In a blog post, the YouTube crew has set up some new rules for "mature content".  They’re not banning it, but they are taking steps to ensure that folks don’t stumble into what they don’t want.

As a community, we have come to count on each other to be entertained, challenged, and moved by what we watch and share on YouTube. We’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to make the collective YouTube experience even better, particularly on our most visited pages. Our goal is to help ensure that you’re viewing content that’s relevant to you, and not inadvertently coming across content that isn’t.

I just have to give the YouTube folks a big "’atta boy" for this.  Taking common sense steps to keep, not just porn (which they don’t accept anyway) but even "suggestive content" out of the limelight ought to be cheered when it happens.  If you really want to find it, you can, but if you don’t, you don’t have to sift through it.  This is especially true for kids; YouTube is a nice resource to have for many purposes, but it can be a minefield.

More like this please. 

CNN makes an astounding discovery.  Many people are comparing Barack Obama to famous presidents of the past, but the news organization is urging caution.

But will Obama be a great one? Even a good one?

The Americans who are comparing him to those remarkable predecessors are putting a lot of faith in a man they barely know.

In the words of Warner Todd Hudson (to whom the hat tip goes):

And why do we "barely know" Barack Obama, CNN? Is it perhaps because the American media never took the time to vet this man? Is it because all we’ve gotten is hero worship from the media?

The man’s been campaigning for 2 years; the media should have made sure we had more than just bare knowledge of the candidate, but his background, his associates, and even his middle name were considered taboo topics.  But now they tell us we don’t know enough about him.  Thanks.

• For historical reasons, It’s just a good thing he didn’t suggest “pinning stars of David” to coats.
• Derrida and Islam.
• 1 billion.
• One year for an oil platform … more time for some other things.
• Lout and hero.
• Lights and bikes.
• Advent commercial version and the non-commercial.
• One youth and the destruction via sport, money and drugs.
• More human?
• Cinema.
• Many books … one year.
• Success and the silence.
• On the economic crises.
• Noting motion and noise north of the border.
• Happy blogiversary!
• My alma mater.
• Hoarfrost, as art.
• Don’t brandish if you don’t intend to use it … a first mistake of Mr Obama’s with consequence?
• Anti-empiricism and media.
• If the terrorists in Mumbai intended to foment hostility between Hindu India and Moslem Pakistan … why locate, torture, and kill Jews?
• Lewis and Bono.
• A Saint remembered.
• Seeking wisdom.
• Just say … no.

• I wonder if the logic of “broken windows” also applies to improving standards of dress and manner, it seems likely it might. Is this a reason dispense with the T-shirt/jeans as default dress?
• Well, it’s one of the main reasons I blog.
• To what use, one wonders?
• Yet Another Looming Crises … YALC? Let’s hope yalc doesn’t make it into the lexicon.
• Ethics and science, yet if ethics and science are both pursuit of beauty … isn’t there a connection? And there is the beauty and God connection as well.
• The bad old days … not so bad, but at least they were, you know, still actual days.
• Climate, of Nina, Nino and the PDO.
• Well, to be honest, I’m not sure I understand why she’s still “a popular search” and I wasn’t unfavorably disposed toward her candidacy.
• In which, “I thought they were in the Bible“ was said.
• A bad idea noted.
• Starting the fight.
• Book suggestions for the younger set.
• Suggested lessons from Mumbai.
• A book reviewed, not exactly liked, but the review is worth perusing.
• Good use of technology.
• Well, the first time I misread that as “treating the flu by soldering” … which makes just about as much sense.
• Can I put pedals on a treadmill? That’d make about as much sense.
• Florida native unimpressed.
• Why CGI you ask? Elephants. Trampolines. ‘Nuff said.
• In which we discover that dog (and cock) fighting is a Constitutional right.
• A book on the physics of Christianity.
• Get fixed.

I will readily admit that I don’t follow baseball very closely. I do however, cycle in fact in the past I raced and I hope/intend to return to racing in the spring. One of the most important magazines/periodicals for the cycling enthusiast is called Velonews, “A Journal for the Competitive Cyclist.” This magazine is aimed at people who aren’t at the top professional level in the sport, but are participants and not just spectators and fans. Thus most of the advertising and many of the articles are not aimed at just giving insight into the top names and events in the sport, but equipment, training, and strategy for the participant. Running magazines, I think, most often aim for a similar audience.

