What is evil really? Webster’s defines it thus: morally bad or wrong; wicked. Causing ruin, injury or pain; harmful. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious. I can tell you for certain that evil is alive and well, but it is not a particularly popular axiom.
There are some men who have dared to admit the [...]
This post is dedicated to all the victims of Jerry Sandusky and their families. My thoughts, compassion, mercy and prayers are with you.
Those who have never experienced a serious injustice cannot comprehend what is like to be a victim waiting for justice to come about. Probably there is no greater frustration than to be [...]
“Alcohol makes you feel better and then makes you feel worse and then remorselessly very bad indeed, but then alcohol will make you feel better again. It is the cure for the dog that bit you, and how easily you forget it is also the dog.”
Roger Ebert
Ever since Valerie Bertinelli wrote her memoir [...]
Continue Reading →There are certain signs one has reached the holiday season.
First, they are playing the eternally sappy song with the lines: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
Second, you have been inundated with catalogs in your mailbox.
Third, it is time to make the inevitable trip to the post office to mail your [...]
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*Note: If you haven’t seen the movie and you want to, this post reveals the ending.
Anyone who tells you they have no regrets is a liar.
Anyone who says they are not lying about having no regrets, is a liar.
It’s impossible to live without regret. Those who think it is possible deceive themselves. Continue Reading →
Do you ever notice how in life it is the simple stories that hold the most profound truths?
I want to look at one such ‘simple story’ from the Bible. In looking at it I want to answer the question ‘Is there anything more important than serving God?’
It is the story of Jesus visiting [...]
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They say that everyone has a story.
I guess someday I thought maybe I would write mine. But it turns out that a book has already been written about my life. Not just a book, but a set of them. They are called: A Series Of Unfortunate Events.
Unfortunate, a word which here means having [...]
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Unlike the theft of money or jewels, cars and other collectibles, the theft of a
singular work by an artistic virtuoso is truly a crime against all of us.
Anthony Amore, Tom Mashberg
Let’s say hypothetically, that you wanted to become an art thief.
You pick your museum of choice. You case the joint. [...]
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I am always amazed when I read a children’s classic to my kids and come to find it is not the sappy story I remembered from childhood. I think this is due to the fact that my parents did not read me the stories in early childhood. I simply watched some Disney version of the [...]
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To all those who are ambitious and want to set out to write a biography of Johannes Vermeer, then read on because I am going to give you some tips.
First go to the refrigerator and get yourself a nice icy cold coke. Then find yourself a big comfy armchair and plop yourself down in [...]
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It is the year 1665.
The artists sits reflectively in front of his easel lost in thought. All is quiet in the house.
The light of the first streaks of dawn stream through the window. He picks up his brush. Quickly he paints in master strokes. He is placing the finishing touches on the painting.
[...]
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“I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made
reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees………Yet when I surveyed all that
my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything [...]
“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill for
the caged bird sings of freedom”
Maya Angelou
Before there was the Cohen brothers, there was the Brothers Grimm. Jacob born in 1785, and Wilhelm in 1786 were raised [...]
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I must admit that I have a fascination with tattoos. I wonder why people get them. I wonder why they choose the particular image they do. I wonder what it says about them. Is it a statement? If so, what does it say? Certainly it does catch the attention.
This past weekend I attended a [...]
Continue Reading →“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”
Mark Twain
“Avarice distracts those who might do more serious work such as many of
our artists and writers, into the avaricious pursuit of possessions that
neither their work or their lives in fact require, and in the end pervert
and destroy.”
Henry Fairlie
If [...]
Continue Reading →Christianity alone has the resources to restore the arts to their
proper place, for Christianity is a worldview that supports human
creativity yet does so with appropriate humility.”
Chuck Colson
“All the great artists copy the greatest artist.”
Stacey
What is art? How do we define it? How do we know that it is [...]
Continue Reading →In his book “How Now Shall We Live” Chuck Colson challenges that the first step to examining “the worldview behind pop culture” is to find “ a workable definition of pop culture.” So combining different thoughts Colson suggests in the chapter we might say that pop culture is: [...]
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“Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7
One of the things that I appreciate about Twain’s writing is that you can be reading along enjoying the experience similar to laying on a bank watching the clouds float by. Then all of the sudden he twists the plot and you feel [...]
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In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom and his crush, Becky Thatcher, get lost for several days in a cave. Out of candles, hungry, and desperate Tom and Becky spend those days in the cave fearful and almost feeling as if death is inevitable. Miraculously Tom finds a way out and the two escape. [...]
Continue Reading →The short answer is yes. Of Solomon the scripture says: “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt. He was wiser than any man, [...]
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