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So I was driving through this astonishing Appalachian thunderstorm last night, punching the radio over and over trying to get weather information, when the tuner hit a strong signal and I heard something really bizarre coming out of the car speakers.
The Denver Post‘s Eric Gorski hasn’t been exclusively on the Godbeat for a while. So I was quite happy to see him dip back into religion reporting for his piece on the Church of Scientology’s grand-opening celebration in Denver. We’re told that the celebration filled a city block downtown with balloons, confetti and cheering throngs.
An exclusive is a wonderful thing. Being first out of the block with an exciting and timely news story is a professional triumph for a reporter — and it also makes you feel great! I imaging that is how the two reporters at the Observer — the Sunday edition of the Guardian — felt on Saturday night as they saw their story on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s latest attacks on the government of Prime Minister David Cameron make it to page 1 — and above the fold too!
I’m mildly unsure if I should mention this, but I am not the world’s biggest Maurice Sendak fan. I like his work, certainly, but it didn’t transform or influence me in the same way it did so many of my peers. I’m even a big fan of the general genre he worked in — I just favor Czech or German tales such as Struwwelpeter. It’s kind of like Bruce Springsteen. I like him, and the live show I saw back in the late 1990s remains one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended. And yet I know that I don’t appreciate him in the way so many friends do.
Before it’s too late, I have to take a look at this piece that appeared in the Los Angeles Times earlier this month. Reporter Mitchell Landsberg tells us about Orthodox Jewish rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s new book “Kosher Jesus.” We’re reminded that Boteach has written books on “Kosher Sex,” “Dating Secrets of the 10 Commandments” and his relationship with the late pop star Michael Jackson. But that his latest book has led to accusations of heresy:
From Christianity Today to The Tennessean, Seattle megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll has been making a ton of headlines lately. Most, but not all, concern a new book by Driscoll and his wife, Grace, titled “Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, & Life Together.” (Just to be clear for those not paying real close attention, Driscoll is not the sex-on-the-roof pastor, although both were mentioned in the same ABC News report on Valentine’s Day.)
If you have been paying any attention to elite media in the past week or so, you are probably aware that the new book “Love, InshAllah (Love, God Willing)” has hit that inky sweet spot that PR agents can only dream about. Click here and go surfing.
I have been unbelievable swamped all day, working on final grades for the fall term at the Washington Journalism Center. That’s doesn’t matter to GetReligion readers, of course, but it does mean that I have not been plugged into the World Wide Web all day.
We all knew it was coming but somehow that didn’t make the news any easier to bear. Christopher Hitchens, the mighty literary provocateur, died yesterday. This is a profound loss to his wife and family, who loved him so much it hurts to think about. And it’s a loss for the Republic of Letters and all those he touched, including the townfolk of Washington, D.C.
