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.

I'm back :-)

Hey all.  Sorry I haven't posted in awhile; I have a pile of interesting things, so I hope to get caught up soon!

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. 66 (video game edition)

--Even though it's not coming out soon, at least Persona 5 is eventually coming out.  Now if only I we knew more about Kingdom Hearts 3....  And on which system(s) will these be?
--Check out the evolution of video game graphics from 1991-2011.
--One person's thoughts on the 10 hardest Mario levels ever (though, to be fair, this was pre-Galaxy 2, which had some insane ones -- Grandmaster Galaxy, anyone?).
*--Have you heard of cosplay?  Some of the costumes are so insane -- check out Cloud, Sephiroth, Zelda, Rikku, Prince of Persia, Midna, Jessie (from Team Rocket), Sora, and a Persona 4 group.
*--NPR talks video game music.
*--And a paopu fruit drink, keychain, and crocheted pillow.

9/11 thoughts

I have been planning not to post about 9/11, since it seems to me that all media has been single-mindedly focusing on it for awhile now.  But then I started to think of a few things, so lo and behold, a post, with three sections: articles (neither the one-sided political point-scoring ones nor the "where were you on 9/11/01" ones), thoughts on "remembrance", and songs.

Articles: Though I have already previously posted some and I'm sure you have found some of your own, here are a couple more.  This is perhaps the most incisive editorial about 9/11 I have yet read.  This tells of the F-16 pilot ready to kamikaze her jet into flight 93.  This tells of the astronaut who witnessed 9/11 from outer space.  And this encyclopedia has most everything.

Remembrance: Though the word "remember" is nearly always contrasted with the word "forget", it can just as readily be contrasted with the word "dismember".  To remember is to reconnect that which has been severed, to repair that which has been broken.  The more Catholic-minded might consider Jesus' call to continue the Eucharist "in remembrance of me," effectively reconstituting his broken body in his Body, the unified Church (see further thoughts in this vein here and here).  So in the midst of all the remembering (i.e., recollecting) 9/11, we ought to put at least as much effort in to remembering (i.e., restoring) what has been dismembered: faith in common humanity, peace, justice, trust in God's omnipotence, and love, to name only a few.

Music: A few pieces that might be worth a listen to commemorate the day.  First, Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", one of the most tragic pieces I have in my music collection.  Second, John Tavener's haunting "Song for Athene", which was most famously performed at Princess Diana's funeral.  Third, the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate", binding virtues to oneself.  And finally, John Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning "On the Transmigration of Souls", written specifically to commemorate 9/11/01.  Each of these pieces feel appropriate to me.

100th post :-)

Wow, this is my 100th blog post.  When I first started blogging, I don't honestly think that I would have expected to make it this far, especially this fast.  But I'm glad I have; it has been fun to write.  What article(s) that have been posted have been your favorite?  Are there topics that you want to see more postings about?  Thanks for reading!

Assorted links, vol. 45

*--What was Sarah Palin like behind the scenes?
--Who wants to read this book about fonts with me?
*--Wow, just wow.  The Pima County GOP is raffling off a Glock handgun as a fundraiser.  Yes, like the gun that was used to shoot Pima County congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  Wow.
--Two great ideas for social websites: SCVNGR (which I've used for awhile and enjoyed) and Hey, Neighbor! (which i just learned about, but seems really cool).  But both need more people to join them before they can really take off.  What do you think of them?
--The future of bananas appears to be somewhat uncertain.
*--Goodwin Liu was confirmed today as the California Supreme Court's newest justice.  Why does this matter?  Here are two reasons.
--And if only I weren't stuck in this postponed generation....

Personal blog note

Just today, the blog hit five hundred page views!  I know that in the grand scheme of things, five hundred isn't all that many, and I know that numerous of these are probably my own, but there have also been hits from about fifteen countries, so I think that's pretty cool.  If you are reading this, then thanks for your support, and keep reading.  See you right back here after one thousand!  :-)

Assorted links, vol. 19

--I just picked up the book "Erasing Hell" by Francis Chan, which appears to be a response to Rob Bell's recent book "Love Wins".  Here are the introduction to Chan's book and a (slightly repetitive) Q&A with the author.  See what you think, and if you've already read one or both of these, tell me what you think of them.
*--If you don't know about what's going on with the debt ceiling debate, here is a very helpful question and answer sheet from the NY Times to help you get caught up to speed.  And see also here.  :-)
*--Just when is "now"?  This article is from a great NPR blog on science and culture called 13.7, which has a subsection on science and religion!
--Should evangelicals stop evangelizing?  And do you really know what's in the Bible, anyways?
*--What impact does Borders' closing have on the distribution of classical music?

I'm back!

After a six week hiatus at camp, I'm back again.  Get ready.  :-)

Assorted links, vol. 2 (ecumenical edition)

I've been thinking lately about ecumenical work, which has led me to wonder where I can find a compendium of some of The Episcopal Church's most important ecumenical statements.  So, after some research and some Scribd-ing, here they are:

--Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral: basis of Episcopal ecumenism
--Episcopal-Lutheran (ELCA): full communion agreement
--Episcopal-Methodist (UMC): next steps
--Episcopal-Presbyterian (PCUSA): current status
--Episcopal-Moravian: full communion agreement
--Episcopal-Roman Catholic: most recent ARCIC statement, ARCUSA response
--Episcopal-Orthodox: international Anglican-Orthodox statement

Enjoy!

Blog frustration

Update (5/18/11 @ 1:46 PM): Hooray!  If appears that Blogger has been able to excavate my deleted posts from the rubble of its crash the other day.  They seem to all be back, so I just went through and deleted ones that I had subsequently duplicated and then posted the rest.  Thanks, Blogger staff!  :-)

Talk about bad timing.  I have been thinking for a long time about starting a blog, and so when I finally did so, I had piles of interesting articles to post right off the bat.  However... my first day also happened to be the one day of the year that Blogger severely crashed, and so most of my initial hours of effort posting and formatting were lost.  And to make matters worse, as I posted various articles, I had closed those browser tabs, so I don't think I will be able to re-access some of them.  I will re-post the things that I can remember, and should more of them come back to me in the future, then I will post those at that time.  Let's hope for better luck this time around!

Words galore

This is pretty much the best website ever for obscure vocabulary.  Enjoy it, and check out the site's other pages as well.

Hello

So, I have really needed to start a blog for awhile now, primarily in order to do the following things:

1) Post interesting articles,
2) Write down occasional thoughts on various goings-on,
3) Receive any feedback from those who happen upon these posts, and
4) (With any luck...) foster fruitful discussion.

Today, finally, is the breaking point, and the blog seems like it can no longer be put off.  I currently have around fifteen articles waiting in various tabs to be read and considered, so while they are all open, I decided that I might as well post them also, both for future reference and for others' consideration.

Here goes nothing.  :-)