Bloggernacle “Niblet” Awards 2005: Vote in the run-off election

Results are in for the Niblets. There have been a few outright victories, but many of the races have been within the margin of ballot-stuffing error. We are therefore going to have a final run-off vote. (more…)

The Seattle PI reports on the return of tourists to Bethlehem. I went to Bethlehem in the summer of 2004. It’s quite an adventure: taxi from Jerusalem to the heavily-armed checkpoint; Palestinian taxi to Manger Square, passing the security barrier and numerous bombed-out buildings; full-on Palestinian nationalism on display next to Jesus-kitsch.

The Church of the Nativity may not be the actual site of Christ’s birth, but the sense of history and pilgrimage is overwhelming. A star marks the spot of the nativity. Feeling a deep longing to fall on my knees, I followed the other pilgrims and knelt and kissed the star. In doing so, all the contents of my shirt-pocket spilled on the floor: camera, wallet, keys. You see, I love icons, pageantry, history, and arcane religiosity, but I’m a Mormon spaz who’d probably burn down the church if I lit a candle. Which is a shame, because Christmas gives me such Old Church Envy….

A Happy Christmas to all of you. Go sing some carols in an old, cold church. It’s wonderful.

(Recommended: Sahar’s post on living in Bethlehem)

Last Sunday an eight-foot bronze statue of Joseph Smith was quietly installed in Old Slip Park, located in downtown Manhattan. Old Slip is significant to the LDS Church for several reasons: first, Joseph Smith visited the area in October 1832, pursuant to the command to Newel K. Whitney now found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:114; second, the spot was a departure point for members heading west; and third, the ship Brooklyn, led by Samuel Brannan, departed from the area in February 1846, carrying more than 200 church members on a long trip to California. (more…)

UPDATE!

OK. Y’all have until Christmas. Owing to the tightness of many of the races (and to redo the “Best Post” award) we will then have a run-off poll for some of the categories that will go until after the holidays. (Believe me, there are some really great races!)

VOTE!

We* have tallied your nominations and are now opening the vote for the Bloggernacle Awards 2005 (the “Niblets“). This is the first ever bloggernacle award event that has opened nominations to the unwashed masses. So, if your favourite blog/blogger is not on the ballot, well, we did our best to make things democratic so quit whining, just vote. (You can vote for more than one nomination in each category.) (more…)

BYU plays Cal tomorrow night in the sold-out Las Vegas bowl. Lots of writers have lots of things to say about it. I don’t have much to say though. I will say that it is likely that Cal is the third best team this BYU squad will face this year (after BC and Notre Dame but ahead of Utah and TCU, I imagine). I suspect that BYU will have to play better than they did against Utah, and perhaps their best game of the year in order to win this game.

For me, the big questions that this game will help answer are: (more…)

Everyone is busy with Christmas, so the volume of blog posts and comments has dipped somewhat the last week or so. I expect it to drop even more the next few days. Even so, there has been a lot out there on science and religion front. Probably I should start with the ruling today on Intelligent Design in school that judged it unconstitutional. Lots of people are talking about this, although I think the decision was hardly surprising – especially considering some of the deception by school officials. Will it affect a certain lone state senator in Utah’s attempts here? One can but wish. For those interested, Forbes has up selected excerpts from the ruling.

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