Vanity vinyl
From the Pork Tornado blog, a couple of pages of the strangest and/or worst album covers ever. Most date from the 1970s, but that’s not the problem. As someone who was alive and buying albums back then, I can say that some of these would have chilled my blood even then.
But it’s like “vanity publishing:” if you want to pay for it, you can be a recording, uh, artist.
Next, the Associated Press Stylebook
Wren at Witches’ Voice posts an item about a student Pagan group meeting in a Kentucky high school, much to the surprise of administrators.
But here is the interesting part: the reporter’s last paragraph explaining what Paganism is. In fact, he repeats the Pagan “party line” about the antiquity, earth-centeredness (whatever that means–I’m trying to define it in a book), and pervasiveness of Pagan beliefs. The scholar in me makes a wry expression; the Witch in me smiles.
I recently bought a new copy of the reporter’s bible, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, which has no entry for “Paganism,” although it does cover other religions and denominations within them, with instructions for writers, e.g., “Episcopalian” is a person but not an adjective. At this rate, I can see a small change coming for the next edition.
A New York Times report by a Columbia University sociologist on the virginity pledges promoted by some Christian groups such as True Love Waits finds that pledge-takers do delay the onset of sexual activity, yet tend to contract sexually transmitted diseases at about the same rate as their peers, suggesting that they do not get additional education on STDs.
Key paragraphs:
By age 23, half the teenagers who had made virginity pledges were married, compared with 25 percent of those who had not pledged, the study found. Dr. Bearman said he did not know whether the teenagers who had broken their pledges did so initially with their fianc?s or with others, because the data had not yet been analyzed.
But he said, “After they break their pledge, the gates are open, and they catch up,” having more partners in a shorter time.
Link courtesy of Religion News Blog.
A New York Times report by a Columbia University sociologist on the virginity pledges promoted by some Christian groups such as True Love Waits finds that pledge-takers do delay the onset of sexual activity, yet tend to contract sexually transmitted diseases at about the same rate as their peers, suggesting that they do not get additional education on STDs.
Key paragraphs:
By age 23, half the teenagers who had made virginity pledges were married, compared with 25 percent of those who had not pledged, the study found. Dr. Bearman said he did not know whether the teenagers who had broken their pledges did so initially with their fianc?s or with others, because the data had not yet been analyzed.
But he said, “After they break their pledge, the gates are open, and they catch up,” having more partners in a shorter time.
Link courtesy of Religion News Blog.
A New York Times report by a Columbia University sociologist on the virginity pledges promoted by some Christian groups such as True Love Waits finds that pledge-takers do delay the onset of sexual activity, yet tend to contract sexually transmitted diseases at about the same rate as their peers, suggesting that they do not get additional education on STDs.
Key paragraphs:
By age 23, half the teenagers who had made virginity pledges were married, compared with 25 percent of those who had not pledged, the study found. Dr. Bearman said he did not know whether the teenagers who had broken their pledges did so initially with their fianc?s or with others, because the data had not yet been analyzed.
But he said, “After they break their pledge, the gates are open, and they catch up,” having more partners in a shorter time.
Link courtesy of Religion News Blog.
A New York Times report by a Columbia University sociologist on the virginity pledges promoted by some Christian groups such as True Love Waits finds that pledge-takers do delay the onset of sexual activity, yet tend to contract sexually transmitted diseases at about the same rate as their peers, suggesting that they do not get additional education on STDs.
Key paragraphs:
By age 23, half the teenagers who had made virginity pledges were married, compared with 25 percent of those who had not pledged, the study found. Dr. Bearman said he did not know whether the teenagers who had broken their pledges did so initially with their fianc?s or with others, because the data had not yet been analyzed.
But he said, “After they break their pledge, the gates are open, and they catch up,” having more partners in a shorter time.
Link courtesy of Religion News Blog.
Grading with Gollum
Putting off sitting down to a pile of student papers, I find this, as if I were not already halfway there tonight.
Hates them. Ssstupid sstudentses, don’t even read the textbook, no preciouss.
Link courtesy of Crooked Timber.
Cultural anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse divides modes of religiosity into “episodic” and “doctrinal.” One relies on dramatic ritual experiences, the other on creeds, sermons, texts, exposition, etc.
In his book Arguments and Icons: Divergent Modes of Religiosity, he writes that in small, tribal, or breakaway groups, “religious life is focused around very infrequent, traumatic ritual episodes.” “Traumatic” seems rather strong, unless, of course, you’re thinking of adult circumcision, the knocking out of teeth, scarification, tattooing, etc.–and a lot of Whitehouse’s field work was done in Melanesia, where some of these practices are or were common.
But now here is an example of a traumatic initiation ritual. If there were other candidates besides the late Mr. James, we can be sure that they will never forget their initiation.
Archaeology of religion
May’s issue of The Pomegranate will carry an excerpt from archaeologist Brian Hayden’s new book on ancient religion, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion.
A news release about the book from his university, Simon Fraser in British Columbia, is here.
A key sentence: Hayden argues religious behaviors have largely been shaped by our response to ecological factors, such as the environment, reproduction, survival and the use of energy sources, as well as ?an innate emotional foundation in humans that distinguishes us from other animals.
Archaeology of religion
May’s issue of The Pomegranate will carry an excerpt from archaeologist Brian Hayden’s new book on ancient religion, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion.
A news release about the book from his university, Simon Fraser in British Columbia, is here.
A key sentence: Hayden argues religious behaviors have largely been shaped by our response to ecological factors, such as the environment, reproduction, survival and the use of energy sources, as well as ?an innate emotional foundation in humans that distinguishes us from other animals.