Weekly Links: some good reading from around the web

wouldn't mind heading back here...

SOME interesting links FOR YOUR SUNDAY AFTERNOON, SET OUT IN MY USUAL CATEGORIES OF FAITH, FAMILY, AND FICTION...

Faith 

-"Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread...": a good poem for Sunday.

-"A Commendation of Leviticus": a helpful guide to a book that often stymies Christians in their Bible reading.

-"15 Proverbs for Social Media Users": much-too-applicable to real life!

-"Some Things You Should Know About Christians Who Struggle With Anxiety": yes, this.

-"On Daughters and Dating: How to Intimidate Suitors": I loved this. I loved the implication that the truly admirable men are the ones who look at strong, godly, content women and say, "Oh, yes please". And that the best way to protect your daughter is to raise her into a woman who is competent and who knows her worth and who knows her family and her God love her, support her, and have her back.  A snippet:

Instead of intimidating all your daughter's potential suitors, raise a daughter who intimidates them just fine on her own. 

Family 

-"McMansion 101: What Makes a McMansion Bad Architecture": I fell down this rabbit hole thanks to Anne Kennedy, and I don't regret it. This was fascinating.

-"How one family is sending 13 kids to college, living debt free - and still plans to retire early": inspiring stuff!

Fiction

-"Where Her Whimsy Took Me": a love letter to Dorothy Sayers' excellent novel, Gaudy Night.

-"The Writing Tricks We'd Be Naked Without": a good round-up of tips for my fellow writers.

-"The Unofficial Rules of the Starship Enterprise": This hilarious list-style bit of fanfic confirmed my secret theory that life aboard a REAL starship would inevitably involve a M.A.S.H.-style illegal still...


I hope you have a good weekend!

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

This post contains an Amazon affiliate link; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.  (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)

Sanctification & Damnation in Season 7 of Star Trek: DS9

So, we've been introducing our kids to my favorite television series, Star Trek: DS9*, and we've finally reached the last season.

One of the reasons I love this show is that, of all of the Star Trek series, DS9 most seriously engages with the impact religion has on human experience.

Well, ostensibly, I suppose it's on alien experience, but it's no secret that the aliens on Star Trek are stand-ins for various aspects of humanity. Still, while Gene Roddenberry was alive, the Star Trek shows largely avoided tackling the subject of faith. Roddenberry was all about humanism.

And DS9 doesn't abandon Roddenberry's humanism - it's still the main faith (ha!) of the Starfleet characters. But DS9 also gives us the Bajorans, an alien race who place their faith in "the Prophets", the gods of their planet. By taking the Bajoran faith seriously, this show is able to play with a whole new aspect of life. (DS9 is also remarkable in the Star Trek universe for the fact that it stays in one place and doesn't allow its characters the easy out of skipping over to the next star system in their fancy ship, thus avoiding the consequences of their meddling in the local culture.)

DS9 was one of the first shows to use long-arc storytelling on television. You know the long arcs you get now on prestige series like "Breaking Bad"? DS9 did that first. It did still use the "freak of the week" style of episodes you'd get on bubblegum shows like "Smallville" but, more and more as it matured, DS9 pioneered long plot arcs, arcs that pulled in characters, cultures, ideas, relationships, and more into stories that spanned the weeks and months of its broadcast.

This long-arc storytelling reached its zenith in the final season, which tells the story of the final, epic conflict between the Federation (our good guys) and the Dominion (our bad guys).

And one of the most interesting parts, to me, is how it also told the story of those who served the gods well, and those who finally, disastrously, decided to serve themselves.

I love the spiritual themes and the character arcs in this last season of DS9.

One of the best is the arc of Kai Winn, a Bajoran cleric who has been, throughout the series, a thorn in the side of the series' lead, Captain Sisko.

The thing is, that though Kai Winn has been a self-serving, opportunistic, snobby pain throughout the series, she's also been largely sincere. She's a nasty politician, sure, but she's on the side of her people and their Prophets.

But in this last season, she is overwhelmed by jealousy. She has served the Prophets all her life, but what have they ever done for her? They chose a foreigner (Sisko) as their Emissary, and left her to her barren prayers.

And so she is tempted by darkness, by the enemies of the Prophets, and she gives in. The demons, at least, have a use for her.

It's a perfect picture of Milton's idea of damnation: she would rather "reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven".


Her (doomed) character is matched by the character of Major Kira, a devout woman who, despite all her flaws, is willing to offer her service to her gods without reservation. She is always willing to put her body, heart, and mind at the service of something greater than herself.

