Tuesday, we Californians faced another special election. Yes, another. As you probably know, this one addressed the state budget crisis, primarily through taxation, loans, and endless terminological juggling. The sentiment (both before and after) was largely against the measures, and that included me. My dilemma: I am a California school district employee — a dreaded [...]
…and speaking of Angels and Demons, dismissals about the film’s innocent fictional intentions just took another hit. In a statement / rebuttal to The Huffington Post entitled It’s a Thriller, Not a Crusade, director Ron Howard assured the public that he and author Dan Brown were not aligned against the Catholic Church, nor had they [...]
Still no word on whether or not the Vatican will issue a boycott of Angels and Demons, the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. But apparently, Dan Brown’s jabs have hit a significant nerve for there’s lots of speculation about a papal smackdown of the film. Which, once again, leaves me all atingle. Is this [...]
Most publishers and writers are in agreement about an author’s need to establish a platform, that is, a significant network of relationships in which to broadcast their work and cull potential readers. How one builds said platform is another story. Of course, blogs and social networking are at the forefront, and the bigger the better. [...]
I tend to stay away from certain writerly debates. You know, plotting v. seat of the pants, first draft / fast draft, or the endless POV wars. But the character v. story discussion has recently got the best of me. Becky Miller tackled the subject in a recent review of Donald Maass’ new book, and [...]
The key finding of the Pew Forum’s recent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey was this: More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion – or no religion at all. So nearly 1/3 of American adults (that according to the survey of 35,000 18-and-overs) [...]
So much for the next pandemic… From CNN, Swine flu no worse than regular flu: The swine flu virus that has sparked fear and precautions worldwide appears to be no more dangerous than the regular flu virus that makes its rounds each year, U.S. officials said Monday. And this after weeks of frenzied, apocalyptic, predictions. [...]
Coming from a Christian, that statement seems oxymoronic, if not completely heretical, doesn’t it? I mean, if the Bible is God’s holy, inspired Word, how can memorizing it possibly have a downside? Well, as I inferred in my last post, I think it can. One need only reflect upon the many people with advanced knowledge [...]
Among the most unnerving verses in Scripture, is this: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42 NKJV Jesus spoke those words to His disciples as [...]
Someone hijacked my love for the environment… Like the two grungy people who confronted me on a Pasadena sidewalk yesterday. “Would you like to save a polar bear?” she asked, brushing back her dreadlocks. I glanced at a donation box with a Greenpeace sticker on it. Unable to concoct something more biting, I simply said, [...]
