Weekend Links 1-5-18

Some random links of interest for the first weekend of 2018:

For better or worse, most people learn history through popular culture. As Peggy Noonan points out, both the media and entertainment industries bear responsibility to treat history with respect. In other words, get it right.

This is interesting: a list of 22 things not to buy at the grocery store.

Tweet of the week:

The more fractured and tribalistic our culture wars become, the more Christians need wisdom in making public political alliances (e.g. party membership, aligning with a candidate or cause). Our alliances themselves (or lack thereof) have growing witness costs. God, give us wisdom

— Jonathan Leeman (@JonathanDLeeman) December 30, 2017

Speaking of Twitter, here is why MoonPie is the best account to follow on Twitter. You won't regret it.

How one company uses lava lamps to keep the internet secure. What's even more amazing is you can actually see it for yourself.

Newsmax recently released a list of the 100 most influential evangelicals in America and Tim Challies has a few thoughts about the list. Perhaps most interesting to me is his astute observations (as a Canadian) of the peculiarly American mix of evangelicalism and politics.

Here's some useful advice on how to read more books. For what's it worth, my goal is to read at least 52 books this year (at least one per week).

How World War II helped give birth to the softcover book. This is explored more fully in When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning

Book recommendation of the week: Destiny of the Republic - A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard.

I love reading history books particular those about Presidents. I admit I knew little about President James Garfield and even less about how he died. The tragedy in his story is that his death could have easily been prevented except that it was his own doctors that were ultimately responsible for his demise. This is a fascinating book and one I would heartily recommend.

Weekend Links 11-24-17

A few articles of interest I found for your weekend perusal:

The recent news cycles have been dominated with stories about sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviors among elected officials, powerful individuals, and political candidates. Especially when it comes to politics the issue can present difficult choices to Christians. Marvin Olasky shares some valuable insight on the message our choices send to future generations.

These news stories have sparked a debate about the so-called Billy Graham rule. This discussion (on Twitter no less) is one of the most interesting and helpful discussions on the subject I have read.

One possible political solution to the problem of unqualified U. S. Senate candidates is a repeal of the 17th Amendment.

Stephen Mansfield helpfully explains why many evangelicals decided to vote for Donald Trump as President. 

Many conservatives who argued in favor of Trump's election used the Supreme Court as an argument for supporting him. David French warns of the dangers of obsessing over the Court.

Related: Senator Ben Sasse warned this week against the dangers of political idolatry.

Last week marked the premiere of the new film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Here's a list of nine other novels for those who are new to her work.

Finally, a 97 year-old World War II veteran shares about his service as a code breaker during the war. It's fascinating stuff.

Daily Links 1-10-14

Here's a huge roundup of links to get your weekend started off right: some unusual things that have traveled into space, some neat history, perfect spaghetti marinara, and more.

*****************

Over at Mental Floss, a list of 9 unusual things that astronauts brought into space. My personal favorite is the Silver Snoopy Lapel Pin.

*****************

An interview with Glenn Harlan Reynolds over at National Review about the state of higher education and, of course, his new book.

*****************

I always thought the first submarines appeared during the Civil War. Turns out I was wrong. The first submarine was actually invented during the Revolutionary War.

*****************

Tips for becoming a successful writer.

****************

Kevin DeYoung shares the Ten Commandments of Twitter. Some great advice in this post.

****************

Chef Scott Conant shares his secrets for making the perfect spaghetti marinara. I've had this dish at Scarpetta Las Vegas (incidentally, one of the best meals I have ever had at a restaurant) and it is fantastic. If you start making spaghetti this way you will never want to prepare it any other way. Trust me on this.

****************

Is it possible to be a comedian without swearing or talking about sex? Jerry Seinfeld proves that it can be done. (Hat tip: Acculturated)

****************

A collection of nine sentences guaranteed to make a grammar nerd's head explode. English is tough.

Daily Links 10-17-13

Living digitally is the theme of today's link roundup. Something tells me our digital lives aren't all they are cracked up to be.

*****************

This is interesting: 18 obstacles to personal daily devotions in the digital age. Sadly, I can relate to a lot of these. When you're done with that you can click over to this handy list of 20 tips for personal devotions.
(Hat tip: Challies)

*****************

I'll admit it. I was surprised by this statistic:

E-Reader and Tablet Owners Read Over 60% More Books Than Those Without Digital Devices

USA TODAY and Bookish (www.bookish.com), a website designed to help readers discover and buy books, conducted a joint national poll of adults that finds how e-readers and tablets are shaping the culture and attitudes toward reading. More than a third (35%) of readers report they are reading more books thanks to their e-readers and tablets. Adults with reading devices say they read an average of 18 books a year, while those without devices say they average 11 books.

