As the great man's guest must produce his good stories or songs at the evening banquet, as the platform orator exhibits his telling facts at mid-day, so the journalist lies under the stern obligation of extemporizing his lucid views, leading ideas, and nutshell truths for the breakfast table.
Cardinal J. H. Newman, Preface to The Idea of a University, 1852

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow

A couple of people have pointed me to Csikszentmihalyi's idea of 'flow' over recent weeks. This 18 minute talk is a nice overview (thanks to Robin Faichney).
Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."


Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow | Video on TED.com

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Bible quotes in gun sights

U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes

Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found. [...]

The company's vision is described on its Web site: "Guided by our values, we endeavor to have our products used wherever precision aiming solutions are required to protect individual freedom."

"We believe that America is great when its people are good," says the Web site. "This goodness has been based on Biblical standards throughout our history, and we will strive to follow those morals."
Old Testament "Thou shalt not kill" would seem the more obvious choice.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Lord Carey calls for immigration cap

Even if it were politically the right thing to do:

Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, shatters the Anglican consensus on immigration

None of his fellow bishops has signed the document, which says:

"We are gravely concerned about the rapid increase in the population of England that is now forecast. We note that the official projections show the population of the UK will increase from 61.4 million in 2008 to exceed 70 million by 2029. Over the next 25 years the population will increase by 10 million, nearly all of the increase being in England. 70% – 7 million – will be due to immigration. We believe that immigration on such a scale will have a significant impact on our public services, our quality of life and on the nature of our society."

From report in the Telegraph

These are not the priorities of the Kingdom of God, and the Church should not be associated with it. It was very wrong of Lord Carey to sign. "What on earth is the Church for?"