Digressions » JakeBouma.com

My recent rating of There Will Be Blood at 4.5 stars (on the right-hand side of the page; not visible to RSS readers) marks the 100th movie rating since I rated (and reviewed) Superman Returns on June 30, 2006. Thats an average of 0.17 movie ratings per day for the past 588 days. The average rating for a movie is 3.5 stars (3.445 to be precise); the highest rated are Little Miss Sunshine, Once, and Juno at 5 stars, and the lowest rated is The Final Season at .5 stars. I’m sure you wanted to know all of that. 01/31/2008
Drumming to Super Mario 2 is wizard (thank you, Juno). “Super Mario 2 has a great soundtrack. In this awesome rendition, though, Andrea Vadrucci proves that everything sounds better with percussion. We’re also impressed by his drum set itself — that thing is at least fifteen pieces.” (ht: iamjoshbrown) 01/23/2008
Jim Wallis, the author of God’s Politics and head honcho of Sojourners, tells us why he wrote his new book, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post-Religious Right America (@ Amazon). “The Great Awakening speaks of two great hungers in our world today—the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice. I believe that the connection between the two is one the world, and especially a new generation, is waiting for.” 01/18/2008
The Official Google Reader Blog recently listed some helpful and interesting ways to use your feedreader. It’s a good example of how practical and time-saving using a feedreader can be, if only you take the time to familiarize yourself with the concept. Click here and watch this video if you’re still confused; it’s worth it. 01/16/2008
I’ve been chosen as a panelist for the Eighth Annual Weblog Awards (aka “Bloggies”). Finalists are announced Tuesday, January 22, at which point voting will re-open to choose the winners. 01/14/2008
In the bookstore today I ran across an interesting book called Lost and Philosophy: The Island Has Its Reasons which explores philosophical themes in Lost (I’m currently halfway through season three). USA Today also has an article called ‘Lost’ philosophy: Something to think about which discusses how “Lost pays homage to history’s greatest thinkers by naming characters after philosophers who mused on man, nature and society, themes central to the ABC drama.” Awesome. 01/13/2008
Saddleback Magic and Willow Creek Voodoo. “Maybe I finally found a resolution for this new year: Apply a bit more critique to brand names and theolo-hype.” 01/08/2008
Iowa and the Poles of Protestantism by Diana Butler Bass is a quick and interesting read about the denominational affiliations of Huckabee and Obama. “As a Southern Baptist, Huckabee emphasizes Christian conversion, personal morality, and individual character. Obama, as part of a liberal denomination [UCC], articulates the communal vision of progressive Protestantism, appealing to human goodness, optimism, and social justice… They are replaying, in dynamic new voices, an old disagreement in American religion.” 01/04/2008
Here’s a good primer on the Iowa (Democratic) Caucuses and their political significance. “Unlike any other state, what the Iowa Caucuses offer is the chance to see people deciding whom to pick after their first choice for president does not make it in the first round of voting. That forced compromise and the debate accompanying it — coming at the start of the presidential season — is close to how people vote on Election Day.” 01/02/2008
I will be taking a brief hiatus from blogging until shortly after the new year. Aside from the usual Christmas and New Years celebrations, I will be in New Orleans, Louisiana for several days to be a part of my best friend’s wedding. Although I won’t be blogging, I will be Twittering, so why don’t you tag along? 12/23/2007
There’s a fantastic post over at presbymergent issuing A Challenge to Emergent Authors. “I guess it all boils down to this: In the emergent conversation, are we writing the things we’re writing because we want to sell books, or are we writing the things we’re writing because we want to change the world?” 12/22/2007
GOOD Magazine has a great article about Joel Osteen called God, Without the Fuss. If you don’t know anything about Osteen or the Prosperity Gospel (and even if you do), this is an informative and engaging read. “It’s the Bless-Me Club. It is self-help, and that kind of message plays very well in America. It’s the opposite of the message of salvation, which is that you are saved by grace from God.” 12/21/2007
Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen is an engaging and perspective-inducing presentation by Hans Rosling. “In Rosling’s hands, global trends — life expectancy, child mortality, poverty rates — become clear, intuitive and even playful.” (ht: rtow) 12/19/2007
Say hello to the First Ever “Emerging” Amish Church. “When asked about his sources of inspiration, Pastor Jay (who wears a soul-patch instead of a traditional Amish beard) responded by saying: ‘I mean, there I was, settling with ‘church as usual’ when I stumbled upon the writings of Brian McLaren. I felt like his words were coming right from my own head, you know?’” The picture alone is worth the visit. Hilarious. (ht: TSK) 12/13/2007
I opened a new Twitter account at http://twitter.com/jbquotes to post short quotes from whatever book I am currently reading. Actually, I set up an entire “quote blog” a long time ago, but it never really got off the ground. Heck, let’s make this fun: ~~I will give $10 via PayPal to the first person who finds my secret quote blog and contacts me with the correct URL.~~ UPDATE: Scott (from Transformatum) is the winner, by finding http://www.jakebouma.com/quotes/. Nice work. 12/11/2007

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