The bummer about New Year’s resolutions (I mean the first bummer, the one that comes before mid-February when you look up and realize you’ve already blown all the new ones you made a month and a half ago) is that they always make you think, “Hey, didn’t I make some of these about this time last … Read more
The quality of the year may be bad, but the quality of Dave Barry’s year in review column is, as always, excellent: At this point you are saying: “Wait a minute! Surely there were some positive developments in 2015! How about the fact that, after so many years of sneering judgmentalism and divisive, overheated rhetoric, … Read more
Now that we’re past Christmas and you don’t really have to worry about it for another year, let’s take a minute to dispassionately review the pros and cons of telling your kids that there’s a Santa Claus. I covered a lot of them last year in the post “To Santa or Not to Santa.” Check … Read more
When the phenomenon becomes commonplace, and the spectacular becomes standard. So, I saw the new Star Wars movie last weekend. If you’re one of the 17 people on earth who haven’t seen it yet but still plan on seeing it (meaning you’re either pinned under a fallen chandelier waiting for rescue, or the girl with the restraining order … Read more
[Whoa! I’ve been traveling during Thanksgiving week, so I really let Black Friday sneak up on me, and I’m late with my annual repost. No matter; Black Friday is now its own two-week holiday that starts on the Monday of Thanksgiving week and lasts the week after Cyber Monday. So we’re just now getting to … Read more
I don’t have the greatest memory where events of my own personal life story are concerned. As far as I can recall, my childhood consisted of A) my trip to see Star Wars when I was six, and B) the time that girl’s bikini top fell off at the public pool. After that, I don’t remember anything … Read more
The Atlantic has an article on St. Lydia’s church of Brooklyn, and it’s shy congregants: …it can be a struggle to be publicly Christian in Brooklyn. She’s talking about a specific class of the neighborhood, of course—historically, the borough has had vibrant Jewish and Catholic communities, and still does today….But in today’s young, progressive, creative-class … Read more
We wanted to take a family mini vacation while it was still warm enough to do stuff outside and before the end-of-the-year holiday crazy machine really got going. So my wife (aka, “The Research Department”) set about finding a vacation destination that was fun, but close enough to home that driving there with a one-year-old and … Read more
If you’ve got some interest in seeing Woodlawn but you’re concerned that it might be one of those hokey, Christian movies, let me assure you that it is, in fact, one of those hokey, Christian movies. However, it’s also one of the best pure movies of any film ever made in the hokey, Christian genre, … Read more
I think if you asked your average man-on-the-street Christian if all sins are equal to God, most would say, “Yes.” But Stand To Reason takes a look at the question and says, “Not so fast, monsignor”: …the Bible makes it clear that not all sins are considered equal by God. This is actually made clear from Jesus’ own … Read more
Above is a scene from the (great) movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, where the demanding chess tutor is teaching the chess prodigy wunderkind how to see the board. The actual, concrete position of the pieces keeps the boy from engaging his creative vision to see where they could be. He needs the pieces to be more abstract, … Read more
Over at The Federalist, Stella Morabito, last seen here authoring an insightful article about the mass delusion currently infecting every aspect of life in America, pens another piece about ways to fight that infection. Her ten simple tips for the resistance include: 2. Realize Personal Relationships Are the Target PC is a war on our personal relationships … Read more
In the aftermath of the Lewinski scandal way back in the ’90’s, you heard a lot of people talking about “the end of shame.” Up until Bill Clinton, pretty much any politician caught in the same situation would’ve resigned in disgrace, and quickly, too. But that’s because up until Bill Clinton, most politicians had at … Read more
Abolitionist John Brown attacked the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. He wanted to use the weapons stored there to arm slaves and start a rebellion against the slave-holding South. It didn’t work out like he planned, though, as he was captured and subsequently hanged for treason. Opinions were, and still are, mixed … Read more
Especially appropriate after the recent cultural dumpster fire known as the VMAs, Bill Whittle gives a talk on “The Great Unlearning: How Our Society Became so Stupid”:
Well, this is wrong: On Acculturated, Katrina Trinko says we should abolish tipping: While I’m no fan of minimum wage hikes—which make it harder for young workers to get their first job and gain experience, as well as encourage businesses to consider automating or eliminating labor—it would be fantastic if the hikes could kill tipping. No, … Read more
Here’s something I’ve been wondering about a lot lately: Is righteous anger Biblical? Some thoughts from the Stand to Reason blog: Anger in itself isn’t a sin; you can be angry about the right things or the wrong things, just like you can love the right things or the wrong things. But mankind never runs … Read more
From Prager University, to go along with the previous video takedown of moon landing truthers, here’s a simple, straightforward explanation of why global warming hysterics are silly ninnies:
Happy 22nd anniversary to the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura fight. It seems like only yesterday… Aside from giving us the timeless image seen at left, it really was one of the better fights in baseball history. It featured a host of legendary names, and cemented the dominant reputation of Nolan Ryan, who I believe was 82 … Read more
This guy may not be Mr. Charisma, but I watched with fascination as he explained with total deadpan clarity how the moon landings could not have been faked, and how people who think they were are full of hooey: Perfect. A guy who knows his stuff laying out facts that everyone can understand and no … Read more