I Am The MOST IMPORTANT Person I’ve Ever Met
Which is a title sufficiently conceited to put anyone off reading this post. But let’s face it – it’sa not uncommon attitude. It lies at the heart of individualism, that pervasiveness western sickness that lies at the root of so many of our ills. It was the title I had in our current series, Great […]
Brain-blizzards: walking the path of William Styron’s DARKNESS VISIBLE
I am SO grateful to Frankie who suggested I read William Styron‘s piercing and affecting ‘memoir of madness’, Darkness Visible. It was back in July that I ordered it, but only this last Saturday when I read it. It is brief – only 80 pages or so – but gripping. I read it one sitting. […]
Friday Fun 27: The delights of political Amphibology
Well, the US presidential election is in its final month at last. Will any of us sleep safely in our beds again? History has been full of people who have hedged their bets and emulated the venerable Vicar of Bray. And in smaller ways, politicians are doing it all the time. Saying things that don’t […]
The Lie Factory and the destructive power of political ‘narrative’
The presenting issue behind the article was the hysteria whipped up against Obama’s healthcare proposals in the US – something which those of us with ‘socialised’, crypto-communist medicine in the UK find hard to understand. I do realise that many on the US right are no fools, that the British NHS is far from perfect, […]
The subversive messages of a dollar bill
I’d been vaguely aware of these from a while back, but had never looked carefully at them. It wasn’t until they were used as running gags in last week’s New Yorker money edition that I sat up and noticed. Dan Tague has created a series of prints in 2008 of dollar bills folded in such […]
Friday Fun 26: US Election Season cartoons
The last New Yorker of September was the annual cartoon edition – with some genuine chuckle-worthy moments. Many of them pick up on the rigours and absurdities of US politics, what with the Presidential debates and elections next month, n’ all.
Q marks the spot – Treasure Map 49 (October 2012)
Sacred Treasure A heart-rending 16thC letter of grief from a pregnant widow to her now buried husband. Very interesting interview in Third Way with Tanni Grey-Thompson (Britain’s greatest paralympian) Covenant Seminar in St Louis have put some great free courses online in their Worldwide Classroom
Struggling to find a New (Sexual) Identity
I read Jenell Williams Paris’ remarkable book, The End of Sexual Identity (published by IVP US), over the summer, and have been cogitating on it ever since. It is a brave book, not least because it wouldn’t surprise me if it invites potshots (and worse) from all sides. It doesn’t take a degree in political science […]
Friday Fun 25: Urban Guerrillas Alive & Kicking on the London Underground
Thanks to my indefatigable colleague, Charmaine, who noticed this on The Poke, this week’s Friday Fun is brought to you courtesy of the London Underground. I suspect all Londoners have a love/hate relationship with the Underground e.g. I LOVE the Jubilee line and the DLR, but I HATE the Northern and Circle lines (that sort of […]
The Humanising Power and Infectious Exuberance of Music
I would imagine that writing a novel that conveys the power of music is as difficult as writing a song about the spectacular beauty of an African sunrise, or painting the throbbing anguish of raw grief. But when one medium succeeds in conveying the reality of another, unexpectedly different experience, one’s admiration for (not to […]
Bach, Bono and Rookmaaker – Eros and Agape in perfect harmony?
It is not uncommon for Bono deliberately to blur distinctions in his lyrics and, especially, in his performances. A classic example comes in the song, Mysterious Ways – it sounds like a song about a girl. Mainly because it is a song about a girl. However, as I’ve explained elsewhere, there are clear theological allusions to […]
Friday Fun 24: More perils of modern relationships
Reliable as ever, The New Yorker Cartoon production line has produced a few corkers recently. Couldn’t resist these. Especially the killer paisley. I’m now on high alert for this hitherto unforeseen strain.
