Reads

Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts
Read A Start-to-Finish Literature Review Workflow by Kimberly HirshKimberly Hirsh (kimberlyhirsh.com)
Remember how I was going to read Chris Guillebeau’s Side Hustle and see if it had any lessons for treating grad school like a side hustle? It does! One of the things Chris recommends is developing workflows for your side hustle. I’ve been tweaking my literature review workflow for a while, but ...
Read The American Death Cult by Anil Dash (Anil Dash)
A significant percentage of conservative culture in America defines “freedom” as death. This is causing a lot more problems right now than even its usual horrible effects. Some explanation, for those who may not have context. Why do we need to have guns? To protect our freedoms! Well, what about
Read - Finished Reading: Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles Over Authentication by Bart D. Ehrman (Great Courses)
In the first centuries after Christ, there was no "official" New Testament. Instead, early Christians read and fervently followed a wide variety of Scriptures—many more than we have today.
Relying on these writings, Christians held beliefs that today would be considered bizarre. Some believed that there were two, 12, or as many as 30 gods. Some thought that a malicious deity, rather than the true God, created the world. Some maintained that Christ's death and resurrection had nothing to do with salvation while others insisted that Christ never really died at all.
What did these "other" Scriptures say? Do they exist today? How could such outlandish ideas ever be considered Christian? If such beliefs were once common, why do they no longer exist?
Rating: 4
Listened to audiobook version primarily via Libby

Brief review:

Clear concise story with some excellent history and comparison of early Christianities. Unstated, but there are lots of parallels to the diversity of beliefs in Christianity today. There are lots of interesting things within the “lost” sects which still lived on through cultural spread despite the disappearance of the original groups.

Read - Reading: Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles Over Authentication by Bart D. Ehrman (The Great Courses)
Lecture 24: Early Christian Creeds
The final lecture considers the formation of the Christian creeds: statements of faith to determine what was true (orthodox) and what was false (heretical). The well-known creeds of the 4th century, such as the Nicene Creed, developed from earlier formulations known as the "Rule of Faith," and from confessions by converts before baptism.
All that work to create coherent creeds in the 2nd-4th century and yet we again have a crazy diversity centuries later.
Read The 14th Amendment Was Meant to Be a Protection Against State Violence by David H. Gans (The Atlantic)
The Supreme Court has betrayed the promise of equal citizenship by allowing police to arrest and kill Americans at will.
An important read. This should be a primary point of contention on every SCOTUS nomination hearing for the coming century. It could also be a strong means of reforming policing in the United States.
Read HTTP 451 (en.wikipedia.org)
In computer networking, HTTP 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons is an error status code of the HTTP protocol to be displayed when the user requests a resource which cannot be served for legal reasons, such as a web page censored by a government. The number 451 is a reference to Ray Bradbury's 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, in which books are outlawed.[2] 451 intends to provide more information than 403 Forbidden, which is often used for the same purpose.[3] This status code is standardized in RFC 7725.
I love that it’s a subtle nod to Fahrenheit 451.
Read Using Your Site As Your Login (anaulin.org)
The most broadly useful technology I’ve encountered in the Indieweb world is the ability to use your personal site as your login on other sites. The idea is beautifully simple. A service that wants to authenticate you can look at your website, read any rel="me" links you’ve added to it, and use ...
Read Cliff May (en.wikipedia.org)
Cliff May (1909–1989) was an architect practicing in California best known and remembered for developing the suburban Post-war "dream home" (California Ranch House), and the Mid-century Modern.
I’ve had a running debate with someone about the style of low slung California homes often done in stucco having a Spanish influence. Turns out I was right and they owe some of their design history with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture of the 17th-19th Centuries!

Incidentally I live in a California ranch home at the moment, so it’s been interesting to dig into some of the history….\

Read I re-read Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Jason McIntoshJason McIntosh (Fogknife)
Revisited this collection of Richard Feynman's eclectic adventures, and found them more inspiring than ever -- though parts demand a charitable eye
I’ve been tempted to read this. Thanks for the thoughtful review! This is some great writing Jason.
Read On the Banks of a Shouty River by Joe JohnstonJoe Johnston (taskboy.com)
Slow thinking. I am deracinating myself from Twitter to regain my slow thinking. Slow thinking is that activity of cognition which strives toward a goal, but indulges in seeming off-ramps and non-sequiturs. It is a desultory journey that stubbornly refuses to be rushed. Yet, patiently following one ...
Well said!