Recently in EOWR Category

Blog Awards Wizbang is once again sponsoring its annual 2004 Weblog Awards. To my pleasant surprise, I found that I’ve been considered in the category of “Best of the Top 100 Blogs.” While it’s an honor just to be nominated I have to confess that as a Marine and a Baptist it would be so sweet to get a higher percentage of the vote than my favorite Methodist Army vet.

Kos Ethics On a related note, after finding that they were losing to Instapundit, the Daily Kos published an automatic voting code in order to give them an unfair advantage. Why am I not surprised that they would stoop to cheating?

And More Blog Awards John Hawkins has just released the results of the Third Annual Warblogger Awards. Although I was one of the 47 judges who participated, few of my nominations made the final cut. I suspect that most of the other judges also had unusual choices because few blogs (outside the obvious names) gained more than a handful of votes. Most of the selections are rather obvious but it's still worth perusing the results just to see who should have made the list.

First, Not Best Vox Day points out what I’ve always thought to be true: Richard Pryor just isn’t that funny.

Inconceivable! Macht from prosthesis explores the question, “Can God do the illogical?”

He's kidding, right? Sean Hackbarth notes one of the many reasons that Sen. John McCain is unqualified to be President.

Skin Traitors Dawn Eden is offended by “Porn conservatives.”

Note: Due to the number of quality posts that have sprung up on the topic of NPR vs. Talk Radio, I’ve decided to dedicate this week’s EoWR to the highlighting them. If you wrote on the topic and I’ve overlooked your blog please include a link in the comments section.

• The Elder from Fraters Libertas (a host for the Northern Alliance Radio Network) has a lengthy and thoughtful rebuttal to my six complaints against talk radio and provides reasons why NPR doesn’t compare.

• Mitch from Shot in the Dark (and another host for the NARN program) offers up his own excellent critique and provides a brilliant idea about conservatives creating a true alternative to NPR.

• King from SCSU scholars (and yet another NARN host) explains how a radio program like NARN provides an alternate model to the conventional personality driven format.

• Biola professor John Mark Reynolds diagnoses the problem with talk radio and points out that while many of us may find it “too liberal” not everyone sees it that way: “NPR is a window into right-of-center thinking in grad schools across America. We may find NPR liberal, but most folks I know in academia find it "corporate" and almost fascist.”

• Jeremy Pierce of Parablemania believes that the biggest strength of NPR is that it isn't all about politics and the "us vs. them" mentality.

• Mark Olson of Pseudo-Polymath suggests simply turning off the radio and listening to “books on tape.”

• TimDido from The Post Techie Conservative says that the original post “struck a nerve” and suggests letting the free market dictate what deserve to exist on the radio.

• Vox Day makes the great point that the one thing that NPR has over talk radio (and that liberals have over conservatives) is that conservatives are simply terrible about giving any credence to the areas of culture and entertainment.

• The Friar from Reason & Revelation diagrees with me and makes the case for Dennis Prager.

• JB from Notes & Musings is annoyed by the "unrelenting self-seriousness" of NPR and thinks they could use a a Three Stooges Film Festival.

And they say Presbyterians are “stuffy”… Here’s some bad news for mass-attending Catholics and “emergent church” types: burning candles and incense could make church air a "threat to health." (HT: Daniel Aronstein)

Scary Fundies Since the election the Left has been reminded of a lesson they hadn't thought about since the ‘80s – conservative religious types are scary. Jay Beuoy provides advice how to cope with “Evangeliphobia” while Sean Duffy has some thoughts on “Theophobia.”

Even Scarier Fundies Brent Rasmussen and DarkSyde (aka frequent commenter DS) have a new series called "Know Your Creationists" in which they attempt to “acquaint the Reality Based Community with some rather colorful members of the opposition.” That’s an interesting idea. I wonder where they could have come up with that concept…

Like The Onion. But For Believers Latest News: “Bush Proposes Faith-Based National Healthcare” and “Amway Christian Fellowship: the Fastest Growing Church in America”. Yep, the latest edition of The Holy Observer is out. (HT: Jeremy Pierce)

Quote of the Week “The use of tools is what separates us from the primates. You say you don’t use a concordance? Well, that’s how monkeys study their Bibles. — Dr. James Strong (Also from The Holy Observer. So it must be a genuine.)

Confused About Calvinism? David Wayne has a five part introduction to the 5 Points of Calvinism (I, II, III, IV, V)

Note Bene Blogs worth checking out: Another Man's Meat, Reason to Believe, Wesley Blog, What Attitude Problem?, Wittenberg Gate

For Thinking Americans You’ve probably heard Rush Limbaugh or Hugh Hewitt mention The American Thinker, one of the smartest essay blogs around. But if you’ve missed it I recommend checking it out particularly Jim Arlandson’s articles on “Facts v. Revelations in the Quran” or “The evangelical religious left and Bush.”

Vote Worldview “It is not about issues,” says Jeff Clinton, “it is about worldview.” (Be sure to also check out his excellent five part series, “Presupp-o-what?”)

Monkey Love Nick Troester says this blog is “so adorable that it will make your teeth ache.” He’s right, of course, but I’m a sucker for monkeys giving hugs (scroll down to the bottom).

Moral Law Jeremey Pierce has an intriguing FAQ on legislating morality.

Will Kerry get a Halloween scare? Here we are 25 days into the month and still no October Surprise. Perhaps, though, it could be coming Monday. Is the Great Pumpkin bringing the Republicans an early present?

Happy Birthday Universe Josh Claybourn notes that according to Bishop Usher’s calculations, Friday marked the 6,007th birthday of the Cosmos. (I’d say that’s off by about 13 billion years but I've never been good at guessing age.)

Obligatory Wilco Bashing Link After wasting $14.95 on the excremental Yankee Foxtrot Hotel, I’ve made it a policy to link to any blog post that bashes Wilco. My boy J.B. Doubtless takes a roundabout shot at the world’s second most overrated band (Radiohead, who peaked after “Creep”, is first) by slamming his local hipster local-band worshipping music critic: “To a critic like Chris, bands that people actually like (Matchbox 20 for example) are to be sniffed at like chain restaurants. The true geniuses are the bands that only Chris and his band of musician friends can appreciate, bands most people have never heard of, will never see and could care less about.”

Note Bene Interesting new blogs worth checking out: The Right Word, County Trunk T, and Shannon Love.

It Ain't That Warm Combine two Canadian scientists, some “Monte Carlo” analysis, and a “hockey stick” and what do you get? A change in the conventional wisdom about global warming. (HT: a_sdf)

It Wasn’t Because of Halliburton… Before the liberation, Iraq had 3,000 Internet and 8,000 e-mail only account 56K dial-up subscribers. As of October 7th, there are 102,978 subscribers (not counting the users of Internet cafes). Now we know the real reason the Bush administration pressed for war was because they wanted to open that market for a powerful lobbying group: Nigerian spammers! (HT: You Big Mouth, You!)

