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The other day a burglar was arrested. Not surprising. Burglars do get caught. And this was in Rome, Italy. That’s not surprising either: 8,699 burglaries were reported in ye olde city in 2024, about 317 burglaries per 100,000 residents (Italy: 226/100K; USA: 229/100K; the UK: 316/100K). These things happen. And the perpetrators are caught … sometimes (Italy: 8% of the time; USA: 13%; the UK: 5%). So, yeah.
But this guy got caught because of a most unusual reason. He
DeathFest!
Yup, there was a “DeathFest” the other day. In Nonthaburi, near Bangkok, Thailand. This was the second year it’s been held. The unusual fair broached a subject that is uncomfortable for some, fearful for others, and taboo for many, inviting people to confront their own mortality.
As a business venture, the event brought together experts and organizations involved in health care, financial planning, palliative care, funeral services, and memorial innovations. And activities
New!
The Register online reported on an interesting study recently:
It seems that when a major music artist releases a new album of certified bangers, one of those bangers is your car banging into a tree, or a light pole, or another car.”
Yup, there’s a greater chance of car crashes on days of new music releases. Now, who doesn’t like streaming music while driving. But a working paper from researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School showed an association between
Shoes!
Athletic footwear has entered a new era of ambition. Here’s what Nike claimed a few months ago: “Nike Debuts its First Neuroscience-Based Footwear to Help Athletes Feel Calm, Focused and Present.” Wow! Footwear and the brain!
No longer content to promise just comfort or performance, Nike claims its shoes can activate the brain, heighten sensory awareness and even improve concentration by stimulating the bottom of your feet.
Nike’s chief science officer, Matthew Nurse,
Psalm 3:1–8
Almost in a holy war, God’s people are often in danger of being annihilated by the myriad of their enemies, but their confidence in God is unbounded, their proximity to God unquestionable, and God’s might is unchallengeable, his deliverance inevitable, and his blessing incontrovertible.
Perhaps it is reflection of real life that the beatitude-laden and triumphal opening psalms of the Psalter (Psalms 1–2) are followed by a whole series of laments (Psalms 3–7). Life
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.