I remember going to a hockey game in St. Louis back on March 22, 1994, at the old Arena on Oakland Avenue. Partly because of my devotion to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers and partly out of feisty desire to rile others around me, I wore my orange Flyers jersey and hoped my boys would break their four-game winless streak.
I didn't need to wait long for the Flyers to take control on their way to a 6-3 win. A dish of the puck from Mark Recchi and Brent Fedyk fed Rob DiMaio for his ninth goal of the year two minutes after the opening face-off. With animal exultation, I leaped from my seat, pumped my fist into the air, and screamed "YES!"
Needless to say, Blues fans around me weren't pleased. In fact, their responses are unprintable for this blog. The truth was, by my clothing and my actions, I stood out in marked contrast to those around me.
It's one thing to do that at an NHL game. You can do that or not, and the world will go on. But when you write a book in a subject area where there are scores of volumes covering like material, you need to stand out. How was I going to do that when I wrote my book on Christian ethics?
It's not necessarily because of what you write. I've previously mentioned the various topics in the book, which you can glance at here. But as I read other tomes on moral living, I began to notice a trend. Some authors do a great job of describing--in great depth--what the issue is. Pages and pages have been written on racism, abortion, murder, homosexuality, and other matters. Some authors write with a clear agenda to convince you that "X" is what you should believe about a moral issue, and at the very least you should embrace why it is so critical.
In other words, some authors declare, "This is what it's all about!"
Other writers declare, "This is why it matters!"
In the process of reviewing all these varied takes on ethics, I noticed two things: (1) It was hard to find someone who gave equal shrift to explaining an issue and demonstrating why people should care, and (2) hardly anyone spilled ink on practical applications for how to put moral understanding into everyday action.
I often come back to a definition of faith coined by Brian McLaren. There's probably more of what McLaren says that I'd distance myself from than what I'd embrace, but he's spot-on with his definition here (keep in mind he's talking about faith in general and not Christian faith, though the latter is a more specified subset of the other). McLaren says that, "Faith is a state of relative certainty about matters of ultimate concern sufficient to promote action."
I remembered that saying and thought, "Bam! There's my approach."
We have to know what are the components of a moral issue ("state of relative certainty"). But if we leave it there, then we just have factual data with no gas in the tank. What have to answer the question, "So what?", so that people can sense why this is so critical, so they can have buy-in ("about matters of ultimate concern"). But if we leave it here, we stop at passionate sentimentality. Our beliefs need to have legs; they must be "sufficient to promote action". Therefore, we are driving toward thinking "Now what?" What are some practical ways we can apply this and be involved if this is true and this matters? We have to believe, then believe in, and then be living it out.
To that end, all chapters except one will be structured around this what-so what-now what format. I am convinced that consideration of Christian ethics means a commitment that what makes sense in our head must move our souls and find expression with our hands and feet. It's an approach that I believe will truly stand apart from others. And I am ever grateful that my publishers, Christian Focus Publications, believes in taking a chance on someone who believes in this approach.
[Next post: "Double-Edged Sword"...Why a concise volume can gladden and frustrate your readers.]
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Sunday, February 16, 2020
On the Target Somewhere
Perhaps the toughest challenge in writing a book on Christian ethics, like my forthcoming Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey Through Christian Ethics, is deciding on your topics without having the list become too long and overbearing. Some are obvious candidates, as I discussed in my last post. But there are also those that land on the target, whether they seem like logical candidates or for reasons that become apparent once you scratch below the surface.
1. Free speech: The polar swing, according to commentator Dave Rubin, is that we are no longer living in a political left vs. political right world, but we are living in a clash between those who do not believe in freedom of speech and those who do. Given there will be fallout in that clash, how does a Christian navigate his or her choices in what is said?
2. Murder & capital punishment: This was so close to making it on the slam-dunk list from last time. Any discussion on the value of human life must consider what accountability is in place when innocent life is strategically snuffed out in cold blood. Here, I present both sides of the death penalty debate in what I hope is a fair assessment before letting the reader draw his own conclusions.
3. Abortion: In a sense, this can be a subset of the free speech debate...Can people discuss this matter openly in a way that creates more light than heat, and will others listen? Abortion can ignite deeply held beliefs, but beyond that, there are fundamental issues of the value of life that come out of this. And this is the first place in the book where I demonstrate one can "take God out of the equation" and still make a secular argument that lands in the same place the Bible would.
4. Despair and suicide: The rise of depression, anxiety, and soul pain are not going away. Yes, we talk about these matters, but more importantly, this chapter will position people to come alongside others in crisis as well as speak to those in the throes of discouragement and despair.
5. Disabilities and dignity: Why is there a chapter on this, you ask? Simply because the way we treat those who are disabled is a moral issue. It reveals what we believe about human life and about the Creator. I really don't want to spoil the rest of the chapter, except for the fact that--as the father of a living disabled son and the bereaved father of one who has passed away--this chapter was abjectly personal. Not to mention that when I read three highly respected books on Christian ethics, the amount of pages covering disabled people came to under two. Total. In all three books. View this chapter as a corrective.
