(from Sojourners - some interesting comments, not only on the US election, but the relationship between religion and politics in general...)
James Dobson, of Focus on the Family Action, and his senior vice president of government and public policy, Tom Minnery, used their "Focus on the Family" radio show Tuesday to criticize Barack Obama's understanding of Christian faith. In the show, they describe Obama as "deliberately distorting the Bible," "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter," "willfully trying to confuse people," and having a "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution."
The clear purpose of the show was to attack Barack Obama. On the show, Dobson says of himself, "I'm not a reverend. I'm not a minister. I'm not a theologian. I'm not an evangelist. I'm a psychologist. I have a Ph.D. in child development." Child psychologists don't insert themselves into partisan politics in the regular way that James Dobson does and has over many years as one of the premier leaders of the Religious Right. He has spoken about how often he talked to Republican leaders -- Karl Rove, administration strategists, and even President Bush himself. This year he tried to influence the outcome of the Republican primary by saying he would never vote for John McCain or the Republicans if they nominated him, then reversed himself and said he would vote after all but didn't say for whom. But why should America care about how a child psychologist votes?
James Dobson is insinuating himself into this presidential campaign, and his attacks against his fellow Christian, Barack Obama, should be seriously scrutinized. And because the basis for his attack on Obama is the speech the Illinois senator gave at our Sojourners/Call to Renewal event in 2006 (for the record, we also had Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republicans Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback speak that year), I have decided to respond to Dobson's attacks. In most every case they are themselves clear distortions of what Obama said in that speech. I was there for the speech; Dobson was not.
I haven't endorsed a candidate, but I do defend them when they are attacked in disingenuous ways, and this is one of those cases. You can read Obama's two-year-old speech, [audio link] which was widely publicized at the time, and you can see that Dobson either didn't understand it or is deliberately distorting it. There are two major problems with Dobson's attack on Obama.
First, Dobson and Minnery's language is simply inappropriate for religious leaders to use in an already divisive political campaign. We can agree or disagree on both biblical and political viewpoints, but our language should be respectful and civil, not attacking motives and beliefs.
Second, and perhaps most important, is the role of religion in politics. Dobson alleges that Obama is saying:
I [Dobson] can't seek to pass legislation, for example, that bans partial-birth abortion because there are people in the culture who don't see that as a moral issue. And if I can't get everyone to agree with me, it is undemocratic to try to pass legislation that I find offensive to the Scripture. ... What he's trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe.
Contrary to Dobson's charge, Obama strongly defended the right and necessity of people of faith in bringing their moral agenda to the public square, and he was specifically critical of many on the left and in his own Democratic Party for being uncomfortable with religion in politics.
Obama said that religion is and always has been a fundamental and absolutely essential source of morality for the nation, but he also said that "religion has no monopoly on morality," which is a point I often make. The United States is not the Christian theocracy that people like James Dobson seem to think it should be. Political appeals, even if rooted in religious convictions, must be argued on moral grounds rather than as sectarian religious demands -- so that the people (citizens), whether religious or not, may have the capacity to hear and respond. Religious convictions must be translated into moral arguments, which must win the political debate if they are to be implemented. Religious people don't get to win just because they are religious. They, like any other citizens, have to convince their fellow citizens that what they propose is best for the common good -- for all of us, not just for the religious.
Instead of saying that Christians must accept "the lowest common denominator of morality," as Dobson accused Obama of suggesting, or that people of faith shouldn't advocate for the things their convictions suggest, Obama was saying the exact opposite -- that Christians should offer their best moral compass to the nation but then engage in the kind of democratic dialogue that religious pluralism demands. Martin Luther King Jr. perhaps did this best, with his Bible in one hand and the Constitution in the other.
One more note. I personally disagree with how both the Democrats and Republicans have treated the moral issue of abortion and am hopeful that the movement toward a serious commitment for dramatic abortion reduction will re-shape both parties' language and positions. But that is the only "bloody notion" that Dobson mentions. What about the horrible bloody war in Iraq that Dobson apparently supports, or the 30,000 children who die each day globally of poverty and disease that Dobson never mentions, or the genocides in Darfur and other places? In making abortion the single life issue in politics and elections, leaders from the Religious Right like Dobson have violated the "consistent ethic of life" that we find, for example, in Catholic social teaching.
Dobson has also fought unsuccessfully to keep the issue of the environment and climate change, which many also now regard as a "life issue," off the evangelical agenda. Older Religious Right leaders are now being passed by a new generation of young evangelicals who believe that poverty, "creation care" of the environment, human trafficking, human rights, pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and the fundamental issues of war and peace are also "religious" and "moral" issues and now a part of a much wider and deeper agenda. That new evangelical agenda is a deep threat to Dobson and the power wielded by the Religious Right for so long. It puts many evangelical votes in play this election year, especially among a new generation who are no longer captive to the Religious Right. Perhaps that is the real reason for Dobson's attack on Barack Obama.
Posted by gary at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
Technology is everywhere. Whether at home, in the office or on the go, gadgets and gizmos of every shape, size and ring tone constantly surround us. But which ones do you feel are truly needed? Rank your favourites and see how they compare with others.
Posted by gary at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
I know the year isn't over, but that doesn't stop Time magazine from making its determination already!
Top 10 Quotes taken from Time.com
#1. "I really am not the kind of guy that sits here and says, 'Oh gosh, I'm worried about my legacy.'"
- President GEORGE W. BUSH, when asked about his falling approval numbers and mounting criticism of the Iraq War during an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes (Jan. 14, 2007)
#2. "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals, like in your country."
- MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, president of Iran, responding to a question about the treatment of gays and lesbians in Iran during a visit to Columbia University in New York City (Sept. 24, 2007)
#3. "This record is not tainted at all. At all. Period."
- San Francisco Giants slugger BARRY BONDS, after breaking Hank Aaron's Major League Baseball all-time home-run record with his 756th career homer amid rampant speculation that he has used steroids. Bonds has always denied that he ever "knowingly" used performance-enhancing substances, but he was indicted in November for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury about using them (Aug. 7, 2007)
#4. "If you didn't like Darfur, you're going to hate Baghdad."
- Gen. DAVID H. PETRAEUS, warning of the consequences of an early troop withdrawal from Iraq (Aug. 14, 2007)
#5. "This is it. This is where it all ends. End of the road. What a life it was. Some life."
- Virginia Tech gunman CHO SEUNG-HUI, in a chilling video he made and sent to NBC News before killing 32 people and committing suicide in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history (Apr. 16, 2007)
#6. "I don't think they're piling on because I'm a woman. I think they're piling on because I'm winning."
- HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, on intensifying criticism by rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination (Nov. 2, 2007)
#7. "The planet is in distress and all of the attention is on Paris Hilton. We have to ask ourselves what is going on here?"
- AL GORE, in an interview with the British paper The Sun, before adding that he believes in 10 years it will be too late to save the planet (June 18, 2007)
#8. "I spent the better part of the past three months enduring criticism that is normally leveled at some kind of genocidal tyrant."
