The Warren & the World is Story Warren’s weekly newsletter, providing a round-up of our favorite things from around the web as well as a review of what was on our site over the past week. We’re glad you’re here!

Around the Web:

Why Christians Should Create

Zachary Perkins writes over at Relevant Magazine about a topic that we engage at Story Warren a lot, the struggle for a correct understanding of secular and sacred in the creative realm. He does a good job tackling it.

I was recently having a conversation on Facebook with a friend who was quite frustrated. His frustration stemmed from how Christians seem to stifle certain forms of art or put certain art into categories, calling them either “Christian” or “Secular.”

A really good post. Read it.

The History of the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve

I think this is my favorite heist story. One day, it’ll be a movie to rival The Town or Goodfellas or Inside Job or something. Did you know that there’s a Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve? Did you know that a couple of years ago, banditos managed to make-off with 10,000 barrels of maple syrup? It’s like robbing Fort Knox!

We at Consumerist remain fascinated with the 2012 theft of 10,000 barrels of maple syrup from the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve in Quebec, Canada.

Laura Northrup at the Consumerist covers the story pretty well, and points to a great comic explaining the whole thing. Read more.

Learn to Play a Musical Instrument in Less Time with Slower Practice

Melonie Pinola at Lifehacker has a synopsis of a pretty interesting theory about learning how to play music. If you are a closet musician trying to get better, or if you’re raising some musicians, this is a great read.

Choosing a short selection—anything from a few notes to eight measures—will help you closely monitor your progress as you practice. By “perfect technique,” Hensold means the technical way you should play the instrument (e.g., moving with minimal force while holding the instrument and having your body in a neutral position).

Go read more.

The Sniper

Jonathan Rogers is the author of several great books (including The Bark of the Bog Owl, currently $0.99 on Kindle /endplug), and also the teller of great tales. This is a good one, posted over at the Rabbit Room:

My cousin Jason worked for a heating and air conditioning company when he was in high school. They took care of the huge air conditioning units that sat atop the local mall. The mall had pigeons. Looking up through the skylights, a shopper could see them bobbing and strutting on the roof. They were picturesque, but when they took up residence in the air conditioning units, they played havoc with the interior climate of the mall.Jason, the youngest (and, presumably, the least skilled) of the company’s employees, was assigned the task of discouraging the pigeons. So one summer morning he carried a BB gun to the mall and climbed through the roof hatch with it.

Hilarious. I laughed out loud. Read more.

Around the Warren:

Reading as a Family: A New Look at an Old Practice

Liz Cottrill starts our week out with 10 statements about reading as a family:

January is upon us and offers us the gift of a brand new year, a fresh start, a chance to begin again. Rather than fill us with hope and promise, however, I’m afraid sometimes we actually feel disheartened at the thought of a new year. Though change appeals to us and the planning energizes us, we recall all too well our past failures to persevere, or follow through, or even begin new resolves.

I love Liz’s thoughtful approach. Read more.

“It is the old things that startle and intoxicate”

Paul Boekell brings us another great quote, beautifully set.

Innovative Hugo Cabret Woos Reluctant Readers

Loren Eaton reviews the Invention of Hugo Cabret.

I never would’ve considered picking up Brian Selznick’s comic/novel hybrid The Invention of Hugo Cabret without The Caldecott Medal stamped on its dust jacket. When authors upend traditional forms, the results tend to be muddled and pretentious. Not so with Hugo. Selznick has managed to craft an experimental book that’s both coherent and captivating.

Loren Eaton writes book reviews that make me want to read more. Go, read more.

The Brave Cardinal

James Witmer writes and Zach Franzen illustrates.

In a big spruce tree in a big old garden behind a big old house lived a bold red cardinal and his beautiful buff-colored wife. Mr. Cardinal was happy as could be, and very proud of the nest-full of eggs Mrs. Cardinal was sitting on.

The story is fun. The illustration is great. Go check it out. I’m so glad to be a part of original content like this finding a home on the internet.

Something to Use with Your Kids:

We used to look at books to try to understand in-depth pieces of information, like how exactly does the cardiovascular system work. Now, we have cool pieces of software on webpages that do that for us. Innerbody.com is an in-depth, free human anatomy learning tool. Way cool. Read more.