One of the scenes in a movie that makes me cry every time I see it is the very end of The Name of the Rose. The library full of books--painstakenly copied or written by hand--is engulfed in flame, and thousands upon thousands of pages of text are irretrievably lost. There's a similar scene written in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie ( Read more... )

I was listening to this story on NPR this morning when I was straightening up the kitchen and getting ready to go to work. I actually felt like I needed to listen to it again when I got to work, because it seemed like something important was going on. Who is Brian McLaren, and what has he done to make these people so angry ( Read more... )

I am always a little baffled by the "War on Christmas". I don't think I've ever seen it personally, outside the internet, until today. I passed a lumber store on Greenbriar that said "Happy Birthday Jesus" in big letters ( Read more... )

I take comfort in this wacky article: Whether it is the recent sexpidemic of teachers seducing students, the growing pansexual hedonism of Burning Man-like festivals worldwide, the flood of overtly sexual content on television and the big screen, the casual intimate 'hook-ups' of modern college kids, or the deviant sex acts celebrated by people ( Read more... )

People are insane. Religious people are more insane than most.

I'm not quite sure that poking them with a stick is particularly mature though.

Sheesh.

The knowledge that this is on Youtube makes me extremely happy:

Click to view

I saw the Jesus Christ Superstar movie for the first time in sixth or seventh grade. We saw it in my religion class. I don't know which teacher it was, and I have no idea if the movie was sanctioned by the Monseignor, but it was an entertaining hour or so of class. I remember ( Read more... )

This, frankly, shocks me. AUSTIN - Saying that a belief in creationism - the theory that God created the Earth in six literal days, as recounted in the Bible - falls outside the realm of science, the state's commissioner for higher education has recommended that a Dallas-based organization not be authorized to offer a master's degree in science ( Read more... )

Yesterday, I called my sister to alert her to the existence of two corgis that were walking down the street in my presence. I call her every time I see a corgi ( Read more... )

I was just talking about this subject with some friends.

The case here is in a divorce. The father has sole custody of his 12 year old son, and he recently converted to Judaism. He wants to circumcise the boy. His ex-wife objects on grounds that it's physical and sexual abuse. It appears that the kid's wishes on the subject are unknown ( Read more... )

Dear fucking god. LONDON --As a woman bitten by a rattlesnake during a church service in London struggled to breathe, hospital employees made derogatory comments about her religious beliefs rather than providing proper care, contributing to her death, a lawsuit charges ( Read more... )