- RUPERT MURDOCH, News Corp. owner, on the outcry over his purchase of the Wall Street Journal (Aug. 8, 2007)
#9. "Hello, Condoleezza Rice? You have me to deal with now."
- A MASKED HAMAS GUNMAN, joking into the telephone of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after taking control of his government compound (June 15, 2007)
#10. "Why don't you just shut up?"
- KING JUAN CARLOS, of Spain, to Hugo Chavez at a summit in Chile after the Venezuelan President called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a fascist (Nov. 10, 2007)
Posted by gary at 07:03 AM | Comments (0)
John Watson from The Age reflects on the importance of down-time:
Australians are crowded not only by other people, but as a result of countless technological and social developments that, I suspect, have more serious implications for our collective capacity to think, create and remember. The reasons are to be found in the way the brain works, but more of the science later. Such thoughts have nagged at me since I read the writer Paul Theroux's reflections in The New York Times on "America the Overfull", in which he lamented the loss of "a country of enormous silence and ordinariness (and) empty spaces". Theroux acknowledged the seductions of nostalgia — "Yes, it is just silly and fogeyish to yearn for that simpler and smaller world of the past" — but the lost world he describes holds lessons for the creative, innovative nation that Australia aspires to be, as we have been told ad nauseam this past election year.
"I grew up in a country of sudden and consoling lulls, which gave life a kind of pattern and punctuation, unknown now," Theroux wrote. "It was typified by the somnolence of Sundays … There were empty parts of the day, of the week, of the year …" Of course, some people still see the value in setting aside such time each week in defiance of this 24/7 society. (A New Yorker cartoon by Robert Mankoff makes wonderful play of this by depicting a man bearing a briefcase and speaking into his mobile phone as he walks along a busy subway platform: "And remember, if you need anything, I'm available 24/6.")
For me, the contemporary relevance to Australia's "clever country" aspirations lies, paradoxically, in Theroux's recollections of a quieter past and, in particular, of the solitude of a long drive of the sort that we can rarely experience on today's crowded highways, even if we chose not to hop onto the next cheap and convenient commuter flight. Theroux paints the picture perfectly (although the italics are mine): "Late at night, in most places I knew, there was almost no traffic and driving, a meditative activity, could cast a spell. Behind the wheel, gliding along, I was keenly aware of being an American in America, on a road that was also metaphorical, making my way through life unhindered, developing ideas, making decisions, liberated by the flight through this darkness and silence."
When did you last have several hours of unbroken, idle contemplation to yourself? Our lives are crowded, noisier, faster, in almost every way. People, technology such as mobile phones, the internet and other mass communication, our ways of work, have all eaten into our time and space. The imperatives of productivity and efficiency demand that not a minute be wasted. Time is money. But the cost to our quality of thought is immeasurable. We are too busy to think.
This came home to me on election night, when Kevin Rudd delivered his acceptance speech from a lectern bearing the words "New Leadership. Fresh Ideas." Rudd is perhaps the most obviously intelligent politician I have met in the past two decades. Yet even he has succumbed to the pressures of running the political treadmill through a year-long campaign. Two samples from his acceptance speech illustrate how badly he lapsed into unthinking cliche, tautologies and what George Orwell memorably described in his essay, Politics and the English Language, as worn-out, "dying" metaphors.
"Today the Australian people have decided that we as a nation will move forward," Rudd began. "To plan for the future, to prepare for the future, to embrace the future and together as Australians to unite and write a new page in our nation's history." That was apparently so stirring he reprised it later, twice, in a brief speech. "It is time for a new page to be written in our nation's history. The future is too important for us not to work together to embrace the challenges of the future and to carve out our nation's destiny."
Australia's quest for a renewable energy source would be over were we able to harness the spinning of Orwell in his grave. His primary concern was not the aesthetics of language — though he valued that — but that "using stale metaphors, similes and idioms" came "at the cost of leaving your meaning vague", with "phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse". As Orwell explained, "the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you — even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent — and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself. It is at this point that the special connection between politics and the debasement of language becomes clear."
There is evidence to show Rudd has thought deeply about issues before this year, but the same cannot be said of last Saturday night's speech. It probably seems unkind to pick on him when so many others are guilty, as Orwell wrote, of using political language "to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind". But I pick on Rudd to show that even someone of his intellect is not immune from the numbing effects of nonstop activity and stress on fresh expressions of thought. We have all experienced the impact of stress and constant interruptions on our train of thought: our computer chimes in to announce the arrival of an email; the mobile goes off for the umpteenth time; a colleague hurries across for a brief consultation. Where were we? The shadow of a thought has already slipped away.
As for taking the time to come up with considered responses to complex problems, bugger that. There's no time to spare in the worlds of business and politics. The pressure is on for instant answers that show we are "on top of the problem". We often hear references to "policy on the run", but when did any politician go into contemplative retreat to think about policy solutions? When snap judgements are demanded and given as an issue arises, is it any wonder that short-sighted policies are the result? Just for once, I'd like to hear a politician ask for time to think about a new problem.
We seem to resent allowing even academics in their "ivory towers" the time that deep thought requires. They must not be spared the demands of productivity and efficiency, not when they are funded from the public purse. Universities are in effect treated as industrial-scale idea factories, required to produce more ideas with immediate applications, and fast. Yet the way the brain works, even the best of brains needs extended quiet time to make sense of existing knowledge and then to arrive creatively at new ideas. Whether big or small, most new ideas come to us in moments of idle contemplation. The worth of original big ideas can hardly be overstated.
An insight into the forces of gravity came to Isaac Newton when he contemplated the fall of an apple from a tree. John Conduitt, Newton's assistant and husband to his niece, described the moment in his account of Newton's life: "In the year 1666 he retired again from Cambridge to his mother in Lincolnshire. Whilst he was pensively meandering in a garden it came into his thought that the power of gravity (which brought an apple from a tree to the ground) was not limited to a certain distance from earth, but that this power must extend further than was usually thought."
Newton was meandering when he experienced his flash of insight, on which he built the foundations for the next two centuries of physics. We sometimes refer to such insights as a eureka moment, in reference to Archimedes' use of the term (Greek for "I have found it") at the moment, more than two millenniums ago, when he realised that the displacement of water depended on an object's volume and density. Legend has it that he was taking a bath at the time. It is no coincidence that neither Newton nor Archimedes was working head down at their workstations when inspiration came — although years of deep thought had preceded the moment the big new idea took shape. Such flashes of insight take place in quiet contemplative moments and involve a distinctive kind of brain activity, which shows up in brain scans, as connections between existing knowledge and a new idea are made. John Howard's prime ministerial walks became a subject for parody, but it isn't just the exercise that he and most of the rest of us need. In his temporary zone of self-created silence, save for the puffing of his entourage, he gave himself time to ponder the problems he confronted, to think. What we know about brain physiology also goes a long way towards explaining the apparent amnesia that operates in modern politics and society. I have struggled to understand, for instance, how journalists who were around at the time could ask Howard why he wouldn't sign the Kyoto Protocol when his government did, to much fanfare, in 1997. Not that most Australians don't suffer similar, apparently inexplicable memory lapses in their professional and private lives. We forget significant events and the sequence in which they took place as we rush on to the next item on the agenda, the next distracting activity.