On the Issues Kris Tamerius has posted an excellent rundown of where both Bush and Kerry stand on the issues. (For those with short attention spans she also provides a brief summary).

Blog Ethics Rebecca Blood brings up a topic that deserves more attention: “There has been almost no talk about ethics in the weblog universe: Mavericks are notoriously resistant to being told what to do. But I would propose a set of six rules that I think form a basis of ethical behavior for online publishers of all kinds.” Her “six rules” consist of some excellent suggestions. (While I try to follow all of them myself, I admit I could do better on #6.) (HT: Colby Willen)

Blog Radio Chadster from Ubique Patriam Reminisci is considering starting an Internet radio station consisting of short clips (up to 15 minutes) of bloggers discussing topics of their own choosing. Anyone interested should drop by his blog and leave a comment or email.

It’s a Girl Congratulations to Sam Pierce (Uncle Sam’s Cabin) and her husband Jeremy (Parablemania) on the birth of their daughter, Sophia Alexandria Pierce. Sam was blogging while pregnant but missed out on the opportunity to live-blog the delivery. Oh well, maybe she’ll think of that when she has #4.

Patrick Stahl poses an interesting set of questions:

What parameters should we use to judge the progress of the post war reconstruction? That is, how do we determine if the US’s efforts are leading to success or quagmire?

Almost all of us have opinions on the reconstruction efforts in Iraq yet we rarely have a clearly defined (and realistic) standard of what success would look like. In order to clarify this point I ask that those who want to participate in this thread do the following:

(a) Present a rough scenario of what we should be expecting to have achieved and explain how we are progressing relative to that standard.
(b) Respond thoughtfully to the models that are presented and offer cogent, concise and relevant critiques.
(c) Stay on topic and observe general rules of blog etiquette.

[Note: Since I usually don’t post much on the weekend’s I'm considering making this a regular feature with questions submitted by my readers. Let me know whether you think this is something you'd like to see every Saturday.]

I thought he was a Texan From Christus Victor: “Alan Keyes says Jesus wouldn't vote for Barack Obama. Well of course he wouldn't. Jesus isn't even a citizen of Illinois.”

Josiah also has a post asking whether Jesus would vote at all. I tend to think he would have since he paid taxes, but Josiah points out that the analogy fails because voting is not mandatory. What do you think?

Verily, Verily Funny If you aren’t reading The Holy Observer you’re missing out on the funniest parody site this side of Scrappleface. If The Onion had an illicit affair with The Door, the illegitimate offspring would look like the Observer.

Check out the latest issue where you’ll learn the top 10 things to do to get people to think you’re a good Christian (#9 Preface the explanation of any decision you made with, “I felt God calling me to…”) or read the survey results on whether it’s a sin to hate Democrats (Is it a sin?: Don't Know; Comments/Why?: Liberman - No. All other Dems - Yes.). In fact, if you want to be a good Christian, just read everything on the whole site.

CBS’s Other Documents The LA Times has discovered that CBS plans to air several other investigations based on newly discovered documents. Among them is this shocker:

In news that could rock Christianity, CBS has carbon-dated a 1st century scroll in which the Apostle Paul admits to having doubts about the Resurrection. Theologians consulted by the network vouched for the genuineness of the scroll, which is titled "Paul's Letter to the Corinthians or Current Resident."

(Hat tip: Imago Dei)

Hallmark Moment Dawn Eden points out that Planned Parenthood's SaveRoe.com is offering women tips on how to convert their friends and family to the pro-abortion cause: "Send pro-choice greeting cards for holidays, birthdays, Mother's Day." Naturally, people will want to think about abortion on Mother’s Day but Dawn offers some card design ideas for holidays we might not have considered:

[Front of card:] "When you enter the synagogue on the Day of Atonement, remember..."
[Inside:] "YOU SHOULDN'T REGRET YOUR ABORTION! L'Shana Tova! Happy New Year!"

(Hat tip: Media Culpa)

Free Stuff Ray Pritchard has an extensive list of Christian books that are available online. (Hat tip: Parablemania)

Thinkers and Linkers JD Mays explains how he's transformed as a blogger from a thinker to a linker:

I started this blog as a thinker. I would work really hard on a post, researching it and linking to my sources - then I would post it. Usually there was very little reaction to my masterpieces, just a collective ho-hum from the masses. Very disappointing.

Lately, though, I've been a linker. I've been shamelessly linking all over the place. Incredibly, I'm getting more hits than I've ever gotten and I don't understand it. You'd think anything I could post as a link would've already been picked over. Linker mode also has the important benefit of allowing the blogger to stay fully employed and actually working. So I'll still post some thought provoking stuff from time to time, but for now I'm running in deep linker mode.

I certainly understand how JD feels. It’s incredibly hard trying to write “thought provoking stuff” everyday and have a life (oddly enough, my posts aren’t that insightful and yet I still don’t have a life). Becoming a linker is an option for people who love to blog but who don’t want to become obsessive about it. Great linkers are an indispensable resource. Another option is to join forces with other bloggers or to form a collective. There are already many great group blogs but I think the genre still has room for growth. I, for one, would love to see another evangelical group blog* or an ongoing conversation blog (ala Boar’s Head Tavern). Blogging doesn’t have to be a solo venture.

*Update: Actually, I should have clarified that we already have The Thinklings, one of the first blogs I discovered and still one of the best.

Love Thy Neighbor (Just Keep Him In Canada) La Shawn Barber examines illegal immigration from a Biblical point of view: "It is not “un-Christian” to support restricted immigration into one’s country. It is not “un-Christian” to advocate deportation of illegal aliens. I challenge anyone to find in Scripture where such a concept is even hinted at." (La Shawn isn't one to avoid a controversial topic, is she?)

American Christian = Conservative? British blogger Richard Hall is surprised to find that so many American Christians are politically conservative and wonders, “Is it possible to persuade my brothers and sisters there that Conservative politics and Christian faith are not so intimately bound together as they assume?” Mark Byron explains why that's not likely to happen.

Know Your Influential Christians Church Executive magazine has released their list of The 50 most influential Christians in America. Some obvious choices (#1-3, #7, 8), some odd exclusions (#5 is Sandra Day O'Connor but Justices Thomas or Scalia don't make the list?), and some just odd (#12 Lisa Beamer?). Who did they miss? [Hat tip: Bene (who doesn't like the idea much at all)]

Monkey Mugs Photographer Jill Greenberg has an amazing porfolio that includes shots of models, celebrities, musicians, and children. But nothing is as beautiful as her photos of monkeys. My wife says I look like this charming chimp. I'm flattered. [Hat tip: Who else? My other favorite Monkeys]

Tabula Rasa and Feminism Mike from Blind Mind's Eye takes an intriguing look at the foundational assumptions of radical feminism: "The circular logic of this a priori assumption is astounding because feminists argue that human instinct essentially doesn't exist, but then argue that the course of most societies has been to oppress women. If males had no instinct, or anything analogous to it, then how is that all major first and second world nations are ones that feminists have derisively concluded to be "male-dominated" or "patriarchal?" Does God or nature love coincidence?"

Are Addictions "Diseases?" I must confess that I’ve always been skeptical of the “disease model” of addiction. But Dr. Bob, a Christian physicican/philosopher/blogger, has an interesting series on "Addiction and Judgement" that has caused me to rethink my position. See also "The Downward Spiral" and "There is a Solution".

Email Eater After a number of my friends and relatives have complained that I haven't answered their email (correspondence which I never recieved), I discovered that the problem could have been with a spam filter I've been using. If you've sent me an email over the past couple of months and I haven't responded it is likely that I just never got it. Hopefully, the problem is fixed. I apologize for what must have appearred to be terribly rude behavior on my part.

The Wilco Worldview J.B. Doubtless provides the most accurate and profound three sentences I’ve ever read on pop music criticism:

Wilco is music for people who care more about what it means to own a Wilco CD than what is actually on the CD itself. Wilco (or fill in about any other hipster band) is not about melody, or musicianship. It's about what they're not--melodic or musical and that makes them sophisticated and adds to a certain type of person's cultural pedigree.

Read the whole thing and you'll see why J.B. should be writing for Rolling Stone.

Quote(s) of the Week The quote of the week is actually two weeks old. David from Infinite Monkeys posted this priceless contrast of quotations:

The scariest words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." -- Ronald Reagan

"Help is on the way." -- John Kerry

Blogging Brothers (and Sisters) NRO has an article on black conservative bloggers that mentions my buddies Avery, La Shawn, and Ambra. Check it out.

I’m Too Sexy For My Name Scientists say the right name can make you sexier. According to a recent study, men with "front vowels" in their names -- sounds formed at the front of the mouth like the "a" in Matt -- were considered sexier than men with "back vowel" sounds like the "au" in Paul. I go by “Joe” but, technically speaking, my real name is “Joe Paul” (in Texas we are required by law to have two first names – Billy Bob, Jimmy Ray, Bobby Jo, etc.). Since "Joe" has a front vowel and "Paul" has a back one, does that cancel out any potential sexiness my name might have had? (Hat tip: Josh Claybourn)

The "Ab Homine" Fallacy Stuart Buck has coined an intriguing term for a common form of argument – the "Ab Homine" Fallacy: “The fallacy consists in saying, in effect, My argument is particularly valid because I used to belong to the other side.’”

How To Be A Bad Parent Is there any idea so dumb that you can’t find an academic to defend it? I think not. Take, for example, University of Texas professor Gretchen Ritter’s claim that being a full-time mother is bad for children. Fortunately, we still have a few champions of common sense, like Stephen Taylor, who reside in Ivory Towers and are willing to give the silly argument the drubbing it deserves.

Know Your Evangelical Bloggers Although I intend to write a more substantial reviews of them in the future, I want to highlight a few of the promising new evangelical blogs you should be reading: Imago Dei, Flyover Nation, and The Dawn Treader.

Data For Conspiracy Theorists According to The Economist, the U.S. only has 11 more years worth of oil reserves. The UK is in even worse shape. They can only fuel their Mini Cooper’s or 5 more years on what they have under them. Iraq, on the ohter hand, has a supply that could last for more than a hundred. Maybe there's something to the “war for oil” meme that claims we attacked peace-loving Iraq rather than our belligerent, domination-minded neighbor to the North (since Canada's oil reserves are only good for another 16 years, they're hardly worth the effort).

The Ultimate Betrayal Many pro-lifers assume that all that we need to do is convince people that a human life is being destroyed in order to stop abortion. But Emily Zimmer has found a chilling example of women that know quite well that they are a killing a baby – and choose to do it anyway.

For Geeks Only The Incredible Hulk (for you non-comic reading arty types, that would be the character in Ang Lee’s worst film) has his own blog -- Hulk's Diary. While the big green guy doesn’t have the literary skill of Samuel Pepys he writings may reveal the hidden, sensitive side of his personality:

Hulk saw movie about bug-man and it was good but needed more smashing.

AND HULK DID NOT GET SNIFFLY DURING ROMANTIC SCENES SO IF YOU HEAR IRON MAN OR THOR TALKING ABOUT IT THEY ARE LIARS.

(Hat tip: Ramblings Journal)

Libertarianism Achilles Heel Josh Claybourn looks at the Federal Marriage Amendment from the perspective of Christian Libertarianism (he also has a rebuttal by Eric Seymour and a follow-up to the original post). While I’m no fan of the FMA and I admit that I find Josh’s argument appealing, I still believe the government has a compelling interest in protecting traditional marriage as a civil institution. One of the biggest problems I have with libertarianism (even the Christian form) is that is often fails to recognize when government intervention can be used to protect individual liberties.

Libertarian blogger Shay Riley, for example, has a compelling defense of the Civil Rights Act. As she notes in conclusion, “Lack of a moral dimension for liberty is a libertarian Achilles heel and many wind up becoming apologists for imperiling the very freedom that they promote.”

Dy-no-mite Dad Before Cliff Huxtable mugged and joked his way into America’s hearts, the title of best TV dad belonged to James Evans on Good Times. Every other portrayal of a father on a 70’s sitcom (Mike Brady, Howard Cunningham) made me wish my dad was more like them. Compared to Evans, though, my old man was softer than Phil Donahue. As Avery Tooley nostalgically recalls, Evans once gave a kid a whooping (that’s a spanking for you liberal-types) for refusing to do his homework. And it wasn’t even his kid!

Thinking about it in a larger context, though, the second season of Good Times was 1975, almost 30 years ago. In it, we see a boy get a beating from a man who's not his father, ostensibly because the man cares about him. Nowadays, Eddie would've been on the phone to the police, the department of child welfare, the ACLU, and anybody else he could think of. But for all our so-called advancements in parenting, what have we really got?

In a post defending spanking, Ambra from Nykola has the answer:

One guest on [the Rikki Lake Show] outlined the "steps" she used to discipline her children:

Step 1: You get a warning
Step 2: You get a time-out
Step 3: Privileges are taken away

When I was growing up, we had no steps. It went like this:

Step 1: You do it.

