{"id":6853,"date":"2022-03-18T10:16:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6853"},"modified":"2022-03-18T10:16:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:16:43","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-343","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2022\/03\/18\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-343","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 343"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>     On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is volume 343, which has an unusual relationship with the number 18. Namely 343 = 18<sup>0<\/sup>&nbsp;+ 18<sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;+ 18<sup>2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t have much access to my computer this week, so this is a briefer collection than the norm. And there may not be an update next week at all \u2014 we\u2019ll&nbsp;see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/13\/opinion\/ukraine-war-prayers.html\" target=\"_blank\">How Readers Around the World Are Praying for Ukraine<\/a> (Tish Harrison Warren, New York Times): \u201c\u2026prayer is indeed powerful, often in ways we can\u2019t account for. War, whatever else it is, is spiritually dark, even demonic. From the first days of the Russian invasion, religious people and institutions around the world have responded by praying. Written prayers and Psalms can be a lifeline, helping us pray when our own words \u2014 and even our own faith \u2014&nbsp;fail.\u201d&nbsp;<ul><li>The last prayer is amazing content for the New York Times and I post it here in full since some of you don\u2019t have access through the NYT paywall:<\/li><li>\u201cFather-God, may the attackers\u2019 fingers freeze; may they drop things; may they not see clearly; may their equipment malfunction; may they experience&nbsp;<\/li><li>overwhelming hopelessness, enormous fatigue and a complete loss of any desire to fight; may their communication be broken; may there be confusion. Lead them to surrender. Stretch the kilometers before them into endless kilometers of nonadvancement. Remove their leadership and replace them with people who make decisions that reflect a fear of you.<br>Oh, God, infuse defenders with incredible surges of renewed alertness, strength, hope, courage. Inspire those who want to help. Show them specific, effective ideas. Move them swiftly and safely.<br>The worst is yet to come, Lord, if you do not stop it. But please, no peace where there is no peace. We ask for peace united with righteousness and truth.God of all comfort, be physically present with all the mothers, fathers, grandparents and children who are hiding, hearing, smelling, enduring. Warm them; fill them with food; give them water, toilets, communication with their loved ones, the Gospel, hope in you.<br>We repent of making idols of political leaders and news outlets. Forgive us for wanting them to be our gods and saviors. Forgive us for being unreasonable, for not wanting to admit both the good and bad in all of our leaders. It is this spirit that leads us to dictators because we abandon responsibility and reason. We confess the seeds of war that live in our own hearts.<br>We humble our hearts, our bodies. We ask you for mercy. Thank you that you love mercy and have all&nbsp;power.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/15\/opinion\/religion-school-success.html\" target=\"_blank\">How Religious Faith Can Shape Success in School<\/a> (Ilana M. Horwitz, New York Times): \u201cI found that what religion offers teenagers varies by social class. Those raised by professional-class parents, for example, do not experience much in the way of an educational advantage from being religious. In some ways, religion even constrains teenagers\u2019 educational opportunities (especially girls\u2019) by shaping their academic ambitions after graduation; they are less likely to consider a selective college as they prioritize life goals such as parenthood, altruism and service to God rather than a prestigious career. However, teenage boys from working-class families, regardless of race, who were regularly involved in their church and strongly believed in God were twice as likely to earn bachelor\u2019s degrees as moderately religious or nonreligious boys.\u201d&nbsp;<ul><li>I find the tension between faith and wealth interesting. They emerge as rivals  in all sorts of situations. The author is a sociologist at Tulane.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/03\/15\/march-madness-longwood-coach-griff-aldrich-left-lucrative-law-career.html\">This 47-year-old left a $800,000 salary to coach basketball \u2013 now his small school is headed to NCAA March Madness<\/a> (Tom Huddleston, Jr): \u201cIn 2016, Aldrich was in the midst of a lucrative career. After being a partner at one of the world\u2019s top law firms, he\u2019d become the chief financial officer of a private equity firm, with a salary of $800,000 per year, he told The Washington Post last week. But then, his best friend and former college basketball teammate Ryan Odom landed the job as head basketball coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Odom offered Aldrich a position as director of recruiting, a job that paid only $32,000 per year. But it got Aldrich closer to fulfilling a lifelong dream: a career coaching college basketball. He accepted.\u201d Recommended by a student. I did some digging and turns out <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsspectrum.com\/sport\/basketball\/2020\/11\/05\/longwood-griff-aldrich-follows-god-basketball-coach\/\">the coach is a devout Christian<\/a>.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/amp\/s\/steveblank.com\/2022\/01\/25\/the-semiconductor-ecosystem\/amp\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Semiconductor Ecosystem \u2013 Explained<\/a> (Steve Blank, blog): \u201cControlling advanced chip manufacturing in the 21st century may well prove to be like controllin g the oil supply in the 20th. The country that controls this manufacturing can throttle the military and economic power of others.