The answer again lies in brain studies that have confirmed we also need time free of distraction to store long-term memories. For any memory to last, it must be transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory, which involves a physical and chemical process to create a memory trace. The memory needs to be physically embedded by connecting new and old knowledge in the brain. That takes about half an hour, which is why concussion victims cannot recall the period preceding their injury.
Even minor mental interruptions interfere with the memory consolidation process, so we remember best when we are unhurried and undistracted by the intrusion of other thoughts or demands on us.
The greater the focus of our attention, the greater the amount of information brought into short-term memory and then transferred and retained as long-term memory.
Social distractions, lack of sleep, anxiety and stress all diminish attention and memory; conversely, being rested and relaxed improves our ability to concentrate, think and remember. Aerobic exercise is also significant because increasing the supply of oxygen to the brain improves its functioning. It's not just politicians who work long and often unsociable hours. Most of us are probably deep on the deficit side of the brain's ledger of requirements for effective thinking and memory. Earlier this year, a Human Rights Commission report found that 16 years of economic growth had left Australians wealthier but time-poor and stressed. "A truly prosperous society is one that values time as well as money," it concluded.
The crush and rush of modern life impoverishes all of us by crippling our creative capacity and diminishing our wealth of memory.
We have been deprived of the long silences in which we can interrogate our own minds and wait patiently for previously unrevealed truths to emerge. We are poorer as people for this and, ultimately, poorer as a country whose hopes for a prosperous future depend heavily on the development of human intellect in a knowledge economy.
In politics and workplaces and at home we do so many things in old ways simply because we don't have time to take stock of what we do and think of new ways that are more efficient and more economically and environmentally sustainable.
It is not only governments that run out of ideas. We can change governments, but if we truly value ideas and creativity we'd also make changes to our crowded lives. At home and at work, we should all aim to create time and space for the simple, vital act of thinking.
John Watson is a senior Age writer.
Posted by gary at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)
Ever thought about the natural consequences of holding a gun that fires off thousands of rounds in a short space of time as you've watch Terminator, or some such other cinema 'classic'? What about the flash when the bullet is fired? Or perhaps the soft "phut" when a silencer is applied? Maybe your interest isn't so much to do with guns... how about that long, red laser beam? Or perhaps jumping through a plate glass window without sustaining even a little scratch?
Or, perhaps you might have worried about your car bursting into flames in an accident (preferably off a cliff, exploding at the moment of impact)?
If we learned your physics from movies, we'd be very confused people. Here to set the record straight, and to learn some basic physics, is Intuitor. Be warned, what makes good physics doesn't necessarily stand in the way of good entertainment (and vice versa). If you like The Matrix, or A.I., and use it as the foundation of a scientific education then don't worry too much about your career in science.
It makes an interesting read... and I learned something to!
Posted by gary at 05:24 PM | Comments (0)
Every poster card is a palindrome... quite amazing
Posted by gary at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?
If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.
Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.
LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS............. RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic.............................. uses feeling
detail oriented......................... "big picture" oriented
facts rule.............................. imagination rules
words and language...................... symbols and images
present and past........................ present and future
math and science........................ philosophy & religion
can comprehend.......................... can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
knowing................................. believes
acknowledges............................ appreciates
order/pattern perception................ spatial perception
knows object name....................... knows object function
reality based........................... fantasy based
forms strategies........................ presents possibilities
practical............................... impetuous
safe.................................... risk taking
Source: Perth Now
Posted by gary at 08:42 PM | Comments (2)
The first episode of a raunchy new drama(?) series aired this week in Melbourne, and has caused a deal of controversy. The series, Californication, stars David Duchovny of X-Files fame. The first episode - a mere 32 minutes in length - was punctuated by a number of sex scenes which pushed the boundaries for nudity, sexual depiction, and of good/bad taste. It's not often that I find myself agreeing with Andrew Bolt, but I do agree that some serious questions need to be raised about a society in which this can be passed off as entertainment.
The first episode begins with a Duchovny dream sequence, where he is shown entering a Catholic church and encountering a nun... a scene which quickly turns into a sexual encounter which reverts to the bedroom and 'reality' (as opposed to the dream). Bolt asks whether this would be acceptable if the woman were a Muslim - a valid question of our culture. What is it that allows people, in the name of entertainment, to effectively desecrate the central beliefs of a major section of its society? Surely in an admittedly pluralistic society we honour our differences rather than degrade them?
But even more deeply, we need to ask about a society in which sex has been equated with entertainment. Early movies allowed the imagination to play its part. The scene would close with a kiss as the bedroom door closed, then return in the morning. We did not need to witness 'the act', as our imaginations were allowed to take over. Have we lost our collective imagination, such that we have to show everything in order to demonstrate how cultured we are? It is this lack of a collective imagination which imperils our future more than anything else, as we remain locked in present realities unable to imagine alternative ways of being in the face of climate change, environmental concerns, and acts of terrorism. We spend more and more time defending what is as opposed to dreaming of and creating what might be.
And when sex passes as entertainment, we debase the very essence of our humanity, in which the greatest acts of intimacy are mere fodder for the lonely, watching, world. We yearn for deeper relationships, more meaningful community, yet find ourselves spectators of others who are paid for this purpose. The depictions are so far from reality that we are lost. Perhaps this goes some way to explaining the high levels of drug use, relationship, health and marriage breakdown and mental health problems amongst the celebrity caste - whose lives seek to echo the 'realities' they construct on the set. We long for deep intimacy with our fellow human beings, yet settle for a cheap alternative: and a horrible ruse at that.
And here's where I part company with Andrew Bolt. The television executives who bring us this are merely reflecting their viewers. These shows would not be made or aired unless there was demand for them. I haven't seen the ratings for the show, but the attention given to it guarantees many more will take a look in the coming weeks. Media executives are rarely leaders when it comes to shaping culture... they merely reflect back to the audience what is in the hearts already. We (the share owners, and the audience) demand that they bring increased audiences and increased profits - shows which we will watch, and therefore command advertising dollars. Perhaps they have read our society all too well.
The gospel offers an alternate and powerful picture of the future, one which captures our spirits and imaginations. In this future, we are invited into a level of intimacy which cannot be captured on screen or mimicked by actors. Perhaps that is its trouble... it isn't too easily marketed, and sometimes we in the church haven't been too good at demonstrating it either.
Posted by gary at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
One of these new environmental "SMART" cars was parked out front a few days ago. It's apparently advertising a new chocolate bar, but also represents something of the spirit of our age.
