Sunspots 932

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Christianity: NPR reports that some really large churches are growing even larger.

Environment: (or something) NPR reports that a Burmese python, over 19 feet long, was caught in Florida.

Another report, from the Tampa Bay Times, says that a different Burmese python, in Florida, had laid 111 eggs.

Health: (and Christianity, and politics) A Conversation article discusses the influence of religious belief on whether you get COVID vaccine.

Humor: (or something) Grammarphobia discusses words related to bobby, as in bobby socks, bobby pin.

Politics: NPR interviews an author who has written a book about how crack cocaine harmed African-Americans.

FiveThirtyEight tells us about some creative (and possibly illegal) ways that Republican presidential candidates are trying to raise enough money, from enough donors, to be included in a debate.

A Conversation writer tells us about Target Letters from the Justice Department.

Science: NPR reports on a company that is trying to turn stem cells into human eggs.

SciTcchDaily reports on the use of genetic engineering to improve the usefulness of the fibers in trees.

Gizmodo reports that a French woman was struck by a meteorite. (She was bruised)

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 584

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: “A man cannot live one hour a godly life unless by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Andrew Murray, Absolute Surrender, public domain.

Ken Schenck has a post (which does not refer to any particular person or situation) on the pitfalls that may beset church leaders.

Schenck also has an important post on issues Christians disagree on.

A Relevant writer says that it's no wonder that pastors of mega-churches often fall spectacularly, explains why, and says that it's also the fault of the rest of that church.

Relevant says that more Christians were killed for their faith last year than in any year in modern history.

Education: (And computing) NPR reports that students who use computers (and tablets) in college classrooms get somewhat lower grades on tests. (The test grading was automated, so there wasn't teacher bias during grading.)

Health: Listverse reports on 10 facts about the human skeleton.

Wired reports that experiencing racism threatens health.

History: Archaeologists are learning more about the Philistines (Goliath and Delilah were Philistines), but still don't know where they came from, according to National Public Radio.

Do you think that pink has always been a girl's color? Think again.

Politics: Wired says that some areas are un-paving roads, as a way of saving money, and of making terrible paved roads into not-so-bad un-paved ones.

Relevant says that the new UK Prime Minister is a committed Christian. God help her.



Image source (public domain)  

Sunspots 411

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (Sort of) From Wired: the preview of a new Star Trek movie.
 
Christianity: Christianity Today has a discussion about Francis Chan and other radical pastors/authors.
Speculative Faith has a fine post on the resurrection.

Humor: I'm pretty sure that an introvert prepared this chart, distinguishing introverts from extroverts.
 
Politics: NPR reports on how the number of Americans on disability is growing, in spite of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and why. Most of it is not pretty. Disability, for some people who aren't really disabled, is a way of getting support when they can't find work. State governments have an incentive to get more people on disability, because it's a Federal program. Some parents have an incentive to have their children stay on disability, because, as long as they are, the parents get support. I should add that there are people out there who are genuinely disabled, and helping them should be part of the safety net.
 
Science: Wired has posted a stunning NASA photo of Mercury.
Image source (public domain)