https://www.weeklystandard.com/hannah-long/christopher-tolkien-and-the-legacy-of-his-father-j-r-r-tolkien-the-steward-of-middle-earth Read more

The main reason of course that we were in Denver was for the SBL convention at the main convention center in downtown Denver. It is a huge building, with a giant blue bear staring into it, wondering what is going on in there… Don’t ask me why he’s blue…. well, o.k. it does snow in Denver. There are of course seminar rooms, and more importantly, the book stalls…… One of the important sessions was a surprise Festschrift session for Tom... Read more

Savor the seasons of life all you can Send all your family a glimpse of His plan Spend, do not waste, the time which is dear Save your bright memories as darkness draws near. Take every chance to stay in the race Talk all you can about the meaning of grace Tread very lightly on young people’s dreams Tell everyone the Lord is what He seems. Praise all the efforts of those who do care Practice a patience that’s precious... Read more

Of the various governmental buildings in downtown Denver (including the Federal Mint), the most impressive is the capitol building which sits on a hill exactly at the mile high level! You can see the markers on the back steps of the capitol building indicating the exact spot. These are views from those back steps. On the front side of the capital building is a very sad statue– of an Indian with a bent spear and a bison, down for the... Read more

There is a tiny bit of religious art in another room in the Denver Museum. For example, here is an allegory of the sacrament, connecting Jesus the vine, to his blood being the source of the sacrament….. And right next to it is one iteration of the famous Peaceable Kingdom painting. What is notable about this one, if you look at the extreme left and background of the painting is that you see: 1) a boat, 2) William Penn and... Read more

Origins stories seem to be often be the strongest chapters in a series of comic book movies. This has been the truth of late with the Wonder Woman starter, the Black Panther starter, and before that the Dr. Strange starter, and well before that, the Iron Man first episode. The new film Aquaman however, despite good intentions is not the equal of those just mentioned. Yes, it has some good scenes, and yes it has some good CG, especially the... Read more

One of the more interesting rooms in the Museum is the horse room….. Only these are the wise men, not kings, and actually, we do not know their names. The wise men were ‘Magi’ astrologers, star gazers. In the same room we see this—- But most interestingly we see what appears to be horses artfully constructed out of drift wood! Wrong! It’s bronze, though the process involved casting that bronze around the actual wood. Not just every museum has a... Read more

By and large, the Denver Art Museum is a modern art museum. Witness the way the stairs are deliberately slanted, and the walls painted with onlookers. The museum even has an overpass over a street with slanted windows……not to mention red T Rexs— Yikes. We however concentrated for the most part on its other holdings. For instance, here are two fabulous medieval paintings of the personified virtues and facts of life…. Look at the paintings from left to right to... Read more

INCOGNITO He came in incognito, A thinly veiled disguise The not so subtle son of man, A human with God’s eyes. The messianic secret, Left many unawares A God had walked upon the earth And shared our human cares. We did not see his glory, At least not at first glimpse, It took an Easter wake up call, Before it all made sense. The truth of Incarnation, Of dwelling within flesh, Shows goodness in creation, And Word of God made... Read more

Here’s my favorite contemporary Christmas song, sung by my homeboy from Chapel Hill— James Taylor. Enjoy, and Joyeux Noel, BW3 Read more