Links Round-up, Holiday Tumbleweeds Edition

As always, Thanksgiving marks a six to eight week hiatus in serious posting around these parts, what with traveling, conferences, finals, applications, and so on. I'll plan to have a new round of annual Advent poems/hymns on Sundays, along with some short posts or quotes during the week, but it'll likely be pretty scarce through the new year. With that, though, enjoy a few links on me:

• One of my favorite television and film critics, Matt Zoller Seitz, writes poignantly of the various pieces of pop culture that remind him of his late wife. (This article in turn reminded me of Rob Sheffield's wonderful book about his late wife, Love is a Mixtape.)
• James K. A. Smith's piece on giving up Facebook resonated powerfully with me, particularly his vexed relationship with snail mail and email. (See also his excellent post on Thanksgiving.)
• If you didn't see it: Zadie Smith's incisive essay on Facebook and The Social Network.
• Let me add my hits-exploding voice to the mix: go check out the superb new blog Women In Theology.
• Barth, always prescient, on church growth.
• Cornel West was on my man Craig Ferguson's show!
• My Spurs are doing quite well these days.
• And finally, be sure to follow this third and final week of the Karl Barth Blog Conference, with some of the best folks (authors and subjects) yet to come.