Andrew Wetzel

@circlereader.bsky.social

1018 Followers 2041 Following

Human first, then: curious, Christian, parent. Other Evangelical. #YouCannotServeGodAndMammon #TheKingdomOfGodIsNotAPoliceState #TheEndIsNotYet He/him. 🔗🌳/CircleReader

Screenshot of the 1976 NYT publication of a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, "Dalfunka, Where the Rich Live Forever," in which the sages of Chelm (the city of fools) advise the wealthy Zalman Typpesh that since no wealthy man has died in the poor suburb of Dalfunka, he could move there and live forever.

Scene from "The Lion King" showing the pride lands in ecological collapse under the mismanagement of the bad lion King, Scar.

Screenshot of article by anthropologist Cathryn Townsend:
"Although Epstein was evidently no intellectual (physicist Sean Caroll described him as “a standard, fast-talking charlatan who trotted out big words with no real understanding”), he had a knack for Machiavellian manipulations tied to gifts and favors. In a travesty of potlatch ceremonies, the gifts that the academics brought to the parties were not intended just for Epstein but also for his clan of billionaires and celebrities. The ceremonies were held at opulent intellectual ‘salons’ funded by Epstein. A literary agent by the name of John Brockman was responsible for organizing many of these salons under the guise of a club called the Edge, which facilitated the gathering of billionaires and academics at “glittering events.” Some of these events were apparently secretive safe spaces for participants to praise “race science, rape culture and genetic engineering.” It was through Brockman’s bragging about his association with Epstein to a former client (tech writer Evgeny Morozov) that details of former Prince Andrew’s alleged foot massage emerged."

In a forest preserve shelter decorated with lights, a young bride in a white dress and her new spouse in a a pink sequined jumpsuit share their first married dance together, looking into each other's eyes and smiling with joy as their friends & family cheer & rejoice with them.

Copy of Nnedi Okorafor's "Death of the Author" with the dust cover lifted to show the cover of the novel within the novel, "Rusted Robots," written by her protagonist. In the background, students attending the Great World Texts in Wisconsin conference listen to Okorafor answer their questions.

Screenshot of Colossians 2:20-23, which reads, "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and doctrines? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh."

Screenshot of the first part of Luke 16, the parable of the Shrewd / Dishonest Manager, who knew what was more valuable than the money he was stealing (much to the amusement of his boss, who probably still fired him), ending with Jesus's statement of the guiding principle, "You cannot serve God and Mammon!"

Screenshot of Luke 15 (NRSVUE translation), including Jesus's saying that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance," which comes after the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, and just before the parable of the lost (prodigal) son & his politically correct (non-derogatory) brother, in which the turning back of the lost sinner from his misguided, harmful ways is motivated more by his own security than by any deep appreciation for his own cursed foolishness.

A copper engraving of the Turk, showing the open cabinet and working parts. A ruler at bottom right provides scale. Windisch describes the engravings as based on drawings "done by M. de Kempelen himself, for M. de Mechell, and which consequently cannot fail of being faithful and exact".

Picture of the Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer poster, captioned in the post with "I want you to get me out of this!"

George Saunders & moderator Quan Barry on stage at the Orpheum Theater in Madison for the Wisconsin Book Festival, underneath a slide of interview questions & prompts.

Homer Simpson ringing a bell on the street and wearing a sandwich board that reads, "THE END IS NOT YET! And no, you're not gonna see it coming. Don't get distracted. Stay woke, and do your good work. — Jesus," which IMHO is a fair summary of Matthew 24.

Screenshot of Matthew 24, in which Jesus warns of all the drama that is Not Yet the End of the World, with some verses highlighted:

6 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.… 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.…13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.…"

23 "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ — do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it."

Oil painting portrait of John Bunyan.

Cartoon about a Trump supporter blaming his girlfriend for his increasing commitment to Nazi expression & identity as if it were a required reaction to her objections to MAGA racism and not his own choice.

The Science of Reading: An Overview from National Center on Improving Literacy

The Science of Reading is an interdisciplinary body of research about reading that helps explain why some people have difficulty, how to most effectively assess and teach reading, and how to improve.

What the Science of Reading Is:

A Collection of Research
Research, over time, from multiple fields of study using methods that confirm and disconfirm theories on how children best learn to read.

Teaching Based on the 5 Big Ideas
Phonemic Awareness - The ability to identify and play with individual sounds in spoken words.

Phonics - Reading instruction focused on understanding how letters and groups of letters link to sounds to form letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns.

Fluency - The ability to read words, phrases, sentences, and stories correctly, with enough speed and expression.

Vocabulary - Knowing what words mean and how to say and use them correctly.

Comprehension - The ability to understand what you are reading.

Ever Evolving
It is continuously developing, with ongoing research and evidence deepening our understanding. As populations, communities, and approaches progress, teaching practices and methods should adapt to reflect these changes while staying grounded in effective, research-based methods.

What the Science of Reading Isn't:

A program, an intervention, or a product that you can buy.
The Science of Reading could be considered an approach to teaching reading that is based on decades of research and evidence. It is NOT a specific program.

Phonics-based programs that drill phonics skills.
Phonics is an integral part of teaching reading based on science, but it is just one of the five big ideas that should be taught so all children can learn to read.

