can you keep up

Patrick Stewart speaks on his proudest moment outside his acting...

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 14:09:00 -0400

Patrick Stewart speaks on his proudest moment outside his acting career. He gives a beautiful and poignant answer. And I cried.

"(On Mark 10:35-38) James and John ‘knew’ what they wanted — and they knew He knew — and..."

Wed, 29 May 2013 02:18:12 -0400

“(On Mark 10:35-38) James and John ‘knew’ what they wanted — and they knew He knew — and made a request for it, being not at all ambiguous in what they asked. What they did not understand was the nature of their prayer. They looked at their request as totally contingent on Jesus. He had what they wanted, He could open His ‘gift bag,’ wave His hand, and give it to them, much as He had done with the turning of water into wine and feeding of the multitudes. What they failed to see at this point in their spiritual life was what they asked was not so much contingent on the ability of the One to give it as it was on their spiritual capacity to receive it. God is more than willing and gracious to give them — and us — what we pray for to the extent it accomplishes His own glory and our ultimate good. The question is whether we are willing to let God bring us to the point where we are vessels fit to receive the deeper blessings from Him…It is one thing to ask for deeper blessings. It is quite another thing to stand firmly during the refining process that makes us fit to receive what we ask.”

- The Cup & The Glory, Greg Harris

bbook: “The most important thing you do from here is to hold...

Tue, 28 May 2013 15:19:20 -0400

bbook:

“The most important thing you do from here is to hold on to one another. Because the truth is, you can’t do it alone, and it isn’t as much fun. The truth is- which we are sometimes reluctant to admit in a culture that loves the meteoric ascent of solitary genius- the truth is that we need each other. Probably now more than ever.”

Brit Marling - Georgetown 2013 Senior Convocation Speech

This is truly brilliant and moving and absolutely wonderful.

"One day, New York will be the place you’re no longer in, but the place you won’t seem to be able to..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:53:29 -0400

“

One day, New York will be the place you’re no longer in, but the place you won’t seem to be able to shake off your head.

New York is the place you’ll try to explain to everyone back home to no avail. You’ll find there aren’t enough words in your vocabulary. New York is not something you see, it’s something you feel. It’s a state of mind and hence hard to describe.

You’ll go back home and reminisce about the city. People will tell you New York will always be there. But you know better. The city will withstand — as it always has — but the city you left behind, you left for good. The city won’t miss you because you were merely a spec in its being and when you go back (and you will since the city is always calling) you’ll go back to a different New York. The city never stops and already, only a few months later, you know it’s changed: that’s it’s nature. New York is unapologetic and doesn’t wait for anyone. It’s a city that creates and a city that happens. New York doesn’t need anything or anyone and perhaps that’s exactly why you still crave it so much, because of its idyllic unattainability.

”

- Laura Steiner (via serendipitous21)

theparisreview: In Japanese, tsundoku means, “the act of buying...

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:46:21 -0400

theparisreview:

In Japanese, tsundoku means, “the act of buying books and not reading them, leaving them to pile up.”

For more of this morning’s roundup, click here.

breathingbooks: (via http://www.piccsy.com)

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:11:21 -0400

breathingbooks:

(via http://www.piccsy.com)

"I read it because I finally talked myself into the idea (maybe call it the “Downtown Abbey Effect”)..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:04:25 -0400

“I read it because I finally talked myself into the idea (maybe call it the “Downtown Abbey Effect”) that I could be interested in this story, as British and soapy as it may be. And I’m here to tell you (even without stupid zombies), if you’re a dude, and you’ve rejected this novel out of hand (despite its canonical status) because it’s “only for women,” you’re wrong. It IS a good story, and despite your own pride and prejudices about this novel (did you see what I did there?), there’s plenty of fun to be had.”

