Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

may, 2014, tuesday, sunday, 25, monday, blog, the, constructive, curmudgeon, august, 06, 2024, wednesday, 10, 2023, october, 2016, june, 02, thursday, 29, 27, 26, 18, 11, archive, links, about, me, this, has, moved, sunny, groothuis, on, miles, davis, jazz, beyond, crood, film, review, almost, everything, need, to, know, learned, from, my, mother, 1930, 2010,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (68), and (47), share (30), this (26), jazz (21), may (17), for (15), groothuis (15), that (14), not (14), douglas (13), was (13), but (12), august (11), #october (11), posted (11), which (11), june (10), pinterest (10), facebook (10), blogthis (10), email (10), july (9), september (9), november (9), december (9), january (9), february (9), march (9), april (9), comments (9), 2014 (8), from (8), music (8), his (8), about (7), you (7), book (7), will (7), have (6), blog (6), beyond (5), more (5), with (5), all (5), they (5), through (5), story (5), miles (5), politics (5), christian (4), has (4), does (4), human (4), new (4), film (4), other (4), american (4), davis (4), good (4), well (4), such (4), most (3), published (3), truth (3), there (3), thank (3), out (3), sunday (3), animals (3), are (3), while (3), world (3), begin (3), based (3), humans (3), their (3), evolved (3), croods (3), can (3), god (3), makes (3), man (3), musicians (3), history (3), part (3), uniquely (3), some (3), one (3), fire (3), tuesday (3), reading (3), constructive (3), curmudgeon (3), progress (3), called (3), against (3), view (2), 2011 (2), decay (2), institute (2), 2010 (2), 273 (2), 2016 (2), 2023 (2), been (2), dormant (2), 2024 (2), archive (2), posts (2), older (2), again (2), write (2), touch (2), family (2), had (2), sense (2), people (2), best (2), don (2), first (2), please (2), know (2), animation (2), another (2), crood (2), only (2), wants (2), tomorrow (2), nearly (2), transcendence (2), made (2), even (2), darwinian (2), recently (2), least (2), several (2), feeling (2), each (2), during (2), any (2), musical (2), play (2), without (2), something (2), like (2), evidence (2), nevertheless (2), much (2), gift (2), today (2), three (2), years (2), ago (2), bands (2), john (2), monday (2), post (2), here (2), reluctant (2), convert (2), lewis (2), christianity (2), apologetic (2), later (2), blues (2), chapter (2), streets (2), conservative (2), sometimes (2), political (2), rebelling (2), evil (2), mean (2), time (2), since (2), skip (2), complete, profile, philosopher, teacher, recent, twenty, books, wager, magnum, opus, apologetics, comprehensive, case, biblical, faith, intervarsity, press, ten, others, including, jesus, research, discovery, rebecca, merrill, links, 122, 2005, 300, 2006, 246, 2007, 498, 2008, 514, 2009, 254, 2012, 2013, politicsthis, subscribe, atom, home, mom, letters, editor, stay, friends, finish, what, your, plate, intuitive, show, special, concern, italian, food, interrupt, notes, ladies, means, opening, doors, say, pray, almost, everything, need, learned, mother, 1930, known, far, saw, child, seems, come, civilization, maybe, second, films, assumes, naturalist, undermines, itself, wonderfully, fear, pre, semi, whose, goal, die, teenage, daughter, she, live, curious, meeting, character, think, end, following, light, delightfully, done, mind, hyper, slapstick, constant, verbal, physical, humor, hysterical, fit, darwinism, allows, material, see, act, instinct, conditioning, dream, explore, hope, merely, thus, essence, image, likeness, shines, supposedly, tale, better, also, chimes, york, times, article, related, atheist, group, holding, services, wanted, computer, stunning, characters, expressions, gestures, landscapes, hybrids, general, assumption, sub, creatures, humorous, ascent, accept, explanation, worth, seeing, reasons, review, love, should, too, after, attending, performance, last, night, realized, hospitality, conviviality, easy, enjoyment, fellow, buoyancy, tend, smile, performances, root, than, form, seen, standards, canon, traditional, tune, them, rehearsal, esteem, deep, small, market, giant, culture, although, thrives, offshore, places, france, japan, illustrated, pascalian, principle, deposed, royalty, prince, musician, pauper, moral, life, sought, grace, christ, redemption, receive, gifts, giver, every, perfect, suggest, listen, classic, kind, blue, early, fusion, remarkable, consider, silent, way, bitches, brew, sadly, famously, moody, fathered, children, wedlock, foul, mouthed, beat, wives, long, periods, addicted, drugs, dewey, born, day, eighty, eight, genius, excellent, playing, trumpet, composing, leading, various, members, coltrane, bill, evans, tony, williams, mclaughlin, wayne, shorter, could, horn, sweetness, work, mute, peer, brought, paintings, released, comment, sunny, stubbornly, unelectric, artifact, pure, typography, possesses, resources, conducive, flourishing, soul, thoughtful, printed, text, orients, order, meaning, possibility, knowing, thursday, join, website, site, longer, old, remain, www, douglasgroothuis, com, moved, used, page, why, now, 