August 2011
50 posts
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“Evolutionary biologists believe that human lighting preferences are the result...”
– These lines from Dan Koeppel’s article in Wired magazine, “The Future of Light Is the LED,” nails it. His explanation captures people’s — frankly, my — aversion to the horrible, cold light of compact fluorescent bulbs and the ritual cringe many of us experience each morning...
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Mormons Spread the Good Word with SEO Strategy
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Not every religious organization has an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy, but the online success of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may make them a model for public relations efforts online.
The Washington Post reports that of any religious group, LDS.org is the most-visited website. Since 2007, according to SEO consultant Justin...
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Religion and Taxes: Reconciling the Views of Ayn...
by Alexander E. Sharp, special contributor
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) gives an interview to Pajamas TV in front of a “Kill the Bill” sign after addressing the Tea Party crowd at a protest on March 21, 2010. (photo: The Q/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The deficit and budget battles in Washington make clear that the divisions between us are deep, even spiritual. The fight is not over...
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“Riven means broken, it means shattered or wounded or unhealed, and I think that...”
– —Christian Wiman, the editor of Poetry magazine from his interview with Radio Open Source on his book of poems, Every Riven Thing.
“Shattered” (photo: David Shield/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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A Summer's Koan
by Catherine J. Denial, guest contributor
This summer, I headed to Minneapolis on a research trip, glad to be headed north after two years’ absence. I rented a tiny house on the city’s south side, and hauled books and papers and photocopies with me — the tools of my trade in glorious abundance.
And then the state government shut down. Thousands of Minnesotans were thrown out of...
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40 Years of Contemplation at The Rothko Chapel
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Studying Rothko inside the Chapel. (photo: Stefan Klocek/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)
The Rothko Chapel is a historic Texas landmark, dedicated in 1971 as an interfaith sanctuary and space of personal contemplation. It houses 14 paintings by the late abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. They are black-on-black paintings, the largest of which is 15 by nearly nine ...
Anonymous asked: how do u get your theme? looks amazing
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WatchThe Evangelical Influencers of Michele Bachmann
by Susan Leem, associate producer
The New Yorker’s profile of presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann introduces key figures in her life that influence her social and political views. One of these is Evangelical Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer. The excerpt above from Frontline’s God in America series describes Schaeffer as...
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Anonymous asked: where can I get a transcript for the show with Frances Kissling? Since I cannot enter my email address, how will I find out where I can get a transcript for the show?
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“I remember once I had a long period when I thought; ‘I’ll never have...”
– —Meredith Monk, in an interview with Mountain Record magazine.
The singer, composer, director, choreographer, filmmaker has been creating multidisciplinary works since the 1960s. Her latest CD is called Songs of Ascension.
(photo: Steven Henry/Getty Images)
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The Vanishing Ego in Painting: An Interview with...
by Kim Russo, guest contributor
On a gloriously sunny Memorial Day in 2008, I arrived at the Santa Fe studio of painter Joan Watts. I was there to interview her for a review in a local newspaper. She led me into her impressive studio where her newest paintings, in cool gradations of blue, purple, and gray, lined the warm, white walls. As we talked, a friendship based on our mutual experiences in...
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Raksha Bandan, A Celebration of Brotherhood and...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
A woman ties a rakhi, a sacred thread, around her brother’s wrist for a Raksha Bandhan festival in Bangalore, India. (photo: Dibyanshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
Raksha Bandhan literally means “a bond of protection” and Hindus celebrate brotherhood on this day, the full moon day of the Shravan month. It’s a celebration of relationships...
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Taking Another Person's Perspective: A Spatial and...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Amy Shelton with the tools of her work. (photo: Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins)
Psychologists who study learning and memory have a special interest in how people navigate reality in a three-dimensional world. There is a huge variation in abilities for spatial learning among adults, and some of these skills don’t even appear until adolescence. How you interact...
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“There was so much description emotionally in the poetry, and the harmony was...”
– —Brian Blade
The jazz musician and leader of The Fellowship Band sings the praises of Joni Mitchell’s 1990 album Hejira for Studio 360 in their “Aha Moments” series.
(photo: Wiqan Ang)
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“I would definitely say that Creole is a really good example of what American is,...”
– —Fiddler Cedric Watson, on what it means to be Creole in America.
~reblogged by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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Tisha B'Av, a Time for Lament Among Jews
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Marching in Jerusalem during Tisha B’Av commemoration. (photo: Eitan Abramovich/AFP/Getty Images)
Tisha B’Av, also called the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day of mourning for Jews around the world. On this day, they commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, including events reaching back to ancient times — the destruction...
