Grateful for this incredible piece by Nate Mills: When I was 3 or 4 I had an apocalyptic vision. It may not have been as otherworldly as the Ancient of Days appearing in resplendent glory like in Daniel 7, but it was unmistakably surreal. My family was taking a road trip from our home in […]
First Two Verses of "Pull My Daisy" by Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
PULL MY DAISY
TIP MY CUP
ALL MY DOORS ARE OPEN
CUT MY THOUGHTS FOR COCONUTS
ALL MY EGGS ARE BROKEN
HOP MY HEART SONG
HARP MY HEIGHT
SERAPHS HOLD ME STEADY
HIP MY ANGEL
HYPE MY LIGHT
LAY IT ON THE NEEDY
PZ's Podcast: Brandy Station, Pillar of Salt, Elevator, Peaches La Verne, Hero of the War
Episode 133: Brandy Station This one is about the creative process, the listening to God, as I would put it; and also about the Peace of God, to bring about the reconciling of opposites in the healing of the world. I was thinking about “Peace Train” by Cat Stevens, which put me in touch with […]
Gardner Taylor: Preaching to the Alienated Ones
When I’m 94, I hope I’m half as wise and cut-to-the-bone honest as the Rev. Dr. Gardner Taylor, known as “the dean of American preaching.” In a 2011 interview on “Preaching When Parched,” Dr. Taylor was asked how one can preach and minister during the “arid” times in life. His answer comes across with the bracing honesty […]
PZ's Podcast, 84-89: Yvette Vickers, Protestant Episcopal SuperMarionation I&II, Bette Davis Eyes, Tana and Tahrir, and Pacific Overtures
Thanks again for your patience with us this past week. As you’ll see, while the site slept, some of us were busy! Episode 84: Yvette Vickers (f. 4.27.11) Newspapers and blogs seem to settle for the categorical in reporting such events as the discovery, on April 27, 2011, of the body of Yvette Vickers in […]
Jack Kerouac and the Diamondcutter of Mercy
In The Dharma Bums, Ray Smith (Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical character) describes his parting with his dear friend Japhy Ryder: The next day I figured to give Japhy some kind of strange little going-away gift and didn’t have much money or any ideas particularly so I took a little piece of paper about as big as […]
PZ's Desert Island Discs (But This Time It's Books!)
I’m just now beginning to emerge from two years of living in the desert, the howling waste of inwardness that is caused by the box canyon of life. I’m coming out of it. In addition to the New Testament, ten books, in particular, have proven sustaining to me in the wilderness. If you read Mockingbird, […]
Breaking The Fourth Wall: The Mockingbird Preaching Seminar
A few priceless transcriptions from the second talk of the preaching seminar that Paul Zahl conducted at the Fall 2010 Mini-Conference in Pensacola, FL. The first talk had to do with the message itself, while this one, entitled “Breaking the Fourth Wall” (also the title of seminar as a whole), dealt mainly with the means […]
The Beats Having Their Tea (And Drinking It Too)?
A pretty thought-provoking little essay by Lee Siegel in last week’s NY Times about the similarities between the Beat Generation and the Tea Party, which touches on insider-outsider dynamics, and the Christian religion’s inherent allure when it comes to “losers”. A few excerpts of which include (ht MS): American dissent turns on a tradition of […]
PZ's Podcast This Week: The British Invasion
Today two new talks have been published on “PZ’s Podcast” (Subscribe free on iTunes.) The first is entitled The Browning Version and concerns a 1951 movie starring Michael Redgrave and written by Terence Rattigan, which is based on Rattigan’s 1948 play. It is about a man who must lose his life in order to gain […]
PZ's Podcast This Week: Preaching 101 (with Prof. Kerouac)
We here at Mockingbird couldn’t be more excited about PZ’s Podcast, the new weekly offering from the Very Rev. Dr.theol. Paul Zahl. (Subscribe for free on iTunes by clicking here.) Paul has over 30 years experience as an ordained clergyman in parish ministry and even longer as an astute observer of the human predicament (and it’s only […]
Monday Afternoon Links: Faith & Works & She & Him (plus The Joan-Girl)
1. Run don’t walk to Lutheran Theology and read our very own JDK‘s “A Brief Introduction To Faith And Works”. It’s a stunning accomplishment and a great “next step” for those of you interested in the theology which informs our perspective. Bravo! One stirring excerpt from the end: “Only work done in the faith and […]
