Mr. Babar retweeted
*Gary unzips my Interstellar cryosleep bed and hands me a half gallon of Evan Williams* "It's time." #CFBreturns
Mr. Babar retweeted
Anyone tailgating outside the federal courthouse before tomorrow's SEC v LSU hearing?
Mr. Babar retweeted
Keith Richards and Willie Nelson outliving Dolly Parton and Richard Simmons has me seriously questioning everything I was told in D.A.R.E. in 3td grade.
Mr. Babar retweeted
This reminds me of something Nick Cave wrote some years ago, who claimed 'woke culture' 'finds its energy in self-righteous belief and the suppression of contrary systems of thought. Regardless of the virtuous intentions of many woke issues, it is its lack of humility and the paternalistic and doctrinal sureness of its claims that repel me.'
He went on to say:
'Wokeness, for all its virtues, is an ideology immune to the slightest suggestion that in a generation’s time their implacable beliefs will appear as outmoded and fallacious as those of their own former generation. This may well be the engine of progress, but history has a habit of embarrassing our treasured beliefs.'
We need more artists like this.
Mr. Babar retweeted
Pulling out all the stops for Ray Bradbury’s birthday on 8/22/26. Record a favorite passage from a book or poem and post it. Share photos of your Bradbury collection. Share a memory or message. ❤️
Please RT this. All are welcome at the party!
#RayBradbury
#RayDay
#BookPeoole
Mr. Babar retweeted
I will always think of @Glen_Hansard busking on Grafton Street each Christmas Eve for the Simon community and the homeless - the Big Busk, which he started (and which inevitably also involved Bono and Sinéad O'Connor), was a huge part of returning to Dublin for the holidays, for me and many like me, living away.
It made sense to someone who was himself a former Dublin busker - he quit school in Ballymun at 13 to play on his city's streets. He even played an Irish busker on a Simpsons episode ("In the Name of the Grandfather"). The Commitments, The Frames, the Swell Season came after, and so did an Oscar and an Emmy. And still every Christmas he was out busking for the homeless, and getting every other Irish musician to, too.
And Once was both the perfect romantic comedy - the right amount bittersweet, no happy endings but we can value the moments of closeness we get, as long as they last - and the perfect Dublin film. I danced to Falling Slowly at my wedding.
We're all Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guys today. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Mr. Babar retweeted
Christians were reading Homer's The Odyssey from the beginning, and sometimes they recast the story as a call to Christ. Here is Clement of Alexandria (AD 200) turning Odysseus' escape from the Sirens into a picture of finding Christ:
"Let us then avoid mere pagan custom as we would a dangerous headland, or the threatening Charybdis, or the mythic sirens ... A heavenly spirit comes to your help: pass by Pleasure, she beguiles ... Sail past the song; it works death. Bound to the wood of the Cross, you shall be freed from destruction. The Word of God will be your pilot, and the Holy Spirit will bring you to anchor in the haven of heaven." (Clement, Exhortation to the Greeks, §12)
Clement has transformed Homer's story. The dreaded Charybdis becomes pagan custom. The Sirens become the temptations of the world. The mast which saved Odysseus becomes the Cross. Christ is the captain. The Holy Spirit is the guide into the harbour of heaven.
Christopher Nolan is hardly the first to sing Homer in a Christian key.
Mr. Babar retweeted
One of the most jarring things about adulthood is the realization of how many truly incompetent people are in the most important jobs. When I was a kid, I just assumed everyone “important” was smart or they wouldn’t be important. Boy, was that fucking wrong.
Mr. Babar retweeted
"The folks who know the truth aren't talking...The ones who don't have a clue, you can't shut them up!"
~ Tom Waits
Mr. Babar retweeted
“I'm a friend of Alan's, I'm John.”
“Ohhhh, John. John who?”
“John Cock ... tos ... ton.”
“That's a beautiful name.”
“It's Scotch-Romanian.”
Mr. Babar retweeted
This chapter [Romans 6] shines a bright spotlight on the dangerous half-truth, currently fashionable, that "God accepts us as we are." Indeed, the question of 6:1 could be read as raising exactly this question: Will "God's acceptance" do as a complete grounding of Christian ethics? Emphatically not. Grace reaches where humans are, and accepts them as they are, because anything less would result in nobody's being saved. Justification is by grace alone, through faith alone. But grace is always transformative. God accepts us where we are, but God does not intend to leave us where we are. That would be precisely to "continue in sin, that grace might abound." Unless we are simply to write Romans 6 out of the canon, the radical inclusivity of the gospel must be matched by the radical exclusivity of Christian holiness. There is such a thing as continuing to let sin reign in one's mortal body, and it will require serious moral effort to combat this tendency. The idea that Christian holiness is to be attained by every person simply doing what comes naturally would actually be funny were it not so prevalent. True freedom is not simply the random, directionless life, but the genuine humanness that reflects the image of God. This is found under the lordship of Christ. And this lordship makes demands that are as testing and difficult as they are actually liberating.
-Romans, New Interpreters Bible
Mr. Babar retweeted
In our imperfections, God finds an unexpected strength, for it is in our brokenness and flaws that God's power shines through.
Consider the likes of Saul, once consumed by zeal to suppress the early church, yet transformed by God's grace into an unwavering apostle.
David, a man marked by both courage and moral failure, was restored to greatness by God's mercy.
Samson, a flawed who dismissed his purpose. though he faltered, found redemption in his final stand. God wanted him to complete a task and no one else.
A tax collector, known for deceit, became a disciple, embodying the transformative power of faith.
A Samaritan woman, weary of empty affections, discovered true worth at the well of living water, and her story continues to inspire those seeking renewal.
Jacob, once cunning and manipulative, was elevated to a pillar of faith.
Noah, flawed in many eyes, was chosen for his unwavering obedience amidst a corrupt generation.
Jonah, reluctant and disobedient, became an instrument of mercy to a people undeserving.
Moses, having committed murder, led a nation to freedom, his passion for justice transformed by God's calling.
Pharaoh never became a man of God. He lived and died as an enemy of God, yet, in a rare instance in scripture, God manipulated his mind for his ultimate purpose.
Through such imperfect vessels, God's power is magnified, demonstrating that no life is beyond redemption, no soul beyond reach. Anyone can be used. Saying otherwise is not accurate. It's time to recognize the potential within ourselves and others, freed from the limitations of our judgments.
This is why I condemn no one. I pray for them. I know what God is capable of whether one lives in a tent on the streets of Skid Row or in the Whitehouse. He saw it all coming. He’s in control and all things work within his will and timing even when we don’t see it through our biases and humanity.
There is a reason why we are instructed to pray for our enemies and leaders. Though we seem to have all become experts in what we think God will and won’t do. Yet, he’s thrown a few curve balls in this life. And that often happens through the prayers of the faithful.
You can keep hating. I’m going to keep praying. God bless.