What I’m looking is the analogous magazine or publication for the baseball enthusiast who, as an adult, still plays the game and is a fan as well.

Any suggestions?

Joe Carter of Culture11 and formerly of The Evangelical Outpost has compiled a list of the Ten Deadly Trappings of Evangelicalism. These are ten trends that Joe has identified that evangelicalism could just as well do without. All I can say is a hearty “Amen” to Joe’s remarks. Take time to read through each post as there is a lot of great food for thought.

#1 The Sinner’s Prayer and #2 Making Converts

#3 “Do You Know Jesus As….”

#4 Tribulationism and #5 Testimonies

#6 The Altar Call

#7 Witnessing and #8 Protestant Prayers

#9 The Church Growth Movement and #10 Chick Tracts

During my Thanksgiving vacation, I didn’t do any blogging but I did still read the news.  I’ll have long posts about some of the items later on, but just wanted to do a quick hit of some bits I found interesting:

* Tying up some loose ends, the state agency director that pried into Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher’s confidential information will be punished, if by "punished"  you mean "one month unpaid leave".  I think that qualifies more for "lightly tapped on the wrist". 

* The singles dating service eHarmony had chosen not to match same-sex couples.  The reason shouldn’t matter, as its a private business, but psychologist Neil Clark Warren, who started the site, had done his personality studies on heterosexual couples and didn’t think that, scientifically, he could extrapolate his findings to homosexual couples.  Disagree if you want, but it was his business and he can run it the way he wants to.

Well, perhaps not.  eHarmony has just caved to a lawsuit by a gay man, and now has a new site for same-sex matches.  Coming next; meat-eaters suing vegetarian restaurants.  So much for "tolerance".

* Archaeologists have found new evidence that they have indeed found King Herod’s tomb. 

* A funny little list that has made the rounds on why public schooling is better than homeshooling.

* Opposition parties gained ground in Venezuela against Chavez. 

* Academia’s assault on Thanksgiving is descending into self-parody, where a pair of public schools decided to stop a long-standing tradition of having kids from one school dress up as pilgrims and the other as American Indians and come together for Thanksgiving.  When opponents of this celebration of a very bright spot in our nation’s history protest it with signs saying "Don’t Celebrate Genocide", you know that either they are just full of anger or are simply products of the public education system.  Or both.

* Academia’s assault on Christmas is descending into self-parody (sensing a trend here?) with one school banning, not just Jesus, but even Santa.  When Jews and Wiccans are standing up for Christmas, you know you are light-years over the line.

* Salvation Army bell-ringers considered noise pollution?  Now, while I rang those bells as a kid growing up, and even in college, I just gotta’ say that this is serious over-sensitivity.  Bell ringers have been at malls for decades; it’s not all that loud.  If the bell-ringer can handle the "noise", the kiosk merchants should be able to.  And let’s not forget that the Christmas song "Silver Bells" was inspired by those bell-ringers.

• I think it’s safe to say, that this is not about the nativity.
• Terror as institutional momentum.
• Discussions of global warming.
• Some thoughts for your Monday morning.
• On numbness of thought.
• Mumbai and four models for the WoT, hidden costs, their tactics, and tactics reprised,
• Cheating and the newest generation.
• Alone in the crowd.
• Premise and presupposition.
• Pictures from an exhibition.
• For Advent.
• An unusual band.
• A film.
• No?
• Atheism and belief … an interesting conversation.
• Three words I’d never thought to see together, Stalin’s Siberian Zion?
• Demand.
• Better chess.
• Loving thy neighbor.
• Tit for tat … will they play?

In reading this book, which I had intended to compare to Mr Rawls political ideas, the Pure Theory of Politics, I found another interesting idea for a short essay. This book at the outset tries to discuss some ideas of political theory which are less often discussed. Political theory, such as Rawls as well as Locke Hobbes and so on, typically discuss static ideas on politics. Rights or Justice and other such notions. Jouvenel instead wants to partially (or perhaps mostly) concentrate on the dynamic aspects of politics … the dynamics of getting and keeping political power and authority. To that end, he has an extended dialog, entitled “pseudo-Alcibiades” so named after the Alcibiades dialog by Plato featuring Socrates and Alcibiades. In the pseudo-Alcibiades, Jouvenel envisions a return dialog between Socrates and Alcibiades much later … in fact just before Alcibiades is to embark on his fateful trip to entreat the Athenian assembly to embark on their disastrous Syracuse adventure.

