Posted by I realize I’ve done the cruelest thing a writer can do — leave her readers hanging for too long. I’ll get back to that unfinished story about my parents, I promise.
Right now, though, I have *got* to finish this paper (contrasting the views of Karl Barth and Abraham Kuyper on the purpose of the State and the Church’s relationship to it). Really. I gotta get this done. It’s shamefully late at this point.
So, just in case the Snowpocalypse of January 28, 2014 has you housebound and bored, here are a few items to keep your mind busy:
TO WATCH
A delightful short film created by a local filmmaker and a winter term class of local college students. Enjoy. 🙂
TO LISTEN
One of my former students plays music in the Upstate and has just released a new EP. Her voice is fantastic.
Go check it out: Darby Wilcox, She Took To The Sea
And while I’m on the subject of great music created by friends of mine, please give the new album by my friends The Fire Tonight a thorough listen. It’s full of surprises. I tell people, “Nearly every song is different.” Great musical growth and songwriting here.
The Fire Tonight, How Could Anyone Do This?
TO READ
A hodgepodge of bits that I’ve found interesting in the lat couple days:
Why Mom’s Time Is Different Than Dad’s Time (Wall Street Journal)
A short piece explaining what women seem to already know intuitively: a mom’s workday just isn’t the same as her husband’s. Guys, this article helps explain why your wife sometimes wants to kill you for what seems like no good reason.
Today is the 28th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. Like many of my cohort, I was home due to snow and flipped on the TV right as after the launch took place, watching in horror with the rest of America as seven astronauts exploded in front of our eyes. (I can’t imagine what was going through the hearts of Christa McAuliffe’s sixth graders at that moment.) LongReads has posted the first chapter of the book Challenger: An American Tragedy. The Wikipedia article is thorough.
Reagan’s speech that evening on the Challenger disaster — one that he gave instead of the scheduled State of the Union — is one of his best: The astronauts “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.”
Children succeed with character, not test scores (NPR)
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“Grit” part 2: Is “Slack” what kids need? (Ira Socol, blog)
Lastly, you should tune into the (somewhat heated) exchange of ideas between champions of developing “grit” in children (the ability to come back after failure, a resistance to intellectual or social coddling) and Ira Socol’s fiery response which highlights the significant disadvantages children face when they come from lower socioeconomic classes. For Socol, what’s needed is “slack” – giving kids battered by life the space and forgiveness to come back from mistakes and overcome barriers.
Lastly, this short post called “Thoughts on the Church” hits 9 points that I heartily agree with. Do you?
OK. Now it’s paper time….
Just:Words 