One of the best Easter Songs ever written is "He's Alive," by Don Francisco. Here's Dolly Parton's live cover: Pay special attention to the chorus, which -- in a unique song-writing twist -- doesn't show up till the end of the song. The lyrics are as follows: He's alive / He's alive / He's alive [...]
I have had a fraught relationship with "Praise and Worship Music" since I was a teen. I mean stuff like "Jump," by Van Halen: . . . Wait, that was "Celebrate Jesus" by Gary Oliver. Same dif. But just because that song was written for children (see ch. 6 of this book) doesn't mean there [...]
Something broke in my brain at age ten. After dinner, my dad and younger siblings would play games of make-believe, complete with ongoing characters and storylines. Up to a point, I could join in. But then I couldn’t anymore. I kept trying, but losing myself in a character had become impossible. I was stuck outside [...]
I don't like Dragon Ball Or Dragon Quest Why? Well, my friend, it is because Akira Toryama's character designs make me angry. And you know why they make me angry? Everybody else in the world loves Toryama and everything he does. In fact, nothing makes me more angry than when other people like stuff that [...]
Modern programming requires you to be a philosopher: you have to understand what the world is made of and how those things interact to model them in code.
Computer programming is a creative activity in which you have to build coherent, rational systems. This can teach us something about faith.
What drew me to computer programming was getting to be creative. Later, I heard someone say the whole thing is like magic. They were right.
Starting October 1st, it is officially Pumpkintide. But what is Pumpkintide? Where did it come from? What is it's purpose?
Things are pretty exciting in Tillmanland recently. A Great New Job First, I've started a new job as a content developer for Smartly. Smartly is a fantastic e-Learning platform by Pedago. Allow me to quote: Relying on basic tenets of educational research and decades of experience in the educational technology industry, Smartly has reinvented interactivity in mobile [...]
Yesterday, I pointed out how the instrument I generally loathe -- the saxophone -- has made a comeback in the 2010s. The 80s were the decade of the saxophone. Well, okay, it was the decade of the synth. And of the mullet. And of shoulder pads and neon colors and pants with waists so high [...]
Fruit Have you ever seen the following quotation? Intelligence is knowing that tomatoes are fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put tomatoes in a fruit salad. Or maybe it's "Knowledge is knowing . . ." but that's redundant. I don't know who first came up with that bit of pseudo-wisdom, but it's wrong and I don't [...]
Every study is or will be contradicted by some other study within a decade. Or, more precisely: (Please note: The text in the image above is text in an image, so it must be true.)
"Grunge and Philosophy: What Nirvana Can Teach Us about the Philosophy of History," at Blackwell's X and Philosophy blog. "Top 40 Philosophy: The Beatles, 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'," here at this very blog.
I find it absolutely fascinating when animals play, even though their games basically boil down to pretending to kill each other. The ability to pretend shows they can distinguish between "make believe" and "for real." And that seems like a hugely sophisticated achievement to me. "They" (das Man!) say animals engage in this kind of [...]
I love to hate the "Everything you learned in school is wrong," or, "Common knowledge says x, but actually y," meme. A healthy skepticism of authorities' claims is good. (Also, that last sentence is a tautology.) And you feel good for a moment, because you now know that people (teachers, parents, your elders in general) [...]
I recently finished Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works (Cultural Liturgies, vol. 2), by James. K. A. Smith. It's the 2nd book in a series, but I (no doubt foolishly) didn't read the 1st. I purchased the e-book as part of a mass book-buying event with gift cards I was given for my birthday, and [...]
While checking some audio-books-on-CD, to make sure I was returning all the right discs to the library, I noticed something odd. The slip covers/pages/whatever that the CDs are stored in (so you can flip through to the CD you're looking for) are usually plastic and transparent. However, the audio book whose CDs I happened to [...]
Yesterday -- April 14th, 2011 -- I successfully defended my dissertation, Empty and Filled Intentions in Husserl's Early Work. This means I'll be graduating in a month with my Ph.D. In preparation for my new degree, my site has undergone a significant redesign and upgrade. Check out my updated About page, my CV, links to class [...]
