Belle in outdoor attire

Sullivan nailing DFW again...

'He's maybe the only notoriously "difficult" writer who almost never wrote a page that wasn't enjoyable, or at least diverting, to read.' - John Jeremiah Sullivan.

That's exactly how I felt about Infinite Jest: 'crap this is hard' and 'man this is fun' too.

DFW's Impact on Writing

Here's a thing that is hard to imagine: being so inventive a writer that when you die, the language is impoverished. That's what Wallace's suicide did, two and a half years ago. It wasn't just a sad thing, it was a blow. - John Jeremiah Sullivan

Read More

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/books/201105/david-foster-wallace-the-pale-king-john-jeremiah-sullivan#ixzz1hI0Qoq5D

Great Christmas Read or Gift...

One of my favorite Christmas reads in the last few years has been The Narnian, Alan Jacob's brilliant literary-spiritual biography of C. S. Lewis. What makes the book so edifying are Jacob's expositions of the major themes in Lewis' writing. A great Christmas gift for the old or new fan.

Last Advent Sermon: On Feeling Forsaken During the Holidays

Here's the link. It's also podcast at iTunes ('Redeemer Memphis').

Looking at how Christ's cry from the cross ("my God, my God, why have your forsaken me?") is the answer to that very question we ask during our suffering. Christ's cry assures us that God is with us and for us during our darkest times.

Exchange on race

A Sr Editor of The Atlantic responds to a simplistic analysis of American racial inequality:http://bit.ly/tGRut5

(HT: Alan Jacobs at 'More than 95 Theses').

Dignan's 50 Year Plan

Here's a link to Dignan's 50 Year Plan, from the movie Bottle Rocket, that I mentioned in the sermon today (Advent 3: Why is it so Hard to Follow You?).