Keeping it Right I should point out that Ambra, Tooley, and Riley as well as some other bloggers that I regularly read (La Shawn Barber, Samantha Pierce, and Michael King) are all members of The Conservative Brotherhood, a “group of African American writers whose politics are on the right hand side of the political spectrum.” Their "Old School Core Values" should be a plank in the GOP's platform.

New Blog Showcase One of the most frustrating experiences for beginning bloggers is to write the perfect post, only to have it go unread because you haven’t built an audience. When I first started long, long ago (last October), I was able to gain some readers after competing in N.Z. Bear’s New Weblog Showcase. Because he had his hands full with the Ecosystem, N.Z. closed it down back in February. Fortunately, an enterprising blogger has picked up the ball and provided a new Showcase. If you’ve been blogging for less than three months, drop off a submission.

The Race Card Karl of St. Stephen’s Musings takes a unique approach to dealing with “Soft Totalitarianism”: I have a new policy now. Whenever I'm asked to fill out a form that asks the ubiquitous question about racial status, I always choose "Other" and than write in: Human Being.

Christian Communication? Michael Spencer points out How we sound to those who don't believe

A Spy in the House of Love Beth has some thoughts on the Mainstream Coalition’s plan to attend church services in order to look for overt politicking from the pulpit.

Cosby Calls It Again A lack of emphasis on child-rearing? Abdication of parental responsibilities? Failing to hold children and teenagers accountable for their education, dress, speech, and behavior? Captain Ed says that Bill Cosby's latest criticisms don't just apply to black Americans.

The Called Dawn Eden relates a childhood experience playing telephone with an autistic child, and relates it to God calls to us. (Hat tip: Right Left Whatever)

Good Question What happens to your online self when you die? (Hat tip: Josh Claybourn).

Need More? I often think that I need to have more “link” posts to go with my “think” pieces. I’ve been tempted to copy Ben Domenech’s The Rundown. Ben puts out a great compilation just about every day. Does anyone find such link collections useful?

Like Father, Like Son? Everyone knows that George H.W. Bush was once the director of the CIA. But could George W have been a spook too? Stuart Buck explores that intriguing possibility.

One Big Son of a Buck Speaking of Mr. Buck, I’m glad to see that his recovery from his stroke is going so well. I was surprised to hear that after losing some weight he was down to 222 lbs: “I worked out on some machines the other day, and with the bench press machine set at a mere 202 pounds, I could barely do four repetitions. So I've lost a lot of strength.” I guess Harvard Law grads are pencil necked geeks after all.

O Canada, Evil Canada I realize that yesterday was Canada Day and I let it slip by without sending my regards to my northern neighbors. While I am a big fan of many Canadian bloggers (Bene, Gideon, Koyzis, and the guys from Reedemer), I refuse to support that country as long as it continues pursuing its goal of world domination. (Hat tip to Josh Claybourn for tipping me off to the Canucks hidden agenda.)

Hot New Blog That You Should Be Reading Imago Dei

Blurring the Lines Um, I thought they told us sexual orientation wasn’t a choice. (Hat tip: Vigilance Matters)

Nader, Perot, and "Fairness" Walt Latham makes an interesting point about the way the media's views third party candidates.

Advice for Morons #4,398 When using pirated software, don’t ask for tech support. (Hat tip: Chad Harris)

Napoleon Hill for Bloggers TRF has a series of posts inspired by Hill’s The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons called “Blog and Grow Hits.” He’s attempting to apply the success guru’s principles to the blogging.

Question of the Week When the zombies take over, how long till the electricity fails?

Taxing and Reservations More bad news for gay marriage advocates. Both the IRS and the Cherokee nation refuse to recognize same-sex unions.

Catholic Outsourcing Although I’m in favor of free trade and globalization, we may be getting carried away when we start outsourcing prayer requests to India.

Theo-Heroes If you’re a fan of Al Mohler, R.C. Sproul, or John MacArthur you’ll want to read David Wayne’s assessment of why these men are heroes of the faith.

They Think This When presenting their arguments, pundits tend to explain what the other side of the political spectrum is "thinking." Hunt Stilwell, a cognitive psychology grad student, thinks such a task is impossible. Is he right?

Trotsky Reconsidered Nick Troester describes himself as “your typical deontologist Christian quasi-Trotskyist Third Way Democrat.” In other words, there’s nothing “typical” about Nick. Which is why he has one of the most interesting perspective’s you’ll find in the blogosphere. I asked Nick to explain what it means to be a “quasi-Trotskyist.” Since most conservatives tend to have the same aversion to Marxist figures as we would Satan-worshipping Amway salesmen, Nick’s view of Trotsky offers a new appreciation. (Christopher Hitches also has an article in The Atlantic on the “prophetic moralist.”)

Klingons and Congressmen Steven Taylor of Poliblogger finds a connection between President Regan and Trekkies.

Of Black Queens and Kings LaShawn Barber rips into “afrocentrism” and its deleterious affects of teaching this “therapeutic” scholarship to America’s youth.

Creed of the Modern Thinker Ambra from Nykola uncovered this must read gem by Steve Turner. Though I had last read it in high school, I find it's even more relevant today.

Obesity and Determinism Jonathan Ichikawa explores the anti-compatibilist and empirical assumptions behind the theory of genetic determinism with respect to weight gain and loss. Or, to put it in non-technical terms, are we fat because we lack free will? (Via: Parablemania)

LetTheEaglesSoar! Feddie from Southern Appeal has been chatting with Attorney General Ashcroft again. He accidentally posted the transcript on the SA blog.

Mixed Up Metaphors? Jollyblogger follows up his examination of the subtle Christian worldview of Harry Potter with a look at the limits of metaphor.

Short Story Submissions I’ve appreciated all the suggestions I’ve received so far but I still need about 25 stories to fill out the list of essential short stories. If you see any that are missing, leave me a note in the comments section.

The Ugly Duckling of Reality TV One of my favorite bloggers, John Coleman, has a new article on Tech Central Station in which he makes “The Conservative Case for the Swan."

Top Ten UK blogger Adrian Warnock has generously included me in his list of “Top Ten Bloggers." He adds, “If you like this idea, then why not create your own top ten list- after all there are no right or wrong answers!" Good idea, though I don’t know how I could narrow it down to ten. Anyone else have a list of favorites?

Flip-Flops and the French Ad #1: John Kerry + Dancing Baby body + “Flipper theme song" = An amusingly disturbing campaign ad. Ad#2: “Like Ted Kennedy, only thinner." The French support their favorite candidate. (Links via: Slate.com)

Hacking on to Death Row Economist Steven E. Landsburg offers some compelling economic justification for Steven E. Landsburg giving people who create computer viruses the death penalty.

War on WASPs Captain Ed has a report on the Iranians who intend to attack and destroy “Anglo-Saxon civilization." Whatever the Iranians may have against preppies, Episcopalians, and girls named Buffy, I don’t think they warrant their own Jihad.

Smells Like Teen Spirit Rusty Lopez notes the trend to bump mascots from the “spirit sides" of class rings in favor of “lifestyle symbols" (“zodiac and peace signs, skateboarders, ethnic flags, rock climbers and figure skaters").

A Coke By Any Other Name... Here in Texas it’s not uncommon to hear the following exchange: “Wanna Coke?" “Yeah, I’ll take a Dr.Pepper." Yankees are often perplexed, not realizing that in Texas “Coke" is to “soft drink" as “Kleenex" is to “tissue", a brand name that covers all members of a category. QD from Southern Appeal has found a map that shows, by county, whether people call their carbonated beverages "pop", "soda", or "coke."

The Wages of Sin Stephen McCaskil from ChristWeb points out a German study that provides one more reason to avoid adultery -- unfaithful men are more likely to die during sex than their loyal counterparts. (Perhaps they were just following the commandment, “Thou Shalt Commit Adultery" found in the typo-ridden Bibles that Bene blogged about.)

Which One‘s a Dud? Scott Ritter was a former UN weapons inspector who claimed that Saddam still had WMD. Once a friend of the tyrant gave him $400,000, though, Ritter changed his tune and claimed that Iraq was no longer a threat. Apparently, he's still receiving royalties for singing the same song because he now has an article in the Christian Science Monitor claiming that the sarin filled artillery shell was one of “tens of thousands of these "duds" were scattered across the desert terrain."

I know just enough about artillery to know something wasn’t right with the story, but not nearly enough to give it a proper fisking. That’s why I handed it off to Donald Sensing, uber-blogger and former Army artillery officer, who tears holes in Ritter’s theory so large you could shoot a "base-bleed projectile" thru them. Be sure to check out Sensing’s takedown. With enough exposure this story will be squashed before Ritter even has time to cash his next payoff check.

Plato vs. Aristotle Josh Claybourn (guest-blogging for Paul Musgrave) uses one of my favorite paintings (Raphael’s The School of Athens) to launch into a discussion of why Christian philosophers tend to align more with Aristotle than with Plato. My short answer (which will require further elaboration in the near future) has two parts, the Catholic reason and the evangelical reason. The Catholic reason: Because Thomas Aquinas preferred Aristotle and Catholic philosophers prefer Aquinas. The Evangelical reason: Because Platonic idealism cannot be reconciled with Biblical Christianity.

The Chalabi Conspiracy Tim Berglund thinks he has the Ahmed Chalabi situation all figured out. If he’s serious (and I don’t really think he is) he’s wrong. Still, he presents the theory is a more coherent manner than anyone on the Left will be able to do. Perhaps the Democratic Underground should get Tim to polish up some of their conspiracy theories for them sometime.

Choosing a Bible Jeremy Pierce of Parablemania has a useful review of bible translations. For those of you wondering the answers to your questions are: “Yes, it does matter (some are more accurate than others).", “Yes, you need more than one translation.", and “No, Jesus did not speak in King James English (so you don’t have to either)."

Then again, I could be wrong… You'd be amazed to find how often people disagree with me (I know I was). And I’m not just talking about the raving loons thoughtful gentlemen who add their voices to my comments section, either. I’m talking about intelligent, thoughtful Christian people. Some of them are even Republicans. That’s why I take their opinions seriously enough to point out where they disagree with me:

On Gay Marriage-- Rusty Lopez takes issue with my contention that gay marriage isn’t that serious a threat to hetero marriage (see here for more).

On Defining Religion --Joel Fuhrmann thinks I'm wrong about Unitarianism being a "religion." Jeffrey Collins also wonders the same thing. Macht from prosthesis adds some qualifications to my definition of religion. Gerry Spence agrees with Macht and adds more qualifications to the definition.

These are the only examples I’ve found where people have openly disagreed with my on their blogs. I assume that since no one else has spoken up, everyone else is in complete agreement with everything I've written this week. Silence, after all, implies agreement. At least that is the rule my wife has in our house (which may explain why she only ask me my opinion when I’m sleeping).

The Art of Demotivation Feeling overly motivated at work? Is life just going your way? Read these humurous "demotivators" to regain some perspective: Persistence, Flattery, Potential, Motivation, and Indifference. (Hat tip: Army of One)

Buddhists and Boogers Some Buddhists priests in Japan are upset about a new candy called, “Snot from the nose of the Great Buddha". (And I thought the “Jesus Is My Homeboy” fad was disrespectful…)

Our Own Worst Enemy Victor Davis Hanson has a must read post on American Cannabalism.

A Vade Mecum for Ted Kennedy Hugh Hewitt provides a lesson in “Thinking like an Islamist propagandist.”

Onward, Christian Soldiers La Shawn Barber has a post specifically directed to Christians who are theologically opposed to warfare:

Some commenters on this blog have either implied or said straight out that because Christ told us to love our enemies, it is inconsistent with His teachings for Christians to support the war in Iraq (or war in general). This may have been true before the Fall, but as I stated before, war is a consequence of sin. If you want to get rid of war and "give peace a chance", you have to rid the world of sin.

To determine whether Jesus' teachings are inconsistent with war, we must let the Bible speak for itself. Philosophical arguments and Scripture stripped from its context do not get to the heart of the matter.

An Experiment in Social Engineering Social engineering is the science of using psychology to influence the actions of others, particularly without their knowing. Israel from Lineman.net describes a unique experiment that allowed him to walk out of a store with $4000 worth of computer equipment. (Note: If you are criminally inclined, do not read this article.) (Hat tip: Vox Day)

Abu Ghraib Timeline Greyhawk from Mudville Gazette has put together an invaluable timeline on the events at Abu Ghraib prison. The chronology adds some interesting perspective (for example: SSG Frederick only began writing his journal (which put the blame on the interrogators) after Army authorities fetched him for questioning and searched his quarters. Also, CBS’s “60 Minutes” CBS obtained the story around the same time that Andy Rooney published his previously inexplicable piece called "Our Soldiers in Iraq Aren't Heroes")

Geek Humor Scott Klettke points out: "The amount of the $2.7bn [IPO] offering contains an inside joke for the math-minded. The exact offering, $2,718,281,828, is the product of "e" and $1bn, where "e" is the base of the natural logarithm -- a logarithm especially useful in calculus -- and equals 2.718281828...." Um, yeah. For some reason I didn't catch that one...

Fallen Man, Fallen Nations Nathan Maphet has a must-read post on the The Nature of Man and the Difficulty of Moral Judgments. Sample: "There is no nation that is morally pure, just as there is no nation that is fully morally corrupt. I think I understand why Rumsfield is saying that the atrocities are "not American," but he is still wrong: America is not the untainted and final standard of morality."

Eros, Agape, and Gender Mark Byron takes some critics of praise music to task for finding it too “erotic.” In one particularly damning indictment, Mark points out,

“If you're a guy, there is a second reason you may be taken aback by these lyrics; you may have a hard time playing the Bride of Christ and use (I think this word actually fits here) homophobic thoughts to get off the hook.”

Good point. I imagine that these are the same men who are against (and rightly so) the promotion of “gender-inclusive” language in the Bible. But when the tables turn and they are aligned with a feminine metaphor they suddenly become uncomfortable.

Stinky Elevators Chris from CandPeez has an amusingly embarrassing story involving an elevator, a stunning redhead, and some “50-ish, heavy set, short sleeves, stained ties” gassy guy from the sales department.

Say It Ain’t So, Mike… What? Michael Moore lied in order to drum up publicity? Who would have ever suspected he’d be capable of such a thing?

Memo to Fred Durst Hey Fred, welcome to the blogosphere. Now that you’ve found a new outlet for your creativity I guess you’ll be disbanding Limp Bizkit, right? (Well, we can dream, can’t we?) Anyway, I just wanted to point out one of the unwritten rules of blogging: never post naked pictures of your toddler on your blog. First of all, its rarther icky and will likely attract people like Pete Townsend. Also, your son has enough embarrassment to deal with over his name (Dallas Durst?) and his parentage (Fred Durst?) without having full-frontal nude shots of him floating around the Internet. It’s already going to take all your royalties from “Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavoured Water” to pay for his future counseling bills. Try not to make it any worse.

Yet Another Reason to Worry You’ll always find something worth reading on Dan McConchie’s blog. Yesterday I found this: “When you walk down the aisle of your local drugstore, most home pregnancy testing kits promise 99% accuracy the day after a missed period. Apparently though, if you use the tests as early as the product recommends, the tests only detect 16% or fewer pregnancies. So much for accuracy in labeling. “

This Charming Man As the last remaining non-ironic fans of the The Smiths, this article on ”The Pop Star Who Hated Sex” may be of interest to no one other than me and Nick Troester. Still, it’s worth reading for the way it examines how the public assumes that anyone who chooses to remain celibate must be a closeted homosexual. (Personally, I never thought that Morrissey was gay. I always thought he just needed a hug.)

Should You Go to War? That’s the question Tim Kearn’s from Christus Victor ask in his thoughtful post on military service:

I say nothing of obligations or duties because I believe every man's case is different, and, in this war, the situation is not such that it imposes a duty on us all. I want only to propose to each of the men who read this that they should consider serving their country.

Tim’s moral suasian is a model for the type of questions free people in a free country should ask themselves.

Forget the Polls If you really want to see who is leading in the race for the Presidency skip the ever-changing polls and look at the potential electoral votes. Gerry Daly keeps a close eye on the count with his Electoral College Breakdown.

Battlefield Baptism The Beacon has some great photos from the LA Times story on four Marines who were baptized in the courtyard of a bullet-riddled school that they used in their fight with insurgents.

[Note: Though I’ve collected several links, I’ve forgotten to post an EoWR for the past two Fridays. Since many of the links deserved attention I’ve decided to go ahead and pass these on.]

Nobody Here But Us Chickens If you’re the type of person who likes to have a chicken obey their every whim (and let’s be honest, who isn’t down with subservient poultry?), you'll want to check out this oddly amusing link.

Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? Chris Suellentrop of Slate takes a look at the many ways people try to define the 'real" Jesus.

Overrated Andy For a long time now I’ve thought that Andrew Sullivan was highly overrated. His status as one of the most popular 'conservative" bloggers, though, made me wonder if I wasn’t simply misjudging him. After reading the assessment of Fraters Libertas blogger Saint Paul, I realize what it was that bothered me: Andy just isn’t much of a conservative.

Cheap Shot Owen from Southern Appeal has an amusing 'fake interview" with John Kerry. Sample line - Kerry: 'Being a veteran is akin to being Jesus."

New Blog Alert Jason Roberts’ new blog, Our Daily Thread, has two recent posts worth pointing out: The Apprentice and Affirmative Action and Safer to be a porn star than promiscuous

Dactylographic Monkey Praise I have to give some overdue praise to the boys over at Infinite Monkeys. They are genuinely great guys. They're the type of buddies I'd have if I actually had a life and spent time with other people rather than with my computer.

Brad and RobbL have long been two of my favorite bloggers. Both are smart, erudite, witty guys who never fail to impress me with their insight and humor. They’ve also been a great source of encouragement and support.

While I don’t know them as well, I’m also fond of Ben and David, two very sharp, very funny writers. Reading them is like reading Fraters Libertas -- only without the daily rants about the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

And then there’s Dr. Monkeystein. What can I say about the Doctor that hasn’t been said many times before at one of his probation hearings? I think that he’s either drunk or insane. Possibly both. He’s one strange monkey.

While they haven’t banged out the works of Shakespeare just yet, these monkeys always have something worth reading. You won’t find a better group of monkeys in the blogosphere so be sure to check them out.

Superman & Seinfeld American Express has a cute short film on Jerry Seinfeld and Superman hanging out in NY city. (Follow the link and click on the film canister marked 'Uniform")

On the Pledge Mirror of Justice and letters from babylon both have some interesting thoughts on the Pledge of Allegiance controversy. You'll also want to check out The New Republic article which makes a more thorough case for the point I tried to make on the subject.

On Marriage La Shawn Barber examines Dr. Laura’s new book The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands while David Wayne from Jollyblogger offers some wisdom for troubled marriage. For more on marriage, add Family Scholars Blog to your blogroll. They consistently have the latest on issues relating to marriage and family.

New Blog Alert Southern Appeal has pointed out that that Joshua Davey is part of one of my favorite new group blogs, letters from babylon. Davey, a Washington state student who lost his a state-sponsored after he decided to major in theology, took his case all the way to the Supreme Court. He is joined by Jeremy Frank, Tony Jimenez, and John Zimmer, four evangelical Christians who have either completed or are working on advanced degrees from Harvard, MIT, or Boston College. Be sure to check them out.

New (to me) Blog Alert Yesterday I discovered that the author of one of my favorite books on political ideologies (Political Visions and Illusions), has a blog. David T. Koyzis teaches political science at Redeemer University College in Canada writes about 'Labour, Leisure, Liturgy" on Notes from a Byzantine-Rite Calvinist. Koyzis has some interesting posts but I’m hoping to see him write more about two of my favortite Dutch thinkers, Abraham Kuyper and Herman Dooyeweerd.

Bad Art for Bad Music Pork Tornado has the 10 worst album covers of all time.

Notes to Myself I’ve often said, 'If only I knew then what I know now." Unfortunately, you can’t go back into your past to tell yourself what you know. But you can go into the future by sending yourself an email.

Simile of the Week From Jeffrey Collins: 'You don't get to take only the attributes of God you like. God isn't a buffet table where you get to pick and choose. God's more like the 72 oz. steak at The Big Texan. Either you eat the whole thing, or you're going to have to pay."

New Blog Alert One of my favorite commenters has finally given in and started her own blog. Mary Rose Maguire is a 'Life and Relationship Coach" who focuses on training single women in identifying valuable character traits in men for the purpose of marriage (glad my wife didn’t know about her before we married or I would have been in trouble). She started her blog, Find Your Path, in order to provide encouragement to others so stop by and encourage her in the new venture.

A Libertarian No More Mitch Berg has an interesting piece on why he isn’t a libertarian. I wrote a similar post before but Mitch’s point of view is one of a former 'true believer."

Re-Praiseal Several months ago I wrote about how Bill Wallo is one of my favorite bloggers. Since then he has only gotten better. Like me, Bill comes from the Stephen De Beste School of Blogging, so his posts tend to be longer than what you might be used to. But who have a longer attention span than an MTV viewer will appreciate his well-thought out points and solid arguments. Bill is one of the rare types who actually thinks before he forms an opinion (an approach I’m trying to learn from him). If you haven’t visited his blog before, now would be a good time. He has a slew of interesting posts up that would serve as a proper introduction.

Following the Money Trail Do you have suspicions that your neighbor is up to no good? Are you wondering if he might be funding a subversive group such as…the Howard Dean campaign! Well, now you can find out. Fundrace tells you which of your neighbors has been contributing to political candidates. Now, when you discover that the lady across the street is a Kucinich supporter you’ll have a justification for calling the police about the “odd looking” plants she has growing under a heat lamp in her garage. (Hat tip: Infinite Monkeys)

The New Socialism Slate writer Chris Suellentrop has an excellent article on how socialism isn’t what it used to be.

A Preventable Condition? Rusty Lopez highlights an article from a doctor who asks, “Is Pregnancy Really Normal?” Do I even need to point out that this doctor works for an abortion clinic?

This Game Sponsored by PETA If you enjoyed the Yeti smacking the penguin game your sure to enjoy this seal toss.

King & King Some parents in North Carolina are upset about a library book their elementary-age daughter brought home: a children's story about a prince whose true love turns out to be another prince. (I guess Heather Has Two Mommies was already checked out.)

New Blog Alert Puctilious is the newest addition to the list of Hugh Hewitt Inspired blogs. Be sure to check out the posts on why we should pull our troops out of South Korea.

Can You Pass The Third Grade? Take this elementary school test to see how well you know your states. (Hat Tip: Eric Erickson)

New Blog Alert David Opderbeck, a law professor at Seton Hall, has not just one but two new blogs. His more established blog, Law, Science and Technology, focuses on -- as you might have guessed -- the intersection of law, science, and technology. His newest effort, Through a Glass Darkly, is dedicated to exploring issues relating to evangelical Christian faith and culture.

Old Socialist Ideas Never Die… Focus on Freedom has an interesting outline on the the Italian socialist and political theorist Antonio Gramsci’s views on how to implement a collectivist government.

Just a Coincidence? In his post on Terrorism Fatigue, Adrian Warnock wonders why the American and British press have not made more of the fact that there are 911 days between the 9/11 attacks and the 3/11 bombing. Was it merely an odd coincidence or an intentionally symbolic gesture?

Lessons Learned JD Mays from an Army of One has pointed out an article by an Army infantry commander on 'Lessons Learned" in Iraq. I’ll be studying that closely and making sure all of my junior Marines do the same.

Thanks I truly can’t express how grateful I am for all the kind words I’ve received about my upcoming deployment to Iraq. Since I won’t be leaving for at least 3 more months (a decade in blog time) I was hesitant to even mention it yet. I really appreciate the support from fellow bloggers JD Mays, Guy, Jared Bridges, and The Elder.

But I have to admit that St. Paul from Fraters Libertas dang near got me choked up with his much-too-kind post:

I’m sure all bloggers like to occasionally think our ceaseless sarcasm, ridicule, and pulsating acrimony are doing some good in the grand debates of politics and life. And maybe it does, who knows? But what is the worth of the sum total of the entire blogosphere’s output compared to one man picking up a gun and making the security of his countrymen his personal responsibility?

His post is a great tribute to all Marines. Don’t miss it.

Constitutional Exegesis Owen from Southern Appeal explains how Liberals and Conservatives interpret the Second Amendment.

The Sincerest Flattery James Joyner has an interesting article on “Link Policy.” At least I found it interesting, but then that may be because I borrowed many of his ideas for my own blog. (I also ripped off good ideas from Pejmanesque and Josh Claybourn.)

Needs More Explanation From Alex Knapp’s recommendations for a libertarian film festival: “Strictly Ballroom - It's like The Fountainhead, only with great music and zany Australians.” I’ve seen the movie and read the book. All I can say is…what? (Via: Outside the Beltway)

The IntelliVision Collective Tim Berglund relates a story about how a desire for an early-‘80s game console led him to believe in a form of pseudo-Marxism.

Nothing New Under The Sun Bob Rouse from Totem to Temple has an interesting series on the "Bait and Switch" marketing style of Seeker Sensitive and Emergent churches.

Deconstructing Bono As Cathleen Falsani writes in a CT article, “For many Christians of a certain generation, combing through the lyrics of U2 songs (nearly all of them written by Bono) in search of biblical images or references to Jesus Christ and his teachings is almost a sport. Consider it a cross between exegesis and Where's Waldo?”

Several bloggers have recently taken up the search: Matt Powell turns a critical eye to u2’s lyrics, while John H defends them; Rusty Lopez examines Bono’s view of the Psalms; @U2 has a list of lyrics that reference the Bible; and finally we have an NRO guest columnist asking if the members of U2 are Christians. (Hat tip: U2 Sermons)

Dueling Evangelicals -- JD from Army of One wants to challenge me to a duel to see who is the better evangelical. He contends that, 'Real evangelicals don't put evangelical in their blog name. …the term evangelical just separates them into their own little cloister.” If we're judging by that criteria then evangelical blogger Donald Sensing has us both beat. His blog is named after part of a Zen koan.

Kerry the Liberal -- National Journal is reporting that John Kerry is the most liberal Senator in Congress. Mark Byron thinks the rankings only show that Kerry is a 'generic liberal.”

Worldly Interview -- Josh Claybourn has an interview with Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World and father of the 'compassionate conservative” philosophy.

Flannery O'Connor, movie critic -- Speaking of World, their blog has a quote from one of my all-time favorite writers on using violent imagery to express Christian truths.

What are the odds? -- Chances of a man winning an argument.