6. Treating women well, marriage, cohabitation, and divorce: How we view human community is at the heart of these issues (which spread across three different chapters). Can we make the case for a distinctly Christian ethic in these areas and demonstrate that it is one that reflects the best for human endeavor even if one doesn't believe in God or view the Bible as authoritative?
7. Pornography: The good news is that teen pregnancy and all abortion stats are trending downward. There may be a sad reason why: That more people seek satisfaction in porn addiction rather than human relationships. And the word addiction is intentional there. We'll see that what porn does to the brain is scary stuff.
8. Personal stewardship: Why is it a moral issue to care for our health, our wealth, our productivity, and our sleep habits? Yes, you probably weren't expecting that in an ethics book. But there it is. The Bible informs our common sense greatly on this one.
9. Business ethics/Workforce stewardship: Because God created us for a rhythm of worship and work. Our labor is holy and good. We created value. We connect value. We capture value.
10. Immigration: Yes, a moral issue. The Bible has a surprisingly solid amount to say about migration of peoples. Here is no "open borders" mantra, nor is there a command to "build the wall!", but rather we need to see the value God places upon others and how his world is designed for foot traffic from the beginning.
All this, in addition to the previous post's gleanings, are coming May 8th.
[Next post: The structure of Tough Issues, True Hope, a.k.a. "Why the What-So What-Now What alignment?"]
1. Free speech: The polar swing, according to commentator Dave Rubin, is that we are no longer living in a political left vs. political right world, but we are living in a clash between those who do not believe in freedom of speech and those who do. Given there will be fallout in that clash, how does a Christian navigate his or her choices in what is said?
2. Murder & capital punishment: This was so close to making it on the slam-dunk list from last time. Any discussion on the value of human life must consider what accountability is in place when innocent life is strategically snuffed out in cold blood. Here, I present both sides of the death penalty debate in what I hope is a fair assessment before letting the reader draw his own conclusions.
3. Abortion: In a sense, this can be a subset of the free speech debate...Can people discuss this matter openly in a way that creates more light than heat, and will others listen? Abortion can ignite deeply held beliefs, but beyond that, there are fundamental issues of the value of life that come out of this. And this is the first place in the book where I demonstrate one can "take God out of the equation" and still make a secular argument that lands in the same place the Bible would.
4. Despair and suicide: The rise of depression, anxiety, and soul pain are not going away. Yes, we talk about these matters, but more importantly, this chapter will position people to come alongside others in crisis as well as speak to those in the throes of discouragement and despair.
5. Disabilities and dignity: Why is there a chapter on this, you ask? Simply because the way we treat those who are disabled is a moral issue. It reveals what we believe about human life and about the Creator. I really don't want to spoil the rest of the chapter, except for the fact that--as the father of a living disabled son and the bereaved father of one who has passed away--this chapter was abjectly personal. Not to mention that when I read three highly respected books on Christian ethics, the amount of pages covering disabled people came to under two. Total. In all three books. View this chapter as a corrective.
6. Treating women well, marriage, cohabitation, and divorce: How we view human community is at the heart of these issues (which spread across three different chapters). Can we make the case for a distinctly Christian ethic in these areas and demonstrate that it is one that reflects the best for human endeavor even if one doesn't believe in God or view the Bible as authoritative?
7. Pornography: The good news is that teen pregnancy and all abortion stats are trending downward. There may be a sad reason why: That more people seek satisfaction in porn addiction rather than human relationships. And the word addiction is intentional there. We'll see that what porn does to the brain is scary stuff.
8. Personal stewardship: Why is it a moral issue to care for our health, our wealth, our productivity, and our sleep habits? Yes, you probably weren't expecting that in an ethics book. But there it is. The Bible informs our common sense greatly on this one.
9. Business ethics/Workforce stewardship: Because God created us for a rhythm of worship and work. Our labor is holy and good. We created value. We connect value. We capture value.
10. Immigration: Yes, a moral issue. The Bible has a surprisingly solid amount to say about migration of peoples. Here is no "open borders" mantra, nor is there a command to "build the wall!", but rather we need to see the value God places upon others and how his world is designed for foot traffic from the beginning.
All this, in addition to the previous post's gleanings, are coming May 8th.
[Next post: The structure of Tough Issues, True Hope, a.k.a. "Why the What-So What-Now What alignment?"]
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
The Obvious Candidates
One question people often ask me is, "What's the best thing about teaching Ethics?" I don't know if this is the best thing, but one of the better items about teaching Ethics in school is that you always have material. Society, it seems, is constantly writing and re-writing your curriculum.
That can make things a little dicey when you are writing a book on Christian ethics, a project that is vastly different from classroom instruction, though I am sure there is a Venn diagram somewhere demonstrating where the overlap is. I wouldn't have been able to write a book on Christian ethics if I couldn't settle on a series of contents, but some of these issues are among the more obvious candidates for inclusion.
