May 19, 2012 Posted by bsoist

There is a Storm Coming

Take Shelter Is anyone seeing this? Roger Ebert calls this film “masterful filmmaking” and I could not agree more. I am such a fan of Michael Shannon and this is one of his finest performances. The film expertly examines every man’s fear of losing the “good life” he has. Highly recommended.   Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol Next time, I get to seduce the rich... read more

May 15, 2012 Posted by bsoist

Thought Crimes

I’ve never really thought about this before, but hate crime penalties really amount to punishments for thoughts. Shouldn’t the law be concerned with actions and deeds, not with thoughts? I know a lot of people think judging someone’s motives in a hate crime is no different than classifying a murder as premeditated, but really, I’ve never been a big fan of that either, much like... read more

May 11, 2012 Posted by bsoist

? Fridays

I’ve been thinking a lot about changing things up around here. One new change I wrote about earlier in the week is posting weekly about the intersection of and potential conflict between science and faith. Another thing I thought I would do is change up what I do on Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays. For quite a while I’ve not actually written anything on those days, but I’ve occasionally... read more

May 9, 2012 Posted by bsoist

Framing the Issue? You Got that Right!

I try to ignore National Review Online, I really do! But I stumbled onto some real nonsense today and I can’t let it go. How we talk about an issue affects how we think about it. Consider the language we use about marriage. A Fox News headline reads: “North Carolina voters take up amendment banning gay marriage.” So what’s the problem? Framing. Today’s vote in North Carolina is not about... read more

May 8, 2012 Posted by bsoist

The “Silly” Things

My life has been shaped by many great and important things – my parents, my siblings, my wife, my kids, my high school economics teacher, the Bible and other great books, etc, but more often than not, the most dramatic positive changes to my attitude and behavior have come from the silliest of things. Things that might seem insignificant to others. In some cases, even things I detest. I thought it... read more