This has ended up being a bit of a bumper one too! Hey ho. Enjoy.
Sacred Treasure
- Some wise words on Haiti from Graham Tomlin
- BibleArcs is a really helpful study tool from John Piper. It doesn’t take too long to pick up, and while it may initially look weird and unwieldy, it provides a significant means to getting under the skin of texts.
- It speaks volumes for the difference between British Islam and British Christianity that Newsbiscuit can make these sorts of gags: Banning the Salvation Army and The Radicalising dangers of Victoria Sponge at Church fetes.
- Mapping sin by nation: Australia is apparently the worst! As if you could measure such things…
- In case you missed it in all the hubbub of snow and politicking, here is Anne Atkins honest account of vicarage life and joining unions from the Times.
Topical Treasure
Rian Malan wrote one of the most searingly powerful books I’ve ever read: My Traitor’s Heart – reflections on his white liberal experiences in Apartheid South Africa. Which made me sit up and notice when I saw he’d written reflections on Clint Eastwood’s Mandela film, Invictus. Thought-provoking stuff.- An example of Google censorship and fear of Islam’s power? You decide…
- How the iPhone saved a life in Haiti – literally (c/o Wired mag)
- No idea how this got into the public domain but here is the letter supposedly written by George Bush Snr to his family on the eve of the first Iraq War.
Quirky Treasure
Mr Plimpton’s Revenge: I just love it – who’d have thought you could tell a story through Google Maps? But you really can. (HT John Naughton)- BACHTRACK is a truly EPIC resource for Classical music nuts (and comes with a cool free iPhone app) – find concerts and other performances near you, best recordings of different works and some excellent suggestions for children and teens. This sort of thing is what the internet is FOR!
- While we’re on webby things, make sure you subscribe (while it’s free) to Radio 4’s fantastic new series from Neil McGregor at the British Museum: A History of the World in 100 Objects.
- Britain under snow from space on Jan 7th 2010 – eerily beautiful
- This surely has to be one of the most satisfying newspaper headlines ever devised (oh to have been the one to think of it).
- Some sage advice from an international reporter on avoiding silly errors when travelling abroad.
- I love this update of the old classic advertising for the Mini
- An wonderfully quirky, but nevertheless excellent, guide to how to use the needlessly feared semicolon (HT Tony Watkins)
- This is pretty cool: Stargate Studios have produced a compilation of their virtual backlots:
Ian Paul
1 Feb 2010Ah, except your guide to semi-colons is wrong on lists. They need to be introduced by a colon!
jezcarr
1 Feb 2010Just to add a note of caution regarding Anne Atkins’ column – Knowing a couple of the people implicated in one of her personal anecdotes, I know that there are two sides to that particular story. I’m not saying that she’s wrong in her assessment of the overall situation, and I know she and Shaun have been very hurt by their experiences, but I wonder if using her media profile to unpack her experiences isn’t unhelpful, maybe even verging on a misuse of her position?
markmeynell
1 Feb 2010fair enough – thanks Jez
Mark
1 Feb 2010The best headline ever must go to the Sun, which pointed out halfway through the season that Man Utd’s goal keeper Edwin Van Der Sar had only conceded goals on his left. Hence: Pass The Dutchman On The Left-Hand Side. Brilliant.