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Hate Crime: A Poem of Grace and Gratefulness
by Luke Hankins, guest contributor
(photo: The Consumerist/Flickr/CC-BY-2.0)
I was verbally and physically assaulted in a parking lot at a local grocery store by four people because they thought that my shorts were too short and that I looked like a “faggot.” They didn’t try to take any money. They didn’t try to steal the beer I had just bought. They only wanted to hurt...
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“Ritual sanctification is assumed to take place at the moment when questionably...”
– —Nicholas Lemann makes some astute observations and smart points in The New Yorker’s Comments section.
~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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The Substitute Saints of Drug Trafficking: An...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
When the leader of a fast-growing drug cartel, La Familia, was arrested in late June, Mexican authorities proclaimed the end to their reign in the state of Michoacán. They gained notoriety for the grisly act of tossing five human heads onto a dance floor in western Mexico in 2006. But their moral behavior defies their moral identification. In fact, La Familia has...
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“There is, in short, a nexus of interrelated assumptions built into the basic...”
– —Nicholas Cook, from his book Music: A Very Short Intoduction
After seeing this quotation and checking out the reviews, I’m looking forward to reading this book from Oxford University Press.
~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
(via Jay Smooth’s Google+ stream)
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Picasso in Palestine for the Very First Time: An...
by Nancy Rosenbaum, producer
All photos courtesy of the Van Abbemuseum
This summer, for the first time, an original painting by Pablo Picasso was exhibited in the West Bank city of Ramallah. What’s the big deal, right? Museums and galleries loan each other works of art all the time. But in Israel and the West Bank, where politics, borders, and security concerns rule the day, organizing a...
misterchu asked: Yes. Mister Levi. If you have not tried 'Moments of Reprieve', do consider it. Mister Chu thinks you will find it to be worth your time.
Be well.
Be well.
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“There’s nothing saying Eden stayed perfect after the Fall. Genesis says God...”
– —Brook Wilensky-Lanford, from an interview in Religion Dispatches on her new book, Paradise Lust: Searching for the Garden of Eden
~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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WatchSpirits with a Low Light: The Santos Milandros, The “Holy Thugs” of Venezuela
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
No religion runs pure, free of human influence. But a cult of growing prominence in Venezuela takes syncretism to a whole new level of practicality, purpose, and paradox.
“One day the santos malandros help a desperate mother keep her child off drugs; the next day they...
“There is something maddeningly attractive about the untranslatable, about a word...”
– —Anne Carson, from “Variations on the Right to Remain Silent”
Our executive producer is a huge fan of the Canadian poet and playwright, and recently brought in Carson’s latest book NOX 2010, which is an absolutely thrilling experience.
~reblogged by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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“I have lived and worked in Dearborn, Michigan for 14 years. We have one of the...”
– —Janet Hughes left this poignant comment on our Facebook page in response to our recent post on the varied voices of Muslims.
~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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The Chelsea Hotel Closes Its Hallowed Halls for...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
The Chelsea’s famous signage. (photo: Mr. Littlehand/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
“The Chelsea was like a doll’s house in the Twilight Zone, with a hundred rooms, each a small universe. I wandered the halls seeking its spirits, dead or alive.” ~Patti Smith, from Just Kids
The musician and poet lived in the hotel during the 1970s with photographer...
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“I’m living with my parents on their farm over the summer, and helping them...”
– —Warren Ray
It’s hard not to smile when we read a comment like this posted on the wall of our program’s Facebook page. I’ve painted some fences and houses in my day but only had the whispering wind and the silent sun to keep me company. Praise the digital devices age!
~Trent...
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Lammas and Lughnasadh: Festivals of Harvest and...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Harvesting the wheat fields. (photo: tpmartins/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Lammas is celebrated by Christians and many modern Pagans (Lughnasadh) today, August 1st.
During medieval times, Christians observed this day as a feast day of St. Peter in Chains. The Anglos-Saxons called it hlaefmass, or “loafmass” in which medieval Christians baked bread from...
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Art Can Stir More than Just the Soul
by Susan Leem, associate producer
A visitor looks at the work of German photographer Thomas Struth. The subject of the photograph are themselves visitors looking at famous works of art in the world’s great museums. (photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)
Viewing and experiencing art in a museum can actually affect you physically.
As Tom Jacobs reports in Miller-McCune, researchers...
