a lot has been said over the latest rage in methodism, taking your political viewpoints to youtube. one thing maxie dunham, who seems to have started this should have done his homework on is the concept of mashup's. cause buddy, you've now been mashedup. i think the fact that someone did this is brilliant, rather slanted, but brilliance as i am sure the egos that decided this vehicle was the way to go didn't see something like this happening.
saw this via don heatley's facebook page. i find this compelling and certainly worth my 8 minutes of time to ponder. it is obviously directed at christianity, the church, and the bible
the problem with challenging one's cupboard is that peoples identity surrounded by the things they organize themselves with. to express that someones meaning to life is wrong is threatening to their very sense of self. Christ isn't an arguement to win, but there is a better way, how does one help illumine that?
i don't feel the bible is to be a book on the shelf (tho, admittedly it sits on my shelf more than it probably deserves. how much of an idol do we make of the bible?
there is something about josh joplin that i really love. he's only had one marketable hit, but then again, the grateful dead only had one top hit song too.. anyways, i just love his obscure song "i am not the only cowboy." if i had to guess why, its resonates with me lyrically. i like the white boy psuedo rap stuff cause i might actually be able to pull that off. note: he does a lot of talking & joking before this song actually starts, ffwd to about a minute & half in.
how can i resist a country music song extrapolating the ills of a man trying to meet a woman via social media. many thanks to john for unearthing this one
as i am catching up on the blogosphere & other feeds i was reading up on josh browns continued dismay with social media. i get his sentiment.. it had me thinking then of some of the stuff that made the early onset of social media really great. wandered around the net a bit and stumbled back upon this viral video gem. it is still great to me & for many others i am sure.
it has me thinking, what gives some web sensation staying power?
next week we are doing our midday holy week services in our youth space (cause its' the coolest) and most artistically driven area and the pastors want to do some more experiential worship stuff. we'll do some prayer stations stuff for sure & some various smells. but what about our visuals?
i've pretty much sold myself on parsing this video stopping it through good friday & then showing the full thing on easter. i love simple & creative stuff. this is right up my alley
i get asked about twitter & why enough times that i am fine with saying, if your skeptical don't do it. i like len sweet's framing of twitter as passing on the town green. i've established some relationships, made a bunch of jokes, shared a ton of information, & wasted some time that was probably better off done somewhere else. adam cleaveland shared this hilarious video about twitter, on twitter, by the folks at current tv. as with most good satire, you need to know a bit of twitter to get the full fun, but even without that knowledge you'll be able to laugh at it. for a more serious look at twitter you can check out the 'twitter in plain english'
zach lind did this little video interview for his podcast expanding a little more on what shane was getting at with technology & the virtual community.
one of the newer bands that i am finding i really like is the fray. i've apparently been listening to them for awhile over the radio but never noticed. i've become that person you ask 'do you know?..' 'no' 'let me play them for you.' 'okay.. oh, i've heard them before'. not sure why i've become that person, but i have. same situation goes in here.
i'm a real fan of lifechurch.tv's series of sketches where they chat with satan. simple, generally good theology in the idea of screwtape letters, witty, and the videos are put together well. i submit this one on how satan uses money in the economy.
a little tip to jen lemen for weekend reminder of this haunting gem that i just love. at one point i was close to being able to play this song on guitar..
i've been familiar with ice climbing before. when i was regularly going rock climbing & working at rei the idea of ice climbing was way cool, but being in an area that it rarely gets below freezing for more than two days straight it is not something i ever imagined doing myself. now i don't think i could ever imagine climbing iceburgs, but it sure is cool to know people try.
i know you all might be bored of seeing all this warmth in winter stuff by now, but this was my life for the later part of last week. not to mention the 5 or so months leading up to the event. this was our retreat highlights video shown saturday night. i'm a proud papa in that the youth team we assembled shot it, cut it up, and produced the video all in the weekend. i will probably add a bit to the end of the video to put in the saturday night experience. i gave everyone the morning off (except shane who had to do song slide duty) so we don't have video captured of that.
wondering what i was up to last week (with only one posting and all)? well, here's a little glimpse as i was doing my normal stuff, but getting ready for our largest youth retreat, warmth in winter, we participate in. this is our friday highlights video my team of youth put together as part of the retreat.
but again, i was really turned off by ed young's simplistic, and in my opinion, misdirected bond to marriage. now i get being on a talk show you get 5 minutes & colbert or stewart are the funny guys and you are to be the straight guy. within that 5 minutes they do allow you to get your point out there, but only briefly and it is your one liner. so to hear, "sex is the superglue to marriage." honestly, is that the best you have? even nt wright was better at explaining "life after life after death" in the resurrection than you were about a solid why for having sex 7 days in a row to save marriage.
i found this little video looking for a psalters song. it has some interesting thoughts on war from people whom i listen too, contemporary and old school.
this might be one of the coolest, and most truth telling things i've seen on youtbue in a long time. its not long & you must watch the whole thing to get the impact. no, some lame scary person isn't going to jump up at the end (i didn't tell you to turn up your speakers did i?). tip comes from family friend meredith who sent to wifey erin (not sure what it takes to get on meredith's email list but)
I was surprised that more than 25 bloggers linked to the video in some
way on their blog. And I do think it is significant that simply passing
on a video was able to revive a video that was basically dead on
YouTube. A change from 44 views in 6 months to 715 views in 2 weeks is
a significant change. I think that this experiment does show that there
exists a significant group of Methodists who are willing to work
together in some capacity to raise awareness and get the word out. The
big question is: Get the word out about what?
like i mentioned to you earlier kevin. the next step would be to
spread it around through people’s email lists. email is going to tap
more of the mainstream folks versus the early adopts of the blog world.
some numbers can be low because we share information amongst
ourselves. i had already seen the video so i wasn’t going to watch 25
times because 25 of my friends posted it. i also am not sure if the
embed watching shows up in the views on youtube or that is just a ‘hit’
to that page. that would also keep numbers rather low as most folks
embedded the video. i know i did that.
certainly the video didn’t go viral, but i don’t know if it has
elements to that seem to be ingrained in a viral video. something that
is familiar, humorous or heart tugging. the old gene cotton claymation
clay ride history of methodism got a lot of traffic, until umcom told
me to take it down, as people had some kindred tie to it. it was a good
video, but for many it was more nostalgic to the soul. who knows how
well that video would be doing now. i have some news story on the
patriot guard, and westboro baptist, that seems to get a comment or two
and a hundred or so views a day.
though the experiment didn’t go viral that isn’t the measure. the
measure is that it is talked about and people are more aware of
‘reclaiming wesleyan tradition’ now. which, they might not have been
before.
some thoughts
as for kevin's observation that views dropped after the 2nd week.. well, it wasn't the kind of video that so many people kept going back too to show off or laugh at again. months later i still go back and laugh at the nashville gas crisis (though it isn't as funny as it was that week).
i was saying to erin last night, "i just get frustrated in how & why to i can't seem to communicate with these kids & parents." i was speaking of an information/logistic type communications. not a spiritual sense. with the all the different messages they get mine seem to get diluted. i know that our churches as a whole experience this problem & i'm pondering how i can find my way through and help communicate to my churches how they can do the same (a monumental task i believe). so with all that in mind, this little video, which i ran across in my reader (but i lost who actually posted it to 'tip' them), highlights the large shift of brand communication.
one of the things i often wonder about martin luther king jr is how just about everyone has this warm feeling about him. his often highlighted 'i have a dream' speech is wonderful and captivating of ones imagination. but, that isn't his only speech and many are not so easy to stomach as being part of america. as a modern prophet he is dangerous to people, he speaks a truth that is hard to come to be honest with. he just isn't that tamed person that i often think people see of him. this is one such episode
inauguration day is always an great day. i know people have their reasons for this year being more special than others, but to know that we have a complete change of government leadership without violence or war is something to behold. so, in recognition of inauguration i've got this caption contest. cool thing, my completely subjectively chosen winner (and you can vote for who you think is best) will be sent a copy of my worship feast prayer stations cdrom project & maybe some more stuff, but i promise that one.
my interesting connection with dmb comes as i used to see them a lot. they came through tuscaloosa (the home of university of alabama) on the bar circuit all the time. they charged a huge cover, like 10 bucks (which is an investment for college student), but that is where the girls went so we all went. i remember sometime standing around in my fraternities television room waiting for dinner when all of a sudden a dmb video came on mtv... we all stared and then acknowledged that we'd never see them back at the local bars ever again.. and i'm not sure i've ever seen them live since.
