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!
Sued?
The sad (and odd) case of Barbara Bagley.
A few years ago, this Utah woman was driving her Range Rover on Interstate 80 when it apparently slid on sagebrush and flipped. Her husband was ejected from the vehicle, suffered major injuries, and died a couple of weeks later. One of the two dogs also inside the SUV died; the other, a Shetland sheepdog, Dooley, fled from the scene.
Slow!
Most folks on those long flights across oceans have found solace in the latest music videos, Hollywood blockbusters, favorite TV series, or even just listening to all kinds of music that is available at the punch of a button: on-board entertainment. Others bring their own distractions: books, games, videos, ….
Apparently, also popular are those satellite shots of the aircraft making its way to its destination, invigorating action that is accompanied by spectacular details
Jealousy!
A new study of dog behavior showed that jealousy isn’t a trait unique to humans. Dogs vying for the attention of their owners showcase behaviors that suggest jealousy is a strong motivating factor in these animals! Who knew!
Christine Harris and Caroline Prouvost from the University of California San Diego, in PLOSone last year, published “Jealousy in Dogs.”
Generally, it is held by social scientists that jealousy evolved as a result of threats to relationships. A
Design!
A spectacular find. Sensational, indeed. “Bacchants Riding on Panthers.”
Scholars from Cambridge have pronounced that the rather mysterious, paired, three-foot tall Rothschild Bronzes are actually works of Michelangelo (1475– 1564), making them the only surviving bronzes by the Renaissance maestro, arguably the best sculptor, ever, in marble. Now … bronze!
Victoria Avery, from Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum said:
The project to attribute the bronzes, involving
Memories!
Richard Pryor, the Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian and satirist, whom Jerry Seinfeld labeled “the Picasso of our profession,” may have been on to something after all. In one of his routines, he tells the joke of a man, who, when caught by his wife in flagrante delicto betraying her, exclaims: “Who you gonna believe—me or your lyin’ eyes?”
It turns out that memory of “your lyin’ eyes” can be altered and is not as accurate or trustworthy as courtroom
Hot!
Everybody seems to be doing it. Kraft has habanero peppers in some of its sliced cheese. Bumble Bee has canned tuna with jalapeños or chipotle. So does Hamburger Helper. Kraft’s Mac and Cheese has a sharp cheddar and jalapeño version. Kind Bars has a roasted jalapeño almond bar. There’s Oscar Mayer Jalapeño hot dogs, Chipotle Philadelphia Cream Cheese spread, and so on ….
Apparently all this spicy stuff releases endorphins (from “endogenous morphine”)
Knowledge?
The world is coming to an end. Soon.
How else can you explain the fact that some folks have spent decades studying a single word? And especially if that word is “Huh?”
I know, that’s what you’re asking: “Huh?” But it’s true.
Mark Dingemanse, Francisco Torreira and Nick Enfield, at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, recently published the fruit of their arduous work: “Is ‘Huh?’ a Universal Word? Conversational Infrastructure
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. 