Other findings include:
• Doubling the numbers from less than two years ago, 40% of adults — including 46% of those between 18 and 39 – currently own an e-reader or a tablet.
• 60% of college graduates have an e-reader.
• 27% of readers say they have used Facebook, Twitter or book websites to comment on a book, and that number rises almost two-fold (50%) among those under 40 who own a reading device.

******************

How bad is multitasking for the brain?

When we multitask all day, those scattered habits literally change the pathways in our brains. The consequence, according to Nass's research, is that sustaining your attention becomes impossible.

"If we [multitask] all the time--brains are remarkably plastic, remarkably adaptable," he says, referencing neuroplasticity, the way the structures of your brain literally re-form to the patterns of your thought. "We train our brains to a new way of thinking. And then when we try to revert our brains back, our brains are plastic but they're not elastic. They don't just snap back into shape."

*******************

There are advantages and disadvantages to being hyperconnected. Here are a few physical problems that you probably hadn't thought about. I think the stats about how often folks check their smartphones might be a little inflated. I check my phone often but 110 times per day seems excessive.

*******************

According to a new study, age and narcissism drive whether you choose to use Facebook or Twitter.

Who To Follow On Twitter: Potpourri Edition

I've covered a number of different categories of Twitter feeds to follow in previous posts. Today, a roundup of other Twitter feeds that should not be missed.

Art of Manliness (@artofmanliness)

As their website explains, they are dedicated to the recovering the lost art of manliness. How does a gentleman become a gentleman? What are the skills that every man, husband, and father need to learn? This is where you will find the answers to these questions.

Honest Toddler (@HonestToddler)

Imagine how a three year-old would sound on Twitter and you get the idea behind this wonderful creation of writer Bunmi Laditan. This is a feed that frequently makes me laugh out loud. She also just wrote a book. This is one of the great bright spots on Twitter.

Mental Floss (@mental_floss)

The official feed of Mental Floss magazine is chock full of fun facts and links of interest. If you have an interest in trivial stuff then this is the feed for you.

Lifehacker (@lifehacker)

Lifehacker is an indispensable website full of shortcuts and tips to getting things done. If you ever need to know how to do something this is a good place to start. They are constantly sending out all sorts of tips and links to downloads and apps that will make life easier. 

Neatorama (@neatorama)

 

If your interests skew towards the geeky stuff (or the just plain unusual) this is another feed that you should certainly follow. Some of the most unusual and fascinating stuff can be found on the site. They also have one of the most fantastic collections of geeky fan gear in their web shop.

Acculturated (@Acculturated)

Pop culture permeates our culture but the big question is why? That's the question that Acculturated tries to answer each day by taking a critical look at pop culture and its influence on our culture as a whole. This is an excellent blog to follow and you can keep up with all the latest posts through their feed.

To view the other posts in this series, click here. 

Who to Follow on Twitter: In the News

I have a tough time keeping up with the news but one way to deal with that problem is to follow a handful of reporters on Twitter. Here are six reporters that are worth following if you want to keep up with what's going on in the world:

Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) is a former Fox News producer and now a media editor for National Review providing editorial direction for their daily news coverage. She's a great person to follow for a general sense of what's newsworthy. She covers the White House, Congress and campaigns. Here complete article archive is here.

Kirsten Powers (@kirstenpowers10) is more on the liberal side of the political spectrum but is an excellent reporter and columnist. She's written extensively on human rights as well as abortion. Her coverage of the Kermit Gosnell trial was some of the best that was done and brought long overdue media attention to the horrors of the abortion industry.

Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) is a former ABC News White House correspondent and currently anchor of The Lead on CNN. He recently said in an interview that he tries to be fair to all sides of the political spectrum. He's certainly proven that so far. If there is anyone I would want to interview a politician it would be him. He is also the best-selling author of The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.

Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) is a senior writer for the Weekly Standard and one of the few practitioners of long form journalism left these days. His articles are well-researched and insightful. Although he comes from a center-right perspective he is extremely fair.

Major Garrett (@MajorCBS) is both Chief White House correspondent for CBS News and a columnist for National Journal. Because he has an extensive background in print journalism he is a terrific writer. He's also well connected to what's going on in Washington which makes him worth a follow.

Brit Hume (@brithume) is a Senior Political Analyst at Fox News and former anchor of Special Report. He's also previously served as a Congressional and White House correspondent and is also well-connected. He links to a lot of the best reporters so his feed is definitely worth following.

Previous posts in this series:

Who to Follow on Twitter: Don't Know Much About History

Who to Follow on Twitter: Let's Eat

Who to Follow on Twitter: Play Ball!

