It’s not often that I laugh out loud at an internet video. But this was one of those times. You may be familiar with the categorization of how people adapt to and adopt new technology. There are the innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards, spread across the typical bell curve as displayed in the graphic below. I’m one of those goofy people who thinks of myself as an early adopter but in actual practice fall somewhere between late majority and laggard. I had one of the first touch screen smart phones (way before the iPhone) but never learned to do more than make phone calls. When the iPhone came out I...

I’m not sure what you’ll think of Amanda Palmer. She is, well, different, perhaps particularly from the kinds of folks that usually show up at our churches. (Although perhaps for that very reason we should listen to what she has to say!) She’s a former street performer turned alternative rock icon. She’s known for pushing boundaries…in her art, her appearance, her lifestyle. She’s bold, brash, unconventional, and at times irreverent. But I think she’s also onto something. Something important, something beautiful, something so deeply human that it is also and simultaneously something divine. She is onto the art of being in...

I realize that after my gaffe regarding the date of the start of the Conclave, I’m not exactly the expert on all things papal. (My apologies again to readers, and especially my Roman Catholic friends!) Nevertheless, now that the Conclave has begun, I thought I’d share one or two of the more interesting tidbits that I’ve come across, particularly with regard to the new name the next Pope will choose. I’ll start with a piece from Father James Martin, SJ, who is one of the leading authorities on American Catholicism. In a tongue-in-cheek piece, Father Martin offers the Cardinals twelve (pretty) good reasons he should be the next...