At a critical moment in the last season, when Winn is most tempted by evil, she comes to Kira, begging for counsel.

Kira, who has every reason to hate Winn (seriously, Winn has done her terrible, irreparable wrong in the past), has the most amazing reaction: when Winn professes her willingness to do the right thing, Kira is happy for Winn. She is delighted at Winn's seeming readiness to repent. Even though she could play the older brother, scowling at the prodigal's return, Kira is clearly blessed by the idea that this horrible woman is finally, finally turning around.

In this attitude of complete kinship, Kira urges Winn to renounce her station, her power, all the public admiration she's accumulated, and simply devote herself to the Prophets' service. Humbly. Willingly.


It's an extraordinary scene. Because Kira is clearly sincere. She is, despite her dislike of Winn, doing her very best to help Winn do the thing that would be best for Winn.

But Winn, who swore moments ago that she would "do anything" in order to please the Prophets, physically draws back at this suggestion that she'd give up her position and power. The conversation is over at that moment, for all that they continue talking a little while longer.

Winn thinks she wants to worship, but she really wants to be worshipped. She wants to be the gods' best servant. The one all the other servants look up to.


It's sobering.

And the lovely thing about it is: it's not the end of the story. No spoilers, but the way Winn's arc eventually plays out is intense and well done.

I'm not suggesting, of course, that the writers of DS9 share my own Christian faith. But I am saying that, in a world made by our Lord, truth shines through everywhere, and especially in good art.  And this is good art, because it shows us ourselves. It draws us in, it delights us, but it also warns us and sobers us.

I wish there were more shows like Star Trek: DS9.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell



This post contains an Amazon affiliate link; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.  (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)


*With some judicious editing, of course. It's not all fit for consumption by children.

Weekly Links: Ice, Oxy, Red Letters, and More!

Wow, I'm posting my weekend links while it's actually still the weekend! This is progress indeed.

Let's start with things that are either funny or pretty:

-This Icy Hair-Freezing Contest definitely falls under the "funny" category. I love it because it reminds me of my childhood in the Northwest Territories, and how my ponytail would freeze into a sharp spike while I walked back to school from the (indoor) swimming pool.

-"Mesmerizing Space Photos of 2015" - This one falls into the "pretty" category or, maybe more properly yet, into the jaw-droppingly gorgeous and awe-inspiring category.

-"Home Soil - 1:18" - aaaaaaand, back to funny. A particularly enjoyable recap from "Fashion It So" - that fake novel cover!

And, on to our more General Interest Links:

-"Standford Professor Who Pioneered Praising Effort Sees False Praise Everywhere": The "growth mindset" described here is a really helpful concept.

-"Oxy Epidemic Shows What Happens When Addictive Drugs Are Easily Available": so, yeah, maybe don't legalize everything?

And, the links specifically for my fellow writers:

-"We Regret to Inform You": Maybe this should have gone under the "funny" category, but, no. No, it's just too real.

-"Writing Your Manuscript a Third at a Time": I'll admit that I'm just linking to this one for my own sake - because it's something that I think I might want to try!

Finally, the specifically Christian links:

- "Burning and Yearning" - I appreciate the distinction the author draws in this article.

-"The Spirit of the Red Letters and 'Progressive Evangelicalism'" - There's some very useful clarity in this piece. (Pitting Jesus against Jesus is not a good idea.)

-"Before the Birds and the Bees" - And finally, this goes in the "sad but necessary" category. Fellow parents, take heed.



I hope you all have a great weekend!

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Weekly Links

My weekly round-up of good reading around the web.


"Grace Lee: She Taught Me to See":

Mom taught me, at least a little bit, to begin to look at characters, all characters, on television as people. They did not exist for me, but for themselves . . . even in the story. 

"Passive Aggressive Dissent: It's a Trap":

Seven, tell your story often.  If it is not allowed to trump exegesis, church history, or reason, look sad. Ask why the Evangelical church always shoots her wounded. Don’t consider whether your story might not be enough for millions of people to change their mind.

"How Christianity Invented Children":

Today, it is simply taken for granted that the innocence and vulnerability of children makes them beings of particular value, and entitled to particular care. We also romanticize children — their beauty, their joy, their liveliness. Our culture encourages us to let ourselves fall prey to our gooey feelings whenever we look at baby pictures. What could be more natural? 

In fact, this view of children is a historical oddity. If you disagree, just go back to the view of children that prevailed in Europe's ancient pagan world.

