Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 397
July 29, 2013
The Tulsa Sound
J. J. Cale died, the musician and songwriter responsible with Leon Russell for developing the so-called “Tulsa Sound.” This was a bluesy, rock ‘n’ roll shuffle, often adorned with a honky tonk piano. The most notable exemplar of the Tulsa sound was the non-Okie Eric Clapton, but it can also be found in the numerous [Read More...]
Breakthrough in implanting false memories
Scientists have successfully implanted false memories into mice. The researches are excited at prospect of applying the same processes to human beings, which they say holds promise for treating emotional problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Read about the experiment after the jump, and then I want to pose some questions. From Meeri Kim, MIT [Read More...]
Fast-food strike
Starting today, fast-food workers in at least seven cities–Detroit, New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Flint, and Kansas City–plan to stage one-day strikes. The employees of McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and KFC are calling for “a living wage,” at least $15 per hour. From Michael A. Fletcher, Fast-food workers planning to expand protests in 7 [Read More...]
July 26, 2013
Why today’s political ideologies are pretty much the same
James Kalb has published an article that explains (1) why Democrats and Republicans (also Libertarians, Anarchists, and Populists) are ultimately so similar; (2) why social conservatives, such as Christians and other traditionalists, have such a difficulty in being heard in the public square; (3) the underlying worldview that dominates contemporary Western societies; and (4) why [Read More...]
The Eye of Sauron
David Rosen and Aaron Santesso, writing in Slate, no less, says that J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings gives us better insight into “the surveillance state” than George Orwell’s 1984. From Tolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best? – Slate Magazine: What can literary fiction teach us about recent revelations that the [Read More...]
Reading the whole Bible in 3 days
I told you about Rich Shipe’s youth group and their Bible reading marathon. After the jump is a video that compresses the three days of non-stop reading into four and a half minutes.
The view from Saturn
The Earth and the Moon from the Saturn probe Cassini, launched in 1997 and still sending back pictures, about a billion miles away: From Cassini Snaps Earth’s Picture From Out Beyond Saturn | News & Opinion | PCMag.com: On July 19, NASA took advantage of a rare alignment that allowed its Cassini spacecraft to photograph [Read More...]
July 25, 2013
De Toqueville on Christianity in America
Democracy in America, written by the French aristocrat Alexis de Toqueville in 1835, is full of stunningly perceptive and prescient insights into American culture, many of which are valid today nearly three hundred years later. Paula Bolyard discusses what he says about Christianity in the Republic, suggesting that his description of the church as profoundly [Read More...]
Atheists offended by Star of David
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is trying to get the state of Ohio to remove a Star of David. From a Holocaust memorial! From Atheist Group Calls for Removal of Star of David from Ohio Holocaust Memorial | National Review Online: An atheist group is agitating for the removal of the Star of David from [Read More...]
Saving a Down child from abortion
Here is a rather inspiring story about the use of social media and lots of people stepping up to save a child with Down syndrome from being aborted. From Hundreds call to adopt Down syndrome baby, save it from abortion – Washington Times: When the Rev. Thomas Vander Woude learned about a young couple planning [Read More...]
