RaMbLeS
Welcome to RaMbLeS, a collection of weekly musings on life and Scripture. It all began in 2005 on Google’s blogspot as the aBeLOG (a name now recycled), a semi-autobiographical devotional that attempted to keep well-wishers abreast of my activities as I relocated to Scotland for a few years. Since my return, I’ve continued my RaMbLeS, and here’s its most recent incarnation on Homiletix, as random reflections usually based on current news articles and travel experiences and whatever else takes my fancy!
Amputation?
Many prehistoric handprints apparently show a finger missing. Now Canadian scientists say evidence from cave art all over the world shows digits may have been ritually removed to appease deities or aid social cohesion.
In a paper presented at a recent meeting of the European Society for Human Evolution, researchers Profs. Mark Collard, Brea McCauley, and David Maxwell of Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, BC) pointed to 25,000-year-old paintings in France and Spain that
Questions?
Google, if you didn’t know it already, keeps track of things that were Googled for. And Google Trends unveils all and spills the beans on America’s top curious queries, the Whos, Whats, Whens, Whys, and Hows.
Who: “Who is Erin Carter?
As the Netflix thriller series broke records, the question points to its “must-watch” status.
Close second was “Who won the Super Bowl in 2023?” The triumphant Kansas City Chiefs, of course.
Both these
Carols!
About five decades ago, around Christmas time, Eastern Airlines’ Flight 401 was bound for Miami from New York City, crashed into the Everglades swamp, killing 98 of its 173 passengers. Apparently the ones who survived endured the traumatic wait in alligator infested waters, surrounded by wreckage and bodies, and burning fuel … by singing Christmas carols!
Carolling (or at least, group singing) is good for you. Here are a list of studies to make my case.
“Changes in
Soak?
What? Soaking in a hot tub has some of the same benefits as going for a 30-minute jog?
Well, apparently that’s a fact. Or so claimeth researchers from Coventry University and Cardiff Metropolitan University in “The Health Benefits of Passive Heating and Aerobic Exercise: To What Extent Do the Mechanisms Overlap?” published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
These folks studied 20 healthy participants ranging in age from 26–60 years and measured their heart rate,
Died?
The other day, People magazine reported on the frustrating efforts of Madeline-Michelle Carthen. For the last 15 years, this poor lady, a Missouri native, has been fighting to prove that she is alive!
She had been anticipating taking part in Webster University’s international intern exchange program in the summer of 2007. But she was never able to attend—or even graduate from college, for that matter—after she was denied financial aid when her Social Security number
Tongue?
Engineers from Middle Technical University (Baghdad) and the University of South Australia (Adelaide) used a USB web camera and computer to capture images of patients’ tongues, focusing on 50 individuals afflicted with conditions like diabetes, renal failure, and anemia. They then compared the captured tongue colors with a comprehensive database of 9,000 tongue images and sought to diagnose those same conditions among those 9.000 patients.
Believe it or not, leveraging
Squalor!
Recently, journalist Pauline Allione reported in VICE Belgium about filth hoarders.
A decade ago, Bastien, 43 (not his real name), was the type of guy who would meticulously clean his windowsills with a cotton bud. But after experiencing a triple whammy of unemployment, a tough break-up and severe depression, his dedication to cleanliness collapsed.”
Said Bastien himself:
I couldn’t throw anything away; I started piling up rubbish left, right and center. Trash quickly
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.