"Kindness and Reasonableness: spread it, because it matters":

I am not anxious today because there is something deeply and particularly wrong with me. I am anxious today because like everyone in the world, life in it sucks my spirit dry now and again. I need to hear the truth over and over, as a corrective to the false promises and threats that are taken in in the air we breathe.

"The Psalms, A Holy WTF?! and Other Thoughts on the Cloister Walk":

The psalms do for us what we often can't do for each other, they let us be honest, and they let us just be. They do not insist that we pull ourselves together, get over it or move on. Their writers aren't uncomfortable or unacquainted with misery. They don't try to minimize it or explain it or tell you it is all for the best.

"Wired Binge-Watching Guide: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"

Thinking of it as the “dark side” of Star Trek is too reductive—not least because it’s a show that flirts with darkness but purposefully doesn’t embrace it—but maybe “the Star Trek that’s not uncomfortable feeling weird” would fit, instead. It’s the Star Trek for people who don’t think they like Star Trek, and the Star Trek for people who do, as well.

"3 Takeaways From My Recent Trip to Biola": Loved reading this positive take about my alma mater.

"First Things Essay Contest": I know there are some students and moms of students that read here, and I encourage you to take a look at this link - it's a great chance for a Christian student writer to get some experience and exposure!

Weekend Links: Perelandra, the Pope, and more!

"Evil Isn't Private (and Neither Is Good)":

But if you look hard enough at any immoral act, you will see it rippling outward into the community. Sin is sin not because it breaks the law, but because it damages the body of Christ. All sin does.

"100 Songs for Advent! – An Advent Worship playlist": wow! talk about comprehensive!

"The Praise of Perelandra":

If I told you that a Christian novelist wrote a book about Adam and Eve in space, and that after the plot is resolved he devotes a whole chapter to the characters having a church service where they praise God, many of you would vomit. If I told you the chapter where they sang praises was the best chapter, you might be polite, but in your heart you’d question my literary judgment. But it’s the truth. Imagine that: every word of it is true.

"Pope Francis Conservative":

Pope Francis affirms all the historic teachings of the Faith that are being attacked in the West, but he is a global Christian and knows that Western foibles and decadence are not the story for most of the world’s Christians. He refuses to allow Western media elites to set the agenda for the papacy. He denies dying Western parishes the right to dictate the agenda or discussions of the Church simply because they still give most of the money.

"Writing a Continuity": This link explains how multiple authors work together to write a linked series of novels. Cool behind-the-scenes look at the writing industry!

"On parenting teens":

5. Well before their teen years, subtly guide them toward an interest or two that you share (e.g., birding or carpentry or flying or whatever). This way, no matter what, you’ll have something in common.

Finally, to make you smile:

Yarnalong!

Looking at the picture now, those two books look pretty funny together. One is my current just-for-fun read: "The Farther Shore" by Christie Golden. It's the second half of a continuation of Star Trek: Voyager, and much better than the last Star Trek continuation novel I tried.

The other book is my current devotional book: "Thy Will Be Done: Letters to Persons in the World" by St. Francis de Sales, and it contains such light-drenched passages as this. 

The knitting is a light, lace-weight cardigan - the Nevis cardigan this time. I liked my Whisper cardigan so much, I wanted to make a similar cardigan with shorter sleeves and a bit more length in the body. The yarn is Tosh Lace in Spectrum, a lovely Christmas gift from my brother and sister-in-law.

There are more book-and-yarn-rich posts to be found over at Ginny's place.

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

Links - the Little Mermaid, Boggle, Child Sponsership, and more!

"Musings on Characters: the Little Mermaid":

I am currently in the middle of a two weekend run of The Little Mermaid Jr., a shortened version of the Broadway musical based on the Disney movie (loosely adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale). The songs are loads of fun but I have come to realize that the Disney version of the story is filled with characters who are either lousy people or lousy at their jobs.

"Boogle is Better Than Scrabble": so, so true.

"Want to Change the World? Sponser a Child":

"This is … amazing," was all I could mumble. We tried slicing the data different ways, but each showed significant educational improvements. You could beat this data senseless, and it was incapable of showing anything other than extremely large and statistically significant impacts on educational outcomes for sponsored children.

"Starship Mine": I found this terribly amusing. Which maybe says something about my taste. But . . . may it brighten your morning, too. :)

 Petulant Teen Picard will play his music as loud as he likes.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

   

Links!: a workout, a calling, and 3 reasons

The Scientific 7-Minute Workout - I tried this! It's a really decent, no-equipment-needed circuit.

