Web Safari - The Short Version

I wasn't going to do a Web Safari this weekend, but these three links are good enough that I had to share them.

1. David Brooks shares his experiences and viewpoint on Afghanistan. It's one of the most hopeful editorials I've read in quite awhile.

2. A very...unique blog post about democracy.

3. The Barna Group releases a survey about differences in how liberals and conservatives view religion. What it doesn't delve into is the cause-effect relationship of the results, which I think would be the most interesting.

Web Safari

Some random, or not-so-random, links that you might enjoy.

Desmond Lachman has worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a number of years, and has seen numerous financial crises in "emerging markets." What is making him nervous, though, is how the U.S. is making the same mistakes they always counseled other countries to avoid.

The Anchoress points to a YouTube video from the U.K. Parliament. If only more people would say this and everyone would listen.

Here's an interesting editorial from the Wall Street Journal that starts out considering the sometimes fine line between witchcraft and religion in Africa, and ends up looking at the differences between a superstitious veiwpoint and a religious viewpoint.

Is it more important to eat "organic" foods or to eat "healthy" foods. I think this is something to consider, especially if you lean toward buying organic. As one line in this editorial states, "organic junk food is still junk food." One of my ag professors in college said that it is best to shop on the perimeters of the grocery store - both in terms of health and expense. I always try to buy the least amount of processed foods and ingredients possible. Everyone should eat more fruits and vegetables! Keep my job recession-proof!

An inspiring blog by a mother enjoying what short lifetime she knows her daughter will have.

If you like Mike Rowe and the show Dirty Jobs, you have to go watch this video of a talk he's giving to a group in the Silicon Valley. There's an awesome story about castrating sheep at the beginning, that turns into some good reflections on the value of work. (Okay. Get over the castrating sheep already and just go watch it!)

For some more of Mike Rowe, here's what he has to say about the AIG bonuses.

I've seen some people really up in arms about this bill (HR 1388) that has recently been passed. It is a bill largely requiring national service by anyone receiving educational grants from the federal government. No, I didn't read the entire text of the bill, and it does seem to be quite a jumble. However, I don't think it is going to be as big a deal as people make it out to be. The only thing that immediately pops to mind is that as someone who received a lot of federal grants to pay for college, I don't know when I would have found the time to fulfill the service requirements that are now going to be attached to those grants. I don't think the sentiment behind the bill is totally wrong-headed, but the execution may be.

Web Safari

I've got two weeks worth of links collected, so happy reading! (It's a little heavy on politics/economy/stimulus package stuff, but what'd you expect?)

The College Board is cutting some AP programs...

Is it more important to have "Christian Art" or Christian artists creating "great art," in general?

Nancy Pelosi and her social engineering experiment?

Perhaps we really are "amusing ourselves to death."

Sometimes I have to wonder if this isn't true.

Same old, same old from the government.

A look at the Superbowl commercials. Were there any you liked? We thought most of them were sub-par.

Leaving Facebook? Some people are. Sometimes I'm tempted to, but I don't use it that frequently anyway.

Can You Tell the Difference Between a Church and a Utilitarian Structure? (The answers are posted now, so it's not quite as much fun to figure out.)

Charles Krauthammer has an interesting piece about everyone coming back down to earth after Obama's inauguration.

Peggy Noonan writes about how she sees Americans "bracing" for what's yet to come.

Apparently, the governor of Kansas is a candidate for the Health & Human Services cabinet position.

Jen at ConversionDiary.com has an insightful post about how her life before becoming a Christian was like living on death row.

Some thoughts from Scot McKnight about iGens, or Generation Me (18-35 year olds). Since I'm in that age group, of course I find it interesting! There's an interesting point near the end...is the most important thing in life really "being happy?"

You Grow Girl has a post about her bean seeds. I have to say that I love playing with new bean seeds as well!

