Cleaning house with a keyboard and a mouse

I'm heading off tomorrow for a couple of days of camping in the semi-wilds of central Oregon. Here are some links that I've been meaning to remark upon on in way or another, but have not been able to for reasons both mundane and cosmic in nature:

• Lorraine Murray reviews a new book about Padre Pio.

• Michael Novak reflects on atheism and evil.

• Archbishop Chaput has a new book coming out soon, Render Unto Ceasar (Doubleday)

• What are your five favorite books by Inklings and friends? Christopher W. Mitchell lists his choices.

• Entertainment Weekly lists its top 100 "New Classics." The Da Vinci Code is #96. Meanwhile, Radiohead's "In Rainbows" is #10 in the list of the 100 best albums between 1983 and 2008. Nothing against Radiohead, one of my favorite bands, but what exactly is a classic? Shouldn't it have to exist for more than a year to qualify?

• Obama, Shaman. Obama, The Child.

• Scott Hahn and Ben Wiker talk about Dawkins and atheism.

• Speaking of atheism, Evangelical philosopher Douglas Groothuis reviews four recent books about that very topic.

• A professor emeritus of religious studies at Emmanuel College gets silly in a brief letter-to-the-editor in The Boston Globe.

• Roy Schoeman's Honey From The Rock receives a nice review.

• A new book by neo-Darwinist Julian Barnes does not recieve a nice review.

• James Beverly points out that Eckhart Tolle is simply spouting the same old anti-Christian, New Age nonsense. It is a Tolle House recipe: mix vapid spirituality with self-help lingo, stir in neo-Buddhist nonsense, add a dash of Christian bashing, and serve it up on Oprah with a smile.

• Slate describes Brideshead Revisited as "vomitous stupidity." Sounds negative.

• More atheism: Play the atheism game. For free.

• Vladimír Godár's Mater (ECM): The most beautiful music I've heard in some time.

• Chris Cornell produced by Timbaland: Most surreal collaboration I've heard in some time.

• If you missed them here are some new and upcoming books available from Ignatius Press.

Comments

[A Mauldin]

Thank you for sharing the links on "Obama, Shaman" and "Obama, Child".

The first essay by Michael Knox Beran was brilliant and goes a long way to explain the Obamamania and its evils. The second essay by Gerard Baker is a great satire on the phenomenon. I'm forwarding both links as far and wide as I can.