This Week at This Side

~ This week begins the 4th annual Karl Barth Blog Conference over at Der Evangelische Theologe (see intro here), and I'll probably spend most of my blog-time interacting with the essays appearing there. In its third week my essay (imagining Barth in conversation with the Coen brothers) will appear, but things get going this week with the more dogmatic theological conversations and I'm very much looking forward to those. I think Barth is the best thing to happen to Protestant theology, and where he hasn't "happened" yet, I think he should! I encourage you to read along.

~ My blog has been nominated for "best Christian blog" by an organization called the Jubilee Centre. To pick the best of any kind of blog would require a lot of research, but it looks like this group took nominations, and I really appreciate that a friend thought to nominate me. Feel free to check out some of the blogs they've short-listed here and cast a vote if you are so inclined. A pretty eccentric group. If you are visiting from the Jubilee page, welcome. This might be the best place to get to know my blog.

~ Long time readers may recall that every year about this time I add to my running lists of albums, fiction, and films that have made a lasting impression on me, and I try to add a new list to the series as well. At some point this is going to get out of hand, even for a listophile such as myself, but sometime in the near future I do hope to add the 35 most impactful non-fiction books to that series. I added to fiction and film earlier, and have decided that the album I wish to add is The National's Boxer.

It came out a few years ago now, but with quirky yet meaningful lyrics, creative musicianship from each instrumentalist, and the simultaneously rocking and mellow baritone of Matt Berninger it has become a mainstay in my earphones and has wedged its way into my psyche. I love the slow build of Start a War and the horn-explosion of Fake Empire, and I have commented on the latter song before. Here's a couple songs for the uninitiated.

"lets not try to figure out everything at once"

"we’ll be alright, we have our looks and perfume on"

~ Finally, I'm off to Oxford on Wednesday for a theology conference where I will hear papers on "The Present Moment" and give my own on forgiveness as a present (rather than merely a past) event. On the way home a friend and I are going to catch an evensong at Westminster Abbey. Should be a great week!