There’s this new one from Naked Pastor: And these older ones from a blog that is new to me, and which Targuman linked to: The Welcome Matt: Read more

One of the issues those with Blogger blogs have struggled with are spammers who, in spite of repeating the same thing a ridiculous number of times, nevertheless never seem to have their “comments” sent to the spam filter. A solution has been provided at long last. If you need it, BlogBanScript is now available for installation as a gadget on your blog. It automatically replaces the author name and the text of the comment with a message that you specify. There... Read more

The software/font side of the Mandaean Book of John project is the domain of Steve Caruso, and just today he posted on his blog The Aramaic Blog about where he sees this aspect of the project headed. Pay a visit and find out what he hopes to accomplish! Read more

I know that some readers (or would-be readers) have encountered problems on mobile devices and some browsers since the last time I tinkered with the blog’s layout. I think the background graphic was a particular source of slow loading and other problems. If you previously had problems, or had them on some devices, please do let me know if this is better. Read more

Thanks to Bob MacDonald for sharing his photos from a recent visit to a science museum, which included a display featuring two models of the universe (in fact, what we’d call the solar system) side by side: Read more

It is too soon to tell whether The Event will live up to – or live down – the suggestion that it might be “the next LOST.” But if tomorrow night’s episode manages to carry the story forward in interesting ways, then one thing is likely: I’ll be blogging about it. You might notice a familiar pattern developing already, as blogs start to appear dedicated to exploring the show’s mysteries. The Event Log is such a blog, and they have reposted... Read more

I have been told that Earl Doherty is one of the more persuasive mythicists, although I have never found him to be so. One reason is his treatment of the cosmology that was taken for granted by most people in the Greco-Roman world, a system that would later go by the name of the Ptolemaic cosmology. It predominated until the Copernican revolution, and had the earth at the center, then (usually seven) spherical heavens surrounding the earth, with a final eighth sphere in... Read more

I had the pleasure of being present for most of tonight’s finale in the 2010 Indianapolis Violin Competition. Unfortunately being there as a family meant we couldn’t stay until the very end and hear the judges’ decision. But we got to enjoy live performances of the Sibelius and Tchaikovsky violin concertos. Neither piece ever made the impression on me via a recording that they did tonight. The Sibelius concerto has so much dynamic energy (at least as performed this evening!)... Read more

No, that headline doesn’t reflect reality. But it sounds like the impression this Fox news report gives: Someone I know sent the above clip to me, and I was astonished not by the events underlying it but the bigotry and misrepresentation in the reporting. In another recent post, I mentioned a bakery refusing to sell rainbow cupcakes to a gay organization. It isn’t an instance of theocratic Biblical law being imposed, because they have not made legislation preventing bakeries statewide... Read more

The Dispersal of Darwin shared this documentary on religion and science (broken into four parts on YouTube). I’ve watched part of it and it is worth passing on. The documentary is hosted by Thomas Dixon, author of Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction. Read more