Some are logical inserts because of the pressing discussions of the age. The third chapter on "Diversity and Unity" tackles the matter of bigotry and racism, which can rear their ugly heads in individual and systemic fashion. Also, chapters on "Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage" and "Transgenderism and Sexual Identities" meet the conversation that has unearthed itself in recent years, attempting to bring more light than heat to what can often degenerate into a cacophany of dismissiveness.
Some chapters are must-haves because we swim in the waters of their existence. The second chapter of the book has to do with "Technology, Social Networks, and Faithful Living". Our default mode is life in a hyper-cyber globally connected world. Our proactive approach to living in that world matters greatly, for while the tools may be neutral or helpful, our use of them can be marred by rebellion. Also, the advances of medicine make a chapter on "Bioethics" necessary (though at many times I felt I was out of my depth there!), and because we live in a world of stunning beauty and life-giving force, how we steward that creation is of utmost importance. Hence, a chapter on "Environmental Stewardship". And some of the conclusions reached might surprise you!
More to come, but that's a look at some of the details you will find when Christian Focus Publications releases Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey Through Christian Ethics on May 8th. This is the result of many years of thought and labor and I can't wait to share it with you.
[Next post: "On the Target Somewhere", about expected topics but maybe not as burning as these today]
That can make things a little dicey when you are writing a book on Christian ethics, a project that is vastly different from classroom instruction, though I am sure there is a Venn diagram somewhere demonstrating where the overlap is. I wouldn't have been able to write a book on Christian ethics if I couldn't settle on a series of contents, but some of these issues are among the more obvious candidates for inclusion.
Some are logical inserts because of the pressing discussions of the age. The third chapter on "Diversity and Unity" tackles the matter of bigotry and racism, which can rear their ugly heads in individual and systemic fashion. Also, chapters on "Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage" and "Transgenderism and Sexual Identities" meet the conversation that has unearthed itself in recent years, attempting to bring more light than heat to what can often degenerate into a cacophany of dismissiveness.
Some chapters are must-haves because we swim in the waters of their existence. The second chapter of the book has to do with "Technology, Social Networks, and Faithful Living". Our default mode is life in a hyper-cyber globally connected world. Our proactive approach to living in that world matters greatly, for while the tools may be neutral or helpful, our use of them can be marred by rebellion. Also, the advances of medicine make a chapter on "Bioethics" necessary (though at many times I felt I was out of my depth there!), and because we live in a world of stunning beauty and life-giving force, how we steward that creation is of utmost importance. Hence, a chapter on "Environmental Stewardship". And some of the conclusions reached might surprise you!
More to come, but that's a look at some of the details you will find when Christian Focus Publications releases Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey Through Christian Ethics on May 8th. This is the result of many years of thought and labor and I can't wait to share it with you.
[Next post: "On the Target Somewhere", about expected topics but maybe not as burning as these today]
Friday, February 7, 2020
New Room Around the Table
One can make all sorts of analogies with which to compare the craft of writing, but there's one analogy I know doesn't fit.
Writing, for me at least, is nothing like a pipe. As a former pipe smoker, I know the proper way to keep a pipe proper is (1) to clean it after usage but also to (2) use only one type of tobacco for each pipe. The bowl of the pipe gets used to that tobacco, which creates a "cake" or character to the pipe itself. Some writers get into the "cake" of a pipe and stick with one basic genre or shade of writing. Early on, I was sure I'd be writing nothing but murder mysteries for as long as I could keep Cameron Ballack's wheelchair wiles going. Then, I branched into creative re-telling of the major epochs of the Christian faith, as the Merivalkan Chronicles were born. But never, never did I imagine my latest venture would bear fruit.
Non-fiction. Yeah, I know. What was I thinking?
I compare writing non-fiction to running a 10K race in three feet of cooked oatmeal, to being dropped into Tokyo with neither city map at my disposal nor any working knowledge of Japanese, or to driving in the Indianapolis 500 with the parking brake fully engaged.
So, what caused me to take a shot?
Simply put, I teach ethics at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, and over the past ten years, I became painfully aware of something. Any text we used for class tended to be over the heads of garden-variety high school sophomores and juniors. Anything that went into detailed depth made the waters more murky. I looked around for books that weren't simplistically juvenile, nor would they be too dense.
Nothing I could find, so I was griping about that one day to my wife when Christi said something along the lines of "You know, you've taught Ethics long enough...if you want something done right, you could write your own book."
I thought she was joking. Or daring me to go into the writer's equivalent of The Princess Bride's Pit of Despair. But she was serious and believed I could do it. I didn't. Crazy me, I went ahead.
I didn't want this to be a standard ethics text. I wanted it to be accessible for high school students, serious collegians, and adults who might use it in adult Bible study or Sunday school classes. I didn't want to get mired in the proverbial Slough of Despond. I wanted the book to be clear so that it made sense. I wanted it to be conversational so it wouldn't be so bookish and would engender further conversation. And I wanted it to be concise; I wanted to take the reader through short chapters, a portion of the way through major issues, but then trust them to study on their own further. The more I thought, the more I believed this could work.