i am not a big christian music aficionado, at least not anymore. its not that i don't like christian music, but it just hasn't filled my soul need. one group tho that i got turned onto this summer (when way of pilgrimage was using their stuff for discussion videos) i do find myself listening to more and more. they are called tenth avenue north. they could be super huge now, i wouldn't know, but they are reasonably new to me. i like their sound & they don't sound awkward moving tempo in their songs. i haven't done the dissecting of the theology of songs, so far i am just enjoying.
i like the over feel of the video and i like how it plugs reclaiming wesleyan tradition. it mixes the success of the guiness commercial ads without the moving mouths and a succinct history & message. well done. my big issue (as i always seem to have an issue) is that the video has been on youtube since the summer and only has 67 views (at the time that i viewed it). we need some help getting our agencies ingrained in the social media spectrum.
i've spent bits and pieces of my morning watching religulous, the documentary by bill mahar on faith & reason. my quick thoughts
he takes on more than just the christian faith, which i know is in the target hairs of skeptics/critics etc. since he goes to all faith expressions i'll say, he's balanced in his critique.
i agree with him on a few of the 'questions & doubt' he brings up. case, he was standing in front of the vatican and said 'where does Jesus talk about this?' (or a similar caveat). which i agree, our systems and buildings, which are or can be testaments to God inspiration within persons, can also wreak of our own needs. but with this case example, people are moved spiritually by such structures & people are have probably been sacrificed (financially & socially) in making such structures exist. we live in both worlds as a faith, we cannot seperate the them.
i have a hard time calling it documentary, more like docudrama, in that the film is littered with snippets of video from various culture angles (from gay porn, war footage, to children's bible cartoons) that give little to the overall conversation than to elicit an edgy response. there is also times, especially in the conversations with various leaders of islam where they subtitle what is being said. now, it could be what is actually said (i do not speak arabic) but in a case where a cleric takes what looks like a phone call/txt message, they put in subtitle what he txt message. those instances just fuel stereotypes which is not helpful for his overall message.
his overall message is that religion needs to go away (and for those religious/christ follower folks, you might think the same), but his crass nature in sharing his message will probably only put off people to what is probably a greater message, that we need to question & answer our faith. that type of questioning is not a bad thing to be avoided, but should be embraced as part of our spiritual pilgrimage.
a first for the monday music is to review some new music. this stuff came to me via the ooze. i've often wondered what would emergent music sound like? after brian mclaren wrote his manifesto to worship songwriters some years back i have been looking out for those who might fit into taking that seriously.
the zehnder guys give their angle on it. here is a video of them doing the song of peace hymn.
Twins Tom and Tim Gibbs Zehnder compose, arrange, perform and record as an indie worship band based in Los Angeles. Tim plays bass and doumbek, Tom plays guitar and djembe, and the two raise their voices together in elaborate duets. They serve a local church with their music, L.A.'s Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
A few accolades:
"Zehnder communes with those who hear their music."
-Ched Meyers | Author/Speaker/Theologian | Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries
"Take a unique harmonized vocal sound and a punchy groove and combine that with provocative lyrics and you start to get a sense of Zehnder."
-Rev. Dan Hoffman | Co-Executive Director | Hollywood Urban Project
i am not the aficionado of music, but what i liked about these guys is that they take some chance with their lyric. its not repetitive chorus which gets taken into a quick circulation of the worship spectrum, but there is rounded thought mixed in with their lyric. i would liken their songwriting to more a folk songwriter. the sound of the group i might describe as an experimental acoustic. even their rap song "justice jam" (which is probably my favorite) is bass lined with a chello (or what sounds like chello).
not being a nashville native i have adopted some of the norms of the nashville culture. one of the norms of being in nashville is that you don't "out" the celebrities. they are regular people and you let them be regular. since nashville is a country music home this is rather easy for me. being from the philadelphia area there was maybe one country station and going to alabama i tried to give country a go, but it didn't take. some of the icons i can point out, the dolly or... well, the dolly.
this not 'outting' the celeb became a big thing when i was working for awhile at reiin brentwood (a camping co-op store for those that don't know & a tn town where a lot of celebs reside). people would come in and i'd ask them if they were a member (a common question when you visit a co-op) and i'd get their name, jackson, brooks, etc. i knew of people, so i would realize that they were somebody.
i lost my cool though, once.
