News You Can't Refuse (November 4 - 10)

Welcome to Edition Numero Cuatro. 

Hope the idea of choosing a pope by having a blind-folded kid pick a name out of a hat makes you as happy as it does me!

Child's Ballot Will Determine November Election Of Next Coptic Pope

While Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, Egyptian Christians are leaving this Sunday's choice for their highest leader up to a higher power: God.


Kyrgyzstan prison protest: Inmates sew lips together

More than 1,300 Kyrgyz prisoners have sewn their lips together as part of an ongoing protest at poor living conditions, say officials.

Nearly 7,000 are already on hunger strike. Their latest move came in response to an official decision to force-feed them.

UFO Lying On The Bottom Of The Baltic Sea?

A Swedish expedition team has found an unidentified object at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, leaving some to believe it’s the remnants of an extra-terrestrial ship. 

Scientists went off on a deep-water dive to debunk some theories about the underwater object, but were left with more questions than they had answers.

Pharisees With Low Standards

Several years ago sociologist Christian Smith published Soul Searching, an in-depth look at the religious beliefs of American adolescents. He summarized their faith as ‘moralistic, therapeutic deism.’

How Far Away is the Moon? 

News To Peruse (October 28 - November 3)

If you're looking for some interesting news to share around the ole' water cooler, look no further! I guarantee some of these articles will amaze and mystify, especially if you take the time to read the last article on Swaziland's "divine" monarch.

Also, you might like the second article as a thought provoker, as it raises some great questions about the issue of modern racism in the church.

Hope you enjoy! If you missed the first two editions of my article finding, you can find them here and here.


Liquid nitrogen cocktail leaves teen in hospital

An 18-year-old teenager has had to have her stomach removed in an emergency operation after drinking a cocktail containing liquid nitrogen.


Choice of new Archbishop a 'colonial' stitch-up

Tens of millions of Anglicans around world feel excluded by the “colonial” way the next Archbishop of Canterbury is being chosen, the leader of Church in Middle East and North Africa has said.

Quarterback moves to trademark 'Tebowing'

Thou shalt not Tebow, for the wages of Tebowing is trademark infringement.

A management and consulting firm representing New York Jets back-up quarterback and evangelical sports icon Tim Tebow has moved one step closer to holding the trademark "Tebowing" for use on things as widespread as clothing, pencil sharpeners and holiday ornaments.


First World Problems Anthem

A brilliant use of the "First World Problems" fad. Video made for the Water Is Life foundation, providing access to clean drinking water in third world nations.

Magical Thinking

King Mswati III, one of the world's last absolute monarchs, is a powerful man -- precisely because many think he isn't a man at all.

"He believes he is divine, believes he is magic," his former speechwriter, Musa Ndlangamandla, told me one evening. "And so do his people."

News For The Muse (October 21 - 27)

Hello all!

Here's another 5 things floating around the internet that I thought you should see. From the strange to the thought-provoking, I hope you all find at least a couple links that catch your eye and teach you something new. Also, thanks to those out there that may have pointed me to some of these articles!

 I highly recommend watching the TED talk on military robots if you have a little extra time, as it raises some big questions about the effect of media violence.

Japanese Hipsters get 'Bagel Head' Saline Injections

Is the look of having a bagel stuffed under one’s forehead skin “cute?”

According to National Geographic, some trendy youngsters in Japan think seem to think so -- and they’re proving it by having giant saline bubbles injected into their foreheads.

The Importance Of Hell

In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. 

Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.

The Top 10 Craziest Things Ever Said During a U.N. Speech

History is rich with memorable orations delivered by the world's leaders as nations convene to discuss the critical issues of the day. From the impassioned to the provocative to the truly bizarre, here are  the 10 most unforgettable remarks to come out of the United Nations general assembly speeches in the last sixty years. 

NBA Set to Penalize Players For Flopping

The NBA is about to act in hopes of stopping the floppers.

Spokesman Tim Frank said Thursday the league is finalizing procedures to deal with flopping, the art of falling down when little or no contact was made.

PW Singer on Military Robots and the Future of War (TED Talk)

In this powerful talk, P.W. Singer shows how the widespread use of robots in war is changing the realities of combat. He shows us scenarios straight out of science fiction -- that now may not be so fictitious.

News You Can Use (October 14 - 20)

As I've recently been going through some big life changes, taking the time to write down well-crafted thoughts has gotten pretty low on the ole' to-do list (and if you've read any of my old stuff, you'll know that "well-crafted" has always been low on that list).

Unfortunately, the cursed itch to blog has been plaguing me once again, in spite of my lack of time. So, in order to satisfy the itch (and my insistent wife), I have decided to "blog" about the thing I love doing: reading articles!

A disproportionate chunk of my down-time is spent reading articles or watching interesting videos online, and sometimes I stumble across some real gooders that you might be interested in.

Each week, I'll try and post 5 articles/videos that I think might interest the general population (and yes, I stole this idea from elsewhere). Enjoy as many of them as you'd like!

Too Young to Wed (Video)

Fifteen-year-old Destaye and her husband divide their time between working in the fields and taking care of their 6-month-old baby. At the time of their marriage, when Destaye was age 11, she was still in school and her husband expressed interest in letting her continue her education. Since the birth of their son, however, she has had to fulfill her duties of being a wife and mother exclusively. This short film by Jessica Dimmock examines this young girl’s journey as a child bride in Ethiopia.


Worst. Prize. Ever.

Has the Nobel become a parody of itself?

Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the European Union on Friday.


'Like eating an elephant': The quest to honour Crazy Horse

For more than 60 years workers have been painstakingly carving the shape of Native American war leader Crazy Horse on a mountain in South Dakota.

If completed it is set to be the largest sculpture in the world - but there are decades of work left.

The Honors Of The King

Over the last 60 years, alliances between churches and politics have resulted in many people dismissing Christianity as only “the Conservative (or) Liberal party at prayer.” The results have been destructive - C.S. Lewis refused to be a part of that. 



The McGurk Effect