255, jerusalem, comes, down, heaven, cosmic, restoration, culmination, glorious, city, restored, garden, bears, kathleen, just, finished, watching, conversion, entire, narration, dialogue, taken, directly, writings, surprised, joy, mere, progresses, compelling, built, never, beheld, anything, full, argument, told, narrative, brilliant, performed, despite, inexplicably, inapt, beginning, ending, wednesday, year, theology, feature, racial, spirituals, outlines, how, blacks, advanced, cause, originally, critique, critical, race, theory, however, when, manuscript, swelled, original, word, limit, excised, appreciation, black, achievement, contradictory, vision, articulate, tied, cultural, rebellion, gave, voice, expression, many, african, americans, segregation, jim, crow, conservativism, conserve, racism, rather, allow, liberty, under, law, common, nothing, anti, nor, aficionado, trump, fan, observe, conservatives, hostile, destructive, force, richard, weaver, thought, responded, screed, hand, interpretation, casually, dropped, line, free, somehow, counteracted, turn, right, offered, self, elaborated, perhaps, author, elaborate, living, space, probably, 2015, passion, waned, written, mostly, then, offer, short, reflection, sparked, started, forum, discussing, matters, moment, curmudgeonly, perspective, ideas, necessarily, represent, those, organization, rude, insulting, remarks, civil, disagreement, welcome, sidebar, main,

Text of the page (random words):
the constructive curmudgeon skip to main skip to sidebar the constructive curmudgeon a forum for discussing matters of moment from a curmudgeonly perspective the ideas posted here do not necessarily represent those of any organization with which i am a part rude and insulting remarks will not be published but civil disagreement is welcome tuesday august 06 2024 jazz and politics this blog has been dormant for some time probably since 2015 but that does not mean that my passion for this uniquely american music has waned i have written about jazz mostly since then at all about jazz but i offer a short reflection on jazz and politics sparked by a book i started reading as a jazz aficionado and political conservative but not a trump fan i sometimes observe that conservatives are hostile to jazz as a destructive force richard weaver thought so and i responded to this screed at all about jazz some time ago on the other hand today i was reading a book of jazz history and interpretation called living space which casually dropped a line that the progress made in free jazz was somehow counteracted by a turn to the right in politics this was offered as self evidence and not elaborated on perhaps the author will elaborate later in the book jazz is sometimes tied to cultural and political rebellion it gave voice and expression to many african americans during segregation and jim crow rebelling against evil is good rebelling against good is evil but conservativism in politics does not mean to conserve racism but rather allow for liberty under law for the common good there is nothing anti jazz about that nor is jazz against that later this year a book will be published called theology and the blues which will feature a chapter by me called racial progress through american music spirituals blues jazz and beyond which outlines how blacks have advanced their cause through music this was originally a chapter in my book fire in the streets which is a critique of critical race theory however when the manuscript swelled beyond the original word limit it had to be excised my appreciation for black achievement in music and politics through music is not contradictory to the christian conservative vision i articulate in fire in the streets posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 9 50 am no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday may 10 2023 most reluctant convert kathleen and i just finished watching most reluctant convert which is the story of c s lewis s conversion the entire narration and much of the dialogue is taken directly from lewis s writings such as surprised by joy and mere christianity as the story progresses a compelling apologetic for christianity is built up i have never beheld anything like this a full apologetic argument told through narrative based on a brilliant man s story and performed well despite the inexplicably inapt beginning and ending of the film posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 9 48 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest tuesday october 25 2016 i have not used this page for about three years why not post something now the new jerusalem comes down from heaven as god s gift of cosmic restoration and not as the culmination of human progress nevertheless it is a glorious city not a restored garden which bears the uniquely human touch truth decay douglas groothuis p 255 posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 3 26 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday june 02 2014 this blog has moved please join me on my new website www douglasgroothuis com which will be the new site of the constructive curmudgeon blog while i will no longer post here the old blog will remain as an archive posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 1 07 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest thursday may 29 2014 the book that stubbornly unelectric artifact of pure typography possesses resources conducive to the flourishing of the soul a thoughtful reading of the printed text orients one to a world of order meaning and the possibility of knowing truth douglas groothuis posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 7 55 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest tuesday may 27 2014 sunny groothuis posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 3 35 pm 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday may 26 2014 on miles davis miles dewey davis was born on this day eighty eight years ago this musical genius excellent at playing his trumpet composing and leading various bands with members such as john coltrane bill evans tony williams john mclaughlin and wayne shorter no one could play the horn with such sweetness and such fire miles s work on mute is without