Daily Show 7/20/06 - Stem Cell Research

Why do I ever watch tv? It only makes me mad.

For instance, I happened across Glenn Beck's show. He was (almost gleefully, it seemed) declaring that WWIII obviously has now begun in the Mideast (as Newt Gingrich has been doing, too, recently). So, it was, of course, time for Beck to draw up sides.

For Beck, there were three groups: the "Allies" (the US), the "Axis" (they're the evil ones), and (worst of all) the "Spineless Worms." The plan was to name a country, and stick it into the correct group.

Derrida would have loved this little exercise.

As it turned out, for Beck, everyone but the United States (and maybe Israel) is pretty much in the "Axis of Evil." This, perhaps, includes Great Britain, according to him, since they have so many of those scarey Muslims. Switzerland is the spineless country.

If this rhetoric keeps up, I worry that we may actually see WWIII around the corner. (It would do wonders, however, for the Republicans in the midterm elections. That's what seems to matter.)

I'm definitely not decided on it, but Christian anarchism looks better to me every day.

Wedding Stuff

Well, Kalyn's and BJ's wedding is over. I am, perhaps, a little biased, but I thought it was rather the best wedding ever. It was really nice.

The music was all contemporary, but it had sort of a classic feel.

Everybody looked good, even if my tux didn't fit well.

The sermon was the best wedding sermon I've ever heard.

And the narrative thingy went ok. I thought about posting it all here, but I'm not going to. It was meant to be oral. But it was good. We had people laughing and crying at the same time. That's how it should be.

I'm really glad it's over.

I was scanning over the CNN site to see if there was anything that I wanted to read about. There wasn't.

One headline, however, seemed a little peculiar:

"Timberlake: I want to 'push the sound' of poop."

And I happily thought that Justin Timberlake and CNN had decided to start being honest.

I looked at it again, though, and of course, that "poop" was really "pop." The maleness of my mind had just sort of skewed my reading I guess. That would have been funny though.

Books I've Read in 2006

76. Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense - N.T. Wright 9/10

75. The Vile Village - Lemony Snicket 7.5/10

74. Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie 8/10

73. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer 9.5/10

72. The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket 8/10

71. So What Are You Going to Do With That?: A Guide for M.A.'s and Ph.D's Seeking Careers Outside the Academy - Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius 5.5/10

70. A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument - Sylvan Barnett, William E. Burto, William E. Cain 6.5/10

69. Four Quartets - T.S. Eliot 9.5/10

68. Othello - William Shakespeare 8/10

67. Literary Theory: An Introduction - Terry Eagleton 9/10

66. Lacan for Beginners - Phillip Hill 7/10

65. Lamentations and the Tears of the World - Kathleen O'Connor 8/10

64. Rise Up, O Judge: A Study of Justice in the Biblical World - Enrique Nardoni 8.5/10

63. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible - John Collins 7/10

62. Living by Fiction - Annie Dillard 9/10

61. A Little Literature - Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain 7/10

60. The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams 8.5/10

59. The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man - Lloyd Alexander 8/10

58. The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin 9/10

57. Captain Blood - Rafael Sabatini 7.5/10

56. The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula Le Guin 9/10

55. Atticus - Ron Hansen 9.5/10

54. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carre 9/10

53. The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life - Armand M. Nicholi, Jr. 9/10

52. Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott 8/10

51. Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living - Cornelius Plantinga 6.5/10

50. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut 9/10

49. Wittgenstein in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern 6.5/10

48. Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern 6.5/10

47. Thomas Aquinas in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern 5/10

46. Saint Augustine - Gary Wills 7/10

45. Derrida in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern 6/10

44. Mudhouse Sabbath - Lauren Winner 8/10

43. Babe: The Gallant Pig - Dick King-Smith 8/10

42. Lament for a Son - Nicholas Wolterstorff 7/10

41. The Whipping Boy - Sid Fleischman 7/10

40. The Solace of Leaving Early - Haven Kimmel 8.5/10

39. A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore 8.5/10

38. Isaac the Pirate: To Exotic Lands - Christophe Blain 6.5/10

37. The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool - Margaret Gray 5/10

36. Can You Drink the Cup? - Henri J.M. Nouwen 8.5/10

35. Ironweed - William Kennedy 6.5/10

34. Princess Academy - Shannon Hale 10/10

33. The Moon is Down - John Steinbeck 6/10

32. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold - John Le Carre 9.5/10

31. Summer of the Swans - Betsy Byars 7/10

30. Vile Bodies - Evelyn Waugh 7.5/10

29. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes - Eleanor Coerr 7/10

28. A Fine White Dust - Cynthia Rylant 7.5/10

27. The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence 6.5/10

26. Kiss of the Spider Woman - Manuel Puig 8.5/10

25. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens 7.5/10

24. Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World - Lee Camp 9.5/10

23. Stardust - Neil Gaiman 9/10

22. V for Vendetta - Alan Moore 9.5/10

21. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2 - Alan Moore 6.5/10

20. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 - Alan Moore 8.5/10

19. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon 7.5/10

18. Plainsong - Kent Haruf 9/10

17. Cross-Shattered Christ: Meditations on the Seven Last Words - Stanley Hauerwas 8/10

16. Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World - Henri J.M. Nouwen 9/10

15. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson 8/10

14. Prayers Spoken Plainly - Stanley Hauerwas 9/10

13. Crazy Horse - Larry McMurtry 6.5/10

12. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith - Anne Lamott 8.5/10

11. Martin Luther - Martin Marty 8.5/10

10. Prayers - Peter Washington 6.5/10

9. Love Letters - Peter Washington 6.5/10

8. Cherry Log Sermons - Fred Craddock 7/10

7. The Club of Queer Trades - G.K. Chesterton 8/10

6. Watchmen - Alan Moore 8.5/10

5. The Message - Eugene Peterson (and God) 10/10

4. Basic Christianity - John Stott 7/10

3. Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis 6.5/10

2. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis 8/10

1. The Assistant - Bernard Malamud 8/10

"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis