Went to see what’s left of 3 Dog Night at the beautiful EKU Centre for the Performing Arts… The venue by itself is worth seeing. What’s left of 3 Dog Night is Danny Hutton, because Cory died in 2015, and Chuck Negron after becoming clean and sober in the late 80s or early 90s did not rejoin the band. The band does still include a couple of the original band members who were not any of the original 3 lead... Read more
Einstein was certainly very quotable. We’ve already mentioned his ‘God doesn’t play dice’ And some of the anecdotes about his exchanges are worth repeating, like the story of when Einstein and Chaim Weizmann (later to be President of Israel) were on the boat to NY from Europe, and Weizmann was asked ‘do you understand Einstein’s theory of relativity?’ to which Weizmann replied “Every day on the boat Albert has been explaining the theory to me and I am now completely... Read more
This is now the third gargantuan and well researched biographies I’ve read over this summer written by Walter Isaacson. This one clocks in, counting notes etc. at 700 pages, and involves a ton of explanation of relativity theory, E=MC squared etc. It is not for the scientifically challenged, even as clearly as Walter writes. This biopic doesn’t have the flair or eloquence of the Ben Franklin one, nor the imaginative description of artistic technique as the Da Vinci biopic, but... Read more
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/opinion/christianity-bible-journalism.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage Marshall Allen is an interesting guy. Once a missionary in Africa, and a graduate of Fuller Seminary, he then became a journalist. In the article that you find the link to above, he explains how investigative journalism is not only consistent with his Christian faith, in fact there are many shared values, including honesty and the pursuit of facts and the truth about them. See what you think…… BW3 Read more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGBNA7l9K8E It has been said that revenge is a soup best served cold. Ah, but is there a difference between justice and revenge? It is also said that justice deferred is justice denied. But justice did not come for Adolph Eichmann for almost two decades after WWII ended in Germany. I was ten years old when the trial of Eichmann took place in Jerusalem, and no, I did not watch the trial, nor do I think did my father, who... Read more
There has been a lot of talk of late in my church, the UMC, about schism. How it is a sin, etc. etc. etc. This talk has usually come up in conjunction with the discussion of the ironically titled One Church Plan to resolve our difficulties, which rather than resolving them devolves them down to the Conference and local church level. So, perhaps it would be useful to talk about what the term schism actually means, theologically and ethically speaking.... Read more
The running joke in Chapel Hill for many aeons about the statue of a Confederate soldier (called Silent Sam) on the front lawn of UNC was that his musket was silent awaiting the first virgin to pass so he could fire his gun. This joke will no longer be part of the folk lore of UNC, because on the night of August 20, Silent Sam was pulled down from his pedestal by a group of protesting students, an illegal action,... Read more
What were Leonardo’s great works of art, and what did he add to that realm of creativity? First of all, Leonardo’s Mona Lisa and his The Last Supper are so iconic and influential, one could spend lots of blog posts touting their merits. One of the real strengths of Isaacson’s bio of Leonardo is detailed analysis of his paintings, the good, the great, and the unfinished. There are a variety of portraits he did, but none eclipsed the Mona Lisa,... Read more
Something must be said here about the quality of Isaacson’s biography of Leonardo. It can almost be said to be a work of art in itself. The finest paper is used, the many many prints of Leonardo’s paintings and illustrations from his notebooks are top drawer, and the writing is excellent, with wonderful footnotes for those who want more. And I think in many, many ways Isaacson probes to the heart of what makes Leonardo tick. Here are some of... Read more
Leonardo had the misfortune of being born as the illegitimate son of Piero of Vinci in 1452. He was never recognized as a legitimate son of Piero though there relationship was not entirely still-born or unfruitful. His father did help him get commissions once his artistic talents and other skills became apparent. Leonardo never married, never sired any children, but as a 20, 30 and 40 something man and later, he did have a fondness for pretty boys, not merely... Read more
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