Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1158

Silence may well be golden, even if sometimes cowardly.

    It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. George Bernard Shaw   I’m afraid, even though I’m not English, that I know exactly what he’s talking about.  It doesn’t happen only in England.    

“Huge reservoir of water discovered in space 30 billion trillion miles away”

    Presumably in connection with my post from earlier today on where Earth’s water comes from, David Wills (Adelaide, South Australia) has just called my attention to this intriguing article:   http://www.universetoday.com/87669/hu...    

“Cookbook review: ‘I Love Ramen’ spruces up a college staple”

    The illustrious young movie writer at the Deseret News turns his attention briefly to a book on quasi-Japanese cooking:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Astounding versatility.    

Ordain Janitors

    If you’re progressively seeking to discover ever new frontiers of oppression and injustice, here’s one for you:   http://www.ordainjanitors.org   Don’t forget to click on and read the testimonials.    

“. . . when the seas literally fell from the sky”

      The new (March 2015) issue of Scientific American contains an interesting article by two UCLA planetary scientists, David Jewitt and Edward D. Young.   “Oceans from the Skies” looks at the current state of the question “Where did Earth’s water come from?”   There’s a two-paragraph preview available here that might whet [Read More...]

New Testament 82

    Luke 6:43-45 Compare Matthew 7:15-20; 12:33-35   Immediately following a strong exhortation not to judge, Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Plain has Jesus explain that, just as trees are known by the quality of their fruit, people are known by their actions.   This is, very plainly, a recognition that we [Read More...]

“Dr. Dan Peterson”

    I was delighted, a couple of days ago, to discover that the British ITV mystery/detective series Midsomer Murders (1997-) has, at least in the past, featured a character named “Dr. Dan Peterson.”   Who, I wondered, could they have hired to portray a person bearing so solemn — so august, respectable, and important [Read More...]

BYU and a national ranking of undergraduate programs in Arabic

    http://foreign-language-colleges.com/...   The efforts of many have gone into creating a program that’s so highly ranked.  Superb and dedicated people have built it over the past three decades, and they continue to improve it.   It can certainly be said, though, that this ranking is a tribute to, and a legacy of, the labors [Read More...]

“Why are Christian movies so painfully bad?”

    There is much — very much — in and about Hollywood that is, to put it mildly, distasteful.  Antithetical to my value and beliefs and opposed, frankly, to those of many people, Mormon and non-Mormon alike, in Hollywood’s audience.   I wish that there were a strong tradition of excellent Christian film-making.  I [Read More...]

“A Letter Concerning Muslim Toleration”

    A moderate Muslim voice, reminding us of a moderate Muslim tradition:   http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/opi...