You can do all that but still fail in the quest to get it into print. Thankfully, I connected with Christian Focus Publications in the Highlands of Scotland, a group that has done sterling work on my dad's literary output of Biblical commentaries. From start to finish, Christian Focus has been a top-shelf, A-plus organization with which to work (and the fact that my fiction publisher stateside is a Scot is not lost on me!) and the whole process has gone swimmingly.
So swimmingly, in fact, that on May 8th, my new book Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey Through Christian Ethics will be released via Christian Focus. In 240 pages, I dive into 20 different ethical issues that hit the core of what it means to live in God's world. Over the next few weeks, I'll talk about why I chose the topics I did, but for now, a bit of overall vision should suffice.
Aside from its accessibility, what else sets this book apart from other ethical explorations? Yes, it presents moral living from the standpoint of the Bible, but my point is not to bludgeon people with a Scriptural sledgehammer. It is not only a new book about ethics but a new way of entertaining the Biblical view of how to live. Common sense thinking and logic will buttress, not deny, Scriptural insight, so I happen to use story, thoughtful questions, and logical proddings that ask "What if God is taken out of the equation? Then what? Do we still end up where the Bible directs?" And we find the answer is yes. I'd like to think that's a fresh way of doing moral theology.
That approach resonates with people, one of whom was among those who endorsed my book. Tony Giles, friend and mentor, had this to say: "Peppered with anecdotes and soaked in Scripture, the reader learns to think carefully and live wisely. And all along the way, [Davis] makes room around the table for those who may not accept the Bible as authoritative."
Those words are so gratifying and humbling. Personal story, Scriptural reliance, careful inquiry, wise living. And something that I would hope followers of Jesus would model more and more: creating that room around the table for skeptics and seekers who may not "be there" just yet.
There is new room around the table, and it releases in thirteen weeks. More to come in future posts, but if you want to pre-order now (either at the Amazon hyperlink above or directly from Christian Focus)...I mean, I wouldn't dare stop you!
Next post: The obvious candidates [Moral issues that were a slam-dunk for inclusion].
Writing, for me at least, is nothing like a pipe. As a former pipe smoker, I know the proper way to keep a pipe proper is (1) to clean it after usage but also to (2) use only one type of tobacco for each pipe. The bowl of the pipe gets used to that tobacco, which creates a "cake" or character to the pipe itself. Some writers get into the "cake" of a pipe and stick with one basic genre or shade of writing. Early on, I was sure I'd be writing nothing but murder mysteries for as long as I could keep Cameron Ballack's wheelchair wiles going. Then, I branched into creative re-telling of the major epochs of the Christian faith, as the Merivalkan Chronicles were born. But never, never did I imagine my latest venture would bear fruit.
Non-fiction. Yeah, I know. What was I thinking?
I compare writing non-fiction to running a 10K race in three feet of cooked oatmeal, to being dropped into Tokyo with neither city map at my disposal nor any working knowledge of Japanese, or to driving in the Indianapolis 500 with the parking brake fully engaged.
So, what caused me to take a shot?
Simply put, I teach ethics at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, and over the past ten years, I became painfully aware of something. Any text we used for class tended to be over the heads of garden-variety high school sophomores and juniors. Anything that went into detailed depth made the waters more murky. I looked around for books that weren't simplistically juvenile, nor would they be too dense.
Nothing I could find, so I was griping about that one day to my wife when Christi said something along the lines of "You know, you've taught Ethics long enough...if you want something done right, you could write your own book."
I thought she was joking. Or daring me to go into the writer's equivalent of The Princess Bride's Pit of Despair. But she was serious and believed I could do it. I didn't. Crazy me, I went ahead.
I didn't want this to be a standard ethics text. I wanted it to be accessible for high school students, serious collegians, and adults who might use it in adult Bible study or Sunday school classes. I didn't want to get mired in the proverbial Slough of Despond. I wanted the book to be clear so that it made sense. I wanted it to be conversational so it wouldn't be so bookish and would engender further conversation. And I wanted it to be concise; I wanted to take the reader through short chapters, a portion of the way through major issues, but then trust them to study on their own further. The more I thought, the more I believed this could work.
You can do all that but still fail in the quest to get it into print. Thankfully, I connected with Christian Focus Publications in the Highlands of Scotland, a group that has done sterling work on my dad's literary output of Biblical commentaries. From start to finish, Christian Focus has been a top-shelf, A-plus organization with which to work (and the fact that my fiction publisher stateside is a Scot is not lost on me!) and the whole process has gone swimmingly.
So swimmingly, in fact, that on May 8th, my new book Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey Through Christian Ethics will be released via Christian Focus. In 240 pages, I dive into 20 different ethical issues that hit the core of what it means to live in God's world. Over the next few weeks, I'll talk about why I chose the topics I did, but for now, a bit of overall vision should suffice.