Humourous, but concerning at the same time, don't you think?
Posted by gary at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)
How well do you know women in film? This montage morphs the faces of female stars of the screen from 1907 to 2007.
Posted by gary at 05:47 PM | Comments (2)
I recently wrote about the appearance of violin virtuoso Joshua Bell in a largely-unnoticed 'busking' performance in a subway station in Washington DC. Over 1100 people walked by a man who commands over $1000 a minute at Boston's Symphony hall, barely noticing or acknowledging the beauty they hear. I've managed to track down a video of the event.
It still prompts me to wonder how much beauty and grace escapes our notice each day.
Posted by gary at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
This puts a very different perspective on being asked to change planes...
Posted by gary at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)
Imagine the scenario: A world-class musician playing classical pieces of music of the quality one would ordinary pay $100 for a ticket to see, yet located in the auditorium at a railway station. This virtuoso would "busk" - play in a public space for money. What response would he receive?
This is not idle speculation. The Washington Post put the public to the test at the L'Enfant Plaza on a Friday morning in the middle of rush hour. The musician: Joshua Bell, who had in recent weeks filled Boston's Symphony Hall. And he chose to play some of the most difficult yet acclaimed classical pieces of all time. Over 1000 people would pass through the area in the 45 minutes Bell was playing. How many stopped to listen? How much money did he make?
It took three minutes for the first person to stop. Another thirty seconds to receive his first donation - a single dollar from a person rushing by. In total only seven people stopped. And a total of $32 in donations was received. What does an exercise like this suggest to us about the pace of life, about our ability to recognise beauty, our willingness to pause in the presence of greatness? Or does it say something about the way things are valued - a twist on the old chestnut "if a great muso plays great music but noone listens, are they (is it) really any good?"
How often we feel neglected. That people pass us by without taking notice, giving appropriate affirmation... We are tempted to reflect on our own value in rather darker hues as a consequence. But if over 1000 people can pass by a virtuoso playing a multi-million dollar instrument with a unique skill and passion, does that diminish the player, the instrument or the music? Or does it serve to remind us that people do not always recognise and appreciate beauty and value?
You can read a detailed account of the event and reflections upon it at The Washington Post.
If you are feeling neglected today, maybe it's not you that's at fault, but a busy world unable to perceive and affirm beauty.
Posted by gary at 05:00 PM | Comments (2)
Some interesting insights into how department stores (and supermarkets) use strategies to part you with more money than you intended when you entered the store has been posted over at The Simple Dollar. They also provide some strategies for countering this type of marketing and manipulation. You can read the detail at the Simple Dollar, but I'll offer the headlines here:
1. Shopping carts.
2. Desirable departments are far away from the entrance.
3. The toy section is far, far, far away from the entrance.
4. Impulse-oriented items are near the checkouts.
5. The most expensive versions of a product are the ones at eye height.
6. Items that aren’t on sale are sometimes placed as though they are on sale (without saying the word “sale”).
7. Commodity items (like socks) are surrounded by non-commodity items (like shirts and jeans).
8. Slickly-packaged items alternate with less slickly-packaged items.
9. Stop, stop, stop. You only add items to your cart if you stop, right? So stores are designed to maximize the number of stops you have to make
10. Staple items are placed in the middle of aisles, nonessential and overpriced items near the end.
11. Prices are chosen to make comparison math difficult.
12. Stuff in bins isn’t always a bargain.
13. High markup items are made to look prestigious.
14. The most profitable department is usually the first one you run into.
15. Restrooms and customer services are usually right by the exit or as far from the exit as possible.
And the suggestions for taking control?
1. Don’t use a shopping cart unless you need it.
2. Make a shopping list and stick to it.
3. Look at nothing but the prices and sizes.
4. Start at the back and work towards the front.
5. Always look at the bottom shelf first.
6. Don’t stop unless you’re actively selecting an item.
7. Never go by an item twice unless absolutely necessary.
8. Carry a pocket calculator - or know how to use the one on your cell phone.
9. If you don’t know for sure that it is a good deal, don’t buy because you think it is a good deal.
10. At the checkout, rethink everything you put in your cart - and don’t hesitate to hand an item to the cashier and say you changed your mind.
Posted by gary at 04:16 PM | Comments (0)
Shift happens... what does this do to the world we know?
Posted by gary at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)
Can you believe they pulled this ad because it was considered dangerous?
Posted by gary at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
King of the Hill goes looking for a new church...
Posted by gary at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
"If we want to contribute to some sort of tenable future, we have to reach a frame of mind where it comes to seem unacceptable - gauche, uncivilised - to act in disregard of our descendants."
Brian Eno asks us to consider living in "the long now".
Posted by gary at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Wesch has put together this presentation which not only gives some history of the way in which which information and the technological revolution has unfolded, but raising the implications for the way in which we address a range of issues.
This is a video response to Web 2.0
Posted by gary at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)
Statisticians suggest that over 10% of food purchased in the US is sent to waste, and that much of it reaches waste directly, without passing through any consumer hands. The practice of "freeganism" or "dumpster diving" sounds rather crass at the surface, but at a deeper level expresses something deeply counter-cultural. The video below is a CBC (Canada) segment of Ryan Beiler and his team making use out of society's discards... a wonderful gospel theme. You can read something of it over the God's Politics Blog. Freeganism has a strong community in Australia, such that it was reported in last Sunday's Herald Sun. Get a taste from the video.
Posted by gary at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)
Here's a link to tell you how long you can expect to live, unfortunately it won't tell you whether you will live well - that is something that is beyond statistics!
How about World statistics in real time? This includes education, water, environment, energy and health in the statistics. The rates of some statistics is mind-boggling.
And if you are wondering why Americans are more blase about their agents performing torture, check out the kill count of Jack Bauer, from the TV series 24. Seeing such rogue agents as heroes on the screen has to have an impact on the cultural psyche. I wonder what that means for Hillary Clinton (or Barack Obama) in their Presidential campaigns in the wake of Commander-in-Chief?
An eerie video of starlings in flight.
And a magnificent panorama of the Manhattan skyline (how long did they need to wait to get a clear, unpolluted sky>
The real story of How it all Began! (not!)
Posted by gary at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
Was introduced recently to Fernando's Desk by a friend and have found it to be a thoughtful reflection on popular culture and theology. (And it makes me wish I could add lists of links etc to this site!) Fernando loves reviewing movies - always something which captures my attention - and made recent reference to a blog by 'the only working producer in Hollywood with a Ph D in theology,' Phil Cooke. Phil offers seven priorities for religious media professionals, which are worth pondering if you are involved in this area. I was taken, however by the comment he makes at the end of this post, which I reproduce here:
"The most valuable asset you have right now isn't money, it's time. Time is the currency of the most successful people in the world, and you can always identify influential leaders by how they value their time. This year, use 2007 to re-think your priorities, cut away the junk, and get back to the heart of the issue.
