September 2011
126 posts
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August 2011
119 posts
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I Me Mine: The Beatles and Their Pronouns
From the NYT. Full article HERE.
James W. Pennebaker’s new book “The Secret Life of Pronouns,” which I reviewed in The Times Book Review on Sunday, makes it hard to stop thinking about pronouns and the other little “function words” that Mr. Pennebaker, a social psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, sees as “the keys to the soul.” Mr. Pennebaker is admirably omnivorous when it...
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Will the Internet Kill Christianity?
Interesting read from Relevant Magazine. Full story HERE.
The United States has seemed oddly immune to the huge growth of religious skepticism over the last half-century. That perception changed two years ago when an American Religious Identification Survey noted the number of Americans who profess Christianity fell sharply from 85 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2009. Perhaps...
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Candidate Bachmann brushes off hurricane joke
From soupsoup and Reuters. Read entire story HERE. Be warned, America. We get the elected officals we deserve.
Republican White House hopeful Michele Bachmann insisted on Monday she was joking when she said a hurricane and quake were God’s warning to Washington, in an effort to control the damage from her latest controversial comments.
The Tea Party favorite raised eyebrows with a...
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“Never before in the United States have producers of a lawful product been...”
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Excerpt from a lawsuit filed by four tobacco companies over graphic labels the FDA is requiring on their cigarette packs. As a cancer survivor (who never smoked but had head and neck cancer, the type most smokers do get), all I can say is these guys just don’t get it. Why be in a business...
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Watch
If you missed the 2011 VMAs. no worries. Watch the entire show HERE. But if you only have a minute, check out this performance by Adele of an amazing ballad “Someone Like You.” In a world of gimmicks and pop voices, this lady can flat out sing. Enjoy.
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“It was not every oil that might be used in the Lord’s service; neither the...”
– Morning and Evening, Spurgeon commenting on Exodus 23:6, “Oil for the light.”
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“I worry that we miss something in hailing him as either a master salesman or a...”
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Steven Johnson, writing on Steve Jobs in the Wall Street Journal. Full story HERE.
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The Moneymooners: Registering for Cash, Not Dishes
WHILE wedding guests can scour registries and rattle their imaginations to come up with an ideal gift, what many a bride and bridegroom want most, particularly in these times, is perfectly simple — money.
Yet many couples feel squeamish or even crass about asking. Registering for dinnerware or bed linens somehow seems more refined, even if the couple already have enough pillowcases and...
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“Luther sought every means he knew within the confines of the monastery to...”
– Romans: St. Andrews Expositional Commentary (St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary) by R.C. Sproul
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Wake up America: It is wise to worry about...
Wake up, America. Most of you reading this will be young, but here is a clear glimpse of the future. The message: If you don’t start planning for your financial future, there will be a rude awakening coming. The following article is the results of a study of folks from my generation who are horribly and tragically unprepared for the future.
Their mistake? Acting like grasshoppers,...
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“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to...”
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Steve Jobs’s Best Quotes - Digits - WSJ / via @jenvalentino (via amzam)
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“We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that...”
– The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer, 1948
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Of the world’s biggest employers, who has shed the...
From the Economist:
UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, announced 3,500 “staff reductions” on August 23rd in efforts to save costs. Last week, Bank of America reported it would cut 3,500 jobs (adding to the 2,500 it had already made this year) and last month Cisco, the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, announced it was shedding 6,500 jobs. But of the world’s biggest corporate...
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Steve Jobs’s Patents
The 313 Apple patents that list Steven P. Jobs among the group of inventors offer a glimpse at his legendary say over the minute details of the company’s products — from the company’s iconic computer cases to the glass staircases that are featured in many Apple stores. Check out this interactive feature to get a look at all of them. Entire article is HERE.
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“There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles...”
– The Pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer, 1948.
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Rebels searching Gadhafi's Tripoli compound find a...
From the AP; full story HERE.
Libyan rebels who took control of Moammar Gadhafi’s sprawling compound made a surprising discovery in one of the buildings: a photo album with pictures of Condoleezza Rice. Though maybe the discovery isn’t that surprising. Over the years, the Libyan leader’s comments and actions related to the former secretary of state have raised a few eyebrows....
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Cloud Music: Things just got a little easier, and...
Story from CNN; read the entire article HERE.
A court ruling this week clears up some gray areas in cloud music.
The decision by the U.S. District Court in New York could pave the way for Google’s Music, Amazon.com’s Cloud Player, Dropbox and other providers of online storage services to add time-saving features.
Amazon and Google have been cautious in how they implemented...
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Sprint to start selling iPhone 5 mid-October:...
Sprint Nextel will start selling the next version of the Apple iPhone in mid-October, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cited unnamed sources.
Sprint, the third U.S. operator to become a cellphone distributor for Apple Inc, would be the only iPhone provider offering unlimited use data services for a flat monthly fee if it sticks with its current wireless data offerings.
...
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New Controls Over Privacy on Facebook start...
From the New York Times; full story HERE.
Privacy worries have bedeviled Facebook since its early days, from the introduction of the endless scroll of data known as the news feed to, most recently, the use of facial recognition technology to identify people in photographs.
At the nub of all those worries, of course, is how much people share on Facebook, with whom and — perhaps most important...
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“Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things remain not as they would have been...”
– Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon reflecting on Micah 2:13: “The breaker goes up before them; They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their king goes on before them, And the LORD at their head.”
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“To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:
I have always said if...”
– Steve Jobs announced his third medical leave in the past decade in January. Our story from January here.
Reblog:
Text of resignation letter by former Apple CEO STEVE JOBS.
(via the Wall Street Journal)
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“From the moment of painting the figure 1 until the day he died, when he had...”
– For 46 years Roman Opalka painted canvases covered in numbers, a project only curtailed by his death this month. Our obituary remembers him. (via theeconomist)
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Did the idea for the iPad come from 2001 A Space...
If something about Apple’s iPad had a back-to-the-future vibe to it, court documents by Samsung assert one explanation: the classic science-fiction film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The Korean electronics giant is in a patent war with Apple, which among other things has accused Samsung of infringing a patent on the basic design of the iPad. One of the ways defendants respond to such charges is...
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“I wanted to approach life like Jesus had. The mind of Christ hadn’t been...”
– Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith by Bill Hybels
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Should I Stay or Should I Go: More High School...
As I continue to ponder attending my high school reunion in September, I caught the song Blister in the Sun on WXRT today. Made me think of Grosse Pointe Blank, the all-time champ of high school reunion films. I’m a big John Cusak fan (and a Minnie Driver fan), and while this movie has a few moments to avoid (for language mostly), it still is very funny and comes with a great sound...
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New Beginnings in Uganda: A Recap by Hayden...
Recently, a dream six or more years in the making came true. A team of four from Kentucky—all products of the Southland High School Ministry and earlier HSM mission trips, headed to Uganda to work alongside a team from Northern Ireland at the New Beginnings village north of Kampala. (Uganda has well over 2.5 million orphans, and no government programs to help. NGOs are there, but it is...
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Watch out germaphobes: Antibacterial Chemical...
The maker of Dial Complete hand soap says that it kills more germs than any other brand. But is it safe? That question has federal regulators, consumer advocates and soap manufacturers locked in a battle over the active ingredient in Dial Complete and many other antibacterial soaps, a chemical known as triclosan.
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the safety of the...
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Why the Deficit Reduction Committee will not work
From the New York Times; full story HERE.
There is a joke in this town that goes something like this: If you want to guarantee that a problem does not get solved, convene a committee to study it.
On the heels of a nasty showdown that led the nation to near default, a joint Congressional committee is preparing to try to devise a deficit-reduction plan that both parties can live with — a...
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Want to Live Longer? Turn Off Your TV
I think we all feared his might be true, but now there is evidence to back it up. Too much TV will kill you—-or at least shorten your life. Read the introduction from a new Time article.
Sitting in front of the television may be a relaxing way to pass an evening, but spending too much time in front of the tube may take years off your life.
That’s what...
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Being Michele Bachmann: The terrifying...
Interesting opinion piece from the Economist on Michele Bachmann. Stay smart, America. Full article HERE. Also, good reading HERE on the Republican race after a rather good candidate with real credentials, Tim Pawlenty, dropped out.
If Mrs Bachmann’s cleverness was ever in question, the doubt should have been dispelled by her performance since confirming in June that she was running for...
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Google-Motorola deal draws questions
The day after Google (GOOG) announced a $12.5 billion cash deal to buy Motorola Mobility, Silicon Valley and Wall Street on Tuesday questioned the value of the move — as the initial glow surrounding the bold combination dimmed amid concerns about the challenges ahead.
The strongest skepticism came from Standard & Poor’s, which on Tuesday downgraded Google stock in part over...
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“I am sure that the apostle introduces the wrath of God at this point because no...”
– Romans: St. Andrews Expositional Commentary (St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary) by R.C. Sproul(Commenting on Chapter 1 of Romans)
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The Best Sitcom Theme Songs In History →
Not sure I agree with all the list (full story is HERE), but to me the top song has got to be “Gilligan’s Island.” You can sing the words to Amazing Grace to this tune, or sing the lyrics of Gilligan’s Island to the music of Amazing Grace. Weird, but try it.
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Katy Perry Makes History: Five Numer Ones from One...
Katy Perry has equalled a US chart record after having a fifth number one single off the same album. The singer’s latest track Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) has made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after being kept at number two by LMFAO.
The other four chart toppers off Katy Perry’s third album Teenage Dream were California Gurls, the title track, Firework and E.T.
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The Whistleblower: Rachel Weisz Against the Sex... →
Rachel Weisz (yes, of Mummy fame but also a powerful actress who has won an Academy Award for a must see movie, The Constant Gardner) is in a movie worth your time. The Whistleblower (based on a true story) is a portrayal of forced prostitution in Bosnia. We all need to be sensitive to the problem of sex-trafficking and human injustice (our friends at Unearthed are doing amazing things to bring...
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“Over the years I have ministered quite a lot in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and...”
– John MacArthur, quoted in Iain Murray, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock (Banner of Truth, 2011), 152. 