Jonathan's blog

Read or (better yet) listen to Matt Haber's piece on Slate titled "The Brangelina Baby. What it means for you and your family." I got a few chuckles out of it.

Grandma and Grandpa Moore were in town this weekend, and we had another birthday party for Finn...this one with a Backyardigan theme.

Via Andrew Sullivan, the organization See Jane recently released a study of the portrayal of males in G-rated movies titled "G Movies Give Boys a D: Portraying Males as Dominant, Disconnected and Dangerous". Some of the highlights:

• There are three male characters for every female.
• Fewer than one out of three (28 percent) of the speaking characters (real and animated) are female.
• Less than one in five (17 percent) of the characters in crowd scenes are female.
• More than four out of five (83 percent) of films' narrators are male.

...males are less likely than females to be portrayed as parents and...nonwhite males are way less likely to be portrayed as parents. In addition, Black and Hispanic males are extremely scarce in G-rated films (they appear at well under half their actual rate in the general population), and when they are present they're far more often portrayed as violent than white males.

Using the criteria of good value in home prices, a reasonable cost of living, and a great quality of life, Kiplinger's Personal finance and Bert Sperling, co-author of Cities Ranked & Rated and host of BestPlaces.net, compiled a list of the best places to live:

Among other things, we looked for places where you could buy an attractive house for $300,000 to $400,000 or less. Access to quality health care was also a must, as was a strong economy. Next, we traveled to the cities that bubbled to the top of the list, to speak with residents and savor the flavor of their neighborhoods. Based on our experiences, we ranked our top-ten picks... #1 Nashville, Tenn. Our top pick offers affordable homes, a mild climate and a phenomenal entertainment scene that goes far beyond country. #2 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. The Twin Cities offer a hip and progressive atmosphere with a midwestern sensibility, multiple cultural outlets, pro teams in all four major sports, a dozen universities and colleges, and a diverse economy. #3 Albuquerque, N.M. This laid-back city offers resort-town ambience, a boomtown economy and cow-town prices. #4 Atlanta, Ga. The capital of Georgia is a vibrant city with a rich history, good health care, a great cultural scene and genteel neighborhoods shaded by magnificent dogwood and magnolia trees. #5 Austin, Tex. Home to the University of Texas, the state capitol, the Zachary Scott Theatre and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum, Austin is a sophisticated salsa of culture, history and politics. #6 Kansas City This city split along state lines offers something for everyone: from stately houses to downtown lofts and world-class museums to barbecue. #7 Asheville, N.C. A virtually franchise-free downtown, world-class cuisine, amazing crafts, live music venues and fine arts make this city tucked into the Blue Ridge mountain range one of a kind. #8 Ithaca, N.Y. True, it's in the Finger Lakes boonies of central New York, but Ithaca is an Ivy League outpost with great food, beautiful scenery and Naderite politics. #9 Pittsburgh, Pa. Currently undergoing a renaissance, this hidden gem has distinctive neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, glittering skyscrapers, upscale shops and a diversified economy. #10 Iowa City, Iowa An oasis on the prairie, this wholesome middle-American city is bursting with creative and intellectual energy.

From an article by Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the LA Times:

Patrick Henry College, the small evangelical Christian school founded six years ago to train students for careers in public life, gained national prominence for placing many students in White House internships and other government positions. Now five of the school's 16 faculty members have left, saying the school's approach is too doctrinaire to prepare students for the realities of American politics. One faculty member was fired and four others resigned in protest, saying the administration prohibited free-ranging discussions at what has been called the "Evangelical Ivy League"... The specific issues that led to the firing and resignations are abstruse, but they revolve around the question of how the ideas and writings of nonevangelical thinkers such as Catholics or the ancient Greeks should be treated in the classroom... Clashes over principals are not uncommon among faculty at Catholic or evangelical schools, said professor John Green, senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. What is unusual, he said, is that the Patrick Henry professors spoke out. "At Patrick Henry, they have a political mission as well as a religious one: They want to train students to bring their religious view into public policy," Green said. Which makes the need for academic freedom all the more vital, he said.

I guess issues like this must be an endless headache for the administrators at institutions with religious affiliation. How to balance the atmosphere of openness, inquiry, learning, debate, and discussion that should be characteristic of an institution of higher learning with the perceived need for uniformity of belief that religious institutions tend to demand. The same thing happens at secular universities, but it's a balance of debate with political correctness. It seems like a university is the sort of place that should err on the side of tolerating debate.