Aside from its accessibility, what else sets this book apart from other ethical explorations? Yes, it presents moral living from the standpoint of the Bible, but my point is not to bludgeon people with a Scriptural sledgehammer. It is not only a new book about ethics but a new way of entertaining the Biblical view of how to live. Common sense thinking and logic will buttress, not deny, Scriptural insight, so I happen to use story, thoughtful questions, and logical proddings that ask "What if God is taken out of the equation? Then what? Do we still end up where the Bible directs?" And we find the answer is yes. I'd like to think that's a fresh way of doing moral theology.
That approach resonates with people, one of whom was among those who endorsed my book. Tony Giles, friend and mentor, had this to say: "Peppered with anecdotes and soaked in Scripture, the reader learns to think carefully and live wisely. And all along the way, [Davis] makes room around the table for those who may not accept the Bible as authoritative."
Those words are so gratifying and humbling. Personal story, Scriptural reliance, careful inquiry, wise living. And something that I would hope followers of Jesus would model more and more: creating that room around the table for skeptics and seekers who may not "be there" just yet.
There is new room around the table, and it releases in thirteen weeks. More to come in future posts, but if you want to pre-order now (either at the Amazon hyperlink above or directly from Christian Focus)...I mean, I wouldn't dare stop you!
Next post: The obvious candidates [Moral issues that were a slam-dunk for inclusion].
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Some Recent Discoveries
It has been awhile. Like since June. But with several key projects seen through to completion (including one that I plan on telling everyone about in a few weeks), I finally have room to blog-breathe.
I've had time to reflect on a few things that I've found to be true, so this post is dedicated to some short observations in that vein.
1. As you age, recovery from stupidity gets more arduous. November seems to the month when something bad happens to me. In 2016, I had to get my gall bladder taken out, which wasn't as difficult as the pain in the run-up to surgery. In 2017, it was the November of the torn meniscus, which should have been a beacon that I needed to find a more low-impact form of exercise than running. And in November 2019, it was the story of stupid me. Which rhymes with "knee". On November 8th, I had to get my son Joshua off the toilet and into his wheelchair. Now we have a lift system with a sling that does the work for us, but I had left it in his bedroom and thought, "Man, I really don't want to walk across the house to get it," so I tried lifting him off by myself and pivot him into the chair. The pivot did it. I turned my right knee while bearing Joshua's weight and felt a nasty pop. Fractured kneecap, and I had to submit to an orthopedist's oversight, draining the knee, and having to wear a brace until the fracture healed completely at the end of the year.
2. A new diet can bear dividends, especially if you discipline with portion control and find food that pops for you. On that note, let me assure you: Avocado egg salad is awesome! Of this, there is no doubt. And having a healthy stream of oranges, minneolas, and cheese is helping.
3. Never underestimate the power of a good coloring book. I snagged one of those 'mindfulness' color-by-number coloring books for adults at Half Price Books the day after Christmas, and whenever I sit down and work through a page, my inner spirit goes from distracted to chill in a matter of moments.
4. It's emotionally and mentally healthy to read and read often, but it can be helpful, too, to re-read something you worked through before. I'm presently reading George Jonas' Vengeance for the fourth time, and I always read it with new eyes. Seeing the deep, brooding effect that Israeli counter-terror teams experienced when they carried out their missions in response to the Munich Olympic massacre is profoundly and psychologically sobering. It makes me want to watch the film Munich, in which Steven Spielberg drew much from Jonas' book, again.
5. It's fun to pass on to others what you enjoy. Our family love watching the cozy detective series Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators on Britbox. The interplay and teamwork between Jo Joyner and Mark Benton makes for a delightful storyline, and naming each episode using elements from the Bard is a nice touch. We enjoyed the first two seasons so much that we gave a DVD of season 1 to my parents, who are now finding much to love about what the Daily Mail calls a "lightweight murder mystery" that is "worth setting the recorder for."
Or in our case, getting Britbox. I could tell you more, but I'll save commentary about This Farming Life, Death in Paradise, Rev, Wallander, and others for later. As for me, it's good to be back in the blogosphere.
I've had time to reflect on a few things that I've found to be true, so this post is dedicated to some short observations in that vein.
1. As you age, recovery from stupidity gets more arduous. November seems to the month when something bad happens to me. In 2016, I had to get my gall bladder taken out, which wasn't as difficult as the pain in the run-up to surgery. In 2017, it was the November of the torn meniscus, which should have been a beacon that I needed to find a more low-impact form of exercise than running. And in November 2019, it was the story of stupid me. Which rhymes with "knee". On November 8th, I had to get my son Joshua off the toilet and into his wheelchair. Now we have a lift system with a sling that does the work for us, but I had left it in his bedroom and thought, "Man, I really don't want to walk across the house to get it," so I tried lifting him off by myself and pivot him into the chair. The pivot did it. I turned my right knee while bearing Joshua's weight and felt a nasty pop. Fractured kneecap, and I had to submit to an orthopedist's oversight, draining the knee, and having to wear a brace until the fracture healed completely at the end of the year.
