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Left-brained or right-brained?

This study has been making the rounds on the internets. For me, I've seen the girl go around clockwise exactly twice in the last two days; every other time has been counter-clockwise.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

Late-night comedy shows presume guilt rather than innocence

This interesting editorial is written by a former writer for Jay Leno, who basically had a crisis of conscience upon leaving the show, realizing the impact that the jokes he was writing was making - specifically, how every arrest, every crime that was made fun of, assumed guilt on the part of the suspected parties rather than innocence.

According to some recent studies, many Americans between 18 and 29 get some of their information about presidential elections from late-night shows. So isn't it a fair assumption that the shows can also influence the hearts and minds of Americans in other matters?

...

Much like a hangman, a "Tonight Show" writer must recognize that as a well-paid jury-pool-tainter, your charge is to not question guilt. You're paid for performing a task, period. The job description doesn't allow asking if the targets deserve the ribbing. Not until I left the payroll did I begin to feel otherwise.

There were a few exceptions, the most notable of which involved Jewell, the former security guard who recently died. Early on, I suspected that he hadn't planted any bomb at a concert at the park during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Officials released a recorded phone threat from the person they believed culpable, and it didn't sound like Jewell. In TV interviews before being linked to the bombing, in which one person was killed and more than 100 injured, Jewell came across as an earnest man enjoying the attention.

I told Leno of my concerns, but the jokes about "Doofus Dick" Jewell continued unabated. It was an unprecedented nightly bashing of a non-public figure, and it was unfair and excessive. The FBI eventually cleared Jewell and praised him as a hero for quickly evacuating people near the bomb.

The writer makes a good point in that the way we intake media will often dictate what we believe... heck, I've gotten a lot of pop culture knowledge (plot points from the Godfather trilogy, or the Shining, for example) from "Simpsons" spoofs; I shudder to think what people will believe about more important things when it's being spouted by the supposed heroes of late night entertainment.

Churches making a real impact in the community

One of my favorite bloggers, Shaun Groves, has a real heart for seeing God work within the community, the poor, and for social justice. Here he describes a joint program by the churches in a city called St. Joseph's that paints a wonderful picture of one type of impact Jesus intended for the church:

The more than twenty churches involved, worked together, canceled their church services this past weekend and met across the city to worship God by serving their neighbors. They painted, fed, swept, organized, built and much more - worshiping with their work.

Then also took up an offering and gave it to organizations in their community that are doing God’s will on earth as it’s done in heaven - organizations like a crisis pregnancy center. The large check the center received will go toward training staff to use a sonogram machine, because 90% of mothers who see her their child on that little screen will not abort them. That’s doing something about abortion, not just voting against it.

I’m hopeful that St.Joseph woke up this morning, the weekend behind them, and kept the service going in their neighborhood, schools and offices. I’m hopeful that T.V.s will be turned off and neighbors will be met, empty church space will be converted into clinics and food pantries and job training facilities, and every boss and employee will see opportunities to repair what’s broken around them everyday.

This should give every critic of the American Church hope. This kind of thing happens. It’s rare but it happens. And when it does it’s inspiring.

Life-size X-wing

Oh my... there are greater Star Wars nerds out there than me. They built a 1/2-scale X-wing out of wood and attached rockets to it to determine whether it was aerodynamic. Witness the results here... and then one guy's take on what really happened here.