"Just an Avatar For His Own Fame"

Owen Strachan:

The most recent issue of the New York Times magazine features an engrossing profile of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder by Sam Anderson. It touches on an issue that I mull over sometimes: the effect of celebrity on a person. Here’s a swatch from the long-form profile that illuminates the incredible pressures of massive fame.

Read the rest.  

One Downside of the Internet

And one huge upside to Christian community.

The Daily Stat:

Between 1985 and 2005, the number of Americans who said they definitely felt satisfied with the way their lives were going dropped by about 30%, and the ranks of the most dissatisfied rose by nearly 50%, according to a study involving thousands of people by Chris M. Herbst of Arizona State. The reasons appear to be related to Americans' declining attachments to friends and family, lower participation in social and civic activities, and diminished trust in political institutions, Herbst says. The only good news: The rate of decline in satisfaction appears to have slowed during that two-decade period.