A few months ago, Andy Stanley tweeted about his new book “How To Be Rich,” and I replied with a snarky response:
@AndyStanley Jan 13
Just found out some of you haven’t purchased your copy yet. Join the movement. BeRich http://tinyurl.com/mrtmmo2@CoolingTwilight Jan 13
@AndyStanley I understand how me buying your book makes YOU rich. But how do I become rich? Oh wait, I have to buy the book to find that out
Elizabeth Dias, in her Time magazine piece about the Ham/Nye debate, What You Missed While Not Watching the Bill Nye and Ken Ham Creation Debate, made the following observation:
2 minutes. Nye, in his signature bowtie, and Ham, with his Aussie accent, hop on stage, shake hands, and ready themselves behind their respective Apple laptops (only Nye’s has stickers). Nye stands on the left. Ham is on the right. The cameras pan to an all-white audience.
I unintentionally took in an Amy Adams double-feature this weekend: Her followed by American Hustle. The former gets a solid thumbs down, the latter, an equally solid thumbs up. (more…)
Rather than write a review of the Cohen brothers’ newest film, Inside Llewyn Davis, I’m merely going to offer some general thoughts in response to it. They likely won’t mean much to you if you haven’t seen the movie, and they necessarily contain some plot spoilers. So if you haven’t yet seen it, please move along and come back when you have. And you should see it. It’s a thought-provoking, darkly-humorous and beautifully-filmed reflection on life and art that accomplishes that rare feat of marrying artistic idealism with down-to-earth enjoyability — an ironic achievement given the subject matter.
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I recently caused a bit of a dustup with my Patheos post about Ken Ham: “Creationist Ken Ham versus the Truth.” (more…)
I recently re-watched the 2012 documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap. Though far from a comprehensive and critical examination of rap, it’s nevertheless an intriguing and enjoyable overview of the major hip hop artists and their reflections on their craft.
Near the beginning of the film, Ice‑T opines:
Rap has introduced poetry to a whole new generation. We’ve crossed color lines and changed lives. It just seems wrong to me that we still don’t get the respect like jazz, blues or other musical art forms.
He goes on to ask several rappers why rap doesn’t get the full respect of jazz and blues.
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1 Corinthians 6.9−10 is often cited as the final word on the Christian understanding of homosexuality. It’s trotted out as definitive proof that not only is homosexuality inherently sinful, but also that homosexuals cannot be Christians. But it’s crucial to read these verses in their wider context and to carefully consider what Paul is and isn’t saying to the church in Corinth. (more…)
In 1912 Post Wheeler, an American diplomat stationed in St. Petersberg, collected and translated twelve Russian folktales along with their accompanying illustrations by Ivan Bilibin.
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