Category > Your Humble Heretic
January 15th marked the 81st birthday of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This event, along with another seemingly unrelated event — the broadcast of a number of Westerns on the American Movie Channel — gave me an opportunity to reflect on what theologian Walter Wink calls The Myth of Redemptive Violence. I'm not a big fan of Westerns, mainly because they tend to glorify violence. But there is one Western that ranks among my all-time favorite movies: …
I thought at first that I was the only one who could smell it. But the stench of hypocrisy and bad theology of conservative, fundamentalist Christianity is something almost everyone these days can smell, as illustrated last week by the almost universal outrage against Pat Robertson's comments about Haiti. So I'm not going to use up my column space or hold my nose over that particular emanation from Robertson's foul mouth. But that odor is just one of many that …
For those of you who read my column last week ("The way things are goin'..."), you will remember that I discussed some local conservative religious organizations that deemed it necessary to discuss me and this column in their meetings. I ended that column by saying I'd rather be burned at the stake than have my column discussed by a bunch of mindless, bible-thumping, Christian bureaucrats in one of their impotent meetings. Well, I am here to report that I have …
In March of 2008, I wrote an article called "C-U Ministers and Their Mansions" where I used the Champaign County Assessment Office's online database of property records to look up the values of homes owned by pastors in Champaign-Urbana. Shortly after my article appeared, the Champaign County Assessment Office removed the ability to search for records by name from their website and they posted this note: "For privacy reasons the search by name feature has been removed from the property …
The great thing about shopping for almost anything in America is the nearly infinite number of options and choices the consumer has. For example, if you're shopping for a car, you might start with its make (e.g. Chevy, Ford, or perhaps a foreign brand), then you might consider its model (Cavalier, Impala, etc.), then there is the type of engine (Hemi, V6, etc.), and the transmission (manual or automatic). Finally, of course, you choose a color and a wide variety …
A few months ago billboards throughout Champaign-Urbana displayed a giant Krispy Kreme Donut with the text, "Look who's rolling into town." Excellent, I thought, they're going to build a Krispy Kreme here and we'll be able to get hot, fresh Krispy Kreme Donuts. But it was all a sham. They didn't build us a Krispy Kreme. It was just a misleading promotion announcing that Krispy Kremes — not the hot, fresh ones, but half-stale, room-temperature ones — would be sold …
A few billboards around Champaign-Urbana have been telling us for the past couple months that "An Educated Person Knows the Bible." It is a message sponsored by the Bible Literacy Project and is apparently not so much an informational observation as a nationwide promotion of a textbook published in 2005 called The Bible and Its Influences. I don't know all of the politics and agendas behind this campaign; perhaps fertile fodder for another article sometime. But the message at its …
From the informal statistics based simply on my own biased experience, I'd have to estimate that 50% of leaders are terrible. And of that 50%, I'd say that half of those are terrible because they are incompetent and/or ignorant and the other half simply because they are corrupt. Fortunately, in the realm of politics we have at least four peaceful ways of replacing inept political leaders, or at least ensuring, that their negative influence is limited. The first way is …
I have had an affinity for Aikido since the late 1990s when I studied it briefly at a dojo in Champaign. And although my lack of practice and discipline in recent years has made me rusty at the physical moves, the philosophy behind Aikido has stayed with me. Unlike some of the more popular and “hard” martial arts, such as Karate and Tae Kwon Do, Aikido is a “soft” art that involves no punching or kicking. Instead, Aikido utilizes a …
It’s that time of year again for holiday tackiness. It comes in a variety of forms, including (but not limited to) gaudy sweaters and neckties, rotating Christmas trees, dogs barking jingle bells and garish yard decorations as seen on Candlestick Lane in Urbana. But Christmas is only one of the Christian holy days that has devolved into eye-popping commercialism. Easter also has its share of tackiness with its peeps, colored eggs and giant stuffed bunnies. However, Easter, still in the …
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Thanks for that, Louis CK.
Your call to stay pissed is precisely why global warming fanatics will fail. Emotion has no place in hard science. The problem with the issue of global warming is that is has been pumped full of emotion and politics, and the science is becoming a by-product. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204301404577171531838421366.html?KEYWORDS=global+warming
Clearly the Postal Officials in favor of this cannot make an economic argument, as this saves the post office $0. What is their rationale?
