ELSEWHERE: “Freedom’s Ring” Illuminates the Artistic Brilliance of the “I Have a Dream” Speech

Last updated on: August 28, 2013 at 8:46 am By Richard Clark

It’s easy to forget how powerful influential Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech (delivered 50 years ago today) was, but even easier to forget why. This was an incredibly well-crafted and thoughtful speech, a work of rhetorical art that also contained the imperative force of unarguable truth. This online presentation, “Freedom’s Ring,” is in and of itself a beautiful, informative, striking work of art, and a touching tribute to MLK’s culture-changing speech. Spend some time with this one. Read more

Breaking Bad Broken Down: “Confessions”

Last updated on: August 28, 2013 at 6:09 am By Alan Noble

Alan Is Walt going to kill Jesse in the next episode? My hunch is that Vince Gilligan will keep the suspense going for another episode or two, but after the end of “Confessions” I can’t foresee the show going much longer with both of them alive. Jesse is finished with Walt and doesn’t seem to care what happens to himself. One of the most painful scenes in the entire series was when Jesse breaks down crying, telling Walt that he... Read more

The “Blurred Lines” of Summer

Last updated on: August 28, 2013 at 8:09 am By Richard Clark

Richard Clark laments that year's song of the summer is a soulless shadow of last year's "Call Me Maybe." Read more

Elsewhere: The Vague Southern God of Duck Dynasty

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 6:52 am By Alan Noble

If you haven’t seen in, Duck Dynasty is an incredibly popular show about the creators of Nintendo’s iconic game, “Duck Hunt.” This “reality” “TV” show follows the family of game designers as they do things, humorously. One of the most interesting aspects of the show is that the Robertsons are Christians, and they are pretty open about their faith, but Thomas Kidd wonders if the show portrays Christianity, or “cultural Christianity”: “What the show presents is a good life, but... Read more

ELSEWHERE: Papal Calling, or How to Have a Phone Chat with the Pope

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 8:17 am By Martyn Jones

If you take a call from a foreign number this week, and the person on the other end says, “It’s the Pope,” well, you might be on the phone with the Pope. Recently, a number of the faithful who have written Pope Francis have received a surprising phone call in return from the Vicar of Christ, whose casual phone rapport includes the encouragement to refer to him with an informal second-person pronoun. Read about it over at Talking Points Memo,... Read more

ELSEWHERE: Does Media Violence Lead to the Real Thing?

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 8:17 am By Jason Morehead

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, three psychiatrists ask, “Does Media Violence Lead to the Real Thing?” While acknowledging the question’s troubling nature, due to the potential ramifications it has for free speech, they also point out that numerous agencies and organizations do hold that media violence is, indeed, a risk factor for real violence. Obviously, this question won’t be going away anytime soon, especially in light of tragedies such as this one. Read more

The Kiddy Pool: Will You Still Love Me?

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 8:48 am By Erin Wyble Newcomb

"But that is a paradox of the faith, that only my weakness and my emptiness can leave room for the Spirit to move within me." Read more

“In the Center of the Bullseye”: CaPC Interviews Derek Webb

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 8:42 am By Richard Clark

Derek Webb talks about his extreme personality, his struggles with doubt, and why he kind of wishes he hadn't written that song, "Thankful." Read more

Four Things Miley’s Twerking Tells Us

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 8:49 am By Drew Dixon

People will remember this performance because the girl they watched grow up as Hannah Montana spent the majority of her 6 minutes on stage "twerking." Read more

ELSEWHERE: What Kind of Customer are You?

Last updated on: August 26, 2013 at 6:01 am By Jewel Evans

While not being Wendy’s, there is expected customer-service when folks enter the door at the coffee shop I work at. I wonder what triggers inside a person when their response over whip-when-I-said-I-no-but-didn’t-ask-because-I-was-on-my-phone resembles a tantrum and outright disrespect for the person serving them. Yes, some people have bad days. When I read this at The Huffington Post I understood the writer’s side. So, what kind of customer are you? Read more