"History will remember this day— when an American President and Vice President abandoned all we stand for."

Two key points from reading press coverage of yesterday's disaster. 1) It is not a 'shouting match' when one side does all the shouting and interrupting, while the other side (speaking in a language not his own) remains firm but polite.

A lion head rabbit on top of a cardboard castle.

Three rabbits (lion head, dwarf, lop-eared) sitting side by side on a settee.

A lion head rabbit asleep in a large litter tray, using another rabbit as a pillow for his head, while a lop-eared rabbit stands by.

A lion head rabbit, with half his face shaved around his removed eye, snuggled in his owner's arms. He has shed a lot of fur over her skirt.

RIP Carrots. You were beloved and will be much missed.
"You've been feeling tired, haven't you? If you're ready, we might go along now," (The Black Rabbit to Hazel, at the close of Watership Down, by Richard Adams)

I rarely agree with Dan, to put it mildly, but this is an absolute bullseye.

There's no grey area, not even an atom's worth.

People have sometimes lost (or perhaps more accurately, clarified) their call to ministry, definitely. That can be hard, but I agree ultimately good (and better during the process than after).

*of

It's pretty depressing how many if our students (here to train for ministry) I hear still get told that. Some fear it for themselves. Many find their faith deepened and strengthened, but I've yet to see anyone lose their faith through learning.

This is the Playwrights’ Center, which first brought me out from NY to Minneapolis on a writing fellowship. It was where I taught, learned, developed work and had a great time for years.

I’m so proud of them for holding the line on DEI, despite the risk. Donating some $$ right now!

How to report a false image on google

A bemused looking rabbit, surrounded by a carrier, a cardboard box with hay, some lettuce and a litter tray. The rabbit is seen from his unaffected side.

Carrots the lions head has just got home from hospital, where he had an eye removed. Probably not chalked up as the best day of his life. The (comparatively) good news is that it turns out he had an abscess, not a tumour, so his chances of recovery are good, we're told.

Accrington Stanley? Who are they? <Drinks milk>

My son goes to school in Aston. I went to school nearby, in Handsworth, next door to Villa Road Methodist Church (now owned by the school), in whose youth group the football team began.

We would like to congratulate Michaela Barker and Rachel Read (posing together at their recent graduation) on being awarded the 2024 BA and MA dissertation prizes.

You can read more about the prizes here:
www.queens.ac.uk/dissertation...

Yay! Just found Queen's, where I'm privileged to work, is on Bluesky.
bsky.app/profile/quee...

Forbidden Fruit and Fig Leaves Reading the Bible with the Shamed by Judith Rossall - Paperback / softback - 9780334059202 Buy Forbidden Fruit and Fig Leaves Reading the Bible with the Shamed by Judith Rossall Paperback / softback from SCM Press - ISBN: 9780334059202

Just noticed - Forbidden Fruit and Figleaves is on sale - bag yourself a bargain. @scmpress.bsky.social scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/978033...

She was preaching pretty mainstream Christianity. I don't underestimate her courage or integrity, but it _shouldn't_ have been especially controversial. If his ego is this fragile, the next 4 years are going to be hell for him. I mean, much worse for many, but still, it's something to hold onto.

Personally if there was a discussion on whether I'd just performed a Nazi salute I'd probably avoid saying that it's a bad thing that academics were writing about antisemitism in the 1940s.

Oh, so very much this!

My eldest is there now, studying politics and theology, and having a blast. Not sure which union (if either) they've joined. I'll check...

'Accrington Stanley, who are they' advert boy became lying murderer Liverpool host Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup - the ECHO has looked back at how the life of a boy from a famous TV advert became marred with crime

Oops! This...
Boy behind famous 'Accrington Stanley, who are they' milk advert became a lying murderer - Liverpool Echo search.app/E2VWS3DaCphR...

We had to find the advert on YouTube, to show our kids why we kept asking 'who are they?' in a (bad) Scouse accent. Searching for it also brought up

Was it Abraham Lincoln who said that 70% of what you read on the internet is rubbish...?
In other news, I think humanity may be safe from an AI takeover for the time being.

TBF, I find this less irritating (perhaps only because less prolific) than the current trend for 'Twelve days of Christmas' marketing campaigns, running from 13th to 24th (or even 1st to 12th) December.

This is what my feed looks like right now. Proving that you are not wrong. #TopReporting @bbcstever.bsky.social

Dayspring from on high be near [1] by Sheryl Anderson. The Times newspaper currently runs a series called News in Pictures. On Wednesday 27th November 2024 it included a wonderful photograph[2] of the sunrise through the limestone a…

ICYMI:
This week in Theology Everywhere, Sheryl Anderson reflects on the Advent Antiphon traditionally sung on the shortest day of the year: 'O Oriens', or 'O Morning Star', and ponders the journey of life and faith. 'Dayspring from on high, be near!'
theologyeverywhere.org/2024/12/16/d...

“…no longer Jew or Greek…” by Dave Markay. I am now a dual citizen. It’s a new status, as fresh as the crisp, unbent and as-of-yet unstamped British passports my wife and I now hold. After a few weeks of statelessness, durin…

ICYMI:
Dave Markay celebrates his new status as a dual citizen, but finds that it prompts him to ask questions about belonging and identity.
“You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God”
theologyeverywhere.org/2024/12/09/n...

In Memoriam, J. Cheryl Exum We are saddened by the news of Prof. Cheryl Exum’s recent passing.

Greatly saddened this morning to see this news. In my few encounters with Cheryl, I found her enlivening, thoughtful, challenging and encouraging. Truly one of the greats.
www.sheffield.ac.uk/alumni/our-a...

I began today foreswunk, and am now utterly forswunk, and it's only 9:45. 🥴

Poster explaining this is a flexible course designed for busy people, lay and ordained. Offers a taster course as the first module for an MA. Low cost and bursaries available.

Applications are now open for Queen's Postgraduate Taster Course in Black Theology, starting in January 2025! This is a chance to deepen your understanding and advance your theological knowledge about liberation, justice and black identity through our black theology pathway. Apply today!

An orange club bar

Just made my first plasma donation, having previously been a blood donor. My main concern about making the switch (will there still be orange club bars available) is satisfactorily answered