A Series of Unfortunate Metaphors: Campaigns Engaged in Bizarre War of Words
“James Carville suggests Bill Richardson is a modern-day Judas. Bill Clinton calls Barack Obama’s campaign a fairy tale. Hillary Clinton says she’s a lot like ‘Rocky,’ except Rocky lost to Apollo Creed in a split decision.”
Conservative commentator Michael Steele says, “I think some of the language has gotten a little bit to the point of being silly.”
Congratulations to Cindi for winning the Prince Caspian paperback in our Narnia Book Contest. Tomorrow we will pick a winner for the Chronicles of Narnia paperback. Thanks for participating.
Here’s the fourth round of our quiz. How have you been doing? Everyone enjoying himself? Which of the following statements or quotations are from the Bible (King James Version) and which are from Shakespeare’s plays?
1. “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.”
2. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
3. “Too little payment for so great a debt.”
4. Poor and content is rich enough.
5. “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.”
6. “Good name in man and woman is the immediate jewel of their souls.”
7. “Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?”
8. Mercy “droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”
9. “A time to be born, and a time to die “
10. “Earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.”
Bonus: Does the saying, “Cast thy bread upon the waters,” originate in the Bible, Shakespeare, or elsewhere? And what does it mean? Continue reading Is it from the Bible or Shakespeare (4)?
A daily cup of coffee may halt Alzheimer’s. Thinking is supposed to help too.
What would you do with a press release like this:
In Persecution, Privilege & Power, Green has collected the sharpest commentaries and analyses from 30 different writers as they critically examine the role that Zionism plays in shaping U.S. policies abroad as well as cultural transformations at home. This riveting volume provides a broad and exhilarating inspection of Zionist machinations as well as the entrenched taboos and covert alliances that sustain them. . . . Persecution, Privilege & Power unearths the unchecked malfeasance within the political wing of organized Jewry, specifically examining that international lobby’s political excesses from a multiplicity of perspectives.
Yuval Levin believes the publicity manager of Booksurge, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, should be more responsible with the books it promotes. “You have to wonder if anyone at Amazon realizes they are now the publishers of conspiracy theories about the ‘Zionist machinations’ of ‘organized Jewry,’ and that BookSurge is actively promoting the book in their name,” he states.
Tags: Booksurge, Amazon.com, books, conspiracy, publicity
Speaking of Leo Tolstoy, a biopic movie based on the novel, The Last Station, which deals with Tolstoy’s last year of life, begins shooting April 7 in Germany with a talented cast.
So Senator Harry Reid thinks the Federal Income Tax is a voluntary contribution.
This isn’t really surprising, when you think about it. The Left has its own definition of voluntarism. The Left’s vision of society has always looked a lot like a Soviet propaganda movie. The call goes out for the proletariat to make some sacrifice for the common good, and the people happily drop their individual concerns and march off to do whatever job the Politburo says they should do. And if the authorities have to use guns to get some of them to fall in line, well, it’s for their own good, and therefore voluntary in the deepest, truest sense.
Even prisoners in the gulag were officially described as volunteers.
I got a new computer at work recently, and I just updated the screen saver.
I opted to use that “3D Text” saver that displays some words specified by you, in shiny metallic 3-D form, rotating in the dark. I typed in Norwegian words—“Ordet Blev Kjød,” which comes from John 1:14: “The Word became flesh.” I can understand that it might seem questionable to some if I say that this verse is the center of my theology (happily, it’s also the motto of the school I work for), but I think this doctrine—the Incarnation—is kind of the foundation on which all the rest of Christian theology rests. If you don’t get this one right, you’ll probably wander into all kinds of heresies.
I was looking at that phrase, spinning on my screen yesterday, and it just struck me how wonderful it is.
Every human being (as far as I can tell) experiences (at least at some point) transcendent longings. We yearn for a greater meaning, a higher beauty, a purer love than this world can offer.
And yet we generally find ourselves mired in lower things. Our aspiration for meaning turns into just making a living. Our dream of beauty becomes fashion and affluence. Our hope of love becomes either mere sex or one or more disappointing, unsatisfying relationships.
Humans have traditionally dealt with this problem by either denying the spiritual (materialism) or denying the physical (eastern spirituality).
Christianity deals with it by boldly proclaiming that in Christ, the two things become one. In Christ, because of His incarnation and the things He did in His incarnation, we can have our cake and eat it too, so to speak. We can have spiritual meaning in the physical world, and physical satisfaction in spiritual things.
I think that’s really good news.
There’s a bit of noise going up about the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards in Australia because the guidelines say, “The Prime Minister will make the final decision on the awarding of the Awards, taking into account the recommendations of the judges.”
What? The PM isn’t just a figurehead in these awards?
Tags: book awards, literary
Sherry is celebrating poetry month, beginning with compressed poetry. Here’s a portion of one for today, from “Winter Is Coming” by Waverley Turner Carmichael.
De frost is fallin’ on de gras’
An’ seem to say “Dis is yo’ las’”—
De air is blowin’ mighty cold
Like it done in days of old.
Or like it done in Minnesota
and then again in Chattanooga.
Get your comment in for the Narnia book contest today. I’ll announce the winner of a Prince Caspian paperback tomorrow, and on Friday, I’ll tell you who wins the full Narnia series in one paperback with a unique timeline fold-out. If you don’t know anything about the books and can’t give a favorite line, talk about what you know from the movie or news.