Eavesdroppings -- Top Ten Things Heard Outside The New Mel Gibson Movie (Hat tip: Bene)

Your Inner Artist Ever wanted to be an artist? Try your hand at being Jackson Pollock or Pablo Picasso. (Also from Bene)

Another Reason to Love Reagan -- From the Washington Post:

In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official.

(Hat tip: Eric Erickson)

Your Inner Cartman -- Ever wonder what you'd look like if you were a character on South Park? No? Yeah, me neither. Still, you can find out by using the character creator .

Gay Marriage Roundup -- If you're not completely tired of the subject yet, Rhesa from Creative Slips has a collection of links on the same-sex marriage debate.

Defining Marriage -- While we're on the topic, Donald Sensing has an intriguing philosophical post on the problem of universals in the same-sex marriage debate.

New (To Me) Blog Alert -- 'I bounce around from politics to social commentary, to Biblical doctrine, to fashion,” says Ambra Nykola while describing her blog, Nykola.com. Since her blog sounds a lot like mine (except for the fashion part), I was rather intrigued. She has a great post entitled 'It's Black History Month...I Forgot” that reminded me how much evangelicalism owes to African-American church history. Ambra is a smart young blogger. I'm interested in hearing more about what she has to say. (Oh, and I love her logo/graphic.)

Hillary & Matt -- Dogman from The Rough Woodsman has two great conspiracy theories. One is rather obvious (and the reason I thought Clark was in the Presidential race) but the second one is pure genius.

Bart, Bruce, Neo, and Jesus -- Randy from News-Sheet has a great explanation for why the Passion is getting so much attention:

Over the years Evangelicals have "successfully" found the spiritual in The Simpsons, The Matrix, Bruce Almighty (described "as an ideal bridge film: "It presents the truths of the Trinity and God's patience with us."), and Touched by an Angel (not to mention having to put up with Priest, Last Temptation of Christ, etc.) - can it at all be surprising that a movie that artistically attempts to treat the Gospels with substantial historical seriousness would be welcomed.

Why are film critics even surprised when culturally starved Evangelicals hop on this bandwagon??

Good point. Wouldn't it be ironic if the next wave of American evangelical revitalism was started by an Australian Catholic who once played Mad Max?

More to come…

I Want my GayTV -- MTV is adding a gay themed channel called Outlet that will be on everyone's basic cable plan. If MTV wanted a 'network aimed at gays and lesbians” they should've just bought Bravo. (Via: World magazine's blog)

G-Files on Hiatus -- Jonah Goldberg's NRO column is going away (at least now).

New Sponsor -- Fans of Christian fantasy novels will want to visit EO's newest sponsor. Theodore Beale is the author of the Eternal Warriors series of novels, which includes The War in Heaven and The World in Shadow. Beale also has several of his stories online.

Mystery Intern Comes Forward -- The Kerry intern has been found.

Addictive Time Waster of the Week -- I played 'Guess the Dictator and/or Television Sit-Com Character” twice today. The first time I thought of Mallory Keaton from Family Ties and the second I had Ferndinand Marcos in mind. The game guessed right both times. Eerily impressive. (Via Vox Popoli)

More to come...

Charlie Brown, Existentialist -- From Philosophy Now's article "Sartre & Peanuts": "Sartre devoted an entire book to this experience – his 1938 novel Nausea in which his character Roquentin is alarmed to discover his own actuality. But Linus sums the point up very well in a few frames." (Hat tip: Infinite Monkeys (who also offer a non-prescription solution to existential nausea))

Singing Spongmonkeys -- My favorite ad out right now is the one for Quiznos with the singing rodent-like creatures. Turns out they're called “Spongmonkeys” and before they sang the praises of subs they were singing about how they liked the moon. Hilarious. (Hat tip: Fraters Libertas, who has a brand-spanking-new look. Very professional design for a group that writes about guitar playing mutant rats.)

The Sacred in the Secular -- Dappled Things is compiling a list of secular songs with Christian or religious allusions. (Josiah from Christus Victor adds his own list.)

The Happy Warrior -- Happy Birthday, President Reagan.

The Divided Library -- Spitbull links to an interesting (though rather obvious) network map showing how political books are divided along the Left/Right scale.

Beer Blogging -- Tim Berglund is blogging about his efforts at home brewing lager. I'm not sure why anyone would want to go to all that trouble. Perhaps, Tim's a Baptist and is afraid someone might spot him coming out of the liquor store...

Blogiversary -- Nick's blog Anti-Climacus turns 2 this week (that's 37 in Internet years). Be sure to check out some of his best work. Nick's blog deserves more attention than it gets.

New Blog Alert -- When I heard that Steve Bainbridge was joining a group blog I was shocked. Since he's said before that he's "not a huge fan of group blogs", I knew it must be an impressive group that got him to change his mind. After seeing the lineup at Mirror of Justice all I can say is the gang at Volokh Conspiracy better watch their backs. Mirror of Justice looks like it may take the title of "must read" law blog away from Eugene and his crew.

Yankee or Dixie? -- So where exactly are ya'll from? Take this test and see if your dialect gives you away. (Hat tip: Erick Erickson)

The Distance Between You and Me -- 'Physical distances are easy enough to measure, but how do we go about measuring psychological distances?” That's the question the Mapped Web project tries to answer. (Via: Bene)

Smartest blog with a slightly pornographic sounding name -- Anti-Climacus

"No, it's my turn on the computer!" -- Favorite Husband and Wife Blogs (Tie) {Le Sabot Post-Modern & TulipGirl } / {Parablemania & Uncle Sam's Cabin}

The Party of Small Government -- Vox Day argues that the Republican ideal of small government is dead: 'This is not even Clinton-lite, this is simply armed left-liberalism. Note that the increase in domestic departments dwarfs the increase in defense spending during a time of war.”

Kaus, Kucinich, Kafkaesque -- You know you spend too much time in the blogosphere when this happens: 'Two days ago I dreamded Mickey Kaus was reaming out Wes Clark. Last night I dreamed I was arguing with Kucinich supporters.” (from Jefferey at joyfulchristian)

Roe vs. Dean -- Why did Howard Dean do so poorly in Iowa? Dean's strongest support is among 18-to-29-year-olds. Not only did this demographic fail to show up at the polls, about one-third failed to show up at birth. (Via: TulipGirl)

Debunking The DaVinci Code -- Was Jesus married? Mark Roberts examines the evidence.

10 Rules for Blogging -- The Commissar lists the top ten rules of blogging. My pet peeve is also #1 on his list: 'Do not apologize for light blogging…Comrade, I hate to be the one to tell you ... but we will survive. Really. With support of my family, I think I will be able to get by the next day or two without an update from "YourDailyNanoBlogPundit.com."

More to come...