Earlier today I received this response from the President’s office (via e-mail) - Dear Jason: Thank you for taking the time to write and share your thoughts. I deeply regret the embarrassment that the anonymous email incident has brought to our great University, and the personal hardship…
This posting expresses frustration—where is the investigative reporting about the current situation at the university? There are news reports, but basically no investigation? Why? None of the potential news outlets seem to be digging, unless doing so in the quiet of the night—not CU Access, the DI,…
Thank you Childrss for the correction. I actually only know a very small bit about Miscanthus specifically (and not much, obviously). My support for cellulosic has more to do with all the various upsides. The stalks and husks of feed corn, for instance, could provide a secondary…
More on Miscanthus can be found at http://miscanthus.illinois.edu Depending on market demand, miscanthus CAN impact food costs if it becomes more profitable to grow Miscanthus on land rather than foodstuff crops. While Jason didn’t explicitly state it (so I don’t want to imply that he was wrong)—it…
“Doing so would leave the entire university community without a way to send mail.” Ever heard of a mailbox? I can tell you where some are. “The Green Street office is always busy ...” Wrong. In fact, back in the day, I would go there during the…
I still have a very strong belief in bio-fuels as a sensible alternative, so long as it’s done sensibly. The one that makes the most sense, in my opinion, is producing ethanol from cellulose instead of grain. It’s essentially turning a waste product into a usable fuel…
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Nope. It’s the back (east) side of Urbana Tire Company at 202 S. Vine. How much is a hug and kiss worth? Do I have to take them all at once or can I break it up?
FACT: Silverfish feed only on carbohydrates, such as starches and sugars. They will not consume proteins or fats (the main materials from which human beings are constructed). THUS: That was not actually a human waiter we were conversing with, but rather a lifelike simulacrum created from semi-digested Fruit Loops.
nice fishnets you’ve got there, dan!
is that illini auto on main?
The geniuses at the News-Gazette site have it all figured out. This happened because we don’t have the Chief!
Pamela - Are the roasteries in Seattle as clean as CSR? It always disturbs me a little that it is so clean in there.
Now you will be able to munch on pizza and shrimp cocktails in downtown Urbana (whilst a DJ spins?) after your dissolution of marriage http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2012-02-05/its-your-business-new-pizza-place-downtown-urban Is this a franchise of a Reno pizza joint, or just a coincidence of name? http://www.blackrockpizza.com
Signs someone is “fishing” for a factual anchor: 1. Starts call to radio with: “I’ve been an Illini fan for (XX) years” or “I’m a diehard fan,” as if somehow that unverifiable claim will justify the 5 minutes of B.S. that follows. 2. Makes reference to KenPom…
That’s what she said.
Black dog and Siam terrace is where I always go after my divorces.
Love CSR. Apart from making my way through the regular roasts in 1/2 pound increments, I also like to pick up some of the little sample packets of the flavored stuff for when the lady and I feel like getting crazy. Sticky Bun is pretty nice.
If you happen to be getting a divorce, or fighting a DUI prosecution, downtown Urbana is a great place to eat.
HUUUUUUGE fan of their Black Velvet roast…It makes up about 75% of my coffee intake. LOL CSR is definitely one of those Champaign institutions that I brag about to people not from here. :-)
We like CSR too! We french press at home and I leave the lid off while it steeps—letting the ground beans bloom. Then, like in your tasting, I scoop off the top layer before pressing. We really need to invest in a burr grinder though, as I…
Confidential? In this state? Hahahahahahahhahahaha
just confirmed: there will be white russians served. the art abides.
big lebowski at the art. mark it, dude.
There’s a great video promo out for “Company” too: http://vimeo.com/36077847
Wow, His Majesty took the time to answer your polite plea. It’s been a while since I spoke fluent arrogance, but allow this attempt at a translation: “I deeply regret the embarrassment…” = I wish we hadn’t got caught and it wasn’t a big deal really. “...and…
I love the Guitars
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Wow, His Majesty took the time to answer your polite plea. It’s been a while since I spoke fluent arrogance, but allow this attempt at a translation: “I deeply regret the embarrassment…” = I wish we hadn’t got caught and it wasn’t a big deal really. “...and…