Here’s a pile essays from Reformed and Puritan authors, such as William Bridge, C.H. Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, and John Owen. These are types of things you could see printed in small paperbacks, pamphlets almost, with great depth of thought beneath the cheap cover.
The Friday Fight: Helmets
I wish this video was better quality, but apparently the big guy gets hit in the head or struggles with his helmet slipping.
Mr. Obama’s NEA, NEH Appointments
Here’s a somewhat technical article on disappointments in Mr. Obama’s temporary (I think) appointments to federal positions in arts and humanities. Apparently, one of them is liar and the rest have little arts experience.
Why would anyone want a cabinet level office on American culture? I didn’t think people wanted government in their lives.
Tom’s Glossary of Book Publishing Terms
There’s some home truths here. Also some nonsense.
Hat tip: Literary agent Mike Kabongo
Earth Hour Likened to March in Selma
I think this comparison is horrendous. Actor Edward Norton says the upcoming Earth Hour, where participants will turn off “non-essential lighting” for an hour for the sake of saving energy and saving the planet, is symbolic just like the march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, where participants were beaten by police, was symbolic. I wonder Norton thinks the student who stood before the tanks in Tiananmen Square were standing symbolically too.
Prayer request
Got this from our friend Roy Jacobsen, of Writing, Clear and Simple, who lives in Fargo:
If you decide it’s not appropriate for Brandywine Books, I understand; however, if you’d post a request for prayers for the safety of people in the Red River Valley, I’d greatly appreciate it.
They’re predicting a 41 foot crest on Saturday—that’s a foot higher than our last big flood in ’97, and the highest on record. We’re cautiously optimistic, but it’s a near run thing.
It’s appropriate, all right.
From what I hear, they’re having trouble getting volunteers to help with sandbagging up there. I can’t help wondering if that’s partly a result of one of the “lessons of Katrina”–that the federal government is responsible for everything.
For the record, Roy isn’t one of the shirkers. He’s been out filling sandbags, and the weather’s pretty nasty.
Before We Learn the Truth
“Whenever politicians declare a crisis, or an emergency, watch out. Chances are this means they want to impose something before the public discovers the truth.”
Don’t Worry. A Hero Is Here
I love this. In Bangkok, a fireman dressed as Spiderman to save an autistic boy who was sitting on a third floor balcony, trying to avoid third grade.
Klavan brings us hope
From Pajamas Media: Andrew Klavan writes about the success of the television show, “The Mentalist,” and the need for cheerfulness in stories.
Grave Goods, by Ariana Franklin
It should be clear by now that I’m an appalling sexist, most especially in regard to novels written by women. There are certainly female authors I like (Sigrid Undset, Dorothy Sayers and P. D. James come to mind), but I approach novels written by women with almost (not quite; that would be impossible) the same level of trepidation I experience when approaching an actual woman in real life. Female novelists, in my experience, tend to a) write their male characters badly, and b) view the world through a Gender Studies lens.
I quickly decided that Ariana Franklin was an author in that mold as I read the historical mystery, Grave Goods. But persevering to the end, I decided I had been unjust (to a degree). Continue reading Grave Goods, by Ariana Franklin