You'll never have another chance to re-live 2007, so let's invest this year in what potentially could change the world."
Good words, which don't require media fanfare for strength and power...
Posted by gary at 05:24 PM | Comments (0)
Ryan Beiler has cut his food spending by searching dumpsters. Of the 500 billion dollars spent on food in the US, about 100 billion ends up in dumpsters, often outside of supermarkets as they reach their sell-by date. Beiler and others have been able to redeem much of this (still-edible) food and not only support themselves, thereby releasing their money for other causes, but also using the much-more-than-they-need gatherings to feed others. Beiler and his team's efforts were reported on a Canadian TV program, and the segment can be found on YouTube.
Posted by gary at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)
No, this is not a reflection on Get Smart... I was reading The Forgotten Ways, and was taken by this reflection...
Seth Godin, marketing guru and generally creative dude, posted this blog recently...
Sitting behind the pilot on a tiny plane today, I was reminded how important, difficult and tedious this job is.
Pilots have to get it right every time. They have to follow a myriad of procedures. They must be calm and focused and consistent, and yes, boring. No one wants to notice the pilot.
Good pilots probably do very well in job interviews - and not just for pilot jobs. They have many of the traits that hiring managers look for. They follow instructions with an eye on detail. They don't fail (if they did, they probably wouldn't be at the interview). They show up on time.
I'm grateful there are pilots. I'm also glad I'm not one.
Here's the thing: I think (outside of the airline business, of course) that our need for pilots is diminishing, and rapidly. I think the value add of a person who carefully follows instructions and procedures keeps going down. I think the fact that pilots would do well in a job interview at your organization means your organization probably should change the way interviews get done.
We don't need pilots. We need instigators and navigators, rabble rousers and innovators. People who can't follow a checklist to save their life, but invent the future every day. original post here.
Alan's response?
Now here is an apt comment for the church of our day if ever there was one. For far too long we have tried to over-legislate, control, stifle chaos, predict outcomes, steer decisions, etc. Church history is quite simply full of the activity of passive aggresive clerical engineers (popes, canons, rule books, denominational heavies, inquisitions, etc) and control freaks. Little wonder missional creativity and genuine innovation in modes of ecclesia have gone out the window.
It is time for the chaos freak to arise. Take your place instigators, rabble rowsers, innovators, holy rebels. This is your time to shine.
It is romantic to jump on the bandwagon and scream "Yes! We don't need pilots any more... Roll on the chaos freaks..." but we ought to be prepared to move past this dualistic notion of life where one approach is right and others wrong. We still need procedural people. I'd hate to jump into a plane piloted by a rabble rouser following random patterns. I'd probably end up jumping out of one! And I think it is foolish to consider such discipline to be the enemy of creativity and innovation. Some of the most creative artists and sportspeople spend hours in the disciplines which allow them that spontaneous creativity which we marvel on the sports court or field. They use both procedure AND creativity. The skill which makes them the greatest is knowing when to take the risks, when to try something innovative. And far from being those who don't fear failure, they are more likely to be those who fear not maximising their potential more.
Perhaps we need to shift the balance somewhat, but let's not throw out the joystick with the navigator's map.
Posted by gary at 07:31 PM | Comments (0)
OK, so I only managed to get 3/10 on this Christmas Quiz. Good luck!
Posted by gary at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
A powerful yet simple message on the place of giving at Christmas... what do you give to the person who has everything?
Posted by gary at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)
"In 2005, a psychiatrist at King's College London did a study in which one group was asked to take an IQ test while doing nothing, and a second group to take an IQ test while distracted by e-mails and ringing telephones. The uninterrupted group did better by an average of ten points, which wasn't much of a surprise. What was a surprise is that the e-mailers also did worse, by an average of six points, than a group in a similar study that had been tested while stoned. That's right. Stoned. Those people were literally burned out, and they did better."
This confronting piece of information comes from an article in New Yorker Magazine, evidence which suggests that we need to place a greater emphasis and broader understanding on what it means to abuse our bodies.
Any thoughts?
Posted by gary at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)
A Canadian artist has made a confronting statement on his front lawn which has set neighbours in a tizz. According to The Times, Jimmy Wright, a Metchosin artist, has put an effigy of Santa Claus on a cross on his front lawn to make a statement about the orgy of consumption in the modern world.
Above Santa's head, Wright has inscribed the words 'Sumptum Fac Donec Consumptus Sis.' Roughly translated, Wright said, it means 'Shop till you drop.'
"Santa represents frivolous consumption," Wright said yesterday, standing at the foot of the cross beneath the outstretched red-suited figure. "That's all he is. He shot Jesus right out of the saddle. He's the focus of Christmas."
The idea for the work started brewing about eight months ago, said the artist. Wright started looking for wood. In early August, he bought a Santa costume. Then he called a friend who works with fabric and traded a painting for her help.
"But the final straw was looking at a report on CNN which said we will have effectively fished out the ocean. And I thought 'Oh Jesus. We're suffocating the goose that lays the natural egg. We have to stop the orgy of consumption."
Natural egg or not -- some of Wright's neighbours are deeply upset.
At the mailbox near his home, Jennifer Blair said she thought the 'statement' wasn't fair to children. Some of them catch a school bus on that corner.
"They think Santa's at the North Pole getting their toys ready, not on a pole in Metchosin," said Blair.
A family that doesn't want to spoil the magic of their seven-year-old daughter's Christmas dropped off a letter in which they called the work tasteless and gruesome.
"We drive by your house daily with our child and have been dreading the questions," wrote Dominique Lejour and Dave Harvey. "Please have some respect for others and remove your lawn ornament."
A neighbour complained to the municipality and but was told Metchosin couldn't do anything because the cross is on Wright's property.
Earlier in the afternoon, Wright had a visit from the pastor of St. Mary's Anglican Church.
"He said he had some parishioners who are concerned about it and don't know what to make of it."
Wright, who was raised a Catholic, said Christmas is very important to him, but he stopped buying presents years ago.
"I used to love Christmas, but when you think about it, I loved it for the wrong reason," laughed the 69-year-old artist. "But you learn with age."
Another thing he has learned is honesty.
"It's a funny feeling when I'm sitting in my hot tub, looking out this way, and I'm trying to make a statement to everybody to slow down on what they can consume, and I'm in a 6,400-square-foot home."
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006
Posted by gary at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
There has been quite a kerfuffle over revelations that a local McDonalds outlet has been using halal meat in its hamburgers. The outlet, situated in perhaps the most concentrated Islamic area in Melbourne, made a low-profile announcement in-store, which was picked up by the local press from where it gained more notoriety. Typical responses have ranged the gamut of expectations, from those who find it irrelevant, through to Christians who argue that it is offensive. I wonder how many people know what words are uttered over non-halal meat? Or who know what the process is by which meat is prepared to make it halal? I suspect there are those who see it in the same light as vegetarian hamburgers - that it is not, in some way, 'real' meat.
