“Aesthetics has become too important to be left to the aesthetes. To succeed, hard-nosed engineers, real estate developers, and MBAs must take aesthetic communication, and aesthetic pleasure, seriously” (Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style, pp. 4-5).
Stay Tuned for the Logrolling
So, then, Romney won in Michigan. All we need now is for Thompson to win in South Carolina on Saturday, and we will have ourselves an interesting race. If Ron Paul keeps coming in with his significant percentages, and as the other candidates approach the convention, nobody will be in a position to blow the …
Speaking of Hatchet Jobs
A correspondent informs me that somewhere out there on the web, one of our local critics is chastising us for a bunch of stuff. All to be expected, and part of the cost of doing business. This is not worthy of comment, but one point Nick Gier made in this criticism was too good to …
Lots of Fun Stuff
“The dynamist verge cherishes these things too. It care about intensive progress. And it perceives what stasists miss — the spectacular creativity and cumulative knowledge embedded in the things we take for granted: in the making of movies, the fabrics and shapes of our clothes, the subtle combination of fine cuisine, the emotional impact of …
Both Pockets Full of Cash
So here’s some quick punditry standing on horseback at a full gallop. Watch me go. The results out of Iowa are interesting. Living in a democracy is interesting. Living in a rowdy democracy is interesting. First, take both parties together. The results appear to be largely connected to that intangible thing called likeability. Huckabee comes …
The McBeat Goes On . . . or Does It?
“Consider popular music. It has long been a stastis truism that the cultural imperialism of Western pop would wipe out the diversity of world music, as surely as McDonald’s is supposed to crush local cuisines. Once imported via mass communication, critics predicted, Anglo-American music would roll over local cultural forms, displacing them with what the …
Serious Play
“Once established, this resilience is not just good for meeting threats. It extends to everyday habits. Play nurtures a supple mind, a willingness to think in new categories, and an ability to make unexpected associations” (Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies, p. 188).
Dealing With Sexual Guilt
INTRODUCTION: The gospel changes lives. Not only does it do this, but it has this impact on every aspect of our lives, which includes our sexual identity, our sexual lives. This fixes a number of problems, but if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit it also creates some new problems, some new …
Declaration and Doing
Chapter Six of Piper’s book is about whether or not justification determines our standing with God, or whether, as Wright argues, it is God’s formal declaration that this standing has already been established. According to Wright, the declaration of the gospel of Christ’s kingship is “very much the means” that God uses to transform individuals, …
Random Political Musing II
In the thread on my random political musing of a few days ago, someone asked who I was supporting in the race for president. It would be easier to say in the first place which candidates I couldn’t support, and then, second, what scenario could reasonably be expected to make me happy. In the interests …