Whereas last week I neglected to find any links at all, this week I’ve gone too far the other way, I think. But also, we could say that the Internet did a better job of being more interesting. The funny, the ridiculous, the horrifying, the thoughtful, I Have It All.
First up, an apt, if heartbreaking, look inside the prosperity movement. I try to stay away from anything sad or bad, but I read this whole piece without blinking.
We are well into Lent and you might be turning your mind towards Holy Week and the Passover feast that is so central to the last hours of Jesus’ life. Here is a really interesting video of some Orthodox Jews walking around the modern temple space and talking about where things would have happened for the daily sacrifice and the Passover sacrifice and why.
I knew that long ago there was a big mob bust up about half an hour from where I sit this very minute, so I found this account of that actual historical event pretty thrilling.
I’ve been reading more and more about the ubiquitous nature of plagiarism in academic settings, which apparently has no real answer, other than ceaseless and exhausting vigilance, on the horizon. Leave it to slate to come up with a surprising and tragic solution to that, and the generally falling level of student performance. I can’t imagine how I would be able to cope with life if I hadn’t been forced to write so much, for every class, in college, and even in high school. Not only is writing a fun thing to do, it is a great help to the ordinary person’s mind, I think. But what do I know. Maybe we should do what this person says and get rid of so much writing.
To illustrate why we ought not do what the above person suggests, here is a lovely long piece by a good writer about a book that was also written by a writer and where will civilization be if we just give up.
And, to further cheer the shattered soul, here is some beautiful sand.
And here is some very funny water and toast.
And here is the audio from my talk again, because I have a terrible feeling you didn’t listen, and here is Matt’s talk from the fall.
I am going to spend the rest of my Saturday in Sheol, doing laundry. And for breaks I’m going to be reading Portuguese Irregular Verbs. Heh heh heh. Have a lovely day and enjoy the spring, or whatever it is that’s going on with the weather today. Pip Pip.
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