Need we be concerned about this? As one who rarely frequents The Golden Arches, I would not hesitate to eat burgers containing meat prepared in this way. The process includes stunning the animal so it feels no/less pain, and prayers being offered over it as it dies. It seems to at least offer some respect for the life of the animal which is providing food, more than I suspect would take place in conventional abbatoirs.
A deeper question it raises concerns the Westernasation of Muslims, who are being introduced to fast-food culture as a result. One chicken chain seemed to jump on the bandwagon a week later announcing that all its chickens would be halal... which can only be seen as a crude attempt to gain market share and publicity. A major critique of the West by Islam is its slavish addiction to consumption and commercialisation. The Islamic market will likely be a growing one, which seems to be part of the marketing strategy. If I were Muslim, I'd be deeply suspicious of motives.
As a Christian, does it concern me? Not in the least. As the apostle Paul wrote: "Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience' sake; for the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains." (1 Cor 10:24-25)
Posted by gary at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)
Christianity Today recently reported the unusual outcome of a story reported widely through the media - a man who offered his soul for sale on ebay. The offer was for one hour of church attendance for every $10 in the bid. Jim Henderson (no, not Kermit the Frog!) of Off the Map won the bid with $504 and asked "Mehta" to give his take on church life - the view of an outsider to the faith. While his experience was different to his expectations ('everyone would be asleep'), he found them 'entertaining' (good point or bad?!) and 'interesting', and 'developed a lot more respect for churches', particularly appreciating the atmosphere of some of the megachurches. Finding the
extras a little showy, he found the sermons strong and the preachers dynamic, especially when they brought in personal stories. One pastor told the story of his mother's decline and the comfort he drew from the Bible, which Mehta found "completely gripping... I can understand why people would be drawn to the Bible when he tells a story like that. You're really telling me how I can go back and change anything that's wrong with my life."
Impressed with the live music (something absent from the atheist conventions he attends), he found the quality of the words, however, to be another story: "I have no idea who writes the lyrics to this stuff, but it sounds like what a four-year-old could write: 'God is good. God is strong.' And repeat. And repeat. And repeat."
Christianity Today reports his observations: "The churchgoers were friendly, and, on the whole, Mehta felt welcomed. He was, however, offended by some things that were said. At a missions prayer meeting, he encountered anti-Muslim sentiment, with followers of Islam being equated with terrorists.
He also detected a definite "us vs. them" mentality.
Although Mehta doesn't think he's any closer to believing in God, the soul-selling (actually soul-renting) experiment helped him to think about faith in a different way."
Mehta has started his own website.
Posted by gary at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)
A recent on-line poll asked how people felt about megachurches (with 2,000+ in weekend attendance)? The following answers were given:
* No strong opinion, God uses many kinds of churches: 38%
* Feels like Wal-Mart, I fear impact on smaller churches: 27%
* I don't attend a megachurch, but I appreciate their ministry: 24%
* Hooray for megachurches, I attend one: 11%
What I found interesting is the fear factor present... Of course the source of a poll such as this makes results problematic...
Original source
Posted by gary at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
The October issue of World Vision's Alliance magazine, contains an analysis of WVA's one million donor base, with the following interesting observations recorded:
* Lower wage earners are more generous than high income earners - the top 10 most generous towns generally exhibited an average income below $40,000
* Women give more than men, with about 65% either sponsoring a child or donating money
* 35-45 year olds are the most charitable
* The highest per capita giving comes from Victoria ($18.40 per person) compared with $13 for NSW and $10.25 for WA.
* Over 2200 sponsors are under the age of 10
* over 100 people sponsor more than 10 children.
Amongst the list of ten most generous suburbs are Toowoomba (#1), Frankston (#5) Liverpool (#8) and Campbelltown (#9).
Wonder what that does for trickle-down theory?
Posted by gary at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
I wonder if you can identify what the following sayings have in common...
* Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
* I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
* You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.
* Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
* Here's looking at you, kid.
* Go ahead, make my day.
* All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.
* May the Force be with you.
* Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.
* You talking to me?
If you think you know the general category, test yourself on the original source(s)....
The quotes are rated by the AFI as the top 10 quotes from movies in the first 100 years of cinema, part of the penchant for "things" of the century which the year 2000 put into train. Here are the quotes and the original film context.
* Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
* I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. THE GODFATHER 1972
* You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. ON THE WATERFRONT 1954
* Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
* Here's looking at you, kid. CASABLANCA 1942
* Go ahead, make my day. SUDDEN IMPACT 1983
* All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up. SUNSET BLVD. 1950
* May the Force be with you. STAR WARS 1977
* Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night. ALL ABOUT EVE 1950
* You talking to me? TAXI DRIVER 1976
Perhaps not the best known words in history, but at least some would rank up there. (How many could you identify? I could identify 7, some the speaker but not the film). I'd suggest that the words of the Lord's Prayer might be the best known - it would be hard to find someone who wouldn't know at least some part of it. What do you think?
Posted by gary at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)
Internet penetration varies widely around the world, with the highest penetration rates of Internet usage being in Iceland (86.8%), followed by New Zealand (76.3%), Sweden (74.9%), Portugal (74.1%) and Australia (70.7%) making up the top 5. Only 32 countries in the world have a penetration in excess of 50% of population, according to Internet World Stats. At the other end of the scale in Afghanistan and Myanmar only 0.1% of the population uses the internet, due in no small part, one would assume, to the internal strife in both countries and its impact on infrastructure. The information superhighway in such places is clearly littered with potholes.
Which raises interesting questions about this "global economy" and its impact on wealth distribution. One suggestion could be that it only allows the rich to get richer, and the poor are not helped all that much, evidence in India by its rapid economic growth over recent years, with only a 0.7% decline in those classified as 'poor'.
I don't believe that the solution is increasing access to the internet in every place, particularly as food and fresh water seems a much more basic need around the world. But we spend billions on new technology and its development each year while fresh water for everyone on the planet could reasonably be attained by much less expenditure. Perhaps free enterprise and market capitalism is not as morally neutral as we might think...
Posted by gary at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)
A friend passed this on to me today - thanks Maj :-)
I'm so postmodern that I just don't talk anymore,
I wear different coloured t-shirts according to my mood.
I'm so postmodern that I work from home
as a surf life saving consumer hotline.
I'm so postmodern that all my clothes are made out of sleeping bags,
I don't need pockets, I'm a pocket myself.
I'm so postmodern I go to parties I'm not invited to
and locate the vegemite and write my name on everyone.
I'm so postmodern that I write reviews for funerals,
and heckle at weddings from inside a suitcase.
I'm so postmodern I'm going to adopt a child,
and teach him how to knit, and call him Adolf Diggler.
I'm so postmodern that I breakdance in waiting rooms,
play Yahtzee in nightclubs, at three in the afternoon.
I'm so postmodern I only go on dates that last thirteen minutes,
via walky talky, while hiding under the bed.