Web Safari

Yes, I know it's been ages since I've done one of these Web Safaris. I thought it was high time. (And the reality is that with the computer easily at hand in the apartment and more free time than I've had for a couple months, it is easy to record what articles I find interesting and post them.) Anyway, this "issue" of Web Safari includes some politics, some religion, and some random stuff. Since it's been awhile, let me give you my philosophy. These are articles that I found intriguing, interesting, or thought-provoking for some reason or another. This isn't to say I agree with every word written. You get the picture. Moving on.

Politics
Have you noticed that there's an inauguration coming up? I thought you might have. MSNBC started non-stop inauguration coverage this morning...(That's Saturday...) The inauguration is Tuesday. Seriously, folks. A little much, don't you think?

Fred Barnes at The Weekly Standard writes a good editorial about why exactly some of us regard Obama with timorousness.

A short parable and essay reflection about our out-going president.

A great Wall Street Journal opinion piece about Bush, who stayed the course even when the rest of us didn't.

Religion

"You yearn and hope for untold things, you strive. All of this is answered in Jesus of Nazareth. Let him in."

Two insightful Internet Monk posts:

Is This the Better World You Were Talking About? What do you think? Are we really better off for all the glut of information available at our fingertips?

The Liturgical Gangstas are taking a look at the role for children and youth ministries in the church. These guys come from a variety of church traditions, which makes their commentary intriguing.

Miscellaneous Grab Bag
The NYTimes lists the 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating. Hmm...yeah, I'm definitely not getting my full allotment of sardines. Nor do I plan to in the near future.

Another NYT article about immigrants turning to charter schools rather than regular public schools for their children's education.

A final NYT article. MIT is apparently doing away with the ginormous introductory lecture-style classes. Not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion.

A vegetable garden at the White House? Hmm...I'm a fan...

A fun garden blog, and a good guide to shopping via seed catalog...

Last but not least...

For those of you looking to waste time on the Internet, here's a fun word association game. I beat the computer after 57 words by responding to "russia" with the word "samovar."

Web Safari, etc.

August was Sun-Spotless...hence colder?

What does a community organizer do?

Evangelizing foreign students - consequences?

Have you heard what's going on in Orissa? Sickening!

Will the world really end if the "wrong" candidate is elected?

Mr. Rogers is disappearing...I guess it's probably time.

History and the economic plans...what do you think is the root cause of this study?

Asian smog is affecting U.S. temperatures? Really?

College financial aid...always an issue.

Mini Web Safari and Sweet Corn

It's been quite awhile since I've done anything remotely resembling a Web Safari, but I only have a few links that I'm intending to share, so I'm combining this with a short thought on proper selection of sweet corn varieties.

First up - I found this article interesting, partly because it goes against what lots of churches like to promote: Unchurched People Prefer Traditional Churches This is actually referring to architecture and such, but an interesting article, nonetheless. (Is nonetheless really a word? The spell checker didn't highlight it for me, so it would seem to be somewhat acceptable. Kind of a strange word though - very German in the way of crunching words together to make a new word.)

The New York Times has a really interesting, and surprisingly, quite warm article about Rush Limbaugh.

Just in case you've never seen this county-by-county map of the Generic Term for Pop/Soda/Coke.

Sweet Corn
I bought some sweet corn from the main sweet corn farmer at the market this morning. I have to say that I was disappointed. Granted, I was raised on certain varieties of sweet corn, and I have an affinity for them. I also found one variety out in Ohio that I really, really like. (Mirai) Unfortunately, the growers here are enamored with bicolor varieties (which is fine if that is what you like, although I think they are just silly). The variety was also a sugary enhanced variety, and I much prefer SuperSweets. They are much sweeter, have better shelf life, and have a nice crunch. I personally like my sweet corn crunchy, although I know other people don't. Their loss.

Web Safari: Millennials

There have been all kinds of articles and such about my generation, as we are beginning to move into the workforce and everyone is trying to "figure us out" so to speak.

