Pop Culture Roundup

By
I'm still reading Home, of course. I was thinking the other day about how long it took me to really get into The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It took me a while because I was usually reading a chapter a night at best after a long day of church/Coffeeson responsibilities. But when I sat down for about an hour one day at a Panera Bread and was able to read 60-80 pages, I felt more connected to the book; at that point I wanted to carve out time to read more. Although I'm enjoying Home, I haven't yet had that Panera Bread type of moment.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was on TV the other night, so I was able to sit down and enjoy that. My favorite part is Snoopy as the WWI Flying Ace, and his trek through "France." I don't know what it is about that part...we spend a good 3-5 minutes in Snoopy's imagination, and it has little to do with Halloween, at least directly. Of course, if one thinks of Halloween as a chance to pretend to be someone else for a night, then it makes perfect sense to devote this much time to it.

This week I've been listening to David Arkenstone's Chillout Lounge. I'm not really well-versed in the chillout genre, but I know enough to recognize some of the tunes on this disc. I mean, I guess it's original material, but I feel like I've heard bits and pieces of these songs before. Not that chillout artists ever sample from each other, of course. Anyway, this is a good laid-back album.

From around the web, here's another "Treehouse of Horror" clip. This was from their parody of The Shining, but I couldn't find a good version of the whole thing, which is another favorite.

Order my books!

Sign up for my author newsletter!

powered by TinyLetter

Popular posts from this blog

Libraries and Churches

By
Image
I've had a life-long appreciation for public libraries. I remember being pulled in a wagon down the sidewalk from our house to the library when I was probably 4 or 5 years old. One of my first jobs was at a library working as a page (as in, person who shelves books, not an actual book page). My dad's second career was as a reference librarian. And I enjoyed working at the library in high school so much that I worked at my seminary's library later on while a student there.

Since having kids, I've gained an entirely new love for libraries. My daughter and I make a trip every Monday to our own library, where she not only chooses a new batch of books to read, but she also takes time to play with the toys that they have set out for kids' enjoyment. Sometimes she plays with others, sometimes she prefers being by herself. But every week she asks if we're going, and every week I'm pleased to say that we are.

As always we took our weekly trip this past Monday. It wa…
Read more

Book Review: Cultural Savage by Aaron J. Smith

By
Image
All of this is my reality of living with mental illness. I hope it gives you some insight into the lives of people around you who live with these illnesses. But listen to their stories. Mental illness is different for each person. Don't assume that I can speak for the entire population affected by mental illness. Still, I hope you will hear my words [and] they will help you see those of us suffering. We deserve to be seen. - Aaron Smith, Cultural Savage

The world needs more personal stories about living with mental illness. And the Christian community is in special need of such stories that wrestle with how to reconcile faith with such illnesses. While many in general hold conscious or unconscious stigma, there tends to be an extra layer of misunderstanding and cruelty in the church, as the message many receive is that it is a sign of weak faith or needing more prayer. While faith and prayer may assist one in pursuing health, it is not the only thing that one needs. Therapy, medic…
Read more