Assorted links, vol. 78 (Thomas hearings edition)

[In case you don't know about the Andrew Thomas disciplinary hearings, the basics are here, the formal complaint is here, and video recordings of the examination are here.]

*--PBS' show "Horizon" had very good pieces on the hearings before they began and after Thomas testified.
--Here is respondent Rachel Alexander's blog (see especially this gem, denouncing the proceedings).
*--Can't make it to the trial, but still want to know everything about it?  Follow Arizona Republic reporter @yvonnewingett to be kept in the loop.
*--Besides Yvonne, another amazing reporter covering the hearings is the ABA Journal's senior writer Terry Carter.  While we wait for his sure-to-be-amazing article, check out some of his past reporting here, here, and here.
--Also testifying: Joe Arpaio and David Hendershott.
--News about these hearings have been seen all over local TV (here, for instance), in the Washington Post, WorldNetDaily, Huffington Post, etc., etc.

Assorted links, vol. 77

--Award for weirdest and dumbest Phoenix mayoral race campaign signs goes to... Stingray Sushi.
*--Excellent commentary from NPR on the NC-17 film rating.
--Words and paradoxes.
--My brother beat me to posting this (even though I found the link independently of him), but a giant Lego man washed up on the beach in Florida.
--What if the Supreme Court weren't the last word on constitutionality?
*--What would the happiest person in America be like?  (Also, follow the embedded NYTimes link.)
--Moderate Islamists win in Tunisia.
*--As the headline asks, "Why does God love beards?"
--A new Australian program is helping to change public perception of greyhounds, taking them from fearsome to friendly.

Assorted links, vol. 76

--The mayor of D.C. wants $15 million to help repair the National Cathedral.
--Mendeleev pwns the last airbender.
*--Have you heard about the game show that tries to convert you to a new religion?
--Just over a month to go until the new Catholic Missal comes out.
--Some American Islamic scholars have issued a fatwa declaring the compatibility of being American and being Muslim.
*--Rush Limbaugh is at it again, this time cheering the Lord's Resistance Army....
*--A new Herman Cain ad is... strange?
--What will the future of Libya hold?  Well, polygamy, for one.
--At least Harold Camping was half right this time around -- things were indeed quiet, but, once again, the world did not end on October 21, as he had re-predicted it would.

Assorted links, vol. 74

--Some researchers have claimed to find proof of the existence of a Yeti.  Soon you may be able to study Yetis at the local university, too.
*--Want to go to Japan for free?  Soon, you might be able to do so.
--Here's how the two stars of "The Princess Bride" look, 24 years later.
--A SWAT team raided the set of Brad Pitt's latest movie.
--Need a mask that is a creepily identical replica of your face?  It can be yours for a mere $3920.
*--Did Portugal's history contribute to its decision to legalize same-sex marriage?
--What does a Buddhist military chaplain do?
*--And the Occupy Wall Street protesters marched a symbolic golden calf around.

Assorted links, vol. 73

--A documentary about "Arrested Development" may be on the way.
*--Did you know that when the Apollo 11 astronauts returned to Earth, they had to first go through customs?
*--Shane Claiborne wonders if St. Francis might be occupying Wall Street if he were here today.
*--The Jewish Telegraphic Agency comments on the connection between the GOP and Israel.
--In an effort to combat stereotypes of Muslim women who wear the hijab as oppressed, voiceless, etc., the tumblr site "hijabisdoingthings" shows ordinary (hijab-wearing) women doing ordinary things.
--Looks like a (legislative) repeal of the repeal of same-sex marriage in California isn't in the cards for 2012.
--What happens when Amish theological divisions boil over?  Why, beard- and hair-cutting assaults, of course!

Assorted links, vol. 72

--You can read entire Dead Sea Scrolls online.  This has to be the coolest online biblical studies tools I've seen in awhile.
--The writers of "Toy Story" are apparently working on a new film about ... Farmville?
--A helpful YouTube channel called "minutephysics" helps to give brief introductions to complicated physics ideas.
*--A virus attacked the computer of the U.S. drone fleet.
--IGN recently updated its list of the best Wii games.  What do you think of its choices?
*--Very interesting article on the behind-the-scenes workings that led to the birth of the state of Israel.
*--This story also has been bothering me for awhile now (it isn't very new...).  Should guns legally be allowed in churches?  That question is actually far less important to me than the question of the theological rationale of why anyone would need to bring a gun to church.  Of what is he or she afraid that God can't fix but a gun can?

Assorted links, vol. 69 (awesome things edition)

*--Arrested Development is coming back!
*--Enoch and Metatron star in a video game!
--Will Shortz opened up a table tennis club!
--America (Magazine) reports from the Occupy Wall Street protest (which has received support from Cornel West, George Soros, Russell Simmons, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Stiglitz, and Michael Moore).
*--Rob Bell is leaving Mars Hill to team up with "Lost" co-creator Carlton Cuse to create a new TV show called "Stronger".
--If only Justice Scalia were true enough to his words that he would indeed resign....  (See, for instance, paragraph 56 of John Paul II's "Evangelium vitae" here.)
--And what better way to bid farewell to departed loved ones than by stuffing their cremains into rifle bullets with which to take one final hunting trip?