"The Calling":

Into this fog came Thomas Merton, the priest in the documentary, whose example offered Martin a way out. But being called is one thing; answering the call is something else entirely. “At that time, joining the priesthood would have been like becoming an opera singer or running away to the circus,” Martin says. He consulted a psychologist instead.

“What would you do if you could be doing anything?” the doctor asked him, a year or so into his therapy.

“I’d be a priest,” Martin replied.

“Well, why don’t you?”

The next day, Martin was on the phone with the local office of the Jesuits.

"Three Reasons Star Trek Endures":

If Kirk is the heart of the show, Spock and McCoy are the head and conscience. Spock is all intellect. He’s the foil to all of Kirk’s antics – logical to the point of frustration, so reserved in emotion that he comes across as frigid, and asexual except when his half-human side gets the better of him. McCoy serves as the voice of human conscience, always at odds with Vulcan logic, seeking compassion and mercy, but also moderation and control. Kirk is stuck in the middle, struggling with these angels and pointy-eared demons on his shoulders. It’s a classic battle among Id, Ego, and Super Ego.

Links! and a reminder

First the reminder: this Sunday is Pentecost! Wear red to church and cook something spicy (to remember the flames of fire).  :)  And, more than that, pray and read a gospel passage. As a professor of mine taught me, the Holy Spirit always points us to Christ. Look where He's pointing.

Okay, on to the links:

- "Don't Make Fun of the Renowned Dan Brown":

The critics said his writing was clumsy, ungrammatical, repetitive and repetitive. They said it was full of unnecessary tautology. They said his prose was swamped in a sea of mixed metaphors. For some reason they found something funny in sentences such as “His eyes went white, like a shark about to attack.” They even say my books are packed with banal and superfluous description, thought the 5ft 9in man. He particularly hated it when they said his imagery was nonsensical. It made his insect eyes flash like a rocket.

- "How to Root for Captain Kirk": Every month or so, my husband and I have some friends over to watch Star Trek. We worked our way through all the movies, and now we're watching the Original Series. Which made me the right audience for this article: I find Kirk both unlikeable and a heck of a lot of fun to watch. This article goes a long way towards explaining why, for being a jerk, he's still such a compelling character.

- And if you want more Star Trek goodness, Slate has been publishing a bunch of great articles about the franchise this week. Here's one: "The Top Six Star Trek Mistakes".

- "Enhanced Motion Detection in Autism May Point to Underlying Cause of the Disorder": well, wow.

-"Will Your First Book Be Published?": I love the Books & Such blog for just this kind of practical and insightful article.

-"PB sermon turns silk purse into sow’s ear": I just can't even . . .

- "Tragic Worship":

The psalms as the staple of Christian worship, with their elements of lament, confusion, and the intrusion of death into life, have been too often replaced not by songs that capture the same sensibilities—as the many great hymns of the past did so well—but by those that assert triumph over death while never really giving death its due. The tomb is certainly empty; but we are not sure why it would ever have been occupied in the first place.

Only the dead can be resurrected. As the second thief on the cross saw so clearly, Christ’s kingdom is entered through death, not by escape from it. Traditional Protestantism saw this, connecting baptism not to washing so much as to death and resurrection. Protestant liturgies made sure that the law was read each service in order to remind the people that death was the penalty for their sin. Only then, after the law had pronounced the death sentence, would the gospel be read, calling them from their graves to faith and to resurrection life in Christ. The congregants thereby became vicarious participants in the great drama of salvation.

Links - writing schedules, parenting, and more!

"A day in the life of EE {daily routines, systems and time management for my life as a writer}" - I love posts about how other writers and moms schedule their days, and this is a really good one, partly just because it's so honest about the cost.

"How Star Trek Deep Space Nine Helped Invent Everything You Love":

It seems like a weird thing to mention now, because every random cop show or space adventure has storylines that carry on from episode to episode, more like serialized novels than collections of self-contained stories. But back when Deep Space Nine started, the idea of following "arcs," especially ones that went on for more than one season, was still more unusual on TV. For a Star Trek show, especially, it was considered weird to have so many continuing storylines.

"Never Again Hate Self Promotion":

It comes down to how you look at business as a whole. Businesses exist to provide people with something of value. If you take your business seriously, and run it with integrity, then you are doing something good for the world. There is no shame in telling people about it.