I'm so postmodern I invite strangers to my house,
and put on a slide show of other people's nans.
I'm so postmodern I went home and typed up everything you said,
and printed it out in wingdings, and gave it back to you.
I'm so postmodern I held an art exhibition -
a Chuppa Chup stuck to a swimming cap, and no one was invited.
I'm so postmodern I make alphabet soup,
and dye it purple, and pour it on the lawn.
I'm so postmodern I request Hey Mona on karaoke,
then sing my life story to the tune of My Sharona.
I'm so postmodern I only think in palendromic haikus -
(insert palendromic haiku).
I'm so postmodern that I sit down to wee,
and stand up to poo, at job interviews.
I'm so postmodern that I dress up as Santa,
in the middle of August, and haunt golf courses.
I'm so postmodern that I cut off all my hair,
and knitted it into a beanie, and threw it off a bridge.
I'm so postmodern that I stole everyone's mail,
and cut them up into a ransom note and hid it in a thermos.
I'm so postmodern I take my leggo to the supermarket
and build my own shopping trolley, and only buy one nut.
I'm so postmodern I wrote a letter to the council -
...I think it was 'M.'
I'm so postmodern I bought a round the world plane ticket,
and stuffed my clothes with eggplant and pretended it was me.
I'm so postmodern I've got a tattoo of my pin number
in heiroglyphics on my neighbour's guide dog.
I'm so postmodern I fought my way into parliament,
and made a law banning Nuttelex, and then moved to Spain.
I'm so postmodern that I iron all my lettuce leaves,
put my shirts in the crisper - they're real crisp.
I'm so postmodern I give live mice to buskers,
dirty tea towels to the Mormons, and pavlova to crabs.
I'm so postmodern that I live in a tent,
on a platform of skateboards that's tied to a tram.
I'm so postmodern I write four thousand-word essays
on the cultural significance of party pies.
I'm so postmodern I recite Shakespeare at KFC drive thru's,
through a megaphone, in sign language.
I'm so postmodern I'm going to watch the Olympics
on a black & white TV, with the sound down.
I'm so postmodern I go to the gym after hours,
push up against the door, then cry myself to sleep.
I'm so postmodern I wrote a trilogy of novels
from the perspective of a possum that Jesus patted once.
I'm so postmodern that I marry all my friends,
soak myself in metho, and tell them that they've changed.
I'm so postmodern I bought every book written in 1963
as a reading challenge, and clogged up a waterslide.
I'm so postmodern I think I might be a god
in my undies rolling in sugar, in the carpark of a rodeo.
I'm so postmodern I prerecorded this song,
and laced a message subliminally telling Shane Porteous to buy a smock.
Posted by gary at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
Why is it that christians feel the need to come up with twee names? Now you can find any "christian and other family friendly" mp3s you like at The Godcast Network. I'd have to say that there is a significant percentage of scripture which wouldn't rate all that well under the "family-friendly" rubric...
Posted by gary at 09:20 AM | Comments (2)
Cows in Europe receive a $2 per day subsidy from their governments to keep Europe's trade prices competitive. Half the world's people live on just $2 a day. Read more.
If you'd like to try living on $2 a day for a week, and help make a difference, visit The Mutunga Partnership.
Posted by gary at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)
Television is about to celebrate its 50th birthday in Australia: a good time to reflect on its contribution to Australian society in particular, and to the world in general. At its best, television has opened history and knowledge to us, empowered and educated. At its worst it has served as an anasthetic to reality, losing us in the midst of inane stories and chintzy advertisements purporting to deliver us into an illusory yet promised future.
Two movies come to mind challenging our notion of television's importance, power and potential. Good Night and Good Luck details thes battles of Ed Murrow against the extremes of McCarthyism in the US in the 1950s. His speech to the Radio and News Television Directors Guild in 1958 raised a challenge which resonates today. Murrow said:
It may be that the present system, with no modifications and no experiments, can survive. Perhaps the money-making machine has some kind of built-in perpetual motion, but I do not think so. To a very considerable extent the media of mass communications in a given country reflect the political, economic and social climate in which they flourish. That is the reason ours differ from the British and French, or the Russian and Chinese. We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late....
To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost.
This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful.
Stonewall Jackson, who knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, "When war comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." The trouble with television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival.
A second movie, Network, in which Howard Beale castigates his audience:
You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here, you're beginning to believe that the tube is reality and your own lives are unreal. You do. Why, whatever the tube tells you: you dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs. In God's name, you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion.
...Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people... when the 12th largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network?
At the age of 50, we find that the major celebrities of our time are news presenters. The death of Richard Carlton at Beaconsfield took the battle of the miners off the headlines... ironic that the one who reports the news becomes it. Politicians have realised this, and the best ones exploited it. "Reality shows" have become standard fare - we watch "Big Brother", but what are we ingesting?
Has the television been more of an asset or liability? Without a doubt, at its best, its value is beyond question. But these moments have been few and far between. We get little independent news, little bold critique of culture and politics, largely due to the need for the advertising dollar. Why bite the hand?
Where will television be in another 50 years? Will the decentralised media of the internet erode its power and centrality, or will the resources of the massive media corporations still dominate news flow? Many questions.
Can we rely on the TV to bring us the truth? How can we be sure, and where else do we look?
Posted by gary at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
Wonder if you know the following people. It is more than likely that you do, but under another name:
Rosalie Qualley
Curtis Jackson
Ellas Bates
Caryn Elaine Johnson
William Claude Dukenfield
and there's more here.
Check out your answers here.
Rosalie Qualley (full name rosalie anderson-mcdowall qualley) = Andie McDowall
Curtis Jackson = 50 cent
Ellas Bates = Bo Diddly
Caryn Elaine Johnson = Whoopi Goldberg
William Claude Dukenfield = W.C.Fields
Posted by gary at 06:13 PM | Comments (0)
With the pace of life being as it is, here is the link sent from heaven (or the other place, depending on whether you view increasing the pace of life even further as a good thing!) Watch movies in a minute! Yes, that's right - why waste hours when you can gain the thrust of the movie in sixty seconds?! Includes such classics as "You've Got Mail", "Die Hard", and "When Harry Met Sally". And who could think of a better use of time than to reduce the whole Rocky movie series to a collection of one-minute vignettes? Check it out.
Posted by gary at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
Many are concerned with debunking the fundamental tenets of Dan Brown's book, but howstuffworks tackles it at a different level - holes in the unfolding plot. Seems Mr Brown not only has trouble with history, he also has some technological troubles and problems with soap, amongst other things. Howstuff works takes a look at the technology, science, art and history of this best seller.
Posted by gary at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)
Over recent weeks we have been looking at th pace of life and whether we can be intentionally "slow" about different aspects. Recognising that we are caught up in a maelstrom of city life which demands greater efficiency and productivity, and relies on the "seize the day" mentality, we have been asking ourselves whether there is a cost to this restless lifestyle with its incessant calls for more/faster/better.
