The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
I would classify things in this category that were related to arts, literature, cinema, performance. Things that make us and the world better.
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy once reportedly said that you might be a redneck if your lifetime goal was to own a fireworks stand. But these days, operating a modern-era fireworks production is much more like Hollywood in the sky. Orchestrating the shows that will take place over the next few days requires artistry, a fanatical interest in safety, and a healthy dose of geek, to boot.
Read moreA documentary on Al Gore’s campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
Read moreUnfortunately, that’s a statement that will piss of a few people. It’s made by Randall Balmer, is a professor of American religious history at Barnard College. In an essay from his book, Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America: An Evangelical’s Lament, Balmer talks about how, “The leaders of the religious right have led their sheep astray from the gospel of Jesus Christ to the false gospel of neoconservative ideology and into the maw of the Republican Party.”
Read moreHere’s an MSNBC article about one of the factors that contributes to living a long life. Apparently, if you Mom is younger than 25 when you are born, it nearly doubles your chances of living past 100.
Read moreHere’s the link to an interesting MSNBC story about a Belief Net survey on people’s beliefs about hell. About 72% of us think we are not going. Only 3% of respondents think they are.
Read moreNo one invented the piggy bank. The piggy banks’ origin owes more to the history of language, than to an individual inventor. In old english (around the 15th century) there was a word “pygg” which referred to a type of orange clay. People made all kinds of useful objects out of clay, including dishes and jars to hold spare change. Around the 18th century, the word “pygg” now sounded the same as the word for the animal “pig”. An unknown person(s) thought to shape a “pygg” jar, to look just like a real “pig”. Perhaps an order came in for a “pygg” jar and the potter misunderstood.
Read moreThe important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reasons for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. –Albert Einstein
Read moreEverybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. –Martin Luther King Jr.
Read moreThe United States Football League is one of history’s more interesting failures. It was founded by entrepreneur David Dixon in
Read moreWe’ve heard it’s because pants and shorts have two legs. But shirts have two sleeves, and you don’t have a “pair of shirts.” Hmm, so much for that theory.
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