microblog
- David Nixon: Unashamedly Christian
- Zachary Purvis: The Parables of Jesus: What Are They and Why Are They So Misunderstood?
- Daniel Sladek: “Bizarre Food” or Spiritual Feast? Understanding Leviticus
I’m super proud of Della. She recently entered a portrait of our dog Buttercup into a painting competition and it turned out amazing. Vote for it if you want. Della’s Instagram post has a video clip of the painting you can see.
Max Richter summarizes the state of classical music and why he took a different path.
When I went to university, in Edinburgh, I was like, “Let’s just forget about that for a minute and concentrate on Boulez.” Classical music is a very historical artform, in the sense that all classical music is built on what’s come before: At the beginning of the 20th century, tonality explodes, you get into serialism, and then you get into more and more deterministic music. So Boulez serializes everything: rhythm, duration, dynamics, all structural elements—everything is an expression of a formula. It was considered a historical imperative to do the next step in that, if you were a serious composer. If you were an idiot, then you could write tonal music [laughs] but no one would play it. Which is one of the reasons I started making records. No one’s going to play this, so I better just try and record it myself.
[Tehillim] is peak Reich, where everything comes together. It’s a setting of the Psalms for his ensemble and vocals, and it’s just the most fantastically put-together, virtuosic, beautiful, expressive sonic object. His music, and the music of Arvo Pärt, were triggers for me to move away from the modernist compositional language—the super-complex idea of every piece as a technical manifesto—and towards having a conversation, speaking intelligibly, and connecting.
Read the full article: “Max Richter on the Music That Made Him” (HT: Marginal Revolution)
Have you listened to the Humble Skeptic podcast yet? In the first episode, Shane explores faith and doubt through an investigation of his dad’s account about being in Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” bar.
🎵 Listening to Copper State, an Arizona-inspired, jazz-country album from Arthur Vint & Associates released today. It’s great. (HT: Tucson Sentinel)
NASA Guide to Air-filtering Houseplants infographic by lovethegarden.
Interesting stat regarding the recent Arizona primary elections: “Statewide, there were 131 races with only one candidate, which comes to about one-fourth of all the seats that were up for grabs in the primary elections.” (Tucson Agenda)
Finished reading: Bridge-Building Apologetics by Lindsey Medenwaldt. Audio available on Libby. đź“š
See how one of the most important rooms in America has been decorated over the years. It’s hard to choose a favorite.
Edinburgh Theological Seminary is currently offering a great set of classes for less than $65.
Open to anyone, the Saturday Courses are an excellent way of gaining more than would normally be offered in church on Sunday whilst being less demanding than a full-time theological course.
And if you’re not in Scotland, you can take them online.
Finished reading: Christ-Centered Biblical Theology: Hermeneutical Foundations and Principles by Graeme Goldsworthy. Solid read. I have a better view of the Davidic Covenant now. CCBT is best for those familiar with the BT field. If you are a beginner, check out From Eden to New Jerusalem. đź“š
Good news: Apple Maps is now available on the web.
Amazing time-lapse video of a storm forming over Tucson. Watch for when the rain starts to fall.
From Psalm 137:1
The rest of the psalm describes why they wept, including the sorrow caused by a brother. I’ll be preaching on these topics this Sunday.
QUIZ: What generation are you when texting? - CNN
If you don’t know how texting practices and expectations vary among age groups, this is a fun way to learn.
(via @JoshNicholas)