"Here We Are":

Sometimes, we just have to acknowledge that life has its indisputable stinkiness, and that our own stupid choices, or our own stupid fates, have made it impossible to have what is clearly superior. But sometimes, we end up open being grateful for our failures, because it make one thing really clear: we're not here to be particular kinds of parents. We're here to be the parents of particular kids.

7 Quick Takes: Ash Wednesday, marriage, and Star Trek

1.
My very least favorite part of any church service all year comes on Ash Wednesday when the priest smears ashes on my children's foreheads and tells them that they're made of dust, and to dust they will return.

I know it's true, I just hate that it's true about them.

2.
On the other hand, there's very little sweeter than the realization, after that sadness, that the services keeps going, and the next thing that happens is that these very same children get to take communion and receive, again, the promise of redemption and eternal life and life anew.

We don't stop at the ashes.

3.
If you need something to listen to today as you commute or wash dishes or whatever, this week's edition of The City podcast is excellent. Seriously.

I made the mistake (?) of getting into an internet debate about marriage yesterday, and it left me feeling uneasy and sour, and listening to that podcast was so heartening. Smart, godly people talking about marriage and celibacy and romance and erotic desire and friendship . . . such interesting things, but discussed with such thoughtfulness and virtue! 'twas the cure for what ailed me.

4.
Even when I'm not sure I agreed with all of it. I agreed with most of it, and where I disagreed, my disagreement just made me want to discuss it more.

What I really want, I think, is to sit down a write a good essay.

5.
In other news, I miss college.

6.
Relatedly: I am a nerd.

7.
Oh! and if you're a nerd, too (of a particular sort, anyway), can I point you to this post? It's a debate about the ideal Star Trek crew. Utterly geeky, but so much fun if that's your particular area of geekdom. :)


Wow! From Ash Wednesday to Star Trek. It must be Friday. :D

More Quick Takes can be found here, at Jen's place.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Getting Geeky About Star Trek: the Ideal Crew

So, my husband and I just finished watching Star Trek: Enterprise on Netflix. We missed it the first time around and watched it now because: new Star Trek!

And it actually was decent Star Trek. The best? Nope. But there were some good stories in there and some great characters.

The best of these was the doctor, Phlox.* Cheery, ethical, subtle - almost British in his balance of quiet joy and ingrained determination. Loved him.

And it got me thinking (and arguing with my husband) about the ideal Star Trek crew. You know, if you stole characters from all five Star Trek series, one for each major position on the ship or station, and put together a best of the best.

Now, there are two ways you could do this. One: the best people for the job. This gives you Odo over Worf, because you're just not going to beat a shape-shifter for Security Chief.

The second way to do this is: best character who happens to have that particular job. This gives you Worf over Odo because Worf.

Here are my lists, both ways:

Best of all worlds Star Trek Crew, by competence:
Captain: Picard (c'mon)
Second-in-command: Spock
Doctor: Julian Bashir (genetically engineered vs. holographic** is a tough call, though)
Engineer: Trip Tucker (LaForge a close second) (actually, all the engineers are pretty competent - not to say downright magical in their ability to come up with a mechanical cure at the last minute)
Security: Odo
Pilot: Chekov? Wesley? Paris? I don't know how to rank this one, because they're all portrayed as insanely good at their jobs.

Best of All Worlds, Star Trek Crew, by character:
Captain: Sisko
Second-in-command: Spock (c'mon, he wins both - though Kira's great)
Doctor: Phlox (Bashir a close second)
Engineer: Trip by a hair (because Miles O'Brien's pretty awesome)
Security: WORF.
Pilot: Wesley****

Okay, if you're nerd enough that this is your game, please play along in the comments. Fights definitely encouraged.

-Jessica Snell

*The second best was Trip, the engineer. Dang it, show, you didn't do right by him and T'Pol. That was one of the finest 'ships that ever sailed and I'm just going to pretend that very last episode didn't happen, m'kay? Because the Trip/T'pol storyline was only one of about ten things you screwed up six ways from Sunday on that last episode. Couldn't you learn anything from TNG about ending well?

**The really sad thing about this game is that it reveals Voyager's lack of good characters. The Doctor is the only one who comes close to being competitive in this game.***


***Okay, maybe 7 of 9, too. But that's it.

**** My 13-year-old self might be the one voting here.*****

*****My 15-year-old self, on the other hand, would vote for Paris, but then my 32-year-old self points out that everything interesting about Paris was leeched out of him by the time the second season of Voyager rolled around, due to the horrible writing that turned every single character on that show into a cookie-cutter perfect Starfleet officer. (What? I'm not bitter!)

