Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
(FEL 7401-M) 1967 The 1960's were a time of ferment and change in the U.S., and, then as now, institutions had a hard time keeping up with them, let along getting ahead. One attempt to do so was The American Folk Song Mass, performed by the Canterbury Choir at Northwestern University under the direction of …
Continue reading "Rev. Ian Mitchell: The American Folk Song Mass"
A few months ago I ran a piece entitled Fading Glory, where I made the following observation re the place where I'm working on my PhD in Computational Engineering: One of the things my advisor oriented us about were the substantial computer capabilities that the SimCentre has. “Substantial” is a relative term; at one point …
Continue reading "The Fading Glory Problem Affects the Prediction of Hurricane Sandy"
Every now and then you'll hear a news item about someone's math problem being controversial (involving slavery, etc.) This gem has been around for a long time: it comes from Marvin Marcus' A Survey of Finite Mathematics (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1969). It's purpose is to illustrate the use of combinatorial matrix theory, and (stripping …
Continue reading "Math and the Middle East: Some Things Never Change"
Now it came to pass in those days, that a decree went forth from Caesar Augustus that a census of the whole world should be taken. This first census took place while Cyrinius was governor of Syria. And all were going, each to his own town, to register. And Joseph also went from Galilee out …
Continue reading "The Christmas Story, from the Cofraternity Version"
I am amused at the persistence of the New York Times editorial Asians--Too Smart for Their Own Good? AT the end of this month, high school seniors will submit their college applications and begin waiting to hear where they will spend the next four years of their lives. More than they might realize, the outcome …
Continue reading "It's Hard to Admit When You're Inferior, Especially When You Are"
For instance, the Chinese: China is the largest financier on the entire continent. Chinese corporations, financial institutions, and the government have invested billions of dollars in large new dams, for example. And why? Indeed, many African governments prefer China as an economic partner over Western countries for a number of reasons. First, China's own development …
(Music Mountain MMP-PG-1001) 1975 Every now and then an album comes along which, at least in part, takes your breath away, and this is one of them. It is skillfully done, laced with the mellotron, that 1960's and 1970's instrument that's at once the product of technology and yet difficult to digitize, and profoundly spiritual. …
The last of the Watergate Committee in the Senate passes: Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a highly decorated World War II combat veteran who used his status as one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington and the second-longest-serving senator in history to send billions of dollars to his home islands, died Monday at …
Events like the Newtown, CT school shootings simply leave one numb. As one who moves in the halls of academia, the possibility of something like that happening is one that crosses the mind. When it does take place, it hurts. Not so far from Newtown is Danbury, CT. Years ago a group of very accomplished …
Continue reading "No More Time to Run: My Response to the Newtown, CT School Shootings"
Anyone who has been around Pentecostal academic circles (and yes, they do exist) has heard a great deal about the Azusa Street revival of 1906, an event which marks (but does not solely define) the beginnings of modern Pentecost. And they've heard many things about. But how do they know these things? How, for example, …
Continue reading "Book Review: Frank Bartleman's Azusa Street"
Positive Infinity 