- Five Reasons Dudes Should Read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (via bookriot)

"The main lesson my chapbook has taught me about current projects is: find the format that fits your..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:56:30 -0400

“The main lesson my chapbook has taught me about current projects is: find the format that fits your story, not the other way around. Just because many of us dream of publishing a book that provides a nice advance, not every story is suitable for the for-profit enterprise of commercial publishing. It’s a business. Some of our prose is too experimental for that outlet. Some of us write black sheep forms like the essay. I think of it the way I think of individual pieces. Some things you write are essays, some are articles, and some of the ones you thought were articles turn out to be short blog posts. The same goes for book projects. Some stories are chapbooks. Some are longform lit mag pieces. Others are books to send to trade publishers, and others are eBooks. Not every long narrative is a potential trade paperback to give your agent. Sometimes it’s best to go indie–not to be forced to, but to want to. Independent presses and relatively obscure literary magazines foster some of our country’s best writing, hands down, and writers should try to match our story to the venue.”

- Vol. 1 Brooklyn | Talking Travel Chapbooks and a Sense of Place With Courtney Maum, Aaron Gilbreath, and Bart Schaneman (via vol1brooklyn)

apoetreflects: I lie on the bed with my arms outstretched. I am an anchor that has dug itself down...

Sun, 05 May 2013 19:09:05 -0400

apoetreflects:

I lie on the bed with my arms outstretched.
I am an anchor that has dug itself down and holds steady
the huge shadow floating up there
the great unknown that I am a part of and which is certainly
more important than me.

—Tomas Tranströmer, from “Carillon” in The Great Enigma, New Collected Poems, translated from the Swedish by Robin Fulton (New Directions, 2006)

"Salvation is not in any sense God’s response to anything in us. It is not something that we in any..."

Sun, 05 May 2013 03:50:38 -0400

“Salvation is not in any sense God’s response to anything in us. It is not something that we in any sense deserve or merit. The whole essence of teaching at this point, and everywhere in all the New Testament, is that we have no sort or kind of whatsoever right to salvation, that the whole glory of salvation is that though we deserve nothing but punishment and hell and banishment out of the sight of God to all eternity, yet God, of his own love and grace and wondrous mercy, has granted us this salvation. Now this is the entire meaning of this term grace.”

- Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"All sin is ultimately irrational. It really did not make sense for Satan to rebel against God in the..."

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:42:00 -0400

“All sin is ultimately irrational. It really did not make sense for Satan to rebel against God in the expectation of being able to exalt himself above God. Nor did it make sense for Adam and Eve to think that there would be any gain in disobeying the words of their Creator. These were foolish choices. The persistence of Satan in rebelling against God even today is still a foolish choice, as is the decision on the part of any human being to continue in a state of rebellion against God. It is not the wise man but ‘the fool’ who says in His heart, ‘There is no God’ (Psalm 14:1).”

- Wayne Grudem

Rape Culture is Alive and Well in America Because of These 6...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 03:49:00 -0400

Rape Culture is Alive and Well in America Because of These 6 Things

Literary Lust: Margaret Atwood on George Orwell

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:56:39 -0400

Literary Lust: Margaret Atwood on George Orwell:

literarylust:

Orwell became a direct model for me much later in my life – in the real 1984, the year in which I began writing a somewhat different dystopia, The Handmaid’s Tale. By that time I was 44, and I’d learned enough about real despotisms that I didn’t need to rely on Orwell alone. The majority of…

The event to die for.Coming March 31, 2013 Only on HBO UH. OH.

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:30:01 -0400

The event to die for.
Coming March 31, 2013
Only on HBO

UH. OH.

timeshaiku: A haiku from the article: The Fear of Surrendering...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:08:55 -0400

timeshaiku:

A haiku from the article: The Fear of Surrendering Again — Modern Love

Peter Dinklage Replace for Game of Thrones Season 4

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:56:14 -0400

Peter Dinklage Replace for Game of Thrones Season 4:

Okay, this was the worst.

Lecrae on the Secular/Sacred Divide & Engaging Culture I...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:50:04 -0400

Lecrae on the Secular/Sacred Divide & Engaging Culture

I love it.

laphamsquarterly: Histories are more full of examples of...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:31:32 -0400

laphamsquarterly:

Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.

—Alexander Pope, 1709

“Marriage is one of God’s most gracious gifts to humanity. It will be the Church’s...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:29:50 -0400

“Marriage is one of God’s most gracious gifts to humanity. It will be the Church’s responsibility to honor marriage, no matter what the Court may decide.”

—Dr. Albert Mohler

HEEHEEHEE MICHAEL IS THIS YOU

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:46:46 -0400

HEEHEEHEE MICHAEL IS THIS YOU