Links: Domestic Monasteries, Dark Personalities, and More!

"The Secret of a Domestic Monastery":

It doesn’t have to do with getting the kids to walk around in silence (though, boy, that’d be nice if I could pull it off), nor is it about observing the exact same prayer times as consecrated religious. Boiled down to its core, the hallmark of the monastic schedule is that the way you use your time reflects your true priorities. Your daily life is one of constantly pushing back against the world’s expectations, making real, sometimes difficult sacrifices so that your time is not swept away by the current of the world’s priorities.

"Psychology Uncovers Sex Appeal of Dark Personalities": this is a fascinating study (hat tip to my friend, Roland, for the link!):

 . . . In other words, people with dark personality traits are not seen as more physically attractive than others when you take away their freedom to wear their own clothes and makeup. People with dark personalities seem to be better at making themselves physically appealing.

"Saying Stuff (about the Lord's Supper)":

And the stuff God says is totally different from the stuff we say. He says LITERAL STUFF. He speaks, and worlds come into being. He says, “let there be,” and it is. Stuff is, because God says for it to be. Of course I’m referring to Genesis 1, but it’s all through the Bible. For instance, look at Psalm 33:6 “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” He says “let there be stars,” and all the stars come out. They obey before they exist. They exist by obeying the word of the Lord.

"Learning to Trust the Instruments":

In the aftermath, investigators found that almost everything that had gone wrong had been the fault of the pilots. When the plane encountered significant turbulence the pilots should have responded according to their flight training and according to the plane’s manual. Instead, they relied on instinct. And then, when the plane began to experience further complications, the pilots ignored the instruments that should have directed them to the source of the problem and the straightforward solution. They swung the plane violently from side to side attempting to right it because they ignored the aircraft’s instrument that told them where the horizon was and how to keep the plane level. They ignored the instruments that told them that their engine problem was not as serious as they thought. Blinded by the stress of the situation, they ignored the manual and did things their own way. It very nearly cost them their lives and the lives of hundreds of passengers.

And, finally, an advertisement that absolutely succeeded in making me want to give my money to the people who are asking for it - but they're not gonna take my money till . . . May? C'mon!! Why isn't this a Christmas release? Boo.
But, without further ado, Kirk, Cumberbatch, and . . . Khan?  Sorry, I mean: Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

Links: Single Motherhood, Sex, Star Trek, and more

"The Kids Are Not Really Alright":

Take two contemporary social problems: teenage pregnancy and the incarceration of young males. Research by Sara McLanahan at Princeton University suggests that boys are significantly more likely to end up in jail or prison by the time they turn 30 if they are raised by a single mother. Specifically, McLanahan and a colleague found that boys raised in a single-parent household were more than twice as likely to be incarcerated, compared with boys raised in an intact, married home, even after controlling for differences in parental income, education, race, and ethnicity.

"Sex, Submission, and Evangelicals":

Weirdly, Evans’s admission seems to suggest that the language of violence does more harm than the actual practice of violence within the home, even if such violence is itself consensual. But while reforming a culture’s attitudes toward sex is all sorts of difficult, it seems like beginning at home is a pretty decent start. Allowing couples to play at domination simply because they both like it strikes me as incommensurate with decrying the practice elsewhere. Our playing, simply put, matters and we get our ideas for it somewhere. The bedroom is not so self-contained and isolated from the rest of our lives as Evans seems to imply, and if looking at porn implicates us in a culture of hostility toward women, than certainly playing with sadomasochism must do the same.

"Where Are the Cast of Voyager Now?": Fun trip down memory lane for those of us who were teenage nerds (and maybe had a poster of the cast on their walls back in the day).

"Created to be his Helpmeet" (a review):

Pearl seeks to be the Titus 2 woman, sharing with her readers wisdom that she has accumulated in many years of being a Christian, of being a wife, of raising a family. But there is a serious problem. Throughout the book, Pearl shows that she is a poor and unwise mentor. In place of the wisdom and the fruit of the Spirit that ought to mark a mentor, she displays a harsh and critical spirit, she offers foolish counsel, she teaches poor theology, she misuses Scripture, and she utterly misses the centrality of the gospel.

Second part of the review is here.

"Top 5 First Lines" - Matt listed his. I listed mine in the comments. Go add yours!

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

daybook for 4/16/12: back from Bright Week

outside my window . . . it's dark. I'm back to blogging late in the day.

I am listening to . . . an old ballad. I don't know the name - it's from my husband's playlist, not mine - but it's mournful and beautiful both.

I am wearing . . . workout clothes. I went straight from the "30 Day Shred" to making dinner, to reading to my daughter, to putting the kids to bed, to doing the dishes. Now I'm sitting, and boy won't that shower be nice when I get to it at my bedtime.

I am so grateful for . . . my kids.

I'm pondering . . . how the Trinity is the gospel. (Thank you, Dr. Sanders!)

I am reading . . . The Deep Things of God, as noted above. I read the chapter on salvation today, as I sat in the shade and minded my kids while they played at the park. It started slowly, but it grew to a glorious crescendo. I think the last half of that chapter was worth the price of the whole book.

Also, I'm careening towards the end of Essie Summers' autobiography. It's a long and chatty book, but it's also like a time capsule back to the time just after the second world war - and the world she takes you to is all about domestic life and the writing life. I'm fascinated by it. So many differences from my days in the particulars, but such similarities in overarching themes.

I am creating . . . my contemporary romance. Today I wrote my heroine halfway through a very uncomfortable conversation. Because you should always make your heroes uncomfortable by showing their embarrassments instead of making your readers uncomfortable by skipping over something you've made them anticipate.

around the house . . . almost time to switch out the kids' clothes for the next-bigger sizes. I can just feel it.

from the kitchen . . . made fried rice today. Made it extra eggy because yesterday we were treated to real Thai cooking and I felt I ought to at least try to live up to our hosts' good examples.

real education in our home . . . reading good books to the kids. Still. Always. Read a chapter of "The Tower of Geburah" with Bess and the younger ones got a good dose of Henry and Mudge.

the church year in our home . . . finishing up the Easter candy. :D

recent milestones . . . for the kids? Our twins were baptized at the Easter vigil service. For me? I rewrote/edited my last novel, and am sneaking up to "The End" on the current one.

the week ahead. . . oh, if I have my way, just a good, ordinary week.  That never seems to happen, though.

picture thought . . . um, I have no idea if I've posted this before, but if I haven't, shame on me. (My friends are nerdier than your friends.)

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Links! themes on purpose, the Song of Songs, and the fashion of Star Trek

Shannon Hale writes about putting motifs and themes into her novels on purpose. An excerpt:

Many times I've been somewhere to speak and the introducer has talked about one of my books, outlining the themes and giving a really lovely review of the significance and resonance of the story. This is always very flattering, since most introducers just read my bio from my website or book jacket. But then so often she or he will turn to me and say congenially, "You probably didn't even know you put all that in the story, did you?" 

But of course I did.

This reflection, posted over on First Things, about the Song of Songs is both thoughtful and beautiful. (Hmm. Do you think a reflection about the Song of Songs could possibly be good and not beautiful? I doubt it.)

From the profound to the slightly-silly-but-still-fun, a post on fashion inspired by Star Trek.

Have a good weekend, folks!

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

the fun of fan fic

I've just rediscovered the fun of writing fan fiction.

Fan fiction was how I started writing, really. Back in the day, as a middle-schooler, I was introduced to Star Trek and fell in love with sci fi. The adventures! The drama! The new worlds!

So of course I invented my own character (an intergalactic space princess*, how else?) and inserted her into whatever that week's episode was and watched how the plot changed as she joined the adventure.

This was how I got through boring classes day after day after day. I daydreamed.

And of course I wrote it all down. That's what you do with stories. How could you grow up in a house with books in every room and not know that?

I even had a friend back then who did the same thing, and we'd write stories together, each with our own heroine, passing a notebook back and forth between classes, taking turns adding a chapter to the story. (The trick with those was always to have your own heroine come out on top in scene, but to do it subtly enough that your friend couldn't complain about how you'd treated hers.)

I never stopped writing fan fiction, really, though eventually several of those stories followed enough rabbit trails and started being legitimate stories of their own, universe included. And developed even further and started having real characters and not just Mary Sues.

(Imagine my joy when I learned that even Bujold wrote fan fic back in the day. That my favorite sci-fi series ever wouldn't have existed without her proposing her own Star Trek what-if?)

But just this week I've discovered a new use for fan fiction, something that's made me fall in love with it all over again: it's a great writing warm-up.

Fan fiction - at least the way I do it, with no audience in mind ever - is just fun. I don't have to worry about it making sense, or about writing the boring parts, or about plausibility. It's just stick-my-Mii-in-my-current-favorite-story-and-run. It's a blast. It's like sprinting.

I imagine this is how other people feel when they write their "morning pages" or their free-writing. But free-writing doesn't get my engine running the same way story does. To take an exercise metaphor: free-writing is static stretching, fan fiction is dynamic stretching. The former actually makes you weaker, making microscopic tears in muscles that aren't yet warm. The latter gets your muscles moving through their range of motion, psyching up the fibers that are needed for movement.

I've always liked writing fan fiction.** But I never realized how useful it is. It reminds me that all of it is supposed to be the fun part. So once I write a page of fan fic, I can go over to my novel and hit the ground running, remembering that the fun of the story is in the characters, the impossible situation and just how fast and how far I can make it all go.

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

*I actually still use the same character when I write fan fic now that I did when I was thirteen. She's just grown up a bit.

** Not reading it. Generally, reading other people's fan fiction is deadly. Which is why mine isn't getting posted anywhere.

Dr. Who + Captain Picard + Shakespeare = AWESOME!

As I type, this is winging its way to me from Amazon. I can't wait! The clips I've peeked at on youtube are great. David Tennant as Hamlet? Patrick Stewart as Claudius (and the ghost!)? Could it get any better?

If any of my friends/family who read this blog and are in the area want to watch this with me, let me know! I know some of you are as nerdy as me. :)  Popcorn, beer and Hamlet?

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

Star Trek, de Sales and the Passionless Life

So, I have a theory. As I wrote earlier, I’ve been reading St. Francis de Sales, and thinking about the passions, and about the very Christian idea that it’s good to live a passionless life.

That does sound odd, but a passionless life is not a life without purpose. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s a life where our toddler desires (I need! I want! Mommy!) have been quieted, and we instead listen to the voice of our Lord (what do you want? Father, your will be done). Passion is replaced by vocation and the tempests of self are replaced with the calm and peace and vastness of the Holy Spirit.

So, I have been thinking of the good life, and thence of good people. The people who live lifes of virtue, who are windows through which you can see Christ, who have quieted their passions and in the place of passion are wholly dedicated to their Lord. Whose eyes have found a fixed point at which to look and who are making steady and daily progress towards their goals.

Aren’t these the people you love best? The ones you admire? The ones who truly live, truly love, who are most admirable and most interesting? (They are interesting, I think, because they actually do things. Whether writing books or raising children or teaching or fixing things or studying. They work and they pray, and thus their lives have content.)

Okay, so, my theory. Here’s where I stop sounding pious and start sounding really nerdy. I think that this is why the best characters in Star Trek are always the “emotionless” ones. Think Spock, think Data, think the Doctor (the one likeable guy in the whole mess that was Voyager). Why are these always the guys you want by your side?

Because they are the ones in whom the self is quiet, who are focused on their goals, in whom is found virtue. Everyone else on the ship is pulled by waves of emotion, of desire, of need. They are loud, they are melodramatic, they are whiney. They are passionate. But not they are not good, not like Spock and Data are good.

Of course, it’s Star Trek, and so it is “emotionless” and not “passionless”. It is, of course, not the Christian idea at all. And so the analogy breaks down pretty quickly. (Being passionless is far from being emotionless, for instance. Spock won’t smile; a Christian will, often.) But I think that for a secular show like that, it's a good reflection of the idea.

And it shows up well. Who are the virtuous men on the Enterprise? The ones who will do the right thing in any instance, and not with a huge-force-of-will-oh-grunt-and-groan-this-is-so-heroic-of-me! ? Spock and Data. They don’t have to stop and ask, “is it good for me?” They’ve already decided that what is best for them is what is right, and so their emotions don’t come into it. In their case, the lack of emotion has made room for the growth of virtue, just as for the Christian, a lack of passion (me, me, me! want, want, want!) makes room for the growth of Christ-likeness.

Immaturity makes for good drama (Kirk: ooh, woman, want!), but it doesn’t make for a good friend. I’d even add that the second-most attractive characters in the Star Trek series are the ones who, in their humanity, come closest to the detachment of Spock and Data: people like McCoy and Picard. Men who do have their passions still, here and there, but who have largely subordinated their passions to their vocations.

It seems to be a question of asking what do I want? instead of what do I want? Not what are my small desires filling up my mind at the moment – the demands of the god of the belly – but what am I made for? How do I pursue that telos, that end? It’s the peace of having the answer and pursuing it, rather than endlessly asking the question.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell