I’ve often observed that Star Wars’ symbolism seems more in line with Taoism’s ideas about balance between opposing forces, rather than depicting a Manichaean or Zoroastrian dualism of good vs. evil. And so I was pleased to find that the Taoist Yin Yang symbol had been given a Star Wars twist to it, as illustrated above in one of many examples I found. Read more
The episode begins with Jin’s eye. We see him in his native context, as well as trying to cover up Sun when she wears a bikini on the beach. In flashbacks, we see part of a story we had seen before, but from Jin’s perspective. When he said that he does whatever Sun’s father tells him to, as we saw before, we learn that in fact he beat up a man who otherwise would have been killed by the assassin... Read more
In order to illustrate some points related to information literacy in my class on the Bible, I asked students to find the wackiest claims made about the Bible online. The two top contenders were (1) that the oil in the Middle East is essentially the luscious Garden of Eden, turned into oil by Noah’s flood, and (2) that Noah’s flood happened on Mars. I suggested that combining the two – that oil in the Middle East is the remnants of the Garden of... Read more
The episode starts with a flashback of Sawyer remembering how his father killed Sawyer’s mother before committing suicide. He wakes up and sees a boar, chasing it into the jungle, where Sawyer hears the whispers. Later, Sayid laughs at the fact that boar took Sawyer’s tarp. Sawyer says “Laugh it up Muhammad” to Sayid. But then he asks what Sayid heard in the jungle, and what the whispers said. We later hear the whispers, and one of them says “It’ll... Read more
George Lucas talks briefly about what Star Wars means – its roots in mythology, religion, psychology, compassion, and human storytelling. HT IO9. Read more
I recently had someone quote Genesis 1:28 to me as though it were an argument against gays and lesbians being allowed to marry, since they cannot fulfill what it commands. This is how I replied: If you are referring to reproduction, then they have the same options available to them that infertile heterosexual couples have. If you are referring to ruling over the fish, I haven’t figured out how to do that yet myself… Genesis 1:28, in case you don’t know it,... Read more
The episode “In the Forest of the Night” continues a number of themes that have been woven throughout this season of Doctor Who: fairy tales and fear; Clara’s strength, her increasing resemblance to the Doctor, and her relationship to Danny Pink; and whatever is going on with Missy. (The “next time” clip suggests that the season finale, in which the season arc with Missy will need to be explained rather than resolved, should be fascinating). The episode has some wonderful moments... Read more
Several publishers are sponsoring the SBLAAR (Society of Beer Lovers and Assorted Academic Research) meeting at the SBLAAR (the Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion) meeting. One of them suggested that this would be a great place for bibliobloggers to gather, since publishers like to come to the bibliobloggers event, and so in this way they can actually play host to us. This SBLAAR Craft beer reception will be at St. Joseph Cathedral (1535 – 3rd Ave.,... Read more
I am delighted to have had the opportunity to see the musical Amazing Grace at the Bank of America Theater in Chicago. It is based on the story of John Newton, who wrote the famous hymn “Amazing Grace.” But it isn’t focused on the hymn (although echoes of its familiar melody are woven into the score once or twice, and the entire cast sings the song at the end), but rather on the life of the song’s author. Although there is quite a... Read more
Chris Nelson said in a comment on a recent post: The conservative Christian approach to most everything difficult is to deny difficulty. I’m not sure if that speaks to an appalling lack of insight or an appalling surplus of denial. That seemed to me meme-worthy. Read more
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