Current Events Write-Up: Feud, Tim Keller, Benedict Option, Deficit Hawks, Introverts, Billy Graham Rule

Time for a Current Events Write-Up!  I missed last week because I was writing book reviews.

Romper: Is Pauline from "Feud" Based on a Real Person? The Ambitious Assistant Is a Fan Favorite, by Caralynn Lippo. 

I have been watching "Feud," which is about the conflict between actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford during and after the making of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?  Last Sunday's episode was especially good.  In that episode, Pauline, who was director Robert Aldrich's assistant, was trying to get people to read her script, and she expressed a desire to be a director herself.  But women being directors at that time was extremely uncommon.  Pauline was discouraged, but then she talked with Mamacita, Joan Crawford's personal assistant.  Mamacita talked about how women are increasing in population, and there will be a greater demand for women directors who can help make films and shows that appeal to women.  "Your time is coming," Mamacita solemnly tells Pauline.  That made me wonder if Pauline ever became a successful scriptwriter and director.  And that led me to this article.

Wikipedia: B.D. Hyman.

Another character in the "Feud" series was B.D. Hyman, who was Bette Davis' daughter.  She had a brief role in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?  I was curious to learn more about her, and I found that she became a born-again Christian, who wrote a book about the rapture. 

DalyFocus: Tim Keller's Reward Is In Heaven. It's Princeton that Loses the Prize, by Jim Daly.

Pastor Tim Keller was about to receive Princeton Theological Seminary's Kuyper award, then Princeton decided not to give him the award on account of his controversial stances.  I loved the last line of this post: "Princeton can keep its award, but in how he’s handled the 'slight,' Tim Keller is rewarding us by showing the Christian how best to respond in a post-Christian world."  That is something that I like about Tim Keller: he doesn't take himself too seriously.  As Daly says, "...the people who know and love Tim Keller are likely more bothered by this 'snub' than he is." 

Bob on Books: Review of The Benedict Option.

This is a good summary, review, and critique of Rod Dreher's The Benedict Option.

The Baffler: The Wrongest Profession: How economists have botched the promise of widely distributed prosperity—and why they have no intention of stopping now, by Dean Baker.

This is a critique of deficit hawkishness. 

Thought Catalog: 10 Things Being an Introvert Is Not an Excuse For, by Heidi Priebe.

Things for me to keep in mind!

Relevant Magazine: Twitter Tangles with the Billy Graham Rule.

When I saw this article, I thought, "Why can't Mike Pence set the boundaries that he wants, without having to put up with a bunch of leftist snark?"  But critics do well to highlight a possible problem: if men avoid women (i.e., not having a meal with them alone, not being in the same room with them alone) because they fear falling into an affair, will that close women off from job advancement opportunities?  I can still see a rationale for the Billy Graham Rule. When I was at Harvard Divinity School, we had a session on how pastors should not date parishioners, and we were encouraged to set boundaries.  But I can understand some of the concerns about the Billy Graham Rule.  Is there a reasonable middle ground?