Interesting article from The Age on the subject of sin. It’s overloaded with quotes, but it talks about society’s diminishing belief in sin. Which isn’t anything new. The article was precipitated by the Vatican’s recent announcement of the 7 social sins that are supposed to echo the 7 cardinals sins. The [...]
Entries from March 2008
March 28, 2008
Mike Duran on Christian Art
“I can’t help but wonder how many great Christian writers, musicians and artists are not embraced by the “Christian subculture” simply because their work does not adhere to a predetermined template. Well, if it’s any consolation, neither was Tolkien…
“The terms Christian art / fiction / music, indicate a retreat from the ale-house. We have our [...]
March 28, 2008
Guy Gets Mugged Then Treats the Mugger to Dinner
Great story of a guy who gets mugged, last month, by a teenager in the Bronx, and ends up treating the kid to dinner. [Read here]
March 27, 2008
My Name is Russell Fink and the Quirky Genre
My Name is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder is a recent novel out in the Christian market. It’s a quirky novel and I mean that in a good way. If Quirk was a genre this would be in it. Quirky like Napoleon Dynamite, or Darjeeling Limited, or Miranda July, or My Life as a Smashed [...]
March 27, 2008
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is the story of three generations of one Dominican family. Its main character is Oscar, the fat, lazy, lonely, dorky, nerdy, dweeby, unhip, uncool, always-will-be-a-virgin Oscar, and his subsequent rise and fall.
Oscar Wao is a tragedy of tragedies, an account of the [...]
March 25, 2008
Half-Life by Jonathan Raymond
When a pair of human bones are dug up on Tina and Trixie’s commune, the Portland community is in an uproar about who the bones belong to: the local Native Americans or to Science for further study. Somehow the bones are connected to Oregon’s early history, of two best friends, Cookie and Henry, early [...]
March 22, 2008
Exit Ghost by Philip Roth
Philip Roth’s Exit Ghost is the latest (and possibly last) of his Nathan Zuckerman novels. Roth enthusiasts love to find the similarities between the fictional Zuckerman and real Roth and Roth appears to advocate that looking to close makes it so, “the essence of the artifact is lost.”
Nathan Zuckerman returns to New York city [...]
March 1, 2008
Portland Pilots Beat 8th Ranked Michigan in Extra Innings
The University of Portland baseball team beat 8th ranked University of Michigan 4-3 in 10 innings on Friday. Earlier in the week the Michigan Wolverines tied the New York Mets in an exhibition game. Also, earlier in the week, University of Portland lost to Division III George Fox.
The moral of the story:
George [...]
