The Hobbit (1977) A hobbit is recruited by a wizard and thirteen dwarves to steal back the dwarves’ stolen treasure from the dragon Smaug. Any cinematic treatment of what’s probably the greatest children’s book ever written isn’t going to live up to the source material, but I will say this dated, all-animated version is much … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 46
In all my decades of church going, I’ve never heard a pastor or priest preach on this parable. There are reasons for this: it doesn’t provide the Hallmark feels that parables like the Prodigal Son do; pastors can be lazy, and organizing a sermon with this material requires some work to brush away some assumptions; … The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
From the article “Tech Workers Rebel Against a Lame-Ass Internet by Bringing Back ‘Geocities-Style’ Webrings“: Take Linvega’s LowTech WebRing as an example. A given site connects to two other sites, which connect to two more sites, forming a closed-loop: a ring. Users tout the format as something more like wandering through a neighborhood, reinfusing cyberspace … Decentralize Your Internet
Kickstarter Project: The Cosmic Courtship, by Julian Hawthorne Who knew that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s son was an accomplished writer in his own right, and serialized a science-fiction romance story in a pulp publication, before sci-fi really took off as a genre? Not me, but I backed this fundraiser, because: “Mary Faust, a brilliant scientist, has developed … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 39
A part of one of Ed’s recent blog posts, and then one of his comments: Don’t be a sucker for the philosophical arguments to support any part of this conflict. Obey what your convictions demand within the context; don’t listen to any other voice. Christ is a Person, not a body of ideas. He lives … God and Ontology
Ed scanned a calendar he had on his wall: an ancient Hebrew calendar with the modern Gregorian calendar within it, for comparison’s sake. Interesting design, and for sure there are other ones like it if you search, and it lends itself easily to making it dynamic. It could be a website…as in, only a website—please, … Someone Should Make a Dynamic Ancient Hebrew Calendar
As always, Ed has good analysis here and here. From the first link: A critical element in Trump’s election victory was how the mainstream media was totally blindsided by the Internet. Have you noticed how the old media still acts as if the Internet was some kind of extension of the print-based world they dominated? … Aftermath
Feminism As Mental Illness – Jill throws down a gauntlet. And another one Reviewing Darkness 03 – Ed throws down a gauntlet, too: “So no one should be surprised if we suggest that the major flaw with Western Christian religion in all its forms is the insistence on subjecting faith to human reason.” The Christian … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 16
Inspired both by Ed’s posts about riding out in Oklahoma County and by the fact that I finally took Functional out on a non-commuting ride this season, here’s a very photo-heavy post of the route I did with some friends/in-laws. For the Pittsburgh area, it was a very flat ride with some nice views along the … Photos: Allegheny Valley Bike Ride
I was tagged by Jill Domschot, who wrote Anna and the Dragon (read my review here), to write a post on what I’m working on. I barely talk about current book stuff so I badgered asked her to tag me when she was soliciting to be badgered asked for participants on Facebook. 1. What am … What I Am Working On