I’m shocked. Larry Solov writes, “Andrew [Breitbart] passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.” Lord, have mercy.
All posts by Phil
Misreading Through Self-Centered Eyes
“It’s possible to read the Bible, study the Bible, and memorize large portions of the Bible, while missing the whole point of the Bible. It’s entirely possible, in other words, to read the stories and miss the Story,” writes Tullian Tchividjian.
That’s Become Unthinkable
James Taranto writes on “how feminism deforms intellectual culture,” by accepting, even praising, perversion and shouting down morality.
In related news, The University of North Carolina investigated a few months ago complaints about a Christian singing group which had rejected a member over his views on homosexuality. University admins cleared the group of any wrongdoing, but are now reviewing fought-over policy. (login required)
#Everythinghasconsequences
What’s Natural Doesn’t Have To Integrate
Jeffrey Overstreet writes about his distaste for talk of integrating one’s faith with one’s art. “If you are a Christian, and your art does not reflect that, the problem is not primarily with your art but with your faith — because true faith transforms what we are and do.”
I heard Mark Noll say something like this in an interview. He didn’t like the word “integration” because it lightly assumed the things being integrated were essentially different, but if the Bible is right, if it describes real life, then work, art, and play are naturally Christian for the one who follows Christ Jesus. We don’t add our faith to these things in an effort to Christianize them.
Worst Movie Gadgets
There was an awards show the other day, wasn’t there? I must have been making another mediocre omelet again. I tell you, ever since I watched videos of Julia Childs and Jacques Pepin making omelettes, I have tried to make my omelettes better than ever. I’ve succeeded in part, but I usually make only a decent one, sometimes a flavorless one. My egg and cheese bagel this morning was pretty good, despite the smoky scent all over the bagel. I know. You hate it for me.
Anyway, lists like this on worst gadgets ever used in movies strangely appeal to me. Here’s their take on the main character of The Terminator movies, the robot itself: “Now we know what you’re thinking. That the Terminator is actually an incredibly cool ‘gadget.’ But look: he shouldn’t even be in his own films. Kyle Reese clearly says that ‘things with moving parts’ cannot be sent back through time, in order to explain why he doesn’t have a ray gun, and why the robots don’t just send a big bomb back through time to kill John Connor. So how did the Terminator get back to the present day? ‘He’s covered in human skin.’ So why not just cover a ray gun in human skin? Do these people/cyborgs take us for fools?”
It’s All Derivative to Some Degree
Poet Eric Weinstein writes about things he wished he had always known. One point opposes originality as often defined: “All writing is collage. The more and wider ranging influences you have, the more connections and juxtapositions you can create in your own work.”
Web Salmagundi
1. John takes a gorgeous photo of a sunset over the Pacific ocean and pays $6,612 for it.
2. An app for iPad of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land is barely more than an ebook of the same. … “[t]o have turned a profit so quickly, however, may say as much about The Waste Land app’s production budget as its undisclosed sales figures.”
3. Dining After ‘Downton Abbey’: Why British Food Was So Bad For So Long
4. More Republicans (8x more) than Democrats are impressed (or positively influenced) when a political candidate expresses his religious convictions. (via Trevin Wax)
5. Venerable literary magazine, The Paris Review, is on Pinterest. In other news, Google has announced an official retroactive alliance with the once-and-future Soviet Union.
When the Question is “natas”, the Answer Is What?
I have thought of myself as a citizen of the Internet, but yesterday I took a step deeper into the swamp of Netdom. I made a video response to a You Tube video. I’ve been watching the online morning show, Good Mythical Morning, by the singing comedians Rhett and Link. Last Friday, they asked what the best board game ever is according to their fans, and I recorded for them my story of playing a few minutes of Backwords with a some friends in college. Backwords is not the best board game ever by far, but I thought my story would add to the conversation.
See my response here, and if you want to watch the original video, go here.
Inception Park in Buenos Aires
If this were The Thinklings site, this would be filed under Awesomeness and This is Freakin Bizarre. Uber-kudos to Black Sheep Films for their skills in putting together this amusement park footage.
Fun Impressions in Shakespearean Monologue
Impressionist Jim Meskimen performs Clarence’s speech from William Shakespeare’s Richard III using the voices of George Clooney, George W. Bush, Woody Allen, Jimmy Stewart, Boris Karloff, Morgan Freeman, and many, many other public figures. I love it. I’m sure the Bard would love it too.