On one of the comments on my post response to Jordon Cooper, I was asked these questions by J-Marie:
Who prefers which news channel?
We tend to skip around, but I think Kris prefers FoxNews a little and I prefer CNN, but we’d rather find a rousing debate than a soft-pedaling and politically correct description. We don’t watch MSNBC very often. We don’t watch the local news very often anymore, either. On Weekends I like FoxNews early morning because they’re horsing around some. CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, whom I like, is a little too serious. I liked it when Jack Cafferty was grouching about something.
Any favorites/unfavorite news personalities?
I like Jack Cafferty and Wolf Blitzer. I like Julien on Sat morning’s FoxNews. I liked Paula Zahn on the morning news but don’t care for her so much in the evening. We sometimes watch Larry King. Kris likes Anderson Cooper.
Any special salad recipes?
Here’s my standard:
Spinach leaves cut and sliced into small pieces.
Dice carrots
Dice onions
Tomato diced
Broccoli florets
Key for me: put this all in a bowl, put the dressing on then, and mix it up thoroughly so that it is not all gobbed on the top. Cracked pepper. Sometimes I add a little Romano or Parmesan.
Is your weekend schedule any different?
Weekends when we are home and I’m not speaking…. well, they begin on Fridays around here. By the way, my general rule is that I do not go speak somewhere if Kris is not part of the deal. (M-Th Kris works, of course, so she doesn’t go with me if I’m speaking out of town.)
We get up early on Saturday (as always). By 8am we are off to Independence Grove to walk; we stop at MacDonald’s for a cup of coffee; walk around the Lake. Back home. Kris runs errands and I work some — writing or reading — or swiff or vacuum or mow the grass. We attend Willow on Saturday evening. Sundays are much the same. I rarely write much on weekends, and never at night unless a publication deadline is imminent and I’m not going to meet it unless I put in some extra hours. Kris shops for groceries, and doesn’t trust me at the store.
Lots of variety: sometimes we go to a movie on Friday night (Kris generally chooses); we go out to eat on Sat evening for dinner with family or friends; we do different things in the afternoons — go to the City, run errands, take a nap, watch the Cubs or golf or basketball or football. We do a little gardening. Some house projects. Trips to Freeport to visit our parents.
What is your next book?
A Communty called Atonement (Abingdon, due out next spring I guess)
The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus (Paraclete, due out in December)
In August I have a few little articles to write, and then I return for 18 months to James for Eerdmans (NIC). I expect to be done by Sept 1, 2008. Nothing else.
And are you getting ready for which classes in the fall?
I do class stuff all the time; syllabus Aug 1; but the courses are mostly ready.