“Floyd R. Turbo” at Threedonia blog reviews West Oversea, in flattering terms.
Building Men
World’s Anthony Bradley describes his motive for teaching a class of boys the fundamentals of the faith.
A ninth-grade history teacher and I decided to create a “Men’s Bible Study” for our students because we noticed that the feminization of church was churning out a generation of “nice guys” who were not capable of leading, had no sense of why God created them to be men—other than have a family and a nice job—and were oddly passive. The ninth-grade boys would walk the halls with heads bowed and shoulders slouched as if they were carrying 80-pound weights in each hand as their bodies were carried along by an airport terminal moving sidewalk.
Playwright Mamet Rejects Liberalism
David Mamet, “America’s most famous and successful playwright,” has rejected the political liberalism of his past, perhaps in an effort to avoid unpleasant New York cocktail parties. In the current Commentary magazine, Terry Teachout describes the playwright’s conversion as revealed in print.
Style Guide Update: His Beneficence
When referring to the blog, “Writing, Clear and Simple,” do not cite rmjacobsen.squarespace.com, but writingclearandsimple.com instead. When referring to the blog’s author, use “Roy Jacobsen the Magnificent” when quoting and “Roy Jacobsen the Beneficent” for all other references.
Metaxas on Bonhoeffer: Extended Interview
This is remarkable. At about the 15 minute mark, author Eric Metaxas talks about how focused the Nazis were on race. Their corrupt view of purity and polluted ideas about the Jews became woven into almost every German, Christian and non. Bonhoeffer among a few others argued against the Nazis racism in part because he had seen racial division in the United States.
A side order of pictures
Photobucket works for me tonight, so I can share some photos from Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa.
Here’s an eager crowd learning all about Vikings from the Skjaldborg guys.
Here’s the Vikings extracting much-needed sustenance from pork chops, the national cuisine of Iowa.
And here’s my friend, under my own awning, showing off the mail shirt he’s making.
The big thing that kept occupying my mind all weekend (and my friend got pretty sick of hearing about it too) was the fact that when I attended Luther College, which is also in Decorah, it was forty blankety-blank years ago. Forty years.
When I consider that fact, I’m not surprised by how much has changed. I’m amazed anything remains the same. The fact that some of the same buildings yet stand in Decorah, and that a few of them even serve the functions they did back in my time, seems somehow against nature. When I think that forty years have passed, I imagine that the very hills should have been brought low, and the river should have o’erflowed its banks and found a fresh course. Everybody should have flying cars, and we should all be taking our sustenance in tablet form.
Well, that last part did sort of come true. I do not lack for pills in my diet in this strange old world.
Won't Criticize Family
John Nolte on Oliver Stone: “As long as your politics are in order, no ‘Jewish domination of the media’ comments can hurt you.”
Can We Ever Believe Them Again?
Ed Morrissey of Hot Air describes more of the coverage of the JournoList revelation, talking about the few reporters who stood up for honesty on occasion:
James Surowiecki offered a longer exposition on the same theme after Journolisters started debating whether the media should report on Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan’s ties to radical Islamist terrorists. When Luke Mitchell of Harper’s argued that reporting on the ties would lead to something “alarmingly dangerous, such as the idea that there is a large conspiracy of Islamists at work in the United States,” Surowiecki reminded Mitchell and others of the entire purpose of journalism, emphasis mine:
“I find it bizarre that anyone would argue that an accurate description of what happened is somehow pointless,” Surowiecki said. “That is, that it’s not useful to offer up an accurate picture of Hasan’s actions because nothing obvious follows from it. We want, as much as possible, to have a clear picture of what’s actually going on in the world. Describing Hasan as a violent Islamist terrorist is much closer to the truth than describing him as a disturbed individual.”
One has to wonder why a journalist from Harper’s — and other publications — would need that reminder, especially about terrorism.
Obama and The Fake Tag
Here’s a little story from the proprietor of The Black Sphere. “The election of Obama reminds me of years ago, when I bought a fake Tag Heuer watch while visiting Manhattan.”
A weekend in exotic Iowa
I meant to share some pictures of my weekend in Decorah, Iowa, but I can’t seem to upload anything to Photobucket today. Not sure if it’s their fault or mine. I’ll try again tomorrow.
I rode down with one of the other Vikings, who has relatives in the area with whom we bunked. The festival actually starts on Thursday, but we only took Friday off, and arrived a little after noon. Viking Sam was there with his Viking boat, and a small contingent from the Skjaldborg group from Omaha.
Friday was an amazing day for me. It was stinking hot—tropical hot, southeast Asian hot and humid, as it so often is in Decorah at the end of July, most especially in the little hollow behind the Norwegian immigration museum where the Viking camp has been located for the last few years.
First of all a couple ladies, sisters as it turned out, came into the camp and talked about a Viking festival they’d attended in Norway. Turned out it was Vikingfestivalen Karmøy, which I’ve been trying to get to for the last decade or so. It further developed that they were descendents of Karmøy, home of my great-grandfather, and their family had come from a neighboring farm.
Later, when I went up to Main Street to scrounge up some lunch, a total stranger stopped me and asked, “Are you Lars Walker, the author?”
I expect that’s the only time that’ll ever happen to me in my life, so thanks, whoever you are, for making me feel like a big shot.
Finally, a couple from Illinois wandered into the camp. She was, as it turned out, the president of the organization devoted to saving and preserving The Viking, the replica Viking ship that was sailed from Norway to America for the Columbian Exposition in 1893. It’s been gradually allowed to deteriorate ever since.
As an added bonus, they’re Christians. He’s a retired employee of Moody Broadcasting.
Saturday was OK, the weather actually pleasant (following thunderstorms which soaked my stuff) but my normal insecurities returned, and—oddly—although traffic was heavier, I sold fewer books.
But you can’t have everything.
Thanks to Sam and Skjaldborg for making it possible for me to be there.