Who to Follow on Twitter: Pastoral Edition

Daily Links 9-9-13

The challenges of spelling, more benefits of owning a Kindle, and more in today's edition.

************************

Why is English spelling so messed up? Mental Floss has the answer.

************************

It was only a matter of time:

that it would let customers who bought certain print books download the electronic versions of those titles for a small fee, or for free. For anyone who buys both kinds of books, myself included, the service, which Amazon calls Kindle MatchBook, raises a simple question: What took so long?

I had wondered when this was going to happen. Just another reason to own a Kindle.

***********************
14 Lessons of the New Workplace Millenials Need to Master. Actually reading over this list just about anyone who works in the business world should apply these lessons.

*******************************

This is an amazing story:

Brigitte Höss lives quietly on a leafy side street in Northern Virginia. She is retired now, having worked in a Washington fashion salon for more than 30 years. She recently was diagnosed with cancer and spends much of her days dealing with the medical consequences. Brigitte also has a secret that not even her grandchildren know. Her father was Rudolf Höss, the Kommandant of Auschwitz. It was Rudolf Höss who designed and built Auschwitz from an old army barracks in Poland to a killing machine capable of murdering 2,000 people an hour. By the end of the war, 1.1 million Jews had been killed in the camp, along with 20,000 gypsies and tens of thousands of Polish and Russian political prisoners. As such, Brigitte’s father was one of the biggest mass murderers in history. For nearly 40 years she has kept her past out of public view, unexamined, not even sharing her story with her closest family members.

But here is one of the best parts of this story:

In 1972 they moved to Washington. Brigitte’s husband took a senior job with a transportation company, and they bought a house in Georgetown. It was a chance for Brigitte to start over. Brigitte struggled — she didn’t know how to write a check, spoke little English and was without friends or family. After some searching, she found a part-time job in a fashion boutique. One day a short Jewish lady visited the boutique. She liked Brigitte’s style and asked her to come work in her fashion salon in the District. Soon after she was hired, Brigitte says, she got drunk with her manager and confessed that her father was Rudolf Höss. The manager told the store’s owner. The owner told Brigitte that she could stay, that she had not committed any crime herself. What Brigitte did not know, at least not until later, was that the store owner and her husband were Jewish and had fled Nazi Germany after the Kristallnacht attacks of 1938. Brigitte was thankful for being seen as a person, rather than her father’s daughter. She worked at the store for 35 years, serving prominent Washingtonians, including the wives of senators and congressmen. The store owner returned Brigitte’s loyalty and hard work by keeping her secret. With the exception of one other manager, none of the other staff knew the truth about Brigitte’s family history.

Be sure to read the whole thing.
********************************
Ten things I've Learned on Twitter. Some interesting tips for folks who want to use Twitter more effectively. (hat tip Thom Rainer)
******************************
Why Duck Dynasty Viewers Heed Its Call (hat tip Acculturated). Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Robertsons are real, down to earth, honest to goodness folks.

Friday Tweet Recap 8-9-13

Here's a roundup of interesting things that I found on the web and tweeted this week. Quite a boatload of links in today's edition. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest:

A historian makes a case for examining the forgotten presidents.

10 signs you might be a Jane Austen addict. This link should in no way imply that I think any of the women in my household should be classified as addicts.

Two different stories on finding love and both of them are unusual: From Wrong Number to Wedded Bliss and From Hashtags to Holy Matrimony.

For some, college is not worth the debt. More and more, this is something that families have to consider before sending their kids off to school.

"How did you like the sermon?" is the wrong question to ask because sermons are not for liking.

6 Commonly Held Misconceptions about Introverts.

10 reasons parents need a date night (with helpful explanations for the kids).

A fascinating survey of book lovers. Some the stats in this survey are really surprising.

I was sorry to hear this news. I hope they will change their minds.

10 things that "Yahweh" means. I honestly didn't know this.

What strengthens and weakens integrity - it's the small choices that count.

Eric Metaxas argues that cultural elites are the next great unreached people group. He makes a very compelling case.

A controversy has arisen over the word "wrath" in a hymn. Timothy George explains the problem. And Thom Rainer has some insight on what this says about evangelism and the church.

A surprisingly positive New York Times profile of the business practices of Christian companies.

Dispelling 12 common myths about Calvinism.

In honor of the announcement of the 12th doctor, 8 pieces of Doctor Who tea swag.

This is one of the rarest things you will see in baseball: a one pitch strikeout.

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees received a well-deserved 211 game suspension from Major League Baseball. For those unfamiliar with the story, Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan has an excellent timeline of how this came to pass.

