Hope Rises For Petra Anderson, Survivor of Aurora Shooting

Last updated on: July 24, 2012 at 9:43 am By Tony Rossi

I’ve mentioned the Act One screenwriting and producing program numerous times on this blog. With a grounding in Christian values, they train talented writers and aspiring producers to work in the entertainment industry in order to improve popular culture from the inside. It turns out that twenty-two-year-old Petra Anderson, the sister of Act Oner Chloe Anderson, was one of the wounded in Friday’s movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado. Three shotgun pellets hit Petra’s arm, one pellet went through her... Read more

The Reason for the World and the Quest for Healing After Loss

Last updated on: July 22, 2012 at 8:37 am By Tony Rossi

The evil act and lives lost in Aurora, Colorado, this past Friday leaves the family and friends of the dead and wounded with deep sadness and maybe even deeper questions about why God would allow something like this to happen. It’s a question singer/songwriter Matthew West faced a few years ago when he asked his fans to send him their personal stories of faith and adversity so that he could turn them into songs that might help others going through... Read more

Hope, Despair, and The Dark Knight

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:18 am By Tony Rossi

When “The Dark Knight” – the second film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy – opened in 2008, I went to see it opening day because, like a lot of guys, I grew up reading Batman comics and was excited to see where the story would go next. Though that film was technically good , it was also the bleakest movie I think I ever saw. I actually felt jittery on the inside after it was over because it conveyed palpable... Read more

An NBA All Star’s Greatest Legacy: Caring for a Paralyzed Teammate

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:18 am By Tony Rossi

Today’s post was written by The Christophers’ Jerry Costello: If Jack Twyman did nothing in his life except play basketball, his name would be worth remembering. And, if you’re a sports fan, you probably do remember him, because he played basketball awfully well. A slender forward in the early days of the National Basketball Association, he spent his entire career with the old Cincinnati Royals and was a legitimate Hall of Famer. Want proof? Among the jewels on his... Read more

Should Six-Year-Old Girls Be Trying to Look Sexy?

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:18 am By Tony Rossi

The answer to that question is a definitive, “No!” Yet according to a recent study, that’s exactly what’s happening in our culture today. As reported by The Huffington Post: Most girls as young as 6 are already beginning to think of themselves as sex objects, according to a new study of elementary school-age kids in the Midwest. Researchers have shown in the past that women and teens think of themselves in sexually objectified terms, but the new study is the... Read more

A Safe Haven for Pregnant College Students

Last updated on: July 17, 2012 at 11:09 am By Tony Rossi

In 2009, I interviewed a young single mother named Lacy Dodd who was serving on the Board of Directors of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based pregnancy resource center Room at the Inn. As someone who had experienced an unplanned pregnancy while in college, she wanted to help other women in similar situations. Specifically, Lacy was promoting a very special project. In conjunction with Belmont Abbey College, Room at the Inn was working to create something Lacy called “truly revolutionary: America’s first... Read more

A Review of “The Cancer Year”

Last updated on: July 16, 2012 at 7:56 pm By Tony Rossi

I first heard of Audrey Assad in 2010 when I received a review copy of her debut CD, “The House You’re Building,” that her publicist sent me pitching an interview. After listening to her insightful lyrics, catchy melodies, and pure voice, I was hooked as a fan. Then I did what all music fans do nowadays: logged in to Twitter and added Audrey to my “Follow” list. Through those updates over the past couple of years, I also came to... Read more

R.I.P. Stephen Covey and Celeste Holm

Last updated on: July 16, 2012 at 1:25 pm By Tony Rossi

I just heard that renowned leadership expert and author of the best-seller “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen R. Covey, has died at age 79 following injuries he sustained in a bicycle accident three months ago. I had the opportunity to record a phone interview with Mr. Covey a couple of years ago. I also met him when he appeared on The Christophers’ TV show about six or seven years ago. My primary impression when I met him... Read more

Is Scientology Creating Its Own Version of EWTN?

Last updated on: July 13, 2012 at 7:06 pm By Tony Rossi

In Media News: Most people know the story of Mother Angelica founding EWTN in 1981 as a global Catholic network which would reach churched and unchurched Catholics with basic catechetics and interesting conversations in the hopes that the programming would nurture viewers’ faith and attract new converts. According to a report in The Telegraph, Scientology will now be doing a similar thing. In light of all the negative publicity Scientology has been getting following the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce, this... Read more

A Paralyzed Man’s Impossible Dream

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:20 am By Tony Rossi

In 2007, Mark Stephan was a successful businessman, an avid marathoner, and a two-time Iron Man triathlete when a bicycle accident left him a quadriplegic, unable to use his arms and legs for the rest of his life. Doctors told him he would never walk or bike again. Mark Stephan, however, had other ideas. On the “Today Show,” Christopher Award-winning producer Mike Leonard recently profiled Stephan and his “impossible” accomplishment of biking 3,129-miles across the United States to support the... Read more