I’ve never seen a house like this before…
Posted in Videos | 2 Comments »I don’t know if anyone reading this watched Oliver Twist on PBS the last couple of weeks (I’m sure it’s been on in the UK already). (Part 2 of Oliver Twist (half of it) is still available online for a few more days, here.)
It was an interesting adaptation. Almost all the casting was brilliant and the adaptation captured the spirit of the book very well in many ways, with appropriate updates to make the language more accessible. On the other hand, the music was a little too contemporary – it didn’t exactly fit and some of the plot changes didn’t seem like improvements.
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This BBC article discusses whether internet activity is adversely affecting the health of children.
Posted in General Conversation | 4 Comments »A number of reports have recently linked online networking and computer games to a host of health risks.
Susan Greenfield, the eminent neuroscientist and head of the Royal Institution, is the latest to weigh into the debate, warning that young people’s brains may be fundamentally altered by internet activity.
While concerns about children and computers have usually focused on their forging inappropriate relationships online, or failing to get enough exercise as a result of being glued to a screen, the baroness suggested the consequences may be more profound.
She told peers in the House of Lords it would be worth considering whether the rise in autism – a condition marked by difficulties forming attachments – was linked to the increasing prevalence of screen relationships.
Last week’s Time featured an article on The Biology of Belief. One of the points made in it was that faith can heal:
Posted in General Conversation | 3 Comments »The Biology of Belief
[...] a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that faith may indeed bring us health. People who attend religious services do have a lower risk of dying in any one year than people who don’t attend. People who believe in a loving God fare better after a diagnosis of illness than people who believe in a punitive God. No less a killer than AIDS will back off at least a bit when it’s hit with a double-barreled blast of belief. “Even accounting for medications,” says Dr. Gail Ironson, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Miami who studies HIV and religious belief, “spirituality predicts for better disease control.”
Jim sent this to me for posting here.
Posted in Videos | Comments OffGo check out Off The Map’s new blog – The Practicing Church.
(Update – the link was wrong but I just fixed it – thanks for telling me, Elaine!)
Posted in An atheist (Eliza) in Lutheran class, General Conversation | Comments OffLast Friday my daughter had an extra credit assignment to watch Children of the Mountains, a 20/20 special on ABC. Here’s some of the description of the program from ABC’s website
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So many things were said about Bristol Palin during Sarah Palin’s campaign – I was pleased to discover she got to speak for herself in a Fox News Interview this week.
Towards the end Sarah Palin showed up (apparently surprising the interviewer) and said a few words too.
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I found this Economist article interesting.
Posted in General Conversation | 6 Comments »Motivating minds: People procrastinate when asked to think in the abstract
TO SOME there is nothing so urgent that it cannot be postponed in favour of a cup of tea. Such procrastination is a mystery to psychologists, who wonder why people would sabotage themselves in this way. A team of researchers led by Sean McCrea of the University of Konstanz, in Germany, reckon they have found a piece of the puzzle. People act in a timely way when given concrete tasks but dawdle when they view them in abstract terms.
(If the YouTube video below doesn’t work you can watch it here)
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