More on Rodriguez: the reason why MLB needs to enforce the rules regarding drug use.

Here's one of the best baseball promos I have ever seen: Vin Scully for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

It's been 25 years since the first night game at Wrigley Field. Some recollections from those who were there.

Reclaiming excellence as a Christian virtue.

Some wonderful and weird places for bookstores.

Here's a great case of suburban renewal: abandoned Wal-Mart turned into America's largest library.

That's it. Have a great weekend!

Who to Follow on Twitter: Play Ball!

If you've spent any time on the blog, you know that I am a big baseball fan. Baseball has given birth to more great writing (and sportswriters) than any other sport. Twitter is full of plenty of baseball writers. It's a great way to keep up with what's going on with your team. Here are nine of my favorite baseball related Twitter feeds:

First Inning: Major League Baseball (@MLB)

Okay, so this one is a little obvious. This is the official feed of Major League Baseball. It's good place to start if you are looking for a good source for baseball news.

Second Inning: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (@BaseballHall)

Another obvious choice. If you wanted to keep up with happening in Cooperstown this is the place to go. In addition to happenings at the Hall they also tweet out interesting facts from baseball history.

Third Inning: John Thorn (@thorn_john)

He is Major League Baseball's official historian and one of the premier authorities on the early roots of the game. He's also posting frequently on his blog. His books include First Pitch: How Baseball Began and Baseball in the Garden of Eden.

Fourth Inning: Vin Scully Tweet (@VinScullyTweet)

Vin Scully is the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a national treasure. He's not on Twitter (at least, not often) so this feed is a tribute to the Hall of Fame broadcaster. And yes, they have a Facebook page too.

Fifth Inning: Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP)

Thomas Boswell's books Why Time Begins On Opening Day and How Life Imitates The World Series are both essential reading for any baseball fan. If you can't get a hold of those books, all you need to read to know why he's worth a follow is 99 Reasons Why Baseball Is Better Than Football.  It was an instant classic the moment is was published. His Washington Post columns can be found here.

Sixth Inning: Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal)

He's arguably one of the best baseball reporters in the business. He also seems to be one of the most well-connected. If something is happening in the game, Rosenthal is likely to know about it. His columns appear regularly at Fox Sports.

Seventh Inning: Rob Neyer (@robneyer)

Rob Neyer made a name for himself as an ESPN columnist but it was when he made the jump to Baseball Nation that his writing really took off. He's one of the premier writers to follow and one of the leading authorities on the game.

Eighth Inning: Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri)

Along with Rob Neyer, Jonah Keri is the other baseball blogger who has also made a name for himself. His best-selling book, The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Team From Worst to First, chronicled how the Tampa Bay Rays became a perennial contender in the American League East. He blogs at Grantland.

Ninth Inning: Louisville Slugger (@sluggernation)

Nothing says baseball or American made the way Louisville Slugger does. The museum and factory tour is a must on a visit to Louisville. Plus they give away stuff all the time which makes it all the more fun to follow their feed.

Previous entries in this series:

Who to Follow on Twitter:: Pastoral Edition

Who to Follow on Twitter: Let's Eat

Who to Follow on Twitter: Don't Know Much About History

Who to Follow on Twitter - Pastoral Edition

When I first started blogging nearly ten years ago one of the things I noticed was how many pastors were embracing this new medium. It makes a lot of sense as the Internet is a good medium to share teaching whether by audio, video or written form. So it should come as no surprise that there are pastors who embrace Twitter as part of their overall social media presence. Some use it to publicize their blogs while others simply share Scriptures or other thoughts. Here are a few of my favorite pastors to follow:

1. Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc)

Pastor of Redeemer Church in New York City and author of numerous books, Keller is preaching the gospel in one of the toughest cities in America for Christians to live. He's a leading reformed pastor and is currently in very high demand on the conference circuit. Like several of the pastors I will list here he is able to share nuggets of truth that will get you to think about your life and relationship to Christ.

2. John Piper (@JohnPiper)

He's the founder of Desiring God Ministries and another prolific author. For a guy who just retired from the pulpit this spring he sure stays busy. He's still doing a lot of writing and teaching which makes him an interest person to follow. He will also link to a lot of other pastors and teachers as well which is another really good reason to follow him.

3. Kevin DeYoung (@RevKevDeYoung)

He is pastor of University Reformed Church in Lansing, Michigan. He's also another of the growing number of Reformed pastors on the Internet. He also blogs at The Gospel Coalition and is worth frequently checking.

4. Mark Dever (@MarkDever) 

He is the Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC and founder of 9 Marks Ministries which is devoted to the development of healthy churches. He is also one of the founders of Together for the Gospel. He is a prolific tweeter and his writings have been of tremendous encouragement to me in my previous roles in church leadership.