Assorted links, vol. 68

*--Quantum theory + Morgan Freeman + autotune = legit (and follow the embedded link for more).  Also, this TED talk by Garrett Lisi on his "exceptionally simple" (read: "you only need a master's degree in mathematics to understand it") theory of everything is complicated but quite interesting.
*--The once and future Russian president Vladimir Putin is a man of action.
--Here's a fun game based on your own drawings.
--Whoops, look like The Onion went too far the other day....
*--What are those mainstays of pop songs and where do they come from?
--Awesome website to both waste time and learn new things.  (For instance, Ivan [the tough 6'5" opponent in Rocky IV] is a real-life genius with an IQ of about 160 who speaks seven languages.)
--Another good website to check out, "for people who give a damn".

More to come.  Enjoy!

Assorted links, vol. 67

--Al-Qaeda has released a new video tape supporting the Arab Spring.
*--Pediatricians called out Michele Bachmann for her statements on the HPV vaccine.
*--Looks like I'm not the only one living at home.
*--Mormon women's sex lives improved when they read romance novels, and Mormon missionaries were asked to stop proselytizing on buses.
--The PCUSA may divest themselves of Caterpillar, Motorola, and HP due to their various business practices with respect to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
--America (the magazine) compares the GOP to a cult.
--It would be wonderful to see ecumenical progress on the Catholic-Orthodox front.
--Oklahoma's ban on sharia law had its hearing in the Tenth Circuit Court.
--North Carolina is being sued by the ACLU for allowing pro-life license plates while denying pro-choice ones.

Assorted links, vol. 64 (fun edition)

--A breakdown of where people say "pop" vs. "soda" vs. "Coke".
*--The Kama Sutra is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the U.S.'s most downloaded book on Project Gutenberg.
--I remember reading some of these hard Encyclopedia Brown mysteries.
--What movies predict the future will be like.
--Championship breakdancing.
*--I want a glow-in-the-dark, AIDS-resistant cat...
*--...and also a palladium credit card.

Assorted links, vol. 58

--A man accused a woman of stalking him after she called him 65,000 times in one year.
*--Fascinating article arguing that "in red America, families form adults; in blue America, adults form families".
*--GOP debate mini-roundup:  Fox News thinks either Perry or Romney won (apparently); MSNBC thinks it was Paul or, if you discount that verdict citing his techno-savvy fan base, Romney.  Huntsman wants the GOP to stop being anti-science, and Perry likened his (non-)scientific views to those of Galileo.  Perry also received applause for executing more than 200 people (including one who was likely innocent).
*--Virginia's political maneuvering about the health care law hit the wall today, as the federal court of appeals declared that the state can't pass a law that contradicts a federal mandate and then use that contradiction to sue.  Duh: any U.S. history student who studied McCulloch v. Maryland could tell you that federal laws trump state laws.  Here are the Washington Post's and Fox News's takes on the ruling.
--A new Australopithecus fossil may tell us more about human evolution.
--Google bought Zagat.

Assorted links, vol. 55

--An article about Jon Huntsman's work with and knowledge of China.
--Seven and a half years ago, the fastest super computer could perform 35.9 trillion operations per second.  Today, the fastest supercomputer can perform 8162 trillion (that's 8.162 quadrillion) operations per second.  This interesting Wikipedia article gives some idea of how these staggering numbers are calculated.
--Another book to add to the ever-growing list of defenses of hell against the likes of Rob Bell.
*--A new novel frames some of the questions about Islam in the minds of Americans since 9/11.  Sounds like it's definitely worth a look.
--Relevant Magazine talks abstinence, and also Owl City.
*--Really good article on a display of 2nd/3rd century Buddhist art that is now on display in New York.
*--A Roman Catholic priest doubles as an official at the U.S. Open.

Assorted links, vol. 52

*--What's the best way for Prop 8 to go down?  (Don't forget that today was the big day to argue about whether Prop 8's official proponents have standing to appeal.)
--How is Mitt Romney coming out of the South Carolina GOP Q&A looking like the most normal one?  Now granted, I didn't watch this, but it sounds like Michele Bachmann didn't do so well there.
*--I am totally ready to watch this documentary about the Maine campaign to repeal LGBT marriage equality.
*--With advance apologies for the poor copy, as we approach 9/11, everyone should read this article from Harper's Magazine about the limits of remembrance.
--A Georgia church got an $80,000 winning lottery ticket in its collection plate.  (And I love the security director's assertion that it must have come from someone outside the church, because no one in the church gambles.)
--An encouraging report of some good interfaith work in Syracuse.

Assorted links, vol. 48

*--Two interesting and worthwhile blogs to check out: the more conservative blog of Dave Wiegel and the more liberal blog of Ta-Nehisi Coates.
--It's like "The Year of Living Biblically" (another book in the long yet-to-read queue), but for women.
*--I finally made it through Rowan Williams' response (#58, here) to "A Common Word," which I posted the other day, and it is fabulous.  It is 17 pages long, but well worth it.  If nothing else, do yourself a favor and read the section spanning pages 12-14, which is basically a masterpiece.
--Some true thoughts on youth ministry.
--And finally, here is perhaps the most diverse blog about all the music and videos that you didn't even know you didn't know about.