2. A new diet can bear dividends, especially if you discipline with portion control and find food that pops for you. On that note, let me assure you: Avocado egg salad is awesome! Of this, there is no doubt. And having a healthy stream of oranges, minneolas, and cheese is helping.
3. Never underestimate the power of a good coloring book. I snagged one of those 'mindfulness' color-by-number coloring books for adults at Half Price Books the day after Christmas, and whenever I sit down and work through a page, my inner spirit goes from distracted to chill in a matter of moments.
4. It's emotionally and mentally healthy to read and read often, but it can be helpful, too, to re-read something you worked through before. I'm presently reading George Jonas' Vengeance for the fourth time, and I always read it with new eyes. Seeing the deep, brooding effect that Israeli counter-terror teams experienced when they carried out their missions in response to the Munich Olympic massacre is profoundly and psychologically sobering. It makes me want to watch the film Munich, in which Steven Spielberg drew much from Jonas' book, again.
5. It's fun to pass on to others what you enjoy. Our family love watching the cozy detective series Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators on Britbox. The interplay and teamwork between Jo Joyner and Mark Benton makes for a delightful storyline, and naming each episode using elements from the Bard is a nice touch. We enjoyed the first two seasons so much that we gave a DVD of season 1 to my parents, who are now finding much to love about what the Daily Mail calls a "lightweight murder mystery" that is "worth setting the recorder for."
Or in our case, getting Britbox. I could tell you more, but I'll save commentary about This Farming Life, Death in Paradise, Rev, Wallander, and others for later. As for me, it's good to be back in the blogosphere.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Across the Pond: Brooding Detection
I could have done a retrospective of recent to-dos in the ecclesiastical world, but detailing the recent gatherings of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Anglican Church in North America, and the Presbyterian Church in America would cause a plank of wood to curl up. And that's with the ACNA provincial gathering being quality stuff (#gettingmynewbookofcommonprayersoon).
One item of note has been that throughout late 2018 into 2019, the Davis family has been enjoying the addition of Britbox to our television experience. The Brits have always gone head and shoulders above almost all of American production in writing quality episodes and developing believable characters. I've watched the lion's share or all of seven key series that I think deserve viewing. Technically, that number is nine, but I'm not going to review Newzoids or Rovers. The first show up for props is one of the better mysteries out there.
Shetland is based on Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island mysteries and the gumshoe gambits of Inspector Jimmy Perez. I know what you're thinking...what's a Spanish name doing in the remote islands beyond the Scottish Highlands? Turns out one of the inspector's ancestors was a shipwrecked member of the Spanish Armada who turned up on the shore of Fair Isle and the genealogical remainder is history. Douglas Henshall plays Perez's character, bring laser-like focus to the role that requires a hardy soul weathered by the Shetland geography and culture.
In spite of the remote location, the Shetlands turn out to be quite the bloody center of activity. The first two series track fairly well with Cleeves' novels [first series of two episodes; second series of three two-episode mysteries] before expanding to six-episode series that track singular murders all the way to completion of justice. Perez has to contend with islanders who engage in underhanded business on the mainland of Scotland, savage murders, and the disappearance of a young man on a ferry crossing, just to name several vexing encounters. DS Allison 'Tosh' Macintosh and DC Sandy Wilson provide assistance to Perez (and you'll come to appreciate the positioning of CCTV cameras throughout the British Isles; a libertarian like me did, as well!).
Perez is not a sulky detective who wiles away his off-hours with cigarettes, coffee, and beer. He is a widower, a devoted and loving single father to daughter Cassie, who is 18 going on 30. Managing a complex friendship with Cassie's biological father Duncan brings the kind of conflicted respect that only hard-nosed friends can have.
Moreso, the viewer falls in love with the Shetlands, a place that is hard to love, a locale where people carve out a difficult living of sorts, where natives are suspect of others nosing in and yet want justice and clarity. Often, to get that justice, Perez has to nose in more deeply than the residents might want.
But five series are already in the books with a sixth in the offing for 2020, I hope. Murder and evil can strike on rugged and remote terrain, and Perez is just the sort of steely angel of justice to bring a modicum of hope.
One item of note has been that throughout late 2018 into 2019, the Davis family has been enjoying the addition of Britbox to our television experience. The Brits have always gone head and shoulders above almost all of American production in writing quality episodes and developing believable characters. I've watched the lion's share or all of seven key series that I think deserve viewing. Technically, that number is nine, but I'm not going to review Newzoids or Rovers. The first show up for props is one of the better mysteries out there.