5. Albert Mohler (@albertmohler)

Technically speaking, he's not (currently) a pastor. Dr. Mohler is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is another principal leader behind Together for the Gospel and also is associated with 9 Marks. Dr. Mohler is also a prolific blogger and hosts a daily radio program addressing current issues from a Christian world view.

6. Tim Challies (@challies)

Tim is an associate pastor with Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto. However, I have had the opportunity to get to know him more through his blog. He is one of the smartest guys among Reformed thinkers that I know of. He's also the most prolific reader I have ever seen as he publishes book reviews at a staggering rate. In fact, I am usually searching his blog first to see whether he has read a book before deciding to tackle it myself.

Previous entries in this series:

Who to Follow on Twitter - Let's Eat!

Who to Follow on Twitter - Don't Know Much About History

Who to Follow on Twitter - Let's Eat!

I love to eat and so consequently I'm interested in posts about food. My wife and I love to search out new recipes to try so we try to accumulate some reliable sites where we can find fun things to try. The fact that we are now following a grain-free diet makes it a little more of a challenge but thankfully I've found some great folks to follow on Twitter to help.

Alton Brown (@altonbrown)

The Food Network star was reportedly reluctant to start tweeting but fans naturally flocked to his feed. They certainly haven't been disappointed. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that he doesn't tweet like other folks. He writes his answers out on Post-It notes and then tweets the photos. My favorite thing to see is when he answers fans' questions about food.

Serious Eats (@seriouseats)

Another great feed to follow for those serious about food. A nice mix of recipes, cooking tips and dining suggestions.

Nom Nom Paleo (@nomnompaleo)

Going grain free is not as easy as it sounds. In fact, our diet is a cross between a paleo diet and a grain-free/starch-free diet. Learning how to modify recipes to make them fit those parameters means finding some good resources. Michelle Tam is one of the best paleo chefs on the web and her blog is a lot of fun. She frequently posts new recipes as well as links to other paleo chefs in her feed. She's definitely worth following if you're toying with the idea of going on a paleo diet. Her cookbook Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans will be published in December.

Cavegirl Cuisine (@CavegirlCuisine)

Another of my recommended paleo bloggers, she offers a variety of recipes and is also frequently delving into dairy-free options (another real plus for my diet). She also posts lots of pictures of dishes which is a real help in figuring out how these recipes should turn out.

Against All Grain (@againstallgrain)

Danielle Walker not only cooks paleo dishes but also deals with an autoimmune disorder which requires her to cook gluten free as well. This is another of my favorite recipe sites to go to for suggestions on what to cook. She has an extensive recipe index broken down by meal type which makes it easy to find what you are looking for. Her cookbook Against All Grain publishes on July 30.

Elana's Pantry (@elanaspantry)

When we first started researching the whole paleo and grain-free diet thing Elana Amsterdam was one of the first bloggers we found. It's because of her that we have found ways to have baked goods in our house that were still grain free. She was also the person that introduced us to the wonders of almond flour and the best place to find it. Her latest cookbook is Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry.

Food Riot (@FoodRiot)

Their Twitter tag line is "Play With Your Food". That sums up what this site is all about. It's the place to go for the latest in food news. They also feature links to fun recipes.

Cooking for Bros (@cookingforbros)

It's a bit of a misconception that guys can't cook. Plenty of them can. However, for some men cooking can be a little overwhelming at first. The concept behind Cooking for Bros is to provide easy, delicious recipes that anyone can prepare. Most recipes only involve five ingredients which makes preparation easy. They also offer great tips on how to do different things in the kitchen that any novice cook will find informative. Their cookbook is available both in paperback and as a PDF download.

Taste of the Town (@Taste_The_Town)

Todd Blackledge has a great job. He gets to highlight the best eats in college football towns across the country on ESPN. His feed is a great one to follow if you're looking for great places to eat when you're travelling. Plus fans are constantly offering new suggestions that are worth checking out. His book will be published on September 3rd.

Related: Who to Follow on Twitter - Don't Know Much About History 

Who To Follow On Twitter: Don't Know Much About History

Of all social media platforms I consider Twitter to be my favorite in part because it's a useful way to find out things that are of interest to me on the web. But it can be a little overwhelming to know exactly who to follow. In this series, I'll share some of the feeds that have become my favorite feeds to follow. The following is a list of authors with a bent towards history as well as a couple of historical feeds that are worth a follow:

1. Eric Metaxas (@EricMetaxas)

The New York Times Bestselling author probably wouldn't consider himself a historian or biographer but he has shown himself adept at both roles. His books include Bonhoeffer, Amazing Grace, and most recently 7 Men. He is also host of Socrates in the City in New York. He is also the host of Breakpoint Radio. In addition, he's an incredibly funny guy and definitely worth a follow.

