for the fifth time straight, beating Nadal if a five-set stunner. This was truly a final match for the ages. Federer said he thought Nadal came close to beating him.

fantastic drives

America has its share of fantastic drives: roads that are fascinating and fun. The drive from Miami to Key West is one to take during your lifetime - and I've already done it. This is another one.

Can you think of any?

American sense

Pastor John Hay has referenced some quotes from Thomas Paine's Common Sense, the pamphlet that really roused those early Americans to take action against the Brits.

Thomas Paine was no Christian. He said so in his work Age of Reason:

I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.

blogging principles

I know it's been nearly two years since this blog-feud began, but Adrian Warnock's principles for God bloggers - which came out after the feud concluded - are worth reading... and keeping.

11 years ago....

She said, "I do!"

Update: Where did we celebrate our anniversary? Here, the site of our rehearsal dinner.

Happy 4th of July!

ten tidbits 2

1. Andrew Rilstone examines Richard Dawkins' best-selling book The God Delusion. (TY, In the Agora)

2. Christianity Today picks up the story on the split in Great Britain regarding the concept of atonement. Brit blogger/psychiatrist Adrian Warnock (he's a friend on Facebook - I don't even know the guy, and he invited me to be a friend! how great is that?) gives a quote for the article.

3. Some physicists are saying there was a time before the Big Bang.

4. Newsweek asks, are the major religions essentially alike?

5. LaShawn Barber denounces the liberal left's interpretation of "black pride."

6. Lemming is reading Nancy Drew books, and loving it.

In Chapter One, a pigeon crash-lands in Nancy's yard. A humantarian, Nancy is concerned for the creature's physical safety and well-being. OK, I buy that - pigeons may be public annoyances, but neither do I wish death upon such creatures. Nancy, as a compassionate being taking care of defenseless creatures sets a good example for the impressionable readers, fine.

Following a quick examination of the bird (Nancy somehow knows that no bones have been broken) her first reaction is, and I quote: I'll wire the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers and give them the number stamped on the bird's leg ring.

OK, so the idea of sending a telegram is quaint and now impossible - the book was written in 1933, revised in 1966, so that's a nice historical moment/touch for 21st century readers. At the same time, WHAT eighteen year old knows to contact such a group? Knows what their ID badges look like? Even knows that they exist? Combines this with an in-depth knowlege of botany?

7. Two posts on why Evan Almighty, which seemed targeted to a Christian audience, flopped, by Denny Burk and Tim Challies.

8. You heard about this bit of news, correct? For an example of the reactions from the Left (cries of shock, outrage, and protest) and the Right (moderately pleased), see respectively here and here.

9. I was a fanatic - confessions of a former radical.

When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network - a series of British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology - I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy.

By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair's bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.

10. Goodbye, Beverly Sills.

jonzin' for java

As you can see, my addiction isn't so bad.

I am 29% Addicted to Coffee

Mingle² - Free Online Dating
Now, Coca-Cola? That's another matter entirely...

July 2, 1776

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on this date in 1776. John Adams, who would become the first vice president and the second president, wrote the following to his wife:

The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.

The Declaration was adopted two days later, which became the celebrated Day of Independence.

(The above picture was taken of the American flag at the Civil War museum in downtown Indianapolis. Note the number of stars.)

it never gets old...

global melting

If Al Gore cares to hear about news of the environment, he should probably read this.