Sure, he sold pot and the social worker found an open bottle of Jack under the crib, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good father. Article here.

Neil Miller tries to set the record straight on evil Persians, funding conspiracies, and other exaggerations. But sadly, nothing on Spartan homosexuality versus Athenian pederasty.

I also feel like I owe all my fellow Unitarians an apology: I liked 300. Sorry. And so did all the other Unitarians I saw it with. I’d even like to see it again.

Am I bad?

New studies on a gene associated with circadian rhythms suggest that a genetic disposition to irregular sleep patterns may contribute to or cause bipolar disorder. It’s just mice so far, and a preliminary study, but it’s encouraging news all the same.

Atlanta has streets like no other. Unlike most cities, Atlanta is a city that never planned to grow. It still hasn’t planned. But why plan when you can have Atlanta streets?

The first trick to making an Atlanta street is to make the lanes only fifteen inches wider than the average car. This helps drivers drift into other lanes, the hallmark of Atlanta driving.

The narrow lanes are complemented by placing all utility poles about three and a half centimeters from the curb. For extra helpfulness, the poles are often tilted toward the street. If you weren’t going to drift into the next lane already, the prospect of losing your right hand mirror will help you buck up and play ball.

If this weren’t enough, it seems it is punishable by law to plant a tree somewhere other than directly under a power line. This has several helpful effects. For one, it makes it near impossible to widen a street without cutting down a small forest. Second, trimming the trees to avoid the power lines gives Atlanta’s arboreal streetscape its unique chopped, hacked, and lightning-struck look. When they are chopped and hacked, that is. Many are left untouched so that the power flashes whenever the wind blows.

Especially successful older trees will kindly grow into the street, occasionally outleaning the utility poles. The root structures of these older trees also play their part, turning up the pavement.

New trees play their part too. Though it seems impossible, at least eighty-seven percent of the trees planted in Atlanta over the last twenty years are Bradford pears. Atlanta’s air quality is second to most, and the annual month-long spring dusting of Bradford pear tree sperm pollen adds a pleasant floral aroma to the smog.

Happy spring driving, Atlanta!

A long, thorough, and imminently helpful primer on the employment of effective off color language. (Hat tip to Tommy Tanaka.)

I saw in my comments section yesterday that Elizabeth’s Little Blog has posted a response to a post I made, “Christianity without Christ,” about a year and a half ago.

Elizabeth correctly points out that there have been multiple Christianities over the years, a fact that scholars have been pointing out especially over the last decade. But there are Christianities and there is Christianity™. One is in charge, the others are not. This also is a fact.

Probably the preeminent measures of Christianity™ are the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creeds. For centuries, these two confessions have defined Christianity, and they will continue to do so for centuries. The overwhelming majority of Christians over the centuries agree, a number I guess is well over ninety percent.

It is simply a descriptively true fact that heretical Christians are not Christians™. Click to continue reading “Response to Elizabeth’s Little Blog”