Comics of the gods?

Complex morality / theology? Check.

Jonathan Ryan has a series of blog posts about DC's current crossover event, Trinity War (part 1, part 2, part 3).

This “event” contains a TON of profound discussion points. How did evil get into the world? What is the cure? How does God play into all this? How will people, including super people, deal with all the implications of it? How can evil have a destructive affect even among those trying to do “good”? [¶] This is what I love about Geoff Johns, the writer of this series. He is not afraid to go after theological and philosophical discussion.

Now, I have to confess that I haven't been reading this series. I'm not as awestruck as some by Geoff Johns (although I do agree that team books are where he does his best work), and I've not gotten into DC's new 52 much. But the post was enough to get a pastor friend of mine interested in reading the series, so you might find it worth the read. I do appreciate that Ryan considers comic-book crossovers to be major cultural events:

You know what I don’t get? I don’t understand how major religious sites have NOT done many stories about this comic book run. I’m really gobsmacked by it. This is a huge cultural event that is addressing MAJOR theological issues. And…..barely a peep.

They've certainly got Ryan's number, and probably a lot of others, too. The best comics I've ever read were fun and action-packed on the one hand, but dealt with deep, complex themes and moral issues on the other. Good comics should be able to do both (as should good comics movies, which is why I'll take The Dark Knight over Iron Man any day). According to Ryan, "What we have is a full on theological debate going on in a comic book; Sin’s destruction, corrupting affects and how it affects the whole world." Bring it on.

Gender-Flipping the Argument

Why isn't this man in the army?

Here's an amusing list of the ten reasons men shouldn't be ordained, apparently based on an older list related to women's suffrage. My personal favorite is number six:

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. Their conduct at football and basketball games demonstrates this.

 I may turn the topic of gender-flipping into a regular feature here. It's quite insightful.

David Brooks argues with conservatives

A conservative for
immigration reform

David Brooks has a new op-ed in the New York Times:

This could be a tragedy for the country and political suicide for Republicans, especially because the conservative arguments against the comprehensive approach are not compelling.

After all, the Senate bill fulfills the four biggest conservative objectives. [...]These are all gigantic benefits. They are like Himalayan peaks compared with the foothill-size complaints conservatives are lodging. 

The conservative objectives he mentions are encouraging economic growth, shrinking the national debt, reducing illegal immigration, and avoiding demographic collapse. Read the whole piece. Brooks' piece reminded me of Corny Collins' line from the movie Hairspray:

Velma, isn't this where it's all heading anyway? Now you can fight it, or you can rock out to it!

Good show. Good coffee. (and a couple mentions of donuts, too)

A video of all the mentions of pie and coffee from a TV classic, Twin Peaks:

"They don't need the good news because they don't get the bad news." Nope.

Your kids are not Gollum in this story.

The quote in the title comes from this comment by Steve McCoy. Steve McCoy has been in the spotlight lately for a recent tweet. McCoy wrote "Tell your children they are broken. Deeply broken."

Now, I get what McCoy is trying to emphasize here. We all have a sinful nature from birth. Because it is so fundamental, he wants everyone to know this. He wants them to know it as early as possible because, in his view, anyone who doesn't properly embrace this bad news cannot properly appreciate the good news of the Gospel.  I get it. Most of my experience with Christian communities (beginning in high school) has been with people who agree with his theological point. I happen to agree with his theological point, myself.

But I am dead set against his prescription. (more below the jump break)

Make Your Choice

You don't know what you want.
Luigi know what you want.

Is there such a thing as too much choice? Some critics of the consumer-centric society think so, and have made their case strongly in TED talks, newspaper editorials, research papers. Author Matt Ridley thinks our own personal experience should dispel this notion:

Now, I don’t know about you, but last time I was offered blue-cheese, Ranch, French or thousand-island dressing for my salad, I don’t remember having a panic attack, or even needing therapy at all. I don’t generally find my heartbeat racing or my palms sweating as I contemplate the rows of different brands of toothpaste on the shelves. And I am rather relieved at having been allowed the choice of whom to marry. There are poor teenagers in Indian villages who have none of these choices: I do not envy them.

I'm glad Ridley is never overwhelmed with fast food options. But if the game is to consult our own experience, I have to make my confession: I have felt a bit paralyzed at the thought of selecting the wrong kind of hamburger before. Although I sympathize with the idea that having too many options is almost always better than too few, A part of me has to side with comedian David Mitchell on this one:

Are there instances where you would prefer to have your choices narrowed for you? Or would you always prefer more control?

A Return to Blogging

Superman Returns?

After a few years without blogging on this page, I've decided to return. My intention is to put up links to articles, blog posts, and videos I find interesting. I'll also post my own thoughts on topics of interest from time to time. I'm planning to deal less with economics-related topics; I'll be leaning more heavily on topics like education, truth claims, mechanics and mystics, comic, and other fun tags from my new label cloud. (If you really want to hear my econ commentary, head over to my more academic blog, Subliminally Unemployed.)

As the first return post, I'll offer a movie review (poster provided) complete with spoilers below the jump break. But before I do, let me open this post with a request for requests: whether you're returning to this blog with me or starting it new, what would you like me to write about? Any articles you'd like me to comment on or share? Post your requests in the comments, and welcome to Metadoxy!