Shetland is based on Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island mysteries and the gumshoe gambits of Inspector Jimmy Perez. I know what you're thinking...what's a Spanish name doing in the remote islands beyond the Scottish Highlands? Turns out one of the inspector's ancestors was a shipwrecked member of the Spanish Armada who turned up on the shore of Fair Isle and the genealogical remainder is history. Douglas Henshall plays Perez's character, bring laser-like focus to the role that requires a hardy soul weathered by the Shetland geography and culture.
In spite of the remote location, the Shetlands turn out to be quite the bloody center of activity. The first two series track fairly well with Cleeves' novels [first series of two episodes; second series of three two-episode mysteries] before expanding to six-episode series that track singular murders all the way to completion of justice. Perez has to contend with islanders who engage in underhanded business on the mainland of Scotland, savage murders, and the disappearance of a young man on a ferry crossing, just to name several vexing encounters. DS Allison 'Tosh' Macintosh and DC Sandy Wilson provide assistance to Perez (and you'll come to appreciate the positioning of CCTV cameras throughout the British Isles; a libertarian like me did, as well!).
Perez is not a sulky detective who wiles away his off-hours with cigarettes, coffee, and beer. He is a widower, a devoted and loving single father to daughter Cassie, who is 18 going on 30. Managing a complex friendship with Cassie's biological father Duncan brings the kind of conflicted respect that only hard-nosed friends can have.
Moreso, the viewer falls in love with the Shetlands, a place that is hard to love, a locale where people carve out a difficult living of sorts, where natives are suspect of others nosing in and yet want justice and clarity. Often, to get that justice, Perez has to nose in more deeply than the residents might want.
But five series are already in the books with a sixth in the offing for 2020, I hope. Murder and evil can strike on rugged and remote terrain, and Perez is just the sort of steely angel of justice to bring a modicum of hope.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Blue Reign
It's been a while, I know. You might think a major aberration in the zeitgeist could get me blogging again. You'd be right.
This is one week after the fact, but we citizens of the greater St. Louis area are basking in the glow of the Blues winning their first NHL championship and finally lifting the Stanley Cup. Fifty-two years after the team's provenance and the long-suffering fans in St. Louis have finally reached their blue heaven.
While not the equivalent of the suffering of Cubs fans before finally winning a World Series in 2016 to end a 108-year drought, the Blues were known as the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NHL. Wait 'til next year. Always having a decent team to make the playoffs, it seemed, but fizzling out each year.
It was such an energetic start for the franchise. Beginning with the 1967-68 season, when the NHL expanded beyond the Original Six (Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston), the league doubled with the addition of the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota North Stars, the Oakland Seals, and the Blues. In the league's infinite wisdom, they put all the new teams in the same division, and the Blues thrived. If you call thriving as getting to the Stanley Cup finals their first three years and getting swept all three times: Montreal in 1968 and 1969, and Boston with flying Bobby Orr in 1970.
Since then, the Blues hadn't been back. But, despite being a Canadiens and Flyers fan, I did come to love the Blues when I moved to St. Louis in early 1993. In fact, the first Blues game I watched on old Channel 11 was a fist-slinger with the Detroit Red Wings that brought the goalies out to throw haymakers. Eighty-six penalty minutes doled out before a minute was gone in the game, won by the Blues over their division rivals.
Oh, it was glorious to be a Blues fan, yet painful as well. That year, the Blues finished fourth in the Norris Division and barely cracked the playoff field, taking on the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. But miracle of miracles, Brett Hull, Craig Janney, and the crew pulled off an astonishing four-game sweep of the Campbell Conference-topping Hawks, sending goalie Ed Belfour into a smashing mood.
But the Cup never got to St. Louis' hands that year (my Canadiens grabbed it, thanks in large part to 10 straight overtime wins in the playoffs), and year after year dragged on without hockey's ultimate prize. The team moved out of the St. Louis Arena and the old barn on Oakland Avenue was taken down. Years at the Kiel Center, which became the Savvis Center, then the Scottrade Center, then now the Enterprise Center, brought many playoff games, but no Cup. The Blues got to the Western Conference finals in 2001, but the champion Colorado Avalanche pushed them aside.
I'd been to several Blues games over the years--Christy and I even went to an NHL exhibition game in Lafayette, LA, between the Blues and Avalanche at the Cajundome in 1998--but wondered if "next year" would ever come to St. Louis. The Blues were in the midst of a playoff drought when we moved back here and promptly started making regular playoff seasons upon our arrival. Yet still, we seemed to run into better teams along the way.
This year looked to be the absolute trench. The Blues were mired in last place in the entire league on January 2nd. Mike Yeo had been fired earlier, and interim coach Craig Berube had been gifted a newly promoted goalie from their minor league squad in San Antonio named Jordan Binnington. And that, folks, is when the team caught fire.
Yes, a team that barely got chosen over Baltimore in 1967 to have an NHL franchise. Yes, the same team that Ralston-Purina treated like a financial tumor in the late seventies and early eighties. Yes, the same team that was signed and sealed in cloak-and-dagger fashion to be headed to Saskatoon--I mean, Saskatoon!--in 1983. That team won 30 games, lost only 15, and lost four overtime or shootout games the rest of the way in the regular season before casting aside Winnipeg, Dallas, San Jose, and then the evil Boston Bruins.
