CHICAGO, IL March 16, 2018) – Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.
Klingon Tourist Center Opens in Sweden
The organizers hope the intergalactic museum will help foster intercultural relationships here on earth. I hope the writer recognized the irony of these words when she wrote them: “Visitors are also given talks on the history of the Klingons to challenge the longstanding notion that they are simply brutal warriors. The show concludes with a tasting session of blood wine and Gagh, a typical Klingon delicacy ‘made from worms.’”
Nothing counters the stereotype of brutality like drinking blood wine and eating worms.
From the article: “They’re a ruthless species of extraterrestrial warriors from the Omega Leonis Star System eager to build bridges with humans and attract them to their planet. So where on Earth would they choose to open their first tourist center? Stockholm, Sweden, of course—home of ABBA, open-faced sandwiches and stylish but sensible knitwear.”
World’s Oldest Message in a Bottle Discovered
The bottle was one of thousands that were thrown overboard from German ships as part of a research experiment. Finders were asked to return the form inside the bottle to either the German Naval Observatory in Hamburg or the nearest German consulate.
From the article: “Mrs. Illman took the note home and, after drying it out, noticed that the message was a printed form, in German, with German handwriting on it. Her husband Kym researched the find and discovered that the form, dated June 12, 1886, was part of a massive German oceanographic experiment.”
National Geographic Reckons with Past Racist Coverage
The magazine that has helped shape perceptions of the world is taking a long, hard look at itself. Perhaps it will give the rest of us the courage to do the same.
From the article: “[U]ntil the 1970s National Geographic all but ignored people of color who lived in the United States, rarely acknowledging them beyond laborers or domestic workers,” writes editor in chief Susan Goldberg. “Meanwhile it pictured ‘natives’ elsewhere as exotics, famously and frequently unclothed, happy hunters, noble savages—every type of cliché.”
Madeleine L’Engle’s Christianity Was Vital to ‘A Wrinkle in Time’
Given how critical faith was to Madeleine L’Engle’s best-selling book, maybe deliberately removing it is one reason why the movie is getting such tepid reviews.
From the article: “While the big-budget, Ava DuVernay-directed film will probably not prove as controversial as the 1963 book, that may be because of the decision to avoid religious undertones. But A Wrinkle in Time’s use of religious themes made it both controversial and one of the most thought-provoking children’s stories in modern fiction. A recent interview with Jennifer Lee, the film’s screenwriter, suggests that the religious angle of A Wrinkle in Time will be largely excised. ‘I think there are a lot of elements of what [L’Engle] wrote that we have progressed on as a society,’ Lee told an interviewer who asked about the faith element of the book, ‘and we can move on to the other elements.’”
Your Nose Not as Big as in Selfies
If only the same could be said of our waistlines.
From the article: “Last year, more than half of plastic surgeons were approached by patients who wanted to look better in selfies, according to a survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. But selfies don’t actually reflect what people look like in the flesh, says Paskhover, who works at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. ‘They take out their phone and they say, “Look at this picture, look how big my nose looks,”’ he says. ‘I went out to prove why selfies don’t look like the real person, why they’re distorted.’”
