A friend recently shared an image on social media showing the Disney cartoon villain Cruella de Vil, bloodshot eyes staring straight ahead, hands clutching the wheel of her infamous coupe, black-and-white hair waving wildly in the wind, oversized fur coat flapping behind—in a word, crazed. Over the image someone had typed: “Me trying to excel […]
Wednesday, 01 January, 2020 by David Zahl
True story: in 1965, Congress held a lengthy hearing to discuss the looming twenty-hour work week. According to their estimates, the rapidly expanding automation of the day mean that by the year 2000, Americans would have more free time than they’d know what to do with. Summer camps would have to stay open year-round. People […]
Monday, 11 November, 2019 by David Zahl
Back in 2005, the satirical newspaper The Onion issued one of its better mock headlines, ‘Vatican Gives Popular Jesus Character a Whole New Look.’ According to their sources, ‘the shabby robe-and-sandals look is out, as Vatican makeover artists unveil a new, sleeker son of God featuring a white leather trench coat, short gelled hair, and […]
Saturday, 31 October, 2015 by David Zahl
Once upon a time, being a Big Star fan was like knowing a secret handshake. You knew something that others didn’t, and to meet a fellow fan was to meet a new friend. This is no longer the case. Nearly forty years after they initially broke up, and despite the fact that three of the […]
Tuesday, 30 June, 2015 by David Zahl
It's time for those of us who thought Twitter was a passing fad to admit we were mistaken. Indeed, the 140-character social media forum seems to be only picking up steam with each well-documented and commented-upon day. And while it remains as resistant as ever to rhetorical subtlety, the communicative juice it wrings from its […]
Thursday, 01 November, 2012 by David Zahl
The temptation in reviewing The Pale King is not to review The Pale King. And can you blame a person? How do you review an unfinished work? The answer is that you comment on the book's importance rather than on its quality. You discuss its meaning rather than its merits. You weigh the legacy of […]
Thursday, 01 September, 2011 by David Zahl
When confronting the Great Commission, the most vital question is the “what.” What is the message that needs to be proclaimed to all nations? What do disciples look like? And what is the point? (1) This article, however, is not going to address those questions. This article concerns itself instead with the “how” of the […]
Wednesday, 02 March, 2011 by David Zahl