\u201d Recommended by a student.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/2022\/03\/san-francisco-is-now-boycotting-most-of-the-united-states\/?campaign_id=49&amp;emc=edit_ca_20220315&amp;instance_id=55825&amp;nl=california-today&amp;regi_id=59635643&amp;segment_id=85608&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=82bd71d01fd70886e97df691aa12c777\" target=\"_blank\">SF is now boycotting most of the United States<\/a> (Joe Eskenazi,Mission Local):&nbsp; \u201cIt will come as little surprise to anyone familiar with the M.O. of San Francisco government that we have no tests nor audits nor analysis nor methodology to determine if our travel bans or boycotts are making any difference for the good.\u2026 You could argue that, in 2016, San Francisco put itself in the vanguard of a movement. But, in the ensuing six years, nobody else has joined up. \u2018No city has reached out to say they want to mirror our rules,\u2019 confirms Chu.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearscience.com\/articles\/2022\/03\/12\/the_real_reason_that_pornography_can_lead_to_male_sexual_dissatisfaction_821107.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Real Reason That Pornography Can Lead to Male Sexual Dissatisfaction<\/a> (Ross Pomeroy, Real Clear Science): \u201c\u2026the unrealistic depictions of sex, female partners, and relationships commonly seen in pornography can warp men\u2019s expectations of real-life sex. When heterosexual men expect sex with their partners to be just like the staged fantasies they see on the Internet, this can lead to dissatisfaction and even lower their well-being.\u201d<ul><li>Science, catching up to youth pastors since&nbsp;2022.<\/li><li>Catching up to bad youth pastors, actually. The advice at the end is pretty terrible by almost anyone\u2019s standards.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/end-times-christians-russia-ukraine-invasion-jesus-return-1317243\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Christians Who Think the Ukraine Invasion Means Jesus Is Returning to Earth<\/a> (Alex Morris, Rolling Stone): \u201cFor millennia, end times Christians have tried to shoehorn current events into proof of Jesus\u2019 imminent return, taking cryptic language from the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew, and Revelation to come up with various theories as to how the world will end. In most of these theories \u2014 embraced by conservative evangelical or fundamentalist branches of the faith \u2014 an entity referred to as Gog and Magog descends from the \u2018far north\u2019 upon a peaceful, reconstituted Israel, whose people had been \u2018brought out from the nations, and all now dwell securely,\u2019 as it is described in Ezekiel. The resulting war that follows allows a Messiah to swoop in and come to Israel\u2019s rescue. It also ushers in the end of the world as we know it and the establishment of a new and better kingdom of God on&nbsp;earth.\u201d<ul><li>The author mostly did his homework, but did misspell \u201cpentacostal\u201d later in the essay and definitely gets some of the mentality wrong.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/dilbert.com\/strip\/2022-03-13\" target=\"_blank\">Advice of the Experts<\/a> (Dilbert)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/due-to-gas-prices-next-fast--furious-movie-will-feature-bicycles\/\" target=\"_blank\">Due To Gas Prices, Next \u2018Fast &amp; Furious\u2019 Movie Will Be About Bicycles<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zS9U3Gc832Y\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon Go<\/a> (Saturday Night Live, YouTube): three minutes.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/economist-3\" target=\"_blank\">How Econ Exams Should Be Graded<\/a> (SMBC)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting A While&nbsp;Ago<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Every week I\u2019ll highlight an older link still worth your consideration. This week we have one I have fondness in my heart for: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/theoutline.com\/post\/7670\/wedding-rings-for-men-manly-bands\" target=\"_blank\">Manly wedding rings for tough guys who are dudes<\/a> (Dan Brooks, The Outline): \u201cI don\u2019t hunt, but I briefly considered buying a camouflage ring, partly to signal my deep commitment to irony and partly to get better service at the auto parts store.\u201d I really enjoyed this essay, and I hope that many of you have need of wedding bands in the not\u2010too\u2010distant future. First shared in <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/07\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-210\" target=\"_blank\">volume 210<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I\u2019ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.\n\nAlso, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about it.\n\nIf this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>a briefer collection than normal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"This is a pithier roundup than normal.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[218,120,160,136,184,214,310],"class_list":["post-6853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-california","tag-famous-christians","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-pornography","tag-russia","tag-technology","tag-ukraine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1Mx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6853"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6857,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6853\/revisions\/6857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}