Beaumont Family video

This video from 1986 is a story about my talented cousins, the Beaumont Family. Featured are my Aunt Margaret and my grandparents, Joe and Rose Herrmann. Numerous other family members appear throughout.

The Theology of Calvin and Hobbes

Table of Contents to essays by Richard Beck on The Theology of Calvin and Hobbes.

Monster Mini Golf

Mike and I played a round at Monster Mini Golf in Jessup (sorry, COLUMBIA), Maryland.

One of the holes had a spinner that randomly assigned you a handicap or advantage - I got "Tee off using the handle of the golf club," and Mike got "If you make a hole-in-one, score it as 0." The holes were generally easy (except the awful #17!), but I would have preferred more of the random penalties/awards to add some interest.

Hint: on Saturday get there early enough so that you start play before the birthday party groups do.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

Saw this humorous take on the Nativity story yesterday on First Thoughts and thought it was cool, but when I mentioned it to my family, my mother-in-law said she had seen it last week!

Comments on George Bailey

Joe Carter (in On the Square today) has an article about George Bailey, the protagonist of the classic film It's a Wonderful Life. Carter discusses Bailey and Howard Roark, from Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead.

Carter' conclusions:

What makes George Bailey one of the most inspiring, emotionally complex characters in modern popular culture is that he continually chooses the needs of his family and community over his own self-interested ambitions and desires—and suffers immensely and repeatedly for his sacrifices.

and

Capra’s underlying message is thus radically subversive: It is by serving our fellow man, even to the point of subordinating our dreams and ambitions, that we achieve both true greatness and lasting happiness.

Do Movie Critics Matter?

Do Movie Critics Matter? An article in First Things about the role of movie critics and the rise of self-published movie reviews and review aggregators on the World-Wide Web.

The essay is adapted from a speech given by Armond White, chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle, at the group’s annual awards banquet on January 11, 2010.

Tribute to Calvin and Hobbes

A tribute to the authenticity of Calvin and Hobbes.

Via First Thoughts.

Everybody Dance Now

Karen and some friends danced in a charity variety show last weekend. The fundraiser was for the missions ministry of Houston's First Baptist Church.

End of the World Parody

Parody of local news and their the world is ending attitude about ultimately insignificant events - especially appropriate given the nonstop coverage of the (admittedly historic) blizzard. Plus it has music by the greatest American rock band ever.

Classic Elvis Presley

See this video of Elvis singing "Trying to Get to You" on a 1968 NBC special.

Norman Rockwell's photos

A new book offers a revealing look at how the artist created his homey illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post.

Norman Rockwell's Neighborhood, by Richard B. Woodward, Smithsonian magazine, December 2009.

Star Wars Greatest Hits

Star Wars Main Theme

Throne Room theme

Princess Leia's Theme

The Imperial March

Late summer diversions

A couple of things:

My Uncle Eddie winning a soapbox derby in Dade City, Florida, in the late 1940's. (via Barbara Sutton)

A web page poking fun at the design of objects in Star Wars.

If Man Walked on the Moon Today

If Man Walked on the Moon Today is a nice satire of today's media industry.

Those crazy orthodontists!

Two local orthodontists (Stewart and Labbe) sponsor a photo contest - the patients are supposed to have their photo taken while they wear a t-shirt with the doctors' names in different places (some distinctly related to Maryland, and others are more general). Sort of like a summer-long scavenger hunt.

ANYWAY, someone who did this last year posted a YouTube video featuring their photos, set to the 1982 hit "Da Da Da" by Trio! (Somehow, it fits.)

Dante 2009

Dante's Inferno is now a video game.

Thanks to Icons & Curiosities for the pointer.

African banjos

A BBC News special report on Grammy award-winning banjo player Bela Fleck and his trip to Africa to explore the roots of the banjo. (Thanks to First Things blog for the tip.)

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. The song released as a single in 1971, and the video was posted on YouTube in 2007.

The 2009 Peeps

The winner of The Washington Post's 2009 contest can be viewed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/peeps. My favorite is the Escher at photo #5.

Free speech at the University of Maryland

Here's a summary of some things going on at the University of Maryland.

Update: President Mote announced that commencement ceremonies will have an invocation as usual. According to the Washington Post, University spokesman Lee Tune said that the University received many calls and e-mails supporting the tradition.