The 2012 Grammy Awards are upon us. With more categories than you could shake a baton at, the very best in music will come together this weekend to recognize and celebrate the achievements of some of the biggest talent of 2011.
While most are focused on the biggest categories — and trying to guess just how many awards Adele will take home with her — there are some real gems tucked away in a number of the less well-known categories.
For instance ... in the "Best Folk Album" category, there’s usually underutilized instruments a-plenty, including an album made entirely on the ukulele from Eddie Vedder (which the Pearl Jam frontman cleverly named Ukulele Songs).
And there’ll be some friendly brotherly competition between Stephen, Ziggy and Damian Marley, with all three sons of the legendary Bob nominated for awards (Stephen and Ziggy competing in the same category of "Best Reggae Album").
It was an eventful night in the GOP primary race last night, with some surprises in the results.
See the best of the reaction to what happened right here:
In The New York Times, Rick Santorum’s trifecta of victories was called “another twist to an unruly nominating contest that has seen Republican voter veering among candidates and refusing to coalesce behind anyone.”
Former Senator Santorum’s victory has been put down to the voting preferences of “evangelicals and Tea Party adherents”, who make up a significant percentage of the electorate in all three states. One pundit noted that when it comes to voting:
“evangelicals, they get out. Cold, wind, rain or snow, they get out.”
Whenever possible, I plan my Saturday errands such that I’ll be able catch part of “This American Life” on public radio as I drive and I’ve often found myself sitting in the grocery store parking lot to hear the end of a story.
One recent Saturday, the show’s theme — which ties together each of its non-fiction stories — was the biblical truism that “you reap what you sow” (Galatians 6:7), and most of the program was dedicated to examining the consequences — intended and otherwise — of Alabama’s controversial, toughest-in-the-nation immigration law, HB 56, which passed last June.
Whether what is happening in Alabama as a result of this law — and, as the program reveals, a great deal is happening, even if most of us outside of the state aren’t paying attention — was the intention of the bill’s authors and supporters is not entirely clear. What is clear, from a Christian perspective, is that the effects are devastating.
What most saddened me in the program was the statement of a young undocumented woman named Gabriella that, since the passage of HB 56, she finds herself unwelcome everywhere. “Even in the church,” she says, “you find people that… don't want to talk at you. And they don't want to give the peace to you.”
A letter from Alec Hill, President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA to Intervarsity Staff
I’m upset.
Last month, the Federal government mandated that Catholic universities, hospitals and charities must provide – and pay for – contraceptives to their employees and students. The mandate may also — depending upon interpretation – include the provision of sterilization services and the morning-after pill. (There appears to be some disagreement amongst scholars regarding the potential scope of the new Health and Human Service mandate.)
Why should I care? I am not Catholic. Nor do I agree with Catholic teaching on contraception, though I do have grave concerns about the morning-after pill.
Politically, I am a moderate and hence not prone to condemn every governmental edict.
I care because this matter touches upon the religious freedom of us all. I care because InterVarsity is engaged in a parallel struggle. Over the past 18 months, our status as a recognized student organization has been challenged on 41 campuses.
"'Tell me a story' still comprise four of the most powerful words in English, words that are intimately related to the complexity of history, the origins of language, the continuity of the species, the taproot of our humanity, our singularity, and art itself." - Pat Conroy
"O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great." - Psalm 104:24-25
God, we pray today for our heads of state. Give them wisdom and discernment as they move about their day, and grant them the courage to seek help in their own spiritual journey. Amen.
Megachurch pastor Rick Warren has become an outsized evangelical superstar: best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life series, pastoral mentor and even political referee.
Now Warren is finding a new purpose: tackling his outsized waistline.
Warren, 58, says the revelation came about a year ago, during a marathon baptism session of about 800 people at Saddleback Church.
As he struggled to submerge members of his flock in the baptismal pool one by one, he realized his parishioners were heavy and that he, too, was fat, setting a terrible example.
Warren says his gradual weight gain — about two to three pounds a year — has added up over his 30 years as a pastor. To lose the extra pounds and inspire others to do the same, the former football player enlisted the help of three doctors.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation Tuesday that would reverse President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
Even though I use Facebook frequently, I doubt my usage pattern will justify a $100 billion valuation for the company or send a new crop of Silicon Valley paper millionaires to Ferrari dealerships.
I never click on sidebar ads, I immediately block all games, and I have no intention of using Facebook's virtual money. I've done some advertising -- to little effect -- and will do more, but not much.
On the other hand, I find Facebook intriguing, sobering and oddly encouraging. To me, Facebook is an intriguing window on the world. It's the raw stuff of human diversity, not filtered through self-serving politicians or media summaries. When I decided to "friend" people whose views differ from mine, little did I know how much we differ.
Name an issue — say, the recent dust-up over breast cancer funding for Planned Parenthood — and I read not only the rage and indignation of fervent extremes, but deep divisions within the sensible middle. The hope that we could find common ground by moving to the middle could be delusional. Divisions are still there, but maybe they're just calmer.