“(And whatever is placed in active and direct Oppugnancy to the Good is, ipso facto, positive Evil.)” Patrick Kurp ties this line by Coleridge to this line by Waugh: “Civilization has no force of its own beyond what is given it from within.”
Heresy Alert! People Prefer Instant Coffee
In a world where over half of everyone prefer tea to coffee, over half of everyone also prefer instant coffee to wonderfully fresh-roasted coffee, according to a new report by Euromonitor International. Even in Mexico where great coffee grows in the streets and children suck on sun-roasted beans between baseball games, people see instant coffee as the affordable choice for their active lifestyles.
But I don’t care. Live and let live, I say. Maybe they don’t have a few minutes to brew a cup of joy for themselves. If that’s the case, they might enjoy throwing back their insta-junk in pop-up paper mugs from Nescafé.
Are reader-friendly Bibles just marketing hype?
J. Mark Bertrand echoes another reader of the ESV Reader’s Bible in finding he reads more in this edition than in other editions. Readability, he says, is a thing, and it influences how we read. “Yet, like Steve, I’ve found myself getting sucked into the reader, coming up for air much later than expected.”
Two Tolkien Movies Aiming for Easter Release
Two films, Tolkien and Tolkien & Lewis, are being developed by small companies with the hopes of capturing the ticket money of a bunch of us Tolkien/Lewis fans. (via Overstweet)
‘Joe Average,’ by Duncan MacMaster
Duncan MacMaster is the proprieter of The Furious D Show, one of the most interesting movie blogs in operation. His focus is not movie art or movie personalities, but movie business. In other words, his focus is a particular brand of insanity. And that’s always entertaining.
He’s also written a novel which isn’t bad at all. Joe Average is a satire in the form of a superhero story.
Ken Burton is pretty much Superman, but less romantic. Overweight and physically unimpressive, he was nevertheless struck by a meteor as a teenager, and acquired incredible strength and the ability to fly (he lacks x-ray vision). The only person who knows his secret is his girlfriend Mina, who happens to be a brilliant scientist. She’s spent her life trying to figure out exactly what gave Ken his powers.
After hiding his light under a bushel for years, Ken as an adult begins to intervene in situations where people need rescuing and bad guys need stopping. Mina happily provides him a suitable costume (no tights, thank you) and a base of operations. Through a misunderstanding, his chosen superhero name, “The Avenger,” ends up as “Joe Average.”
All this does not escape the notice of powerful figures in government, who wish to hitch their political wagons to Joe’s popularity. And if he won’t play their game, they are more than willing to use innocent people to extort his cooperation, and even to attempt to produce their own custom-made superhero to displace him.
I enjoyed Joe Average very much. The sympathetic characters were appealing, and the political satire – at times – delicious. The weakness of the story is that more time is spent with the evil people than with the good guys, resulting in what I think of as That Hideous Strength Syndrome, named after one of my favorite novels, one which many people find hard to read because the time with the villains is so aggravating. Which is one of the points of the story, but it can make it hard going for long stretches.
Cautions for language and adult situations (the young lovers fall into bed as soon as they declare their feelings. Waiting for marriage isn’t something that comes up). All in all, pretty good, though. I liked it.
How Orthodox Must a Christian Publisher Be?
The National Religious Broadcasters has pressed WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, to resign from its organization over the publishing of a book under a new sister imprint, Convergent Books (for more on that book: “‘Biblically Based’ Author Argues Against Biblical Morality”). Convergent is a little more than a year old. I could care less about this, because I’ve been ramping up to lead the Lars Walker’s Awesomest World Publishing Group for the last few months. Soon that will be the only label you’ll want to watch for. You heard it here first.
But seriously, NRB President Jerry Johnson explained the problem in a letter to his board. According to Christianity Today:
“Unfortunately, while the Multnomah Publishing Group is separate from Convergent, as a legal and business entity, the staff of the Multnomah and Convergent operations are substantially the same,” Johnson wrote. “Most notably, Steven W. Cobb serves as the chief publishing executive for both groups. … Other Christian workers do so as well. … This issue comes down to NRB members producing unbiblical material, regardless of the label under which they do it.”
I understand how the book in question is unbiblical, but what about other books? For years, thoughtful Christians have criticized Christian bookstores for selling pablum and heresy. Are these publishers accepted in the NRB? It’s one thing to sell The Prayer of Jabez; it’s another to sell Joel Osteen’s Break Out. Jabez was a mid-90s book from Multnomah. Osteen is published by Faithwords, a division of Hachette.
The publisher’s About page shows its diversity: “Based near Nashville, Tennessee, FaithWords has grown dramatically by acquiring a solid list of faith-building fiction and high-profile authors with edifying messages, including bestselling authors Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, John Eldredge, and David Jeremiah. Several FaithWords titles have appeared on national bestseller lists, most recently Every Day a Friday, by Joel Osteen, Living Beyond Your Feelings, by Joyce Meyer, and I Never Thought I’d See the Day!, by David Jeremiah.”
Two sister imprints to Faithwords target mainline and “uplifting” divisions in the broadly based spiritual book market, and none of them are members of NRB.
‘Vengeance is Mine,’ by Harry James Krebs
Benjamin Tucker is a true crime writer living in North Carolina. He’s the divorced father of a teenage daughter, and has recently been remarried, to a woman who is both beautiful and very rich. His new wife and he love each other – though they fight a lot – and he mostly lives in the guest house behind the mansion, just because it’s convenient for his work. He’s fond of his mother-in-law, an elegant alcoholic (sort of a mature Nora Charles, and her name is indeed Nora), and devoted to his goofy dachshund. The key to his personality is the teenage trauma of the murder of his girlfriend, of which he was briefly suspected. He spent some time in a mental hospital, overcoming the shock.
Now a serial killer has started murdering women in Ben’s town. Because Ben writes about these things, he gets involved with the investigation, and it soon becomes clear that the killer has fixated on him and his loved ones. All Ben’s brains and courage will be needed if he’s to protect the women he loves.
That’s the premise of Vengeance is Mine, by Harry James Krebs. It was an enjoyable novel, with engaging characters I learned to care about. Ben isn’t always prudent in his decisions, and I didn’t always approve of his moral choices. But he was relatively believable, and quite likeable.
I hope there will be more novels featuring him.
Cautions for the usual stuff.
Leawood Boy Allowed to Keep Free Library in His Yard
Last month, I linked to a story on a 9-year-old boy who had his “little free library” taken down by his city government. Yesterday he appealed to the Leawood, Kansas, city council and won a temporary moratorium on these structures. The council will take up a permanent resolution this fall.
But all was not good in the hood, according to The Daily Signal. “Why do we pay taxes for libraries and have those boxes on the street?” asked one attendee. Another member claimed the little libraries were eyesores and argued, “You will destroy Leawood if you destroy our codes and bylaws.”
One must ask how many towns across America will be destroyed before the freedom to read will be abolished. One can only hope that citizen will vandalize the boy’s little library in the name of John Adams, George Washington, and all of our great forefathers who looked upon their children with books in hand and said, “Not today, son. That’s not what this country is about.”
Don’t Call Thor ‘Miss’
“No, it’s a myth, a myth!” he said.
“Yes?” she replied.
In more exciting comic book news, Marvel wants to make its lineup more gender-balanced, so they are retrofitting old characters. In October, Thor will be a woman.
On Twitter, FlannelJedi observes, “By my count, a woman has wielded the power of Thor 3 times so far- in official & What If? scenarios. Storm, Black Widow & Thora (Earth X).” The NY Daily News spells out Marvel’s other offerings, “In recent months, new titles have focused on veteran heroines Black Widow, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel and Elektra, as well as introducing series around a new Ms. Marvel character, whose secret identity is a Muslim American teenager from Jersey City. Marvel also launched an all-female “X-Men” title last year.“
Norway Day, 2014
The Viking Age Club at Minnehaha Park (artist’s conception)
Sunday was Norway Day at Minnehaha Park, so I went forth in my PT Cruiser, Miss Ingebretsen, and faced the challenge of human contact.
We’d had a Swedish Day too, about a month ago, in the same location, but it was rainy and dank and not very lively. This Sunday was beautiful; just about ideal. I did not do any fighting; my disability has me sidelined. It was kind of relaxing to watch the young guys bash each other.
I’d bought a wooden staff, and that’s what I use for support when I’m in Viking character. My experience is that staffs are mechanically inferior to canes in terms of support. I wonder why they were so popular for so long in history. Maybe it was because they double as pretty formidable weapons.
The other Vikings were all impressed with my “new” car. In fact, listening to their comments, I realized that they’d been concerned about my safety, driving around in the rattletrap that Mrs. Hermanson, my Chevy Tracker, had become. Which suggests to me that I made the right decision, if a little late.
They also noted that little black bugs were attracted to her, landing on her skin and just staying there, like yuppies in a Starbucks. I wonder if anyone’s ever done a biological study of the affinity of little black bugs for PT Cruisers.
Had some shocking news – two of my dearest friends are moving to another state. What was most shocking was the fact that I’d been informed about it some time back, and had completely forgotten about it. It was the first time – at least the first time I’m aware of – that I’d ever completely suppressed unwanted information. I’m as good at self-delusion as any man, but I usually don’t just block stuff out. I’m too pessimistic by nature.
Kind of disturbing.
I’d hate to think I’m becoming an optimist.
You catch more flies with PT Cruisers than with vinegar, after all.