i had this very ordinary guy stop in buying some stuff. i rang him up, his co-op membership was under his wife's name, not a problem. he gave me his credit card and i looked at it for signature and matching name. when i saw his name it said 'michael card'.. my eyes widened and i looked up at him and sneaked the question "are you, the michael card, the musician?" he answered back "yes" and didn't look to pleased about it. so i needed a recovery.. i responded back with what was amazing brilliance "i know one of your old piano teachers." note: this was not a lie, rolland puckett who went to church with me. rolland is an older gentleman who was a concert pianist and would play his steinway in the church sanctuary at night. i'd sneak in and listen to him, it was a real joy and we had a good friendship. anyway, back to michael. he replied back "really?" i said, "yes, rolland puckett is a very good friend." michael's shoulder's let down, we talked about rolland a bit and the gear that he was purchasing for a 2 week romanian mission he was undertaking at that time. i was on cloud nine. went home and told my brother who i ran into and he was stoked too. i told other folks about my run in with michael card, but they were like "who?" yes, he's more the artist for the church geek.
michael was never the most well known artist. he didn't fit the trendy mold of contemporary christian music. his stuff was challenging too. none of his stuff is fluffy & couldn't really get adapted to the growing worship music scene. he talked with a lot of the words and metaphors you see in the emergent community now, only this was steeped in more liturgy and lived out in the early & mid '90's, long before that stuff start.
so, in this time of advent i share with you michael card's song jubilee. i would also suggest his song with phil keaggy 'poem of your life'
i was super stoked about the documentary. had these ideas of all the different people it would profile and story.
when i got the documentary i watched it at the first opportunity. my emotional reactions were somewhat uneasy, there was some stuff in there that made me uncomfortable, which i felt strange about because all the concepts and ideas were things i have been familiar with through readings of shane'sbooks or others. many of the people in the video i had heard of and got what i would expect. but some of the lesser known, or unknown folks, stories were way powerful.
the documentary got really long for me. almost 2 hours in length it felt long. i might have done a shorter movie length with continued stories on a website. that might allow for more adaptability and continued conversations.. might even have a place where people upload their own videos of stuff they are doing.
at the end of it all the documentary ended up in moorestown, nj which was funny to me. i went to church at first umc in moorestown, growing up next door in cinnaminson. i spent many years with the people of moorestown. they were doing a contrast of moorestown and camden, which only are about five miles apart (with cinnaminson in part of the middle of that 5 miles). camden is notoriously one of the most violent and poverty stricken places.
what is funny to me is that i hung out in camden too. it was for various reasons, but i remember doing a driving lesson through parts of camden to pick up the next student. there was shopping spots and even a night club as i remember visiting. in my early days of hs we played various schools from in and around camden in sports (that changed when our schools restructured the whole league system). the waterfront was built up with the aquarium and concert amphitheater to check out. then there were my emt days where we went to cooper hospital over and over again. though i knew camden to be a dangerous place by reputation it was never some huge stark contrast.. but then again, back in those days moorestown isn't what it is today either. the divide of haves and have nots may have just gotten so much bigger.
back to ordinary radicals. its a good movie, great for stirring conversation. wish it was shorter to get allow people to get to that conversation without feeling they are leaving something out. as for teaching spots it has some great testimonies to pull from to share specific thoughts on empire, money, mission, homelessness, government, and more.
this is a prayer station idea that didn't make the cut onto my worship feast prayer stations cdrom. this features my bud jonathon with a few kids talking about 'family heirlooms.' i think it didn't make the cut cause jonathon's voice got lost in the space, so volume might have to be turned up. you can still hear clearly enough, promise.
this is a presentation by mike wesh who brought us digital ethnography & some of the great videos on web 2.0 and a vision for students. its a fifty min presentation so you might want to watch when you have some time. there are some real jems in here so give it a go.
in the early i like this quote. "that the web is not about information, its about linking people.. linking in ways that can't even predict." i love the tensions highlighted between our values of individualism & community.
this little gem is making its way around the internet. a brilliant little piece that i would classify as 'someone who has too much time on their hands' put together some of the most inspirational movie speeches into one of the more, yet rambling, inspirational youtube speeches.
i will be laughing hysterically when i see this at the end of someones workshop/talk presentation
i pondering some music to get into and possibly share. i don't know why this came to mind, might be because of all the college bowl talk, but i started thinking of a weekend at penn state with my sister and bunch of her's and my friends. one of things we went to was some lake party. it looked like it was going to be something really cool, but i rained so much it put a damper on the party. one thing that did happen was 38 special. they were the band for the concert/party/festival. i always liked them, but never had seen them in concert before or since.
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