Earlier this week, I had the good fortune to attend a lecture by the preeminent music scholar (and frequent NY Times contributor) Richard Taruskin. Taruskin was on campus as part of a weekend-long conference which commemorated the centenary of Stravinsky’s (in)famous ballet The Rite of Spring, but his lecture this morning commemorated a slightly different […]
As a Christian, I am increasingly aware of the all things that aren’t God but that we tend to worship nonetheless. On the top of this list of idolatry is the place of the nation-state. We know with our hearts and minds that the United States is not God, but I don’t think we’ve learned […]
Sorry I’m a bit late on this news. Between Coulter’s ongoing hate ‘not-so-nice’ speech, the non-stop insanity of all politicians and their sycophants, as well trying to teach college students how to read . . . well . . . some things are bound to fall through the cracks. On that point, many apologies for my […]
I feel like a drumroll should have followed that title. Eh, it would have been anti-cimatic. Just a quick note: you should definitely check out The American Jesus. Like, right now. My good friend and comrade-not-in-arms, Zack Hunt, is running a week long segment on 1) why Christians should vote for Stein, 2) why they […]
You know, The Monster Mash! Okay, sorry. I won’t bother with my usual attempts at scatological satire. I really, really wanted to, but it all seemed so contrived (and too easy). So, let’s go with this assertion instead: There are good people in this world, there are bad people in this world, and then there […]
It is tough to say much more about David Lynch’s Fire Walk With Me than what is covered in the recent review/digest by Alex Pappademas over at Grantland. This lengthy list of the surreal contours of Laura Palmer’s backstory is perhaps a model of efficiency for Lynch criticism, as it captures the sense of assemblage […]
In this essay, Roy Barsness offers a Christian perspective on politics and citizenship; that of loving our neighbor as oneself.
Steven Spielberg in an interview about making Lincoln: “I require fear in order to run towards something. Fear never makes me run away from anything but the more scared I am, the more frightened I am I have to run into what’s scaring me to try to figure out what it is because it has […]
“Fearlessness is better than a faint heart for any man who puts his nose out of doors. The length of my life and the day of my death were fated long ago.”1—I read these lines in the Norse epic poem For Skirnis as a child and have remembered them often since. I steeped myself in […]
