Saturday Good Reads

Growing up, one of my favorite magazines -- my favorite and that of virtually every other boy I knew -- was Mad Magazine. I loved it's take-off of television shows ("Loused Up in Space"), the Spy vs, Spy cartoon, the ads, all of it -- it was perfect for appealing to the immature, juvenile mind. And the iconic figure always to be found portrayed somewhere (usually the cover) was Alfred E. Neuman. As it turns out, Alfred is turning 60 this year, and may actually date to the 1890s. The Paris Review (of all publications) gives us the scoop.

I wonder if Alfred would consider running for President.

The BBC has some wonderful photographs by poet Edward Thomas, taken in a bicycling tour in England in 1913. Thomas, one of the famous World War I poets, and a friend of Robert Frost, died in the Battle of Arras in 1917.

Did you think you could tell the history of the English language in five words? Professor Simon Horobin of Oxford gives it a try. 

And art, more photography, poetry, sobering stories on politics, Walmart, Wendell Berry, and the Piano Guys mashing up Adele and Mozart. 

Art and Photography

Newly discovered photos by poet Edward Thomas – Phil Coomes at BBC.

Bryant Woods Spring – oil on canvas by Randall David Tipton at Painter’s Process.

At Birdhaven – Tim Good at Poems, Pics, and Ponderings.

Lifting a Glass: An old Kentucky distillery – Sarah Hoskins at Oxford American.

Life and Culture

 A boy with no birthday turns 60 (Alfred E. Neuman) – Paris Review.

“You can see it all over. It’s unwinding.” – Rod Dreher at American Conservative Magazine.

Lost and Saved on Television – Ross Douthat at First Things.

What Happens When Walmart Dumps You – Joel Kotkin at The Daily Beast.

Nature’s Leadership Ways – Jon Mertz at Thin Difference.

5 ways I break out of my introversion when needed – Ron Edmondson.

Poetry

Mary Oliver – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

Five Haiku for Spring in Washington, D.C. – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

Writing

When You’re Afraid, Focus on the Process – Mick Silva.

Through Wendell Berry’s Looking Glass – Gracy Olmstead at American Conservative.

The history of English can be explained in five words – Simon Horobin at Quartz.

Faith

Grace on Its Knees – Lynn Mosher.

Why the More Things Change, They Really Don’t Stay the Same – Michelle DeRusha at Graceful.

The Piano Guys: Adele (Hello) and Mozart (Lacrimosa)

Painting: Leopoldine Hugo (daughter of Victor) by Auguste de Chatillon (1835); Maison de Victor Hugo, Paris.

Saturday Good Reads

It’s Halloween, and Chris Yokel asks why ghost stories and tells a tale a Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Rod Dreher at American Conservative has been telling the story all week of the Catholic liberal theologians who wrote a letter to The New York Times, protesting a column on Pope Francis by Catholic Ross Douthat. The pixels are flying all over the place; Dreher decided to take a look at one of the academics who signed the letter, and it’s amazing what passes for adacemic scholarship these days.

Good poetry – good stories about writing – and a wake-up call about Planned Parenthood.

And the Piano Guys do what only the Piano Guys can do – combine a fight song with Amazing Grace, way up in Scotland.

Halloween

Why Ghost Stories? and The Spiritual Quest of Jack Skellington – Chris Yokel.

Top Ten Spooky Poems for Halloween – Lyla Lindquist at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Poetry

Through the Windy – Robbie Pruitt.

Perfect Dragonfly – A Cento – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

The Seven Types of Poetry – Robert Peake at Huffington Post Books.

After the Exile – Corey Mesler at Curator Magazine.

Sylvia Plath Reading Her Poems – via Englewood Review of Books.

Writing

Five Minutes with Peter Ackroyd – BBC News.

The Writing Life Podcast: Never, Never, Never Sit on a Story – Ann Kroeker.

Tiny Distractions and Silent Vows – Mick Silva.

A Sincere Thank You – My Final Post – Matt Appling at The Church of No People.

She’s So Lovely – Travis Thrasher at The Journey is Everything.

Photography

The Champion Table Build, Part 3: Leg Joinery – Jack Baumgartner at The School of the Transfer of Energy.

Fall Hydrangea – Tim Good.

Faith

Why Study Academic Theology? – Rod Dreher at American Conservative.

When God Goes Away, Superstition Takes His Place – The American Interest.

Refugee Stories: The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back – David Rupert at Red-Letter Believers.

On Revivalist Christianity – Owen White at The Ochlophobist.

Can I Love My Children Enough to Let Them Fail? – Shawn Smucker.

Planned Parenthood

This is Your Wake-Up Call – Betsey Childs Howard at First Things.

Amazing Grace – Scottish Style

Top photograph by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Saturday Good Reads

It was a good week for poetry (lots of poetry) and fun (The Piano Guys have a great version of “I Want You Bach!”). But nothing moved me quite as much as an audio recording by Seth Haines, who begins by talking about sitting in a church in Austin early one Sunday morning – hung over. Seth speaks to the brokenness in all of us.

Faith

The Church of Ted – Megan Hustad in The New York Times (Hat tip: Jim Schmotzer).

The Two Fasts – Seth Haines (Audio).

My Only Begotten Sin -- A.G. Harmon at Image Journal.

Poetry

Be mine – Nancy Davis at Cornfields and Lightning Bugs.

The Last Café – Brendan MacOdrum at Oran’s Well.

“Lord, make me a bird…” – Jerry Barrett at Gerald the Writer.

For Troy (Childlike) – Seth Haines.

The Island – Chris Yokel.

In the City This Spring – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

Those of the Broken Cross – John Blase at The Beautiful Due.

Scars & Empty Vases - by Kevin Heaton at Curator Magazine

Photography and Art

Coping with the Winds – Diane Walker at Contemplative Photography.

Details of Three Ferns – Timothy Good at Photography by Tiwago.

Rembrandt is in the Wind – Russ Ramsey at The Rabbit Room.

Fiction

Kites – via Ed Pilolla.

How “Christian” is Amish Fiction? – Mike Duran at deCompose.

Culture

Why Are the Humanities Deteriorating? – Mark Bauerlein at First Things.

Writing

Social Media Commitment Issues for Writers – Edie Melson at Novel Rocket.

Author Editor Insight – Travis Thrasher at The Journey is Everything.

Fun

The 1770s collide with the 1970s: I Want You Bach! - The Piano Guys:

Top photograph by Lubos Houska via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.