peer as well he brought out the best in nearly all the musicians in his bands a book of his paintings was recently released as well sadly miles the man was another story he was famously moody fathered several children out of wedlock was foul mouthed beat at least one of his three wives and was for long periods addicted to drugs i suggest that you listen to some miles davis today or tomorrow the classic is kind of blue but his early fusion was remarkable as well consider in a silent way and bitches brew davis illustrated the pascalian principle of deposed royalty he was a prince of a musician but a pauper in his moral life there is no evidence that he sought the grace of god in christ for his redemption nevertheless we can receive much of his music as gifts from the giver of every good and perfect gift posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 8 12 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest sunday may 25 2014 jazz jazz makes up only a small part of the music market but it makes up a giant part of american history and culture it is something uniquely american although it thrives offshore in places like france and japan after attending a jazz performance last night i realized again the hospitality and conviviality of jazz the easy enjoyment fellow feeling and buoyancy of the music jazz musicians tend to smile at each other during performances and root each other on more than any other musical form i have seen jazz musicians know the standards the canon of traditional tune and can play them without rehearsal they esteem history and deep feeling i love jazz you should too posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 1 17 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest sunday may 18 2014 beyond crood a film review the film the croods is based on the general assumption that humans evolved from sub human creatures this is the humorous story of their ascent while i don t accept this darwinian explanation of man the film is worth seeing for several reasons first the computer animation is stunning at least to me the characters expressions and gestures the landscapes and the animals all hybrids o f known animals are so far from the animation that i saw as a child that it seems to come from another civilization maybe it does second while the films assumes a naturalist view of the world it undermines itself wonderfully the crood family begin as fear based pre humans or semi humans whose only goal is not to die but their teenage daughter wants more she wants to live and be curious by meeting a more evolved character the croods begin to think about tomorrow and end up following the light it is all delightfully done mind you the hyper slapstick and constant verbal and physical humor can be nearly hysterical but it does not fit darwinism which allows for no transcendence of the material world the croods you see begin to act beyond instinct and conditioning they dream they explore they hope they are not merely evolved animals thus the human essence made in god s image and likeness shines through even this supposedly darwinian tale which makes it even better this also chimes in with a new york times article which recently related that an atheist group was holding services and wanted more of a sense of transcendence posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 10 41 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest sunday may 11 2014 almost everything i need to know i learned from my mother 1930 2010 1 pray 2 say please and thank you 3 ladies first that means opening doors in and out 4 write thank you notes 5 don t interrupt people 6 italian food is the best 7 show special concern for older people 8 finish what s on your plate i had an intuitive sense of this 9 stay in touch with family and friends 10 write letters to the editor there is more but thank you again mom posted by douglas groothuis ph d at 2 12 am no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest older posts home subscribe to posts atom blog archive 2024 1 august 1 jazz and politicsthis blog has been dormant for so 2023 1 may 1 2016 1 october 1 2014 53 june 1 may 9 april 8 march 11 february 19 january 5 2013 96 december 4 november 9 october 11 september 9 august 4 july 9 june 9 may 3 april 8 march 7 february 12 january 11 2012 273 december 12 november 19 october 25 september 11 august 30 july 25 june 32 may 15 april 29 march 27 february 23 january 25 2011 273 december 20 november 28 october 14 september 26 august 23 july 33 june 19 may 15 april 20 march 18 february 34 january 23 2010 254 december 14 november 15 october 22 september 16 august 11 july 14 june 16 may 25 april 33 march 34 february 18 january 36 2009 514 december 62 november 60 october 40 september 42 august 41 july 43 june 40 may 43 april 48 march 34 february 33 january 28 2008 498 december 39 november 60 october 82 september 49 august 35 july 36 june 25 may 41 april 39 march 41 february 29 january 22 2007 246 december 22 november 19 october 16 september 23 august 23 july 25 june 16 may 24 april 17 march 25 february 15 january 21 2006 300 december 35 november 15 october 31 september 32 august 29 july 32 june 31 may 28 april 15 march 21 february 13 january 18 2005 122 december 16 november 17 october 26 september 22 august 24 july 17 links rebecca merrill groothuis discovery institute christian research institute about me douglas groothuis ph d i am a christian philosopher teacher my most recent of my twenty books is beyond the wager my magnum opus is christian apologetics a comprehensive case for biblical faith intervarsity press 2011 i have published ten others including truth decay and on jesus view my complete profile