Wobble Talk And Fighting Words In English

by Kevin Burton    Here’s one subject that never came up when I was teaching English in Mexico – thank God!    In English, when you see the vowel combination “ae” how do you pronounce it?    This was brought to my attention on an otherwise glorious Saturday morning by our friends at the Merriam-Webster …

Do The Math, Trust God In Troubled Times

by Kevin Burton    A Little theological math today on Page 7. It’s faith and fun with fractions actually.    One of my Sunday School teachers liked to put the fraction one over infinity on the chalkboard to illustrate where the bulk of our focus should be going.    The denominator infinity of course illustrates …

Why Do We Love March Madness So Much?

by Kevin Burton   In the bad old days, being without a girlfriend, or a date, or even a prayer, on Valentine’s Day was a sharp searing pain to the psyche.    Now by comparison, being without a basketball team for the big dance, or even the little dance, is a dull ache. March Madness is …

Spoonful’s John Sebastian Turns 79

by Kevin Burton     Happy 79th birthday to the personable multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter John Sebastian.    Both his music and his personality seem accessible, based on how he comes off in interviews on You Tube. I mean, here’s a rock and roller who plays the auto harp of all things. He said he learned the instrument …

SI: North Carolina’s NIT Decision Was Lame

by Kevin Burton    North Carolina head basketball coach Hubert Davis, hurting after his team coughed up a 16-point lead and the NCAA tournament final to Kansas last April, nevertheless had gracious words for his players.    “I can’t be more proud of the group that I just coached this year,” Davis said in a …

Church Attendance Declining In United States

by Kevin Burton    Church attendance is down, way down, in the USA, reports the British newspaper The Guardian, citing two main reasons.    The worldwide Covid pandemic is the first, understandable reason. For a while there, few people were going anywhere. The second reason is more troubling: Americans are giving up on Christianity.     …

A New Take On Taxis And Guide Dogs

   If you are blind and use a guide dog for travel, this story is all too familiar to you.   This comes from Calgary, Alberta, courtesy CBC News.        “A Calgary cab company has fined and temporarily suspended one of its drivers for refusing to give a ride this week to a blind woman …

Raised On Radio: Petty’s “Last DJ” Banned

by Kevin Burton    National DJ Day on Jan. 20 sent me rocking down memory lane, recalling a time when deft tuning of a transistor radio could take you to another world.    The heyday of radio, as we talk about it now in the past tense, was a whole other American era, an entirely …

Consider God’s Vast Care, And Stop Worrying

by Kevin Burton    My wife Jeannette is a worrier. As I say it, she is “first string, all-conference.”    I’ve spent some time chuckling over that. I have spent less time considering how many votes I might get if the all-worrier team was really a thing. Could I merit an honorable mention?    I’ve …

The Abacus Is Still A Low-Tech Wonder

by Kevin Burton    Do you remember any of the gifts you received in fourth grade? Do you have any of them still? Are they in working order?    I have one.    In fourth grade our teachers at the Ohio State School for the Blind sat us down and introduced us to Mrs. Davidow.  …