Quote Log: Foundations Are

Michael Pollan on foundations (the physical kind, the kind that go four feet into the ground):
"A foundation rooted this deeply can be counted on in a way that, say, some philosopher's idea of the truth cannot, no matter how 'grounded' he claims it to be. For one thing, I don't have to subscribe to its meaning in order for it to work. It doesn't mean; it just is — something hard and real and unambiguous … "
— Michael Pollan in A Place of My Own (New York: Penguin, 2d ed, 2008), p.122; italics in original.

Quote Log: Reason's Imperialist Flag

"Reason is avidly imperialistic, attempting to plant its victory flag over every dimension of thought whether it belongs there or not."
-- David Crump’s book Encountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), page 119, quoted by Bob Yarborough in "The Future of Cognitive Reverence for the Bible" in JETS, vol. 57, no.1 (2014), pages 5-18.

I take that quote to mean: although reason is powerful and necessary, we are tempted to believe that it will resolve issues in every sphere of our beings, such as emotions or worship or praxis -- and it won't.

My Checklist for Blog Posts

Here is the checklist I have compiled that I go through before posting a blog post:

-- Am I using character formatting (bold, italic, underline, etc.) appropriately, or did I leave in * * and _ _ where I don't need to?

-- Did I replace all my "todo: go look this up" notes in the body of the text?

-- Do all my paragraphs start with a topic sentence?

-- Is everything I say in line with the main idea of the post, or is there any "clutter"?

-- What am I doing to get and keep the reader interested in what I have to say?

-- Am I using headings, question and answer format, and lists (bulleted or numbered) effectively?

-- Does the content call for any breakout quotes or calls to action?

-- Should I add images to my post? Where shall I place them?

-- Do all my images have alternate text set?

-- In the body of the post, did I add a link wherever it would be appropriate? (Check my notes that go with the first draft.)
-- Do these links open in a new window so that they don't break the reader's focus on this page?
-- Is the anchor text for all my links descriptive of where the link goes?

-- If desired, do I end with a teaser ("Stay tuned," "More to come," "We will keep you updated," etc.)?

-- Is there a byline?

-- How does the blog post look? (Check gut reaction & revisit above questions as needed.)

-- Have I set the right categories and tags?
-- (This item is outdated: it may make one feel better.) Have I put good keywords in the keywords meta tag?

-- Does the title

•  have as many keywords as appropriate?
• not match one I've already used on this website?
• have no stop words? (or as few as good grammar permits)
• have no more than 60-65 characters?

-- Are the first three lines / excerpt / description meta tag what I want them to be: 

• Do they have as many keywords as appropriate?
• Does the description meta tag have no more than 155 characters?
• Will it get the reader's attention?

-- Did I proofread it one more time?
(One good tip: read it backwards, as suggested by the "SEO Guide to Creating Viral Linkbait and Infographics.")

And, finally, for more great ideas on writing blog posts, I've found my new favorite website is CopyBlogger:

• "The Art of Writing Great Google+ Posts"
• "How to Write Interesting Content for a 'Boring' Topic"
• "11 Common Blogging Mistakes That Are Wasting Your Audience’s Time"