novels, comets, movies
Below are my ten most memorable reads of 2023, fiction and nonfiction, out of my 33 first-time reads. Actually I've thrown 11 chariots into the race, and an honorable runner-up. For each book, I've listed some excerpts, not necessarily the "best" -- there are countless great quotes in all of these -- but just a … Continue reading Favorite reads of 2023
I recently reread the Gospel of Mark and noticed, with appreciation, how many of the people in this Gospel, including Jesus' closest disciples, are shown as confused, uncomprehending, and fearful. Fear, then, became a theme for me in this rereading, partly prompted by Rowan Williams' book, "Meeting God in Mark". I made the lists below, … Continue reading Fear and courage in Mark’s Gospel
Some thirty-three years ago, the Voyager 1 spacecraft attempted to photograph all of the known planets in our solar system in a single "family portrait." But it couldn't see all of them. Some planets were too small, or too close to the Sun. The Earth, as is now well-known, turned up as a mere smudge … Continue reading Satan’s Pale Blue Dot
My kids have not grown up on "Star Trek", and until recently they knew nothing about it beyond Spock's ears, a captain named Kirk, and maybe a ship named Enterprise. For our regular movie night I recently picked "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." I didn't tell the kids what I was going to … Continue reading Star Trek II: The Wrath of the Well-Read Villain
I chose "Contact", the 1997 Robert Zemeckis film based on Carl Sagan's novel of the same, for a recent family movie night. It was new to the kids. I read the book a few years ago, soon after quarantine began. I had been wanting to show the kids this movie ever since we saw "The … Continue reading Contact movie night
My son Jacob recently chose "The Prince of Egypt" when it was his turn in our revolving "family movie night". He intends to run through all the Dreamworks animated pictures -- a project that should take us about four years, at our current pace -- and "Prince of Egypt", released in 1998, was Dreamworks' second. … Continue reading Prince of Egypt Movie Night
These reflections of mine will not be new, but they are new for me. I recently showed my kids one my favorite movies, "Contact", based on Carl Sagan's novel of the same name, about a potential first contact on Earth with extraterrestrial life. We had a great discussion about it, and since then I've been … Continue reading Consider Again that Dot
During my convalescence this past winter I watched a lot of movies. I've gotten busy making YouTube playlists of my favorite music and movies. I started one playlist privately just to collect some of my favorite concluding scenes from movies, and I threw in a few scenes from old movies that marked the Intermission break. … Continue reading Favorite movie endings
My ten most memorable reads of 2022, fiction and nonfiction, out of my 42 first-time reads: 1. The Book of Job -- Robert Alter's translation “Oh, let that night be barren, let it have no song of joy.Let the day-cursers hex it, those ready to rouse Leviathan.Let its twilight stars go dark.Let it hope for … Continue reading Favorite reads of 2022
Huck Finn's dilemma: send his friend Jim back to slavery as he has been taught he must do, or go against his church's teaching by helping Jim to escape, and then go to eternal hell as punishment I've started reading David Bentley Hart's "That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell and Universal Salvation." It is … Continue reading That All Shall Be Saved