2. Amity Shlaes (@AmityShlaes)

She is the author of the excellent biography Coolidge as well as the previous bestseller The Forgotten Man about the Great Depression. She frequently shares links of a historical nature particularly connected with her books. Both books should be on your must read list. My interview with her about The Forgotten Man is here.

3. Stephen Mansfield (@MansfieldWrites)

Most recently the author of Killing Jesus as well as faith biographies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, he is another author to definitely follow on Twitter. His tweets are often about a variety of different subjects with links to articles of note. Among books of his I would recommend are Ten Tortured Words about the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment and More Than Dates and Dead People which deals with restoring a Christian view to history.

4. Jane Hampton Cook (@janehamptoncook)

Formerly a webmistress during her time in the Bush White House, Cook has always had an interest in history. She is a frequent contributor on cable news as well as a prolific author. Her latest book is American Phoenix, a biography of John Quincy and Louisa Adams.

5. Joel C. Rosenberg (@JoelCRosenberg)

Few people understand biblical prophecy and Middle East politics as well as Joel Rosenberg. He blogs about events in the Middle East at his Flash Traffic blog. He is also the author of numerous political thrillers, all of which I would heartily recommend. His latest book is Damascus Countdown.

6. Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC)

He's best known as a presidential historian and author of a number of books. But he's also proprietor of one of the coolest Twitter feeds out there. Don't take my word for it: read this Washington Post profile. His accidental entry into Twitter has been one of the best feeds to come along in a while. The reason? He tweets nothing but photos many of which had never before been published. I have no idea where he finds them but they are always worth checking out.

7. Life (@LIFE)

In its heydey, LIFE Magazine was the penultimate historical photo album. If it happened, LIFE photographed it. Now the vast archives of photos is being posted on the internet. Many of them weren't even published originally in the magazine. They tweet out whenever they post a new album on their site. You could easily spend hours and hours looking through their pictures.

8. World War II Tweets (@RealTimeWWII)

Imagine what it would be like to have Twitter cover a major geopolitical event like World War II and you have what this feed is all about. Started a couple of years ago, this project documents events as they happen on a particular date. As I am writing this, they are tweeting through 1941 and intend to continue all the way through the end of the war. They also frequently post photographs that are absolutely amazing.

9. Smithsonian National Museum of American History (@amhistorymuseum)

The largest repository of historical artifacts, the American History museum is a must-see for any history buff. They also frequently blog about their collection and send out tweets about new posts. If you want to know more about American history it's definitely a feed to follow.

Friday Tweet Recap

It's Friday and that means another recap of articles that I shared on Twitter this week that caught my attention.

Modesty is an issue that has worked its way back into the public discussion. Most of the time when we talk about modesty we discuss it in the context of what women wear. But there is another side of modesty that is worth examining. Meanwhile, an actress turned designer caused quite a stir when some of her comments regarding modesty went viral.

I'm sure that if I put some of these time management principles into practice I would be a lot more productive. Seems like I spend more time reading stuff like this than implementing it.

One of my favorite blogs to read is Art of Manliness and it seems like every week there are multiple posts I could share. The highlight of this week is this post on character, its 3 true qualities and how to develop it

This really struck a chord for me. I can really relate to this post on how to be social as an introvert.

It pays to be widely read. Here's a guide to reading the Christian classics.

I suppose we are long past the point where we can expect media to be unbiased. But the lengths they will go to in advocating a position are downright shameful as we saw this week.

Constitutional law alert: an actual Third Amendment case and what it could mean to you. It will be fascinating to see how this one turns out.

Does God give you more than you can handle? The answer is, of course, yes. That's the point.

That's it. Have a great weekend!

Friday Tweet Recap

During the week I'm usually tweeting out articles via Twitter so here are a few things that you might have missed that caught my attention this week:

Seven marks of false teachers. This is especially good advice if you're either looking for a church or evaluating what pastors to listen to .

I am really bad at remembering someone's name so this article provided some pretty helpful tips.

I didn't realize John Piper had retired from the pulpit earlier this spring. He's spending a year in Knoxville which is a lovely city not far from where I live. The most striking thing he said in this article is that he intentionally left Minneapolis behind to give his successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church some breathing room.

It was Father's Day last Sunday and Joel Miller has some thoughts on what every child needs to hear from their dad.

My daughter pointed this one out to me. I think it has to do with the fact she wants to major in theatre. 10 Ways Being a Theatre Major Prepared Me For Success.