Complete and no more study needs to be done.
As with any science, it is never complete. We can always know more. New research is happening all the time, and researchers, teachers, and families can work together.

Photo of a white dog lounging on grass in a back yard with sunlight filtering through garden plants (a grapevine, prairie grassed, and biennial gaura flowers) and a red wheelbarrow in the middle-foreground.

Screenshot of a quote Skeet of Rose Lerner appreciating a screenshot of Claire Willett's skeet about the Portland Frogs being followed on her feed by the Frog and Toad Bot's skeet reading, "Don't be silly," said Frog, followed on my feed by Django Wexler's skeet imagining the office conversation between the sales manager at the company that makes inflatable frog suits and his boss…

(Sorry I called them "skeets.")

Screenshot of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 (NRSV)

"A Life Pleasing to God

4 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control your own body[a] in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passion, like the gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, 12 so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one."

View of the Madison, Wisconsin, isthmus from the air. As one might see while being raptured…

Screenshot of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 in the King James Version:

"13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

XKCD Comic showing a timeline with a bar lableled "Regular Watches" from pre-1900 to around 2005, and a bar labeled "Smart Watches" from 2015 on post 2030. The gap between the bars from 2005-2015 is labelled, "Brief, glorious period in which our wrists were free"

Sickos "Yes…HA HA HA…YES!" meme image.

Website description of Antonio A. Byrd's research on race, coding, writing, literacy, pedagogy, & generative AI.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death — are joined by another, texting on a phone as he rides. Death asks, "And you are…?” and the Fifth Horseman answers, "Misinformation."

Screenshot of Matthew 24:4-8 (NRSV)

1 As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

2 Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

3 Signs of the End of the Age
When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.

5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places:

8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Bumper sticker with white stars on a blue background on the left border, and in red text on a white background, "PUBLIC SERVICE IS NOT A CRIME"

Photo of a gray bearded man wearing o summer floral button down shirt that was a gift for Father's Day. In a line above the shirt pocket is a row of six Eagle Scout Dad pins, and on the top edge of the pocket is a pride rainbow pin with a Holy Spirit dove descending toward one end.

Madison, Wisconsin, Woodman's East grocery store aisle with water crashing in through a collapsed ceiling & completely flooding the floor between seafood and chicken.

The back yard at BLW Neighborhood Center, with a peeling, leaning, blue-painted wooden fence around an area of weeds, compacted earth newly grass-seeded, and a 4 x 8 foot garden bed with small veggies & marigolds.

Firefly resting on brome grass in daylight.

Bearded man with glasses standing outside holding an armful of Winecap mushrooms.

Diagram from "Panarchy" by Gunderson & Holling (2002) illustrating the ecological concept of an adaptive cycle, charted along the system axes of connectedness vs potential, and showing a looping path through four phases that ecological & human systems display:
1. Growth/exploitation of resources
2. Conservation
3. Collapse/release of resources
4. Reorganization

Text of Martin Luther's Shorter Catechism that reads:

The Fifth Commandment:

You shall not murder.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

The Central Thought:

God created us to care about other people and to help them in their times of need.

What are the needs of people in my immediate community and society?

Read Luke 10:25--37. How did the Samaritan view his relationship to the beaten man differently than the priest or the Levite did?

✠ As Christians, we look after our neighbors so that they may enjoy the life God has given them.

What opportunities does God give me to help my neighbor?

View of the new building for Faith Community Bible Center in Madison, Wisconsin, with a sandwich board sign for the church in the foreground.

Screenshot of the E listings from the Progressive Silent Film List showing ten versions of "East Lynne" made from 1903-1925.

Cartoon by Paul North.
Wolf's campaign billboard: "I am going to eat you."
One sheep to the another, admiringly: "He tells is like it is."

Star Trek Darmok meme with Captain Dathon gesturing at a black clad and puzzled/disconcerted/disgusted looking Captain Picard and saying, "J.D and Marco…on the couch."

Star Trek fuckery meme post with 69 likes.

A red milkweed beetle with black antennae, spots, & eyes perched on a cream colored common milkweed flowers.

Far Side cartoon showing a crowd of aliens looking up from a moonscape at a planet Earth exploding with multiple mushroom clouds and saying, "Ooooooooooooo!"

Title page of "The 13 Clocks" by James Thurber.

View into cupboard showing disassembled plumbing. Three tools are in the foreground: a close quarters hacksaw, a lock nut wrench, and a giant red cast iron pipe wrench.

White haired white guy in a white shirt standing at a podium speaking & gesturing as he teaches on a Sunday morning.

Young guy speaking from behind a music stand, with audience in foreground.

Cover image for "Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature" by Dan Sinykin

Cover image of "Behold and Become: Reading Scripture for Transformation" by Jeremy M. Kimble showing a sunrise behind hills across a rippling lake.

Mr. Fred Rogers, smiling, wearing a red cardigan sweater and holding one dress shoe.

Disgruntled cat peering out from a hiding place into a snowy landscape.

Partly developed baby cluster of grapes, purple through blue & tiny green from the end back to their connection to the vine, against a weathered wooden fence.

Naomi, a white girl with red hair in a Scouts BSA shirt & black shorts & sneakers, holding a stack of flyers & talking to an older couple in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol at the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison.