A Leaping Monday
Just some leap-blogging of some news and stuff that has caught my eye the past few days.

First, good news for Mick Jagger. He can be on the field at the Super Bowl to play with his other AARP band members:

A ban on older fans seeing the Rolling Stones perform at the Super Bowl has been lifted, organisers say.

People over 45 were initially not invited to take to the field and dance during the concert, as the task was considered too physically demanding.

But US National Football League (NFL) spokesman Brian McCarthy said: "We wanted to open it up."

The youngest member of the veteran rock performers is 58, while the band has a combined age of 246.
--BBC News

The original reason given by the NFL was that the long time standing in the tunnel and the exertion of dancing on the field might be too much for people over 45. I have a hunch it had as much to do with the demographic image of a bunch of gray-hairs dancing like it was 1968 and making fools of themselves on international TV. But at least we have banned ageism in this Super Bowl. ;)

* * * *

Newt Understands. I am not a big fan of Newt Gingrich. As a life-long democrat, I have not appreciated some of his own history of political shenanigans or his politics. But he does understand what has been happening to the Republican party in the past few years. In an interview with Bloomberg, he had this to say:

There are a series of behaviors, a series of attitudes, a series of crony-like activities that are not defensible, and no Republican should try to defend them. The danger for Republicans is to pretend this isn't fundamental or to pretend that they can get by passively without undertaking real reform.
--found at Rolling Stone.
Full interview at Bloomberg.com

The interview may also have played a part on Tom DeLay's permanent resignation as House Majority Leader. One of the saddest things, though, is that politics and political power is so temptingly corrupting. Over and over and over we humans prove again and again and again the old adage:

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
--Lord Acton, British historian.

* * * *

Have YOU Read All these books? The Top 10 Sellers in 2005 according to

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Rowling, J.K.
2. A Million Little Pieces, Frey, James
3. The Kite Runner, Hosseini, Khaled
4. 1776, McCullough, David
5. The Da Vinci Code, Brown, Dan
6. The World Is Flat, Friedman, Thomas L.
7. The Purpose-Driven Life, Warren, Rick
8. Angels & Demons, Brown, Dan
9. You: The Owner's Manual, Oz, Mehmet
10. Eldest, Paolini, Christopher
--LINK to the Top 200

No, I haven't read most of them, either. Only #2 and #7. I do have #4 on the shelf and #6 on my "wait till paperback" list. I have read 5 of the next 40, however.

* * * *

How To Get Something Shorter Than Tall at a Starbucks is the theme of a good Slate article. (Link.) (Tip to: Nate Knows Nada!) I have always felt that Starbucks, like that other Northwestern Biggie, Microsoft, has trouble with definitions. To make the smallest menu item a "Tall" is not all that far from stopping your computer by clicking on "Start."

* * * *

Horror Comes Back against Narnia. After some increase last week, Narnia dropped to #2 again. The winner is violence...

The weekend box office was sheer torture as the bloody "Hostel," a tale of buddies who stumble into a den of violent depravity, debuted at No. 1 with $20.1 million.
--from AP News

* * * *

And finally, The Missional Church. Thanks to Darryl Dash for the link to a good article on the missional church. Here's the opening definition:

A church that, at it’s core, fully abandons itself to the mission of God would be considered missional. There is not only an understanding but also an active participation in the Mission of God: “I am changing the world and you’re invited; You’re invited to be changed; You’re invited into a changed community, You’re invited to be part of the change. Jesus often referred to this kind of activity as being salt, yeast, and light.
--from Life Cycle Project