John Stonestreet has some thoughts about what to say to our daughters about the morning after pill.

It's a little bit of a shock but longtime Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully almost signed with the New York Yankees. And demonstrating that he is a true Renaissance man, he took to Twitter earlier this week during the Dodgers-Yankees series. It was as beautiful as you could have imagined.

More baseball: Grantland's Jonah Keri examines the flawed importance of the closer. I have always wondered whether too much emphasis is placed on the 9th inning. Now I'm sure of it. This also made me think of this piece from Joe Posnanski.

This article got me thinking: 9 Qualities of Truly Confident People. It's an interesting read. On a related note, the four questions great leaders ask.

Some of these vintage rules for conversation (from 1875!) are really remarkable. It would be interesting to see how different our conversations would be if we applied these rules.

Life Magazine has been posting photos from their vast library online. The latest installment is unpublished color photos of the ruins of Normandy following D-Day. These pictures are amazing.

Also from the Life Magazine archives, color portraits from the 1950s of Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz legends.

Here's a list of 8 things you shouldn't do every day. I confess that I am guilty of quite of few of these mistakes.

Some tips on how to read a book. I will admit I hadn't thought about some of these strategies before and they look like they are worth a try. This article also has some tips on how to read more books including some interesting ways to keep track of books on your reading list.

That's it. Have a great weekend.

Know Your Social Media: Twitter

I am not a huge fan of social media though over the years I have created accounts on different platforms. I have a Facebook account, a Pinterest account, a LinkedIn profile and a Twitter account. Of all of these the most useful to me are Twitter and LinkedIn each for different reasons. In this post, I want to highlight some of the things I have learned about Twitter including its pros and cons and how to make it a more useful tool.

The first thing you have to decide is how you plan to use Twitter. Are you using it to keep in touch with other people or is it more informational? Personally, I use it primarily as a news feed. I find it's an easy way to keep track of things I am interested in. My feed is a great way to keep track of news and other events.

It also allows me to keep up with writers that I enjoy reading. I don't have to keep track of their blogs or websites if I know that they will send a tweet out with a link to their latest piece.

Second, you have to decide who to follow. By clicking on a person's profile you can see all their tweets. Since I am mostly concerned with news links I tend to weed out folks that use as many (if not more) of their tweets in conversation than publishing links to other stories. That's because I have limited opportunities to check my feed (see below for more on that) and conversations are sometimes more difficult to follow.

As noted above, you also need to determine how often you'll have an opportunity to check your feed. The blessing (and curse) of Twitter is there is always something new to be posted. It will quickly feed the sense of   missing something if you're not checking your feed a hundred times a day. The number of times you are going to be able to check your feed will also influence how many people you will follow and they types of folks you follow (do they tweet numerous times a day or only occasionally?).

You will likely develop a completely separate circle of influence apart from your other social networks. For example, most of my followers are people I don't know personally. But it one way or another we probably share a common interest. So it allows me to share ideas with people I would not normally have an opportunity to speak to.

Also, Twitter has a useful tool that allows you to link to your Facebook page so that whenever you send out a new tweet it will also post to your Facebook timeline. This is great because then you don't have to worry about posting the link yourself. It also allows whatever you share to be circulated among your friends (who are more than likely going to be a separate and distinct group from other social media followers).

Finally, you need to know that brevity is both its biggest asset and its biggest liability. Yes, the 140 character limit forces you to be pithy in your commentary (apologies to Bill O'Reilly). But it's also hard to flesh out a complicated idea one tweet at a time. This is why Twitter works so well as an aggregator because it allows you drive traffic to other sites. It also (naturally) limits the amount of personal information to as much or as little as you want to share.

One more side note: if you have a blog you need to be on Twitter for no other reason than to drive traffic to your blog. And if you utilize hashtags properly you can open up to a wider audience than just your own followers.

Of all the social media platforms I use, Twitter is by far my favorite for the reasons above. Give it a try if you haven't already. And make sure to follow me @Daddypundit.

Back to Blogging

It's been a long time since I've posted her regularly. Hopefully I will be able to get back on track. A few random thoughts that have been rolling around my brain......

******

This election cycle is shaping up to be the second straight presidential election in a row where I am seriously considering not voting. Much will depend on who Mitt Romney chooses as a running mate. John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin made me feel comfortable enough to cast a vote for him even though I still had serious reservations about him.

*****

Speaking of politics, it seems to me that politicians are more and more concerned with maintaining power than abiding by principles. This has always been true to a degree but seems to be more prevalent these days than ever before. Part of the reason I don't follow politics as closely as I used to as I find myself increasingly frustrated by members of both parties. The country seems poised for a major reformation in its politics but only if principled leaders will stand up and be counted upon to be agents of change.

