Here is a list of the best movies of the decade, from an artist’s perspective. There is a convenient link following each film which allows you to add the title to your NetFlix queue. Enjoy!
February 27, 2010
"Movies of the Aughts: An Artist's List" by Elijah Shooting
February 13, 2010
Josiah's "Diamonds in the Decade's Rough: A Playlist"
Here is Josiah’s songs of the decade playlist. The playlist is powered by Lala.com, so you can listen to the songs in their entirety. Enjoy!
February 1, 2010
Same-Sex Marriage: It’s Not About Religion
By Martin van Nostrand
Roman Catholics, Hindus, Muslims, atheists, Jews, Scientologists, and any other faith or cultural group can be married in the United States of America. An ornate wedding conducted in a grand cathedral of a Roman Catholic Church has no further legal standing than a simple wedding conducted in the living room of a house by any individual authorized to conduct weddings. (In Maine, this can simply be an attorney.)
This is because marriage is a contractual obligation entered into by two consenting adults. As with any contract you have an offer (that of being married), an acceptance (that of agreeing to be married), and consideration (both parties agree to certain responsibilities that come with the marriage contract). The contract is unique in that it conveys both a promise to each party involved in the union and the granting of certain rights by the state to the parties involved, yet it is still just a contract. Religious belief, or lack thereof, plays no legal role in the completion of this arrangement. If the parties involved would like for the marriage to include religion they may decide that the ceremonial aspect of their wedding be couched in their respective belief structure.
February 1, 2010
Wal-Mart’s Music Monopoly in Northern Maine
By H.E. Pennypacker
As a native of northern Maine, finding and obtaining my music of choice has never been an easy process. As a high school student without a driver’s license or a car, I usually had to resort to biking the 12 miles from Caribou to the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle in order to get my musical fix for the week. A couple of equally obsessive (and bored) friends and I would arrive at Record Town, out of breath and sweating, with one overriding purpose: to squander our last few dollars on the latest death metal or gangsta rap cassette.
After we made our purchases (which were often preceded by hours of deliberation and indecision), we would bike the 12 miles back to Caribou, eagerly awaiting the moment when we could blast the new Napalm Death or Spice-1 albums from our boom-boxes.
Although we complained about the huge ordeal we had to undertake in order to satisfy our musical needs, this ritual kept us fit, kept us out of trouble, and made us appreciate music in a profound way. And despite our complaints about the lack of a music store in Caribou, we only had to travel one town over to find almost any album we wanted.
February 1, 2010
H.E. Pennypacker's Top 40 Albums of the Decade
Here are H.E. Pennypacker’s top 40 albums of the decade. The top ten albums include a brief commentary, and all but three of the albums are available to listen to in their entirety via a Lala embedded playlist! We encourage you to submit your own album list. Bob Sacamano’s albums of the decade list will be posted shortly.
February 1, 2010
H.E. Pennypacker's Top 40 Films of the Decade
Here are H.E. Pennypacker’s top 40 films of the decade. The top 10 films include a brief commentary, and theatrical trailers have been included for all of the films. Please feel free to submit your own lists! We will be providing Bob Sacamano’s film list shortly.
January 31, 2010
The Achilles Heel of “Being Gay Is Not a Choice.”
By Phronein (reprinted with permission of the author)
Over a decade ago, I had a long conversation with a student of mine at Miami University (Ohio) who was an adult pastor of an independent Baptist church. He described to me how a new theological position was developing in the Baptist community and the issues that drove it. There was (and is) a growing movement among fundamentalists to adopt the “limited salvation” election of the Reformed churches.
What drove this particular group, several years before 9/11, was the massive missionary failure to convert Muslims to Christ. To this pastor, the church certainly was not at fault. The culprit was a religious tradition that forbade Christian missionaries, condemned Christian converts to death, and forbade the free discussion of religious ideas other than those of Islam on the media and in the work place. Concluding that this great wall could not have been of human or demonic origin, the only remaining logical conclusion is that God built this wall, and those within the Islamic nations are not “predestined” for salvation. They are vessels created only for destruction (Romans 9:21-22), and like poor Esau, they are created only for hatred and scorn, hardened by the will of God alone to resist the truth (Romans 9: 13-15, 18).
January 31, 2010
A Defense of President Obama’s First Year in Office
By Martin van Nostrand
Many democrats believe that President Barack Obama has not lived up to the potential and/or hype that came with his historic rise to the presidency. Most Republicans think that he has gone too far in trying to stabilize a nation that was teetering on the brink of absolute disaster. The reality, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle.
What has President Obama achieved?
Before I talk about the more controversial aspects of the first year of Obama’s presidency (i.e. economic reform) let’s look at just five things that he has accomplished in just his first year as President.
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