Here are today’s dispatches from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

1. Davy Jones is dead. From The Wrap/AP:  Davy Jones, a former actor turned singer who helped propel the TV rock band The Monkees to the top of the pop charts and into rock `n’ roll history, died Wednesday in Florida. He was 66.
Comment: I’ve actually recently discovered reruns of the The Monkees airing on Antenna TV. Along with The Beatles, The Monkees helped set the stage for the sort of music videos that built MTV.  But unlike some modern artists promoted by that network, the Monkees weren’t out to offend or shock. As their theme song put it they were “too busy singin’ to put anybody down.” 

My favorite Monkees theme was Daydream Believer (which Davy sung). I was never really sure what the lyrics meant but it I knew it made me feel good to listen to it.  Thanks, Davy.

2. Life’s a Tripp for Bristol Palin and Lifetime. From Hollywood Reporter: Focusing on the former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s daughter’s life as a single mother with son Tripp, the series will follow the young Palin’s new life in her native Alaska after brushes with fame on Dancing With the Stars.

No blog tomorrow. See you Monday.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11