The first link is a look at what millennials mean for the workforce. It is a quite balanced article - it covers the positives that are unique and the differences that don't fit us easily into the modern workplace of the Boomers and Xers.

The next link is a look from the political side. Apparently a majority of millennials fit into the "progressive" mentality. My personal experience is that millennials are less willing to fit themselves into the Republican-Democrat boxes that have been prominent for the past several decades. Millennials also appear to be much much more interested and involved in politics than recent generations. It will be interesting to see what happens as we all mature and settle down with families.

A comparison of Generation X and Millennials.

A look at some of the factors and events that shaped/are shaping Millennials.

A blog devoted to issues relating to Millennials.

A NY Times article that discusses methods of communication and spreading news. A lot of what they say is true...people my age find information exactly the way I did here...you get a link from a friend via email or blog, you share what you read by blogging or emailing about it. I was thinking about the characteristics of my generation recently, as I have been considering ways to reach out to younger audiences for my job. So I went to Google and searched for articles relating to millennials. Then I skimmed through, found other links, etc. And now I'm sharing them with you!

Web Safari

1. Apparently my generation struggles with transitioning to the work world. Not a great surprise, that.

2. A blogger opines on the benefits of "old fashioned play." Can't say but what I disagree with her.
3. The NPR story the previous article was based on.

4. A NY Times article explaining the complexities of superdelegates and such.

5. An intriguing look at how the brain comprehends numbers and math.

6. An interactive map of Dante's Inferno!

7. A series of articles at Parchment and Pen theology blog about the emerging church.
- Would the Real Emerger Please Stand Up
- An Emerging Definition of Emerging
- Comparing Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, and Emergers (Be sure to check out the "Circle of Importance" charts. It's a great visual of one of the main differences between these groups.)
- Are You Emerging?

(If you want to take on the whole thing at once, instead of in sections, go here. )

Web Safari

I've been sitting on these links for a week or two now, so I might as well post them for you to enjoy.

This first link is a really happy-sad story about a couple that was married during the Russian revolution and then lost all contact with each other shortly after their wedding day.

If you have heard anything at all about the "emerging church," you should find this article about the four models of emerging churches intriguing.

Some recently discovered pictures of Lincoln's inauguration.

Cute polar bears.

A fun blog if you like jokes, physics, and math.

Web Safari

Well, I have this collection of links from the past couple weeks. Hopefully most of the links are still good.

1. This books sounds interesting: Out of Print. What happens when all but a few passages of the Bible disappear?

2. Apparently there's also music hidden in Da Vinci's "The Last Supper. "

3. Things that the Class of 2011 have never known or experienced. I may have been young, but I do vaguely remember the Berlin Wall.

4. McDonald's is joining the specialty coffee market.

5. An interesting article about atheists, by an atheist.

6. And in case you haven't heard, there was a stem-cell breakthrough.

7. I don't often play computer games, but for some reason I like this one: Plant Tycoon.

Web Safari

1. Adoro Te Devote has a great post this week entitled, "What do You Seek When You Dream of Happiness?" about how our lives ultimately make the most sense through Jesus.

2. Steven provided this informative link about How To Build a Lego Trebuchet.

3. Rachel brought this site to my attention, where you can answer vocabulary questions correctly and various companies will donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. Not that I'm necessarily giving unqualified support to the UNWFP, but the vocab is fun, and donating rice doesn't hurt anyone. Certainly there are better ways to fight world hunger, but I see nothing wrong with having wealthy American companies donate rice to hungry people.

4. Scot McKnight is blogging through the book unChristian, and he is looking at Ch. 6 which discusses the impressions that Christians are "sheltered and irrelevant."

5. Hallowed Ground has some really nice paintings and pictures posted...I particularly like the last one in the post.

6. This 10 page article in the New York Times Magazine, entitled "The Evangelical Crackup" looks at the shifts that are taking place in the way that Evangelicals interact with politics, particularly on a national level.

7. In Illinois, apparently boys are consistently falling behind girls in testing and achievement at school. There are debates over whether it is because of changes to the tests or to the education in general.

Web Safari

This mid-week return of the Web Safari is quite a bit longer than normal, in large part because I have ended up compiling links for a couple of weeks while being too lazy to write up this post. So if you like, you can read through all the links in 3 sittings. That way it will feel like you really got 3 posts out of it.

Religion, Faith, and Related Topics

The religion section kicks off this week with a couple of posts from the Internet Monk.

1. The first post is about Evangelical worship, and how it seems to have come full circle in the past few decades.

2. The second post is a discussion of Willow Creek Church's recent announcement that their programs are not actually producing disciples of Christ.

3. For a bit more on that same topic, read the article from the Christianity Today blog.
I have to say that the realization that having more participation in church activities does not equate discipleship isn't exactly an earth-shattering revelation, but it is difficult to compete with that mentality that has been increasingly touted by a lot of Evangelical churches.

4. Over at Happy Catholic, Julie D. has finished reading the new book about Mother Teresa that got so much press a few weeks back. She learned a lot about Mother Teresa that she didn't know. I have to say that I like this review of the book, because it gives a nice overall look rather than dwelling on the big news items.

5. Happy Catholic also has a great post reminding us about the importance of consistent prayer, which is linked to ....

6. ...this post at Catholic Spitfire Grill about Making Time for Prayer.

Art and Other Culture

7. Lots of people seems to be talking about the movie Bella, so here is a conglomeration of reviews for your perusal.

8. Da Vinci's The Last Supper can be viewed in High Definition. It's pretty cool, because you can zoom in and see all the cracks and slight differences in color.

9. Food writer David Lebovitz shares a story about interviewing at Chez Panisse, and then a scrumptious-looking gingersnap recipe.

10. Do you like Bambi? I'm not really a fan of the movie. But does it really qualify as being one of the Top 25 Horror Movies?

Politics, Science, and all that other stuff

11. Brant Hansen puts together a satirical list of things he's looking for in a Presidential Candidate.

12. The ice sheets on Greenland are melting, which could result in the ocean level rising by up to 3 feet in the next 100 years. Mostly we care, apparently, because that will flood parts of New York City. My overall feeling is that there's not much we can do about it at this point, so instead of freaking out, we should just let the adaptation occur as it will. Gradually people will stop living in the flooding areas. Gradually, more people will populate Greenland. Unless we decide to be stupid by trying to control the climate rather than adapting to the changes, which could happen.

13. What would you save from a fire? If you had 10 minutes, what would you take? What would you choose to leave behind? I try not to be too materialistic about things, but I think I would still find it hard to choose between the irreplaceable family items and mementos.

14. Not to worry, Communism hasn't prevented Chinese young people from developing many of the same attitudes as their counterparts in more democratic societies.

15. Apparently some Neanderthals could have been redheads.

16. Some scientists found the oldest known living animal...and then killed it before realizing how old it was.

Web Safari

I'm afraid that what with other things keeping me busy, the web safari is a bit skimpy this week. Even more skimpy when you consider that 2 of the links were from last week's non-existent safari.

1. The Honeycrisp Apple - the whole world loves it! I have to say that I don't like things that get over-hyped. Honeycrisp is a good apple, but all the press makes me less thrilled to jump on its bandwagon. Even so, the U of M breeding program holds a near and dear place in my heart, since I worked on a research farm in the program for 2 summers. (And the research prof told me that one of their new releases is actually better than Honeycrisp, especially in disease resistance!)

2. Music isn't the way to 20somethings' hearts...because we just like too many different things. Oh, music is nice, but it's not the main point, after all.

3. The Bible as literature. iMonk reviews the new ESV Literary Analysis Study Bible. You can get 30 days online access free! It looks pretty spiffy. I think this will be my next Bible purchase (not that I need another one anytime soon), rather than a NRSV compact.

