Saturday Roundup

CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
Clips from Wallace and Gromit's feature length film now available for your viewing pleasure. Cheryl and I are planning to hit the matinee this afternoon. There hasn't been anything this exciting on the big screen since The Incredibles!


EAST MEETS WEST?
Ancient Faith Radio, the Eastern Orthodox online radio station, will be running a discussion show several times next week called "East Meets East." A Byzantine Catholic priest and an Eastern Orthodox Priest "discuss the commonalities and differences between these two traditions." I'm neither Byzantine Catholic or Eastern Orthodox but the discussion still sounds fascinating (I'm interested in the health and growth of the entire church). The schedule can be found on their website.


STEALING FROM GOD
Thieves peeled the copper covering off a dome at St Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. Pretty brash.


ALASKA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE LOOSES FUNDING
The small college in Soldotna, Alaska, that our colleague Keith Hamilton started in order to build some stability into the lives of native Alaskan youth, has lost the federal funding originally earmarked for the school.

There was an editorial campaign by the Anchorage Daily News which turned the tide against the school.

This kind of politically charged environment is one reason why I'm not terribly thrilled with the "faith-based initiatives" that President Bush has been advocating. Here is an example of a school which took the whole idea seriously and it all came back to bite them. As much as possible it is best to steer clear of government entanglement -- even when the government invites your participation.

The school will move forward -- but with reduced capacity.

Disclosure: Our congregation sent a work team up there in the summer of 2004 and a couple from our congregation, Don and Cat Bosworth, moved to Soldotna to work with the college and MARC. I've spent some time trying to help the school put together a library (they have an onsite librarian), which is needed to complete the accreditation process.


GOOGLE READER
Their latest toy, introduced yesterday. Nice interface. But it is beta and it still has some quirks.


HOME AFFORDABILITY DOWN
Housing affordability sank to a record low level in Los Angeles County during August and matched its all-time low statewide reached 16 years ago, a trade group said Thursday.

Statewide affordability hit 14 percent in August, down an annual 4 percentage points, said the California Association of Realtors. Affordability in Los Angeles County fell an annual 5 percentage points to 12 percent. That's 2 percentage points under July's record low.

However, there are signs that the market might be cooling a bit. The Turlock Journal has an article this morning on the increase of "inventory" and the fact that sellers are having to lower their prices to move houses.