*****

Most of my free time of late (what little there has been) has been devoted to baseball. Although my team, the Chicago Cubs, are having a typically frustrating season I still enjoy the sport. In fact, I became a fan of the game before I became devoted to my team. More on that in an upcoming post over at Eephus League. That's where I have been doing what little blogging that I have been involved in lately.

*****

Not long ago I ran across an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that Wrigley Field be torn down. The author is, of course, wrong for a lot of reasons. One of his assertions is that the Cubs were a better team before moving to Wrigley than afterwards. That's true, however, he failed to look at the club's won-loss record at Wrigley. Through the 2011 season, the Cubs had a +435 win differential at the park. So clearly it's not the home park that's the problem.

*****

From the Useful Links Department: the Random P. G. Wodehouse Quote Generator.

*****

It was a really big deal at the time: it turns out Dan Quayle was right. And you read about it in the Washington Post of all places. Dan Quayle might not have been the brightest or most effective politician but at least he was willing to stand up and speak about what he believed.

*****

Quote to ponder: "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived." - George S. Patton

*****

Finally, I have held out as long as I possibly can but have given in and decided to join Twitter. I don't really plan on tweeting much (we'll see how that goes) but I've already found it's a great way to quickly check news sources that I like to follow. Feel free to follow me (for what it's worth).

Saying Goodbye to Facebook

This morning I did something I had been thinking about for quite a while. For many in our internet-connected culture it will seem a little counter-cultural and probably would leave some scratching their heads. I deactivated by Facebook account.

This was a decision brought on (in part) by recent events in the news involving a congressman's online extracurricular activities. But it was also something I had been thinking about because I was never really comfortable allowing others to connect to me.

Granted, while I was on Facebook I did connect to college friends as well as members of my extended family. I managed to reconnect with folks I hadn't spoken to in many years.

I rarely received an unwanted message and can count on one hand the number of times I received an invitation to be friends with someone I didn't know.

It was convenient to have the news feed from a lot of different blogs and websites I follow in one central place. But there are other applications that allow that function without connecting with strangers.

I only signed up in the beginning because my girls were curious about having their own account. I signed up because I wasn't familiar with it at the time and needed to see what it was all about before allowing my girls to get on it. Ultimately I decided they didn't need an account and they both agreed with my decision.

But I still couldn't help shake the nagging feeling that this was not a good thing to have. I've never been interested in having a Twitter account and don't bother following anyone. While I enjoyed being on Facebook, increasingly I didn't have time to keep up with it or find things to share.

My mind kept coming back to a book I read several years ago by Jerry Jenkins entitled Hedges: Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It. It talks very frankly about sexual sin and how it can subtly enter into your marriage. In order to protect our marriages, we need to build "hedges" which are ground rules for interacting with the opposite sex that protect us from falling into the trap that sexual sin can put us in.

Increasingly what I realized was that with my Facebook account I was tearing a huge hole in the hedges that I had been placing around my marriage. Although I never had any issues while I was on Facebook I felt it was better to get out before a problem arose.

Social media can be a wonderful thing. But it also provides a wealth of danger. Recent news stories have shown that Facebook contributes to divorce. The bottom line is while it may seem innocent to reconnect with old friends it can present danger.

I know plenty of people that are on Facebook and have not run into any issues. I think whether to be involved in social media or not is a personal choice that each individual has to make. As I said before, I didn't have any problems with being on Facebook. But when I weigh everything together, it's better for me personally to not be out there allowing myself to be set up as a target for temptation. I don't want to do anything that puts my marriage and my family at risk. For me, the risks involved with being on Facebook outweigh the rewards.

Why I Am Not On Facebook (or Twitter)

A few months ago I started a Facebook page at the urging of a couple of friends. Having heard so much about the service I decided to check it out. It was also partly an experiment for my kids' sake as they were asking me about getting their own pages.

A couple of months ago I took it down. It's not because of any specific problem I had with it. It was really more a matter of not having time to keep up with it.

The fact is that I am pretty busy and while I am interested in what's going on in the lives of folks on my friends list it was just taking far too much time to keep up with. Maybe I'll go back one day. But the longer I leave my account deactivated the less likely I am to reactivate it.

Meanwhile, I've never seen the attraction of Twitter. I know it's all the rage these days but it doesn't seem to have any benefit. Like Facebook, it seems like something that takes a lot of time to keep up with. And that's more time than I have on my hands at the moment.

I'd be interested to hear from those who use either Facebook or Twitter regularly. What do you like or dislike about it?

In a related item, check out the video below on how Twitter can kill you: