2012-05-20T13:59:46-04:00 lifetype-1.2.12-dev http://sca.salemsattic.com/lwblog/rss.php?blogId=1&profile=atom Copyright (c) sursumcorda tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-20:2122 2012-05-20T13:59:46-04:00

So, the CDC wants all of the "baby boom" generation tested for hepatitis C , in a move reminiscent of school teachers who punish the whole class for the misbehavior of the few.  I was ...

sursumcorda Health Everyday Life So, the CDC wants all of the "baby boom" generation tested for hepatitis C , in a move reminiscent of school teachers who punish the whole class for the misbehavior of the few.  I was planning on simply refusing the test, should our doctor suggest it, but now I have a better answer. The Big Red Bus was at our church today, so we hopped on and donated, after the Eucharist.  (Blood in, blood out.)  As it happens, testing for hepatitis C is part of the "mini-physical" you get when you donate blood.  Now if the doctor asks, I can say, "been there, done that."  Several times over, as a matter of fact. tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-17:2121 2012-05-17T07:56:09-04:00

Study finds coffee-drinkers live longer The bad news?  Lots of cream and sugar could negate the effect. The good news?  Enjoy your coffee guilt-free.  At least the coffee ...

sursumcorda Health Study finds coffee-drinkers live longer The bad news?  Lots of cream and sugar could negate the effect. The good news?  Enjoy your coffee guilt-free.  At least the coffee helps negate the effect of the cream and sugar.  :)  And remember, stress and guilt are bad for you, too! tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-16:2120 2012-05-16T16:30:16-04:00

Florida gets all too much press for crazy happenings, so it's about time another state took the spotlight.  Was it another school shooting that put Cascade High School in Hendricks County, ...

sursumcorda Education Florida gets all too much press for crazy happenings, so it's about time another state took the spotlight.  Was it another school shooting that put Cascade High School in Hendricks County, Indiana, in the headlines?  Nope.  The newsworthy offense was a senior prank involving the deadly ... Post-It note !  (H/T Free-Range Kids )  Actually, the offense was on the part of the school administrators, who so far have suspended over 50 students, either for participating in the prank or for protesting the school's draconian response. For years, MIT and Caltech have known that inventive, harmless pranks are a sign of an intelligent, creative student body.  I think we can guess what schools the administrators did NOT graduate from—though maybe the helpful janitor ( Frazz ?) did.  tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-15:2119 2012-05-15T21:03:50-04:00

Until Janet wrote a post that tops everything , this celebration of mothers from Lenore Skenazy was my favorite Mother's Day article.  It's still great.  I present some excerpts, ...

sursumcorda Children & Family Issues Until Janet wrote a post that tops everything , this celebration of mothers from Lenore Skenazy was my favorite Mother's Day article.  It's still great.  I present some excerpts, with love, for all of my favorite mothers. Time out from America’s favorite spectator sport: Mommy bashing. Mommies who “ignore” their kids. Mommies who “smother” their kids. Mommies who do what mommies have done since the beginning of time—their gosh-darn best. And yet, according to some onlooker somewhere (often one with air time to fill), that’s just not good enough. We worry that one false move—a harsh word, a broken promise, perhaps a non-Paul Newman sandwich cookie—could cause a lifetime of pain. This worry is reinforced by a tsunami of parenting “resources” telling moms how to do everything just right: the right books, words, classes. I’ve seen whole articles on which sand toys to buy.  The corollary is blame:  If moms don’t do all those things (and spend all that time and waste all that money), their kids will be losers. And it’s all their fault. That message is why mothers are getting the short end of the rattle. It’s a message that says there’s some secret recipe for raising great kids and anyone not following the recipe is doing it WRONG. But you know what? Most moms, whether working or not, breastfeeding or not, are doing a great job. They hug their children. They kiss the boo-boo, they get the kids fed. And if it’s a Hot Pocket instead of broccoli rabe…so what? There ISN’T a secret recipe for childrearing, there’s only the basic ingredient: Love. Most moms have it in spades. It’s who they are. So don’t keep telling them what they’re doing wrong. Thank them for getting the biggest thing right. tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-10:2117 2012-05-10T17:00:23-04:00

