myopic pilgrim

I hardly ever listen to the radio in my car. It’s all podcasts from NPR, tech news, or sermons. And for awhile I listened to How to Succeed in Evil, a fictional podcast set in a world of superheroes. It’s well-produced with sound effects and background music. The author does a superb job of voicing all the characters.

The story centers around Edwin Windsor, an Evil Efficiency Consultant. “He’s like Arthur Anderson for Supervillians,” the author writes.

Just because a person can melt walls by winking at them or build a device to threaten the very fabric of our reality doesn’t mean that they know how to manage investments or squeeze money out of a scheme. Just look at M.C. Hammer. (Not that’s he’s evil or super — just that he’s exquisitely bad with money.)

Alas, new episodes are on hold while he works on a novel based on the same character, but there are about a score of episodes already done. Enough to feel reasonably satisfied. The quality of the story and writing are little uneven in the later episodes. But they’re short and fun, a nice little break between All Things Considered and N.T. Wright.

Here’s a fun visual aid to understanding the differences between Eastern and Western cultures (specifically China and Germany). These icons were designed by Liu Young, a graphic designer born in China and living in Germany. I don’t know if it’ll help with your understanding of Jesus, but I find the ones titled The Boss, Me, and Way of Life useful.

This one’s called Punctuality. No deep spiritual meaning for me. It just makes me feel a little better about my own tardiness.

You can see most of the East Meets West icons here with some commentary by a Canadian ex-pat in Taiwan. There are few more that are easily found via Google.

Jesus Discovered to Live Further East than Pittsburgh!

Radiolab did a show on Ancient Garbage. One segment was centered on papyri with supposed lost sayings of Jesus. Jad Abumrad, one of the hosts, comments that in these ancient scraps Jesus sounds almost Eastern. “This is a different Jesus than the one in the Bible,” he says. Read the rest of “Christianity Is an Eastern Religion” »

Lately I’ve been having trouble with my homophones. Its a little embarrassing because I’m the guy that has too point out (and politely, I think) the mistake in other’s writing. Usually this isn’t such a big deal, but their are times when it is. If I’m writing text four the church website, it would be nicer (when your reading it) two not see us perpetuate a stereotype of simple-minded, uneducated Christians. At least I’m catching it now, but I’m scared to think how long it’s gone on unchecked.

I recommend more Grammar Girl. Anything else I should look into?

• Jun 27 : Christianity Is an Eastern Religion
• Jun 25 : haiku: summer solstice / wheel…
• Jun 23 : Homophones
• Jun 20 : Another Great Pope Comic
• Jun 18 : Baby Names and Nationalities
• Jun 16 : Outgoing Message Sonnet
• May 19 : haiku: summer threatening / ic…
• May 14 : Can Someone Explain This to Me?
• May 8 : haiku: snappy one-liners / am …
• May 7 : My Son Discovers There’s Water in the Toilet
• May 7 : Helping Evelyn Mount
• May 1 : Preacher Answers Questions During Sermon via Texting
• Apr 25 : haiku: childhood cancer / you …
• Apr 17 : Preaching through Vicarious Conversation
• Apr 17 : haiku: pear trees white with b…
• Apr 15 : Top 5 Stevie Wonder Cover Songs (Minus One) I Like Better than the Original
• Apr 11 : Human Chimeras and the Souls of the Unborn
• Mar 30 : I Don’t Belong to Myself
• Mar 24 : My Son Likes Opera
• Mar 6 : Blogging Lent - Why God
• Feb 27 : I Have Achieved the Impossible
• Feb 27 : Why I’m at Coram Deo
• Feb 20 : Blogging Lent - Others
• Feb 13 : Blogging Lent - Paradise
• Feb 6 : Blogging Lent - Father, Forgive Them
• Feb 6 : Blogging Lent - Seven Sayings of Jesus
• Feb 2 : What Jesus Accomplished on the Cross
• Jan 24 : What Did Jesus Accomplish at the Cross?
• Jan 16 : More Mateo: Photos
• Jan 11 : Church, Incense, and Math