FEATURED BLOG FROM THE EDITORS OF PURPLE STATE

Deception in Inception: the Ultimate Movie Magic

In his “Personal Journey through American Movies,” Martin Scorsese described movie directors as smugglers.   They are illusionists, experts at creating and sustaining a mood.   Perhaps this is the enduring truth of movie magic, the ability to play a trick on the audience, before they discover how it was done...More

CRAIG'S BLOG

JESUS JUNK BURNS: Life after the Religious Right

There are so many embarrassing images of Jesus floating across the Internet.  On my periodic searches for the most horrendous Jesus Junk, I discovered the ‘Big Butter’ sculpture of Touchdown Jesus along the Interstate in Ohio.   Its kitchsy virtues have been celebrated in song...More

JOHN'S BLOG

PURPLE SIESTA: Senator Robert Byrd Is Gone, And We're Taking A Break (Back In August!)

Senator Robert Byrd, a legendary figure of the United States Congress, a man who had been in national elected office since the early days of the Cold War, who predated the Civil Rights movement and in many ways embodied a version of the South that resisted it, has passed away at the age of 92...More

THE VILLAGE SQUARE LATEST RSS FEED

Andrew Wilcox: Imagine there’s no money…it’s easy if you try

While flipping through radio stations the other night, I happened upon the Dave Ramsey show. Perhaps there is a certain cruel intention, “geez, thought I had a bad day, this persons life stinks, now I feel better” type of mentality. Much like what my wife gains from watching Real Housewives of New York. The [...]

NEW YORK TIMES LATEST RSS FEED

Space Station Malfunction Prompts Shutdowns

One of the International Space Station’s two coolant systems malfunctioned late Saturday.

LIVESCIENCE LATEST RSS FEED

Icebreaker Ships to Map Arctic Seafloor

Map will define a country's reach into the polar ocean.

RELIGION NEWS BLOG LATEST RSS FEED

Another Followers of Christ couple indicted in death of a child

An Oregon City couple will face charges of second-degree manslaughter in the faith-healing death of their newborn son, the third such fatality involving the Followers of Christ church in the past two years. The state medical examiner's office reported after a series of similar incidents in the 1990s that more than 20 children of church members had died in recent decades from preventable or curable illnesses.

ARTS & LETTERS DAILY LATEST RSS FEED

Arts & Letters Daily (31 Jul 2010)

Rhapsodies to machines that tamed nature, say, the steam engine, have given way to impatience with machines that don't instantly indulge our whims... more The 17th century saw the creation of a feedback loop: liberty and science begat prosperity, which begat more liberty and technology, which begat... more Some Pakistanis blame Afghan immigrants for bringing "their" war into Pakistan. Here is an Afghan baker's story of harassment, corruption, and exile... more