Music

My Top Ten Favorite Hymns

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I’ve been meaning to post this: Sherry is blogging a series on favorite hymns. “From Depths of Woe” is today focus and #90 on the top 101 list. I’ve never heard that one, but here’s the list I gave Sherry for her series. These are my top 10, more or less because if I think about these too long I’ll want to change a few.

1. Be Thou My Vision

2. Come Thou Fount

3. Before the Throne of God Above

4. O Sacred Head Now Wounded

5. God Be Merciful to Me

6. We Are God’s People

7. And Can It Be

8. Amazing Grace

9. Shine, Jesus, Shine

10. Come, Ye Sinners

Non-fiction

The Way You Talk to People

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Hugh suggests, “If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they’d punch you in the face.”

Hugh Macleod has a new book on creativity called, Ignore Everybody. Roy Jacobsen appears to recommend it. Is that right, Roy?

Publishing

Viking Norway at reasonable prices!

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I reviewed Prof. Torgrim Titlestad’s Viking Norway, last fall. I also reported that, as an imported book, it was extremely expensive to order.

I’m happy to report that they’re now offering the book on eBay, with the opening bid at $40.00. Not a bad price for a book of this size and quality.

And if bidding displeases you, they say they’ll soon be selling it at their website.

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Touchstone (not the magazine)

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Tonight I have Photobucket, so I can explain what I learned over the weekend.

I knew Touchstone Magazine. And I’d heard and read the word “touchstone” many times. I vaguely understood that it had to do with testing the value and authenticity of something or other.

Sam the Viking, down in Story City, the guy who owns the Viking boat, showed me how it actually works. He does some silversmithing, and knows about these things.

Sam and I have similar whetstones. His is a little prettier than mine, but the shape is the same. Here’s mine. Continue reading Touchstone (not the magazine) →

Reading

Expanding the Imagination Library

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Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends one book a month to kids under 5 years old. When I first heard of the program, I said I didn’t want taxpayers to spend money sending my kids books they don’t need. We’re a literate family. We have piles of books. But the woman at the promotional booth told me the program is privately funded, and getting books in the mail is tons of fun. So I signed up my one-year-old, and it’s been a good experience for all of us.

Now, the Imagination Library is going to work with United Way of America to expand their program nationwide.

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1,000,000 Words in English

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The Global Language Monitor estimates English has a million words now with the last addition being “Web 2.0.” I’m sorry. “Web 2.0” is not a word. It’s a term, and they are not the same thing as words. . . .

Wow, Bartleby.com doesn’t have the American Heritage Dictionary anymore. What happened?

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Interview with Andrew Breitbart

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Uncommon Knowledge did an interview last month with Big Hollywood’s Andrew Breitbart in which the voice for conservatives in Hollywood talks about that town’s on-going McCarthism, his personal development, and his plans for the future.