4. Oh, and by the way, your appendix really does have a purpose.

Web Safari

This week's Web Safari is going to seem a bit heavy on religion articles for some of you, particularly articles that are somewhat critical of things that are going on in American Evangelical forms of Christianity. Those articles are going to get their own special grouping, so you can either avoid them or zoom right to them.

Religion Links and Articles

1. A woman who was at the forefront of the movement promoting Worship as Evangelism has written an article explaining why she no longer promotes that idea. A very insightful article discussing what worship should and shouldn't be.

"In 2001 a worship-driven congregation in my area finally did a survey as to who they were really reaching, and they were shocked. They'd thought their congregation was at least 50 percent unchurched. The real number was 3 percent."

2. A funny and insightful cartoon from Brant Hansen.

3. Related to the first article, David Fitch has written about some of the problems with the megachurch movement. Just because "good things are happening" doesn't mean that it justifies everything that is going on.

4. Barna has a new study out: A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity. This article is a overview of topics that will be discussed indepth in a new book, UnChristian by David Kinnaman. In short, there are more non-Christian 16-29 year olds than in any other generation, and they have much less favorable views of Christianity than previous generations. Not only that, but young Christians in the 16-29 year old age group tend to increasingly agree with many of the views of their non-Christian counterparts.

When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was "Christianity is changed from what it used to be" and "Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus." These comments were the most frequent unprompted images that young people called to mind, mentioned by one-quarter of both young non-Christians (23%) and born again Christians (22%).

Kinnaman explained, "That’s where the term 'unChristian' came from. Young people are very candid. In our interviews, we kept encountering young people - both those inside the church and outside of it - who said that something was broken in the present-day expression of Christianity. Their perceptions about Christianity were not always accurate, but what surprised me was not only the severity of their frustration with Christians, but also how frequently young born again Christians expressed some of the very same comments as young non-Christians."

Other Interesting and Miscellaneous Links

1. Jenna Bush has a book being published that was inspired by her work with UNICEF in Panama.

2. Several new species of animals and orchids have been discovered in Vietnam.

3. Would you be more likely to stop at a humorous stop sign? Apparently a Chicago suburb thinks so.

4. "Recession" is a word being heard more commonly again. This article discusses 5 Reasons why it's looming. I have to say, that working in a business that is dependent on the spending patterns of the wealthiest people in the U.S., we can already see a crunch happening.

5. Soda flavors that are reminiscent of a football locker room? Yuck! Take your pick from Dirt, Sports Cream, Perspiration, and Natural Field Turf. Again, yuck!

Web Safari

1. Right...because suing God is an intelligent thing to do...

2. The best sandwich in America. (I don't think any of them came out of my Sandwich Book!)

3. Looking to get a date with that cute girl/guy in the pew next to you? DO NOT try these.

4. The best cheap wines, according to the NYTimes.

5. Not your grandmother's kilogram: the kilo standard is losing weight!

6. An unexploded grenade in your body? Sounds like a bad TV drama plotline...except it wasn't.

Web Safari

Well, this would be one of the weeks that I have apparently found nothing worth mentioning in the great wide world of the internet.

1. Horror Movie Safety Tips - wisdom from watching horror movies?

2. Healthy eating countries, and what makes them healthy.

3. Brett has more TDs toward the record, and has become the winningest QB in NFL history.

4. The Cyclones won a game! Not just any game, they beat Iowa! But who chose those hideous uniforms?!?

5. Check out this Cali farm that is home to some very weird tomatoes.

I'm afraid this is all for this week. Maybe I'll do better next week. I'll be flying to Wichita on Saturday, Sept. 22, and I'll be back Wednesday, Sept. 26. That might make for more or less blogging...we will see what comes about. At any rate, it will be a much needed break from work and my workplace. Hopefully I will be refreshed and ready to finish out the season when I get back. I do have a couple other blog posts I've been working on, but I'm nowhere near close to finishing them, so you will have to breathlessly await them. Or something like that.

Web Safari

My computer is becoming increasingly flaky, which can be annoying to frustrating on any given day. Unfortunately, it makes regular blogging something of a challenge. I'm hoping that it was largely the effect of the hot, humid weather this past week that was causing the problem. We will see how things progress. I did take the precaution of backing up my pictures and other documents today so I don't lose them if my computer decides to take a turn for the worse.

1. A California group is suing the federal government claiming that a law allowing alternative teacher certification programs is 'harming our children.' One of the side effects of this lawsuit could be that programs like Teach for America would be shut down. Right. Because shutting down a program that takes highly educated college graduates and gives them incentives to teach for 2 years in inner city or rural schools that are short on quality teachers is clearly bad and hurting those students.

2. Osama bin Laden urges Americans to convert to Islam to stop terrorism. Uh huh. What would happen if we told the Muslims to embrace Christianity or Atheism to have American forces withdraw from Iraq? Exactly.

3. Now you know how to preach a "brilliant" sermon - Brant Hansen gives us the outline!

4. A story about a teacher working with 8th graders in a Chicago school.

5. St. Patrick's Breastplate prayer.

6. A photoblog with some pretty spiffy nature photos.

Web Safari

I love how some weeks I have to go around hunting for a bunch of interesting links, and some weeks I have way more than I need. This week they were all here waiting for me when I got around to finishing the post.

1. A mother of an 11-year old daughter writes an account of the horrors and joys of back to school clothes shopping.

2. The Diet Fork

3. An interesting conversation about the Bible and idolatry.

4. Always wondering about the correct table settings? Wonder no more!

5. My friend Nettie is going to be doing an apprenticeship with InnerChange starting in late September. Check it out. If you'd like to support Nettie, leave a comment or send me and email and I'll hook you up.

6. Is there such a thing as a FairTax? On just a glance, the FairTax appears to do away with all income taxes and put in place Federal sales taxes. There is a long list of exemptions and a rebate program for "necessesities" so that people under the poverty line would never have to pay any taxes in. I have to wonder if this would really work. I also think that there is a baseline assumption with the FairTax that no amount of taxation will curb American consumption and consumer spending noticeably. (Which may very well be a correct assumption on the average.)

7. The Internet Monk has a great post about Post-Evangelicals and Catholic Spirituality

8. The online art gallery of Edward B. Gordon, a German artist. Also, his blog.

9. And for those of you who know who Joel Osteen is, but have no desire to read his book, here's an inside look at the "Your Best Life Now" board game. I think the scariest part is that apparently they encourage the small groups at Osteen's church to play this game. Maybe they should try, oh, I dunno...Bible reading?!?

10. And apparently there are a lot of people in France that don't know what that thing is in space that orbits the Earth.

Web Safari

1. My favorite article this week is from the newest issue of Time Magazine: Are We Failing Our Geniuses?

2. A bunch of pictures from the I-35 bridge collapse.

3. iMonk has a great post about Mother Teresa and God's Absence.

4. Apparently there's a big hole in the universe.

5. Do you read more or less than the average American? I sometimes read more books each week than the average American reads in a year.

6. Apparently there's a worker shortage. Would you work at McDonald's for $10/hr?

7. GM finally is caving to the market demands and producing *gasp* a much more fuel efficient engine.

(I apologize for not getting this posted on Sunday...I was working on it, but then my computer decided to have a senior moment and shut down. )

Web Safari

1. All or you Austen fans should get excited!

2. How to stop Al Qaeda.

3. The Prosperity Gospel. Do you know what it is?

4. Feast Day of the Assumption - believe it or not?

5. Mosques coming to Europe. What would we think if this were New York, Chicago, or Ames?
(And yes, registration to the Chicago Tribune is free and supposedly they don't spam you either.)

6. We all knew that Abraham Lincoln was a little scary looking. Now we know why.

7. What foods are high in what nutrients? A handy dandy chart to help us out.

8. Palmer Drought Indices maps for 2007. Pretty interesting. The maps show long term and short term drought, meteorological and hydrological drought.