Luke's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Putnam Praise, 2009) Luke's Story, the second book of LaHaye and Jenkins' Jesus Chronicles , uses the Bible, extra-biblical sources, ...

sursumcorda Reviews Luke's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Putnam Praise, 2009) Luke's Story, the second book of LaHaye and Jenkins' Jesus Chronicles , uses the Bible, extra-biblical sources, and a lot of imagination to tell a reasonably credible story about the author of the Gospel of Luke.  I found it more interesting than Mark's Story , though it suffers from many of the same defects.  It's still seems like cheating that the authors get so much of their word count by lifting passages straight from the Bible, and their denominational slant is annoying.  Worse, it lacks a first-century feel.  I'm not sure I'd recognize an authentic setting, but I know the characters are spouting modern language, theology, and attitudes.  Somehow I doubt that first-century worship looked quite so much like a modern American Baptist service.... However, there's more "story" to this book than there was to Mark's Story , which made it more enjoyable to read. tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-09:2116 2012-05-09T12:30:44-04:00

It was almost an idyllic scene:  Three adults, eight children—four boys, four girls, ages 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 3, 14 months, and 6 months—and one playground all to ourselves. Well, ...

sursumcorda Children & Family Issues Everyday Life It was almost an idyllic scene:  Three adults, eight children—four boys, four girls, ages 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 3, 14 months, and 6 months—and one playground all to ourselves. Well, almost all to ourselves.  As the children happily ran back and forth across the grounds, it was more than a little annoying to remind them to watch out for the maintenance cart that came back again and again to ... to what? The first time, the driver was apparently cleaning up branches from a recent storm, though he spent most of his time making worried comments about the exuberantly-climbing 14-month-old and glaring at the three adults who clearly weren't doing their duty in keeping her off the dangerous equipment.  "There's an open space up there she could fall through, you know!"  Yep, she could have fallen, I suppose, but she's part monkey, part mountain goat, and part bulldozer, so none of us saw any reason to spoil her fun.  "Open space" or not, this playground is as safe as it can get without being of no use at all.  Since the days when our children played there, we've lost the merry-go-round, the high, curly slide, and a lot of climbing equipment that was far more interesting ("dangerous") than that which replaced it. The boys had ridden their scooters into the park, and dropped them right on the sidewalk as they ran off to play on the equipment.  We'd left the scooters where they lay, because no one else was in the park to be bothered by them.  When the maintenance cart came by, I quickly moved them out of his way.  "Do you know whose scooters those are?"  "Yes; they're ours."  "Riding scooters in the park is forbidden."  "Okay, I'll let the kids know."  We meekly obeyed, though I can't imagine why he found it necessary to enforce the rule.  Did I mention we were the only ones in the park ? Finally, the man drove away.  But like the famous cat , he kept coming back.  Driving slowly through the park, peering suspiciously at the children's antics, then leaving, only to repeat the process a few minutes later.  In other circumstances I would have been tempted to call the police!  But I'm sure he only meant well, and just wanted to be available when one of the frolicking youngsters suffered an injury, since the adults were clearly irresponsible, chatting away among themselves while the children chased each other up and down and all around. Everyone had a wonderful time—except possibly the maintenance man, and who knows? maybe he was satisfied in a perverse sort of way for having prevented a scraped-knee scooter injury.  But the experience did leave me slightly disturbed. Reading the Free-Range Kids blog, I've heard plenty of stories of how schools, governments, playgrounds, social service agencies, and other institutions have joined "helicopter" parents in a culture of fear that deprives today's children of the opportunities they need to develop into strong, competent, independent adults.  But this was my first personal experience with the phenomenon, and it was somewhat of a shock. tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-08:2115 2012-05-08T20:13:41-04:00

The materials:  We bought a couple of posts and a second hammer, but the rest of the materials were scrounged or donated by neighbors. The labor force:  Jonathan, Noah, Faith, and ...

sursumcorda Everyday Life The materials:  We bought a couple of posts and a second hammer, but the rest of the materials were scrounged or donated by neighbors. The labor force:  Jonathan, Noah, Faith, and Dad-o. The experience:  Priceless.    Video tour of the fort .  Even Faith can climb up the ladder to the top, though she hasn't tried the Jump Line yet. Jonathan demonstrates the Jump Line . tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-05-06:2112 2012-05-06T21:16:39-04:00

No, We Can't:  Radical Islam, Militant Secularism, and the Myth of Coexistence by Robert Stearns (Chosen, 2011) I received this book for review under false pretenses, but it was my ...

sursumcorda Reviews No, We Can't:  Radical Islam, Militant Secularism, and the Myth of Coexistence by Robert Stearns (Chosen, 2011) I received this book for review under false pretenses, but it was my fault entirely.  This was the blurb that caught my eye: The world is shifting, and a war for world domination is raging between radical Islam, militant secularism and Judeo-Christianity. But what does it mean for you—and why should you care?  With clarity and astonishing depth, Robert Stearns lays out the dire ramifications of this coming culture clash for Christians. Based on years of global outreach, he shows what believers can and must do. The tipping point in global culture is upon us. What role will you play? Normally, words like "a war for world domination" wouldn't encourage me to pick up a book.  But I thought this would be a word from the trenches, from one known for his care for the poor, the downtrodden, and the marginalized all over the world.  I was eager to hear about "radical Islam" from one whose organization has experienced tragedy at the hands of the Taliban, yet continues to provide humanitarian aid to "all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender."  I was expecting "he shows what believers can and must do" to focus on the need for more church involvement in fighting the causes of poverty and injustice worldwide.  I was hoping to hear about World Vision International's experiences dealing with culture clashes, and was especially interested to hear the warnings of such a man about "dire ramifications of this coming culture clash."  I wanted to know what led such a man, who claims we have the knowledge and ability to end most extreme poverty if only we had the will, to write a book entitled, "No, We Can't." My mistake was in not checking up on the author.  It turns out that the president of World Vision is Richard Stearns , while the author of this book is Robert Stearns .  As far as I know, they are not related, and they certainly have different perspectives. Having agreed to review the book, however mistakenly, I was obligated to read it.  It's a pity that Robert Stearns' language is so strident and his logic sometimes shaky, because I think he has some good points; it's just too hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. The author's basic premise: [F]rom the stage of world history have arisen three primary houses of thought , three perspectives of the world, three cultural kingdoms that are currently contending for global ascendancy:  Radical Islam, Militant Secularism and the Judeo-Christian worldview.  They are not the only three houses in existence today, but as we survey the landscape of global affairs, we see that their pervasiveness is uncontestable, and their shaping influence beyond doubt. The author's point of view: [W]e can plainly see that the Judeo-Christian worldview is the best possible means of providing a platform of liberty for the human race. I happen to agree with him in this, but his book fails to make this point convincingly.  Part of the problem lies in his over-broad classifications, e.g. viewing all Islam as Radical Islam, and treating "Judeo-Christianity" as one religion, instead of two, albeit with common roots and many important interlinkages. The heads of state in Germany, France and the United Kingdom have each done an about-face on the subject of multiculturalism.  Just recently, these distinguished leaders have, one by one, publicly stated that their nations have erred in promoting segmented multiculturalism with their borders, particularly in light of the dangerous advancement of Radical Islam in Europe.  All three leaders pointed to the need to uphold their national identity and values among all who immigrate, so as to guard against the rise of these destructive patterns in their communities. I sympathize with both Stearns and the heads of state he mentions, and grant that immigrants have a "when in Rome" obligation to respect their host culture.  But this swing of the pendulum is a two-edged sword, and has been used to persecute homeschoolers in Germany. There are no easy answers, and Stearns is right that ignoring problems does not solve them.  An easy, "Why can't we all get along?" approach severely underestimates the differences in how different cultures view the world, and as Stearns points out, Westerners—and especially Americans—are peculiarly prone to assuming that deep down, everyone thinks like us.  Or that they will, as soon as they are sufficiently enlightened. Hear what Dr. Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford and imam of the Summertown Islamic Congregation had to say in an article entitled, What Has Britain Come To When It Takes a Muslim Like Me to Defend Christianity?   (My quote is from the book's excerpt (ellipses in the original), but you can read the entire article here .) Christianity is under siege in this country:  Britain's national religion has never been so marginalized and derided, especially by the public institutions that should be defending it. ... [A] new form of virulent secularism is sweeping through society—and its target is Christianity. ... It is no coincidence that as Christianity is repeatedly attacked, so the social fabric of Britain becomes increasingly frayed.  As we lose our strong moral compass, family breakdown and violent crime are at record levels, while our once famous sense of community spirit is evaporating. No, We Can't may be a feel-good, inspirational book for those who already share Robert Stearns' philosophies, and it might be convincing for someone leaning significantly in his direction, but it's too alarmist to be a tool for drawing in the mainstream audience I think he's hoping for.  That's a pity, because some of his points are worth considering. I still want to read the same book as written by Richard Stearns. Legal Blather Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers . I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “ Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising .” tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-04-24:2110 2012-04-24T08:49:51-04:00

Celebrating a Simple Life has a perceptive post this morning.  Ostensibly, it's about giving meaningful praise to children's artwork , but I say her wisdom has a much wider application, ...

sursumcorda Education Children & Family Issues Celebrating a Simple Life has a perceptive post this morning.  Ostensibly, it's about giving meaningful praise to children's artwork , but I say her wisdom has a much wider application, for chldren and adults in all areas of life.  Read the whole thing; it's worthwhile, it's short, and it shows a great picture painted by her son. When you give meaningless praise, your kid comes to expect it for every not-so-impressive act they perform.  It's exhausting to the parent, becomes meaningless to the child, and sets up a bad habit of being forced to praise mediocrity, with your child knowing full well that the praise is hollow. When you describe what you see, you are telling the child your work is worth examining more closely.  You are encouraging language development through your description.  You are teaching your child to have a critical eye for their own work.  And then when you do offer praise, your kid knows they deserved it. (Apologies, to those who care, for publishing the awkward gender-neutral but grammar-offensive language.  The content is worth getting past that.) I'm convinced that non-specific praise in any area, for child or adult, usually does more harm than good.  It means we're not taking them or their work seriously.  It means we're too lazy (tired, busy, etc.) to do our own job right.  And it sets up children, especially, for failure in the long run: when praise is unrelated to the quality of the work, how can they improve? When a five-second scribble receives the same fulsome admiration as a 30-minute effort, how do they learn that persistence and hard work make a difference? That's not to say that it isn't important to convey to our children (and others) that we love them because of who they are, not because of what they do.  I'm not advocating conditional love.  But when commenting on work done, specific and meaningful praise is what both feeds the heart and encourages more and better efforts. tag:sca.salemsattic.com,2012-04-23:2109 2012-04-23T20:01:49-04:00

With apologies to our Northeastern friends who would like to be done with winter, thank you very much, I just have to say that I LOVE THIS WEATHER!  The air conditioner is silent (would that ...

sursumcorda Everyday Life With apologies to our Northeastern friends who would like to be done with winter, thank you very much, I just have to say that I LOVE THIS WEATHER!  The air conditioner is silent (would that the power mowers, blowers, trimmers, and saws were also), we can have the windows open once more, the humidity is down, and tonight I ditched my shorts for comfortable jeans.  I hear the low will dip into the 40's tonight.  :)  It can't last for long—we'll be back in the 90's by the end of the week—but we're sure enjoying it while we can.