Please don't say, "It's just hockey." Anyone who keeps an eye on St. Louis knows this city needed a moment like this. The death of Michael Brown and the following civic combustibility displayed St. Louis as a city marked by racial divides. Losing the Rams to Los Angeles under the shifty dealing of Stan Kroenke, who declared that St. Louis wasn't a great sports city, added to the malaise. City and county government bumbles along under the cloud of scandal.
One beautiful truth about sports is that it can be a great unifier. Yes, St. Louis has its problems, and they are legion. But the same people who deal with that darkness got behind this team, and many were at the victory parade last Saturday to celebrate the unthinkable. For "next year" has finally come to St. Louis. The Gateway to the West is now home to Lord Stanley's Cup.
This is one week after the fact, but we citizens of the greater St. Louis area are basking in the glow of the Blues winning their first NHL championship and finally lifting the Stanley Cup. Fifty-two years after the team's provenance and the long-suffering fans in St. Louis have finally reached their blue heaven.
While not the equivalent of the suffering of Cubs fans before finally winning a World Series in 2016 to end a 108-year drought, the Blues were known as the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NHL. Wait 'til next year. Always having a decent team to make the playoffs, it seemed, but fizzling out each year.
It was such an energetic start for the franchise. Beginning with the 1967-68 season, when the NHL expanded beyond the Original Six (Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston), the league doubled with the addition of the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota North Stars, the Oakland Seals, and the Blues. In the league's infinite wisdom, they put all the new teams in the same division, and the Blues thrived. If you call thriving as getting to the Stanley Cup finals their first three years and getting swept all three times: Montreal in 1968 and 1969, and Boston with flying Bobby Orr in 1970.
Since then, the Blues hadn't been back. But, despite being a Canadiens and Flyers fan, I did come to love the Blues when I moved to St. Louis in early 1993. In fact, the first Blues game I watched on old Channel 11 was a fist-slinger with the Detroit Red Wings that brought the goalies out to throw haymakers. Eighty-six penalty minutes doled out before a minute was gone in the game, won by the Blues over their division rivals.
Oh, it was glorious to be a Blues fan, yet painful as well. That year, the Blues finished fourth in the Norris Division and barely cracked the playoff field, taking on the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. But miracle of miracles, Brett Hull, Craig Janney, and the crew pulled off an astonishing four-game sweep of the Campbell Conference-topping Hawks, sending goalie Ed Belfour into a smashing mood.
But the Cup never got to St. Louis' hands that year (my Canadiens grabbed it, thanks in large part to 10 straight overtime wins in the playoffs), and year after year dragged on without hockey's ultimate prize. The team moved out of the St. Louis Arena and the old barn on Oakland Avenue was taken down. Years at the Kiel Center, which became the Savvis Center, then the Scottrade Center, then now the Enterprise Center, brought many playoff games, but no Cup. The Blues got to the Western Conference finals in 2001, but the champion Colorado Avalanche pushed them aside.
I'd been to several Blues games over the years--Christy and I even went to an NHL exhibition game in Lafayette, LA, between the Blues and Avalanche at the Cajundome in 1998--but wondered if "next year" would ever come to St. Louis. The Blues were in the midst of a playoff drought when we moved back here and promptly started making regular playoff seasons upon our arrival. Yet still, we seemed to run into better teams along the way.
This year looked to be the absolute trench. The Blues were mired in last place in the entire league on January 2nd. Mike Yeo had been fired earlier, and interim coach Craig Berube had been gifted a newly promoted goalie from their minor league squad in San Antonio named Jordan Binnington. And that, folks, is when the team caught fire.
Yes, a team that barely got chosen over Baltimore in 1967 to have an NHL franchise. Yes, the same team that Ralston-Purina treated like a financial tumor in the late seventies and early eighties. Yes, the same team that was signed and sealed in cloak-and-dagger fashion to be headed to Saskatoon--I mean, Saskatoon!--in 1983. That team won 30 games, lost only 15, and lost four overtime or shootout games the rest of the way in the regular season before casting aside Winnipeg, Dallas, San Jose, and then the evil Boston Bruins.
Please don't say, "It's just hockey." Anyone who keeps an eye on St. Louis knows this city needed a moment like this. The death of Michael Brown and the following civic combustibility displayed St. Louis as a city marked by racial divides. Losing the Rams to Los Angeles under the shifty dealing of Stan Kroenke, who declared that St. Louis wasn't a great sports city, added to the malaise. City and county government bumbles along under the cloud of scandal.
One beautiful truth about sports is that it can be a great unifier. Yes, St. Louis has its problems, and they are legion. But the same people who deal with that darkness got behind this team, and many were at the victory parade last Saturday to celebrate the unthinkable. For "next year" has finally come to St. Louis. The Gateway to the West is now home to Lord Stanley's Cup.
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