Even if Manny Ramirez signs with another team in the off-season (a likely scenario), his brief stay with the Blue Crew has been illuminating. Forget the .400 batting average and noticeable punch he brings to the lineup. It is the “fun factor” that has most rejuvenated the Dodgers. Of course, Ramirez’s light-hearted persona became tiresome [...]
I agree with the essence of Fred Sanders’ piece, A New Type of Christianity is Coming, Is Here over at the Scriptorium. His basic assertion is that “a new type of Christianity” is taking shape around us, morphing to fit our changing world. Everything changes, and everything has to be left wide open to new [...]
The vampire craze continues full tilt, and now with acclaimed Hollywood director Guillermo del Toro throwing his hat in the ring, the bloodsucker invasion is officially on. From the AP: “Pan’s Labyrinth” director Guillermo del Toro is collaborating with crime author Chuck Hogan on a trilogy of vampire novels, starting next summer with “The Strain.” [...]
The term crisis is being thrown around a lot these days. Housing crisis. Wall Street crisis. Financial crisis. Numbers are being tossed about that boggle the mind (700 billion?!) and terms that leave the average taxpayer glazed and confused. But as I watch the higher-ups scurrying to and fro, contriving bailout schemes and economic witch’s [...]
Stories like this always bother me. It’s a week or so old, but… From the Times Online, David Foster Wallace commits suicide: The book world is reeling today from the apparent suicide of David Foster Wallace, one of America’s brightest literary stars. The author of the acclaimed “Infinite Jest” (1996), whose verbal pyrotechnics and mordant [...]
For the longest, I have nurtured the notion that classic fiction is qualitatively better than contemporary fiction — generally and specifically. Generally speaking, fiction of previous eras is better written than our own. Specifically, the popular novels of last century are far better than those of this century. Nevertheless, I still find myself apologizing for [...]
From the AP: Women’s Rights Groups Endorse Obama for President. Of course, the National Organization for Women’s charter says, “Since its founding in 1966, NOW’s goal has been to take action to bring about equality for all women” (emphasis mine). So you’d think Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential bid — the first in GOP history! — would [...]
Most genres have a built-in fan base. But is any as enduring — and as vigorous — as the “weird crowd”? I’m talking about fans of the paranormal. You know, psychic phenomena, extraterrestrials, ghosts, doppelgangers, urban legends and monsters. So it was only a matter of time before something like Fringe emerged, again, on prime [...]
My disdain for our current academic configuration peaked this summer. Chris was in Washington, D.C. doing an internship and reported that the 100+ students were going gaga over the Dem’s Enlightened Being. So he was in the minority. That fact came to light in a fairly awkward way. A group of the interns had gathered [...]
Not long ago, the daughter of some friends of ours was accepted to a prominent Ivy League university. She’s a delightful Christian girl who I’ve been privileged to watch mature (I was her youth pastor in High School). At her going away party, I semi-sarcastically cautioned, “Don’t let them turn you into a liberal.” Well, [...]
