A first
While many places in North America are chilly and even snowy -- down in the Caribbean another record is being broken as a tropical depression has formed itself into "Tropical Storm Gamma". It appears to have its sights set on Florida.


The top politically inCorrect Words for 2005
From the Global Language Monitor -- a few samples from their list:

Misguided Criminals for Terrorist

Thought Shower or Word Shower substituting for brainstorm so as not to offend those with brain disorders such as epilepsy.

Out of the Mainstream when used to describe the ideology of any political opponent...

Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail.

Womyn for Women to distance the word from man.

CE for AD

"God Rest Ye Merry Persons" for "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

A fresh look at Ephesians 5
The complimentarians are missing the point -- as are the egalitarians. Look more closely at the metaphor (and the chiasmus structure that would have charmed the socks off old Nils Lund). CT has an excerpt from Sarah Summer's book Men and Women in the Church: Building Consensus on Christian Leadership (IVP, 2003).


Can religious groups exclude non-believers?
Some universities are saying no. It's in the courts.


Peter Drucker
The Economist has a report on Peter Drucker, who died November 11th.


Webcam helps sons save mother
Two sons, one in Norway, and the other in the Philippines, collaborated to get help for their mother in California after they noticed via a webcam that she had collapsed during a diabetic episode. Link


$14.78 per hour
According to an article in yesterday's Modesto Bee that is how much the typical Stanislaus County home increased in value last month -- 24/7. (The Bee has apparently started with the registration nonsense and you may have to do that -- especially if you try to pull the article up more than once.) If things continue at the current pace (they won't!) the average house in our county will be worth a million dollars in four years and nine months.


Hagner & McKnight
Steve McCoy put together a fun little video clip of Scot McKnight and my old seminary professor Don Hagner discussing divorce and remarriage. Really -- it's funny. It sort of reminds me of the way that adults always sound in the vintage Charlie Brown television specials. It has not gone unnoticed by Scot.


New Pew research
In short:

Americans are finding isolationism more attractive

Opinion of the UN is way down

Opinion leaders are gloomier about Iraq's future than is the US public

China's emerging global power is not triggering increased concern

India is the US's newest best friend

The majority of Americans believe that "the use of torture against terrorist suspects can rarely if ever be justified"
Link to the whole report