At any rate, I have not read the original dialog and only skimmed the latter. But … reading (and then discussing) both in detail is my intention to do so this week.

• Of Tea.
• CFS and the Christian life … a book reviewed.
• Neuron’s simulated.
• Some Thanksgiving posts, From Ms Eden, Tom Cotton, Dr Platypus, and Jim Skaggs.
• Funky deep sea squid.
• Jonestown recalled.
• Media, old and new and Mumbai.
• On the surge and Rummy?
• Language, category and SSM.
• Some christian philosophical blogging for the long weekend.
• Faith and evolution … a book discussed.
• Throw the bum out.
• The Christian carnival.
• Iraq.
• I’m not sure that’s still true.
• Outrage at the outrage.
• The FTC.
• A gift notion.
• Weirdness.

• Of small towns.
• A book on string theory recommended.
• Of recursion and intelligence.
• Men at the spa? Huh? I’ve never even had any inkling of an impulse to do such a thing … and I’d wager I don’t know anyone (male) who would. Do you?
• Links on the tide.
• I am a ROFTer..
• I begin suspect that post is, uhm, not serious.
• No. No. No no no no.
• Wow. That’s big.
• Is outrage.
• 1 in 5 … over there.
• Dummer than you thawt. So … explain the “get out the vote” thing again?
• A song … for St. Catharine the Great Martyr.
• Praise of the rail … but this ignores very the different population densities in the States vs Europe.
• On Mr Paulson’s actions.
• Of Primes and a heuristic proof, err, demonstration.
• Except of course … the Smart car doesn’t get 75 mpg.
• Scots.
• Good for bloggers?

• Budgets and the “special treat.”
• The politics and emotions, a book noted.
• Human rights and its history.
• Afghanistan, a skirmish.
• Ukraine and NATO.
• Mill examined.
• Morals and multiverse.
• Missing the whole, howto ‘splain it to your boss part.
• Debate and a man’s movement to faith.
• The effect of the CAPS key.
• Hmm, aliens again.
• Art.
• Support terror … a consequence.
• On ecumenical dialog.
• A book noted.
• Needing roots.
• Sipper.
• On principles.
• Well, duh!
• Iraq and Pakistan.

That’s the attitude of Liberty University kicker Ben Shipps talking about overcoming his physical deformities to be able to play college football (hat tip: Tim Ellsworth):

Liberty University quarterback Brock Smith admits he was taken aback the first time Ben Shipps approached him.

Shipps, a prospective student, walked up to Smith in his Liberty University dorm last year and asked who he needed to talk to about trying out for the football team.

Smith looked at Shipps and noticed he had had a wisp of flesh and bone for a left arm, and a right arm that ended at the elbow.

Be sure to read the entire article to find out Shipps’ amazing story. Also don’t miss the video linked at the end of the article. As Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

• Memory eternal … and film.
• A prayer.
• A punchlist for those being laid off.
• Considering man and the primate.
• Did you notice?
• Pakistan … quoth Richard, “It has nuclear weapons, corruption, poverty, extremism, a terrible financial situation, a government that’s just come in that’s not very strong, and it is in a location that is absolutely essential in terms of dealing with Afghanistan.” Read on.
• Uhm … OK. Not my cup of tea.
• Christ the King … which means next week is Advent in the West … how soon we forget, the East started  “Advent”, i.e., the Nativity fast, two weeks ago.
• Sex and violence?
• Some things for which thanks are given.
• The history of a (bad?) idea.
• Mr Obama proposes returning to the New Deal … after all it worked poorly the first time, right?
• Mr Holder and Mr Rich … still awaiting an apologetic from the left I guess.
• Neglect for St. Basil the Great?
• Heh, a smart-alec saint … or quoting Homer can get you killed.
• A book and a conversion.
• Crafty recycling.
• A homily on change.
• Duh.