Bonding with Barry

Anybody watch Obama’s infomercial Wednesday night? It was a whole family kind of deal at our house. I thought it was well-done and engaging, and Obama was as eloquent as ever.
I really like Obama as a person (or perhaps more accurately, as a personality), and marvel at how someone to whom I so enjoy listening is [...]

Is the Unexamined Friend Not Worth Friending?

About six months ago, I reached the point where the people whom Facebook thought I might know were ones I didn’t. This bothered me then, and still does now.
According to Facebook, I have 369 “friends.” Yes, yes, I know most of these people, but I only really know a handful of them. My overall list [...]

“Just” Words?

We’ve had quite a discussion on the topic of, well, discussion, specifically that of teenagers and their misuse of “like,” “kinda,” “sorta,” etc. To clarify, the point I feel needs reiterating is that we are not trying to nit-pick kids’ language to death at the expense of being able to speak into their lives; rather, we are [...]

Oxymoron of the Month

Over lunch today, I was flipping through the September 2008 issue of National Geographic when I came across the Explorers-in-Residence Program. Hmmm.

Famous, Like, Speeches in Teenspeak History

A few of my fellow teachers and I are on a crusade against the misuse of the words “like,” “sorta,” and “kinda.” The goal of “The Movement,” as we are calling it, is to combat what historian David McCullough calls “verbal diarrhea” in one’s conversations. We think of ourselves as fiber for the teenage vernacular.
Last [...]

A Call for Links

In light of the results of last week’s poll (still going on), I’m wondering if any of you would kindly recommend the one non-news, non-political, non-anything-but-cultural/media link you cannot live without. I’d like to add a few to my bookmarks.

Take a Poll That Doesn’t Have Anything to Do with Politics

I don’t know if you’ve been polled yet this election year (I haven’t), but I do know they’re a lot more fun to answer when you have more than two options from which to pick. That said, I offer my very first Second Drafts poll, in which I ask for your feedback as to what [...]

Walking the Line Between Loss and Hope

You may not know it (I didn’t), but on July 27th of 2005, Congress proclaimed October 15th Stillbirth Remembrance Day, also sometimes called Stillbirth and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Though you might not know it, today is a hard day for many.
It may sound like a gigantic exaggeration, but almost every couple Megan and I know [...]

Harry Potter for Presbyterians

The Reformed folk of the world (among others) are gearing up for the release of the new ESV Study Bible on Wednesday. Around these parts (especially if you’re a seminary student), it’s going to be insane. I think of it as Harry Potter for Presbyterians.
This past Thursday, when I arrived at Covenant’s bookstore to work my afternoon [...]

The Problem with Neo-Conservativism

David Brooks hits the nail on the head as to what’s wrong with the neo-conservatism of the past decade (and why John McCain is going to lose the election in November):
“Once conservatives admired Churchill and Lincoln above all — men from wildly different backgrounds who prepared for leadership through constant reading, historical understanding and sophisticated [...]

Cleaning the World, One Door at a Time

“Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

It’s a beautiful weekend here in the Lou, and we’re taking full advantage of it…by staying in the house and doing some Fall cleaning. Between the bookstore and assorted weekend plans, it’s been so long since [...]

Thoughts from 4 Miles Away

It takes me about 12 minutes to drive from our house to Washington University, so it was semi-surreal watching the Vice-Presidential debate held here in St. Louis Thursday night. I thought both Joe Biden and Sarah Palin did well, but would give a slight edge to Palin for holding her own (though little more) on [...]

It’s Up

I’m still figuring out the color changes in CSS (anybody know how to do this easily and without purchasing an upgrade for WordPress?), but kudos to Kent Needler for coming up with such a cool new header for Second Drafts.