In the past week I came across a reference to Indian guides who said to western missionaries as they paused along a tropical trail, "We are giving time for our spirits to catch up with our bodies," and was caught up in the imagery. When we live life at such a pace, we eventually leave ourselves behind, as we aim to "keep up" with the expectations which others have created around us and for us.
We do so many things quickly now that we cannot think of one thing which we have permission to do slowly. We even have a quick nap, a quick break, and speed read. We pause for "a quick word of prayer", and a quick lunch. At speed, a rock will bounce across the surface of the water. To explore depths, speed is our enemy.
How many of us intentionally take time "for our spirits to catch up with our bodies"?
Posted by gary at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
Seen in Seattle a few weeks ago...
Posted by gary at 09:21 PM | Comments (1)
Last time we were in Seattle, we were constantly being asked what our vision and mission were as a church. It was almost as regular as the weather reports. Now the question is "What are your key values?" I have been asked that on more occasions than I care to count. Interesting how the shift in organisational culture and framing takes place, eh? What comes next?
Posted by gary at 09:04 PM | Comments (0)
Walking down a Seattle street this morning I was taken by this sign... what could it mean?
Do they serve Chihuahua Croissants? German Shepherd Pie? Maybe Sausage Dog Rolls? or Collie Scrolls?
OK. OK. I'll stop the puns. But our group was wondering at the fact that 1. there was such a shop selling pastries especially for dogs, and
2. that it could sustain a shop in downtown Seattle.
That was until we stumbled across another sign and another shop...
Good grief!!! Dog holidays? This set us off on a trek to find a dog travel agent. I'll let you know if we have any luck!
Posted by gary at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)
Although in ancient times names were reflective of character, we tend to choose names for different reasons in the West today. If you want to find out what your name means, click here.
Posted by gary at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)
We are living in the midst of the longest stretch of economic prosperity ever known in Australia. We have been fortunate not to have been through a recession for over 15 years. In the midst of a record sharemarket, low interest rates, lower unemployment rates, and record property prices, we have governments at state and federal level running budget surpluses in the combined order of more than ten billion dollars. All things seem to be rosy. And yet...
Earlier this year The Age reported that local government infrastructure has been run down to the tune of $6 billion. We are seeing the fruits of growing ignorance of global warming, and of the privatisation of many once-public assets. In addition we are loading up the next generation with study debts, all the while making participation in property ownership extremely difficult. We have sold off schools in areas where young people are now growing up; we prefer to offer tax cuts to the wealthy instead of investing in education at every level and public health facilities, and we continue to neglect the growing environmental pressures necessitating significant investment in sustainable technologies and renewable energy.
In the midst of economic boom times, we are neglecting to build for the future in any meaningful way, preferring to dine out on it. Yet we seem to be collectively anaesthetised against the costs we are accumulating. Our greatest fear - at least in the public conversation - is terrorism. Yet the potential for disaster within the frameworks of our current public policy is much more sinister than any potential terrorist threat. We need to take our responsibilities to the future much more seriously - and see them in much greater terms than the accumulation of sufficient superannuation to see us through retirement.
Posted by gary at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)
I have heard the following description (or something similar) of the pro-life movement a number of times over recent weeks. "The pro-life movement is really pro-pregnancy. Once the child is born it is on its own. The pro-life movement is usually pro-war and disinterested in poverty, two of the greatest killers in our world."
It carries some power because it is remarkably close to the truth. What do you think?
Posted by gary at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)
I Cnot BlEv dat U R unable 2 rED DIS msg. dun U spk eng?
Do you have trouble reading some of the creative shortcuts which come via SMS? It often appears as a language of its own. I laughed when sending a friend "TNX" in response to information he had provided. Seconds later my phone beeps again: "What's TNX?" was the message. As with any language, those who are familiar don't recognise the challenges it presents (think about this from a church perspective). Well, at least in relation to SMS, there is a place to solve your problem. transl8it.com allows you to type in an SMS message and have it converted into English, and vice versa. So if you cannot make sense of the opening sentence above, copy it, click here, and paste it into the appropriate section, et, Voila!!
Might prove handy in bookmarks, particularly if you have teenage kids!
Posted by gary at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)
Answers to just about any question you like, or don't like? Try here
Posted by gary at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)
Last year I made my prediction in relation to how the new football season would turn out. I made some glaring misreadings of teams, which were evident when the season ended. So, now that my relative credentials have been revealed (rather than established), let me delve into the waters of prediction once more...
1. Adelaide - misread them badly last year. Hopefully again this year ;-)
2. Geelong - well placed for a tilt at the big one. My current tip for the flag
3. West Coast - if they can keep their minds on football
4. St Kilda - still have reservations about their ability to go all the way.
5. Sydney - their strength is their team
6. Fremantle - they have different mind problems to West Coast. Could surprise.
7. Western Bulldogs - have lost Darcy already, but some real class still in the squad.
8. Richmond - had them here last year. But they are getting better every year (or at least last year!)
9. Melbourne - could go as high as fifth
10. Kangaroos - good even team, but don't think they can go all the way
11. Essendon - time for rebuilding.
12. Brisbane - injuries already taking their toll as they rebuild.
13. Collingwood - have some good players back but the engine room is still superceded by a number of seasons.
14. Port Adelaide - their theme song "We'll never stop, stop, stop, until we're top, top, top!" gives them away. They were top two years ago. And they are still coming to a stop.
15. Hawthorn - might make an early jump, but too many young bodies
16. Carlton - building for the future, and still digging the foundations
The first tip for the season? West Coast to beat St Kilda! Premiership? Geelong (at this stage) Brownlow? Deledio! (or I could toss a coin!)
Seal up the box until the end of August.
Posted by gary at 02:11 PM | Comments (2)
See how well you can guess a person's age.
Posted by gary at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
This is a real hoot! As the Simpsons are about to start their 17th season (March 20 in the USA), the creators have put together a real-life version of the opening credits. The clip re-enacts the title sequence to a tee. You can view it either in small, medium or large format.
Thanks to Ken for the heads up on this one!
To read the story behind it, click here.
If you pick the blooper, let me know!
Posted by gary at 06:14 PM | Comments (0)
Apparently one of the British national daily newspapers is asking readers "what it means to be British". This may be another one of those internet legends, but the story which captures attention is this is one from a chap in Switzerland.
"Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all?
"Suspicion of anything foreign".
Posted by gary at 06:18 PM | Comments (1)
It is time to elect a world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:
Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He's had two mistresses and was not discrete about it. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B: Was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.
Candidate C: Is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, politically conservative, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.
Which of these candidates would be your choice?? Make your choice, then click here.
Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler
Something to ponder on. Isn't it? What is the relationship between character and leadership? This little vignette does not tell the whole story of course, but it does remind us that leaders who appear ethically pristine may not be all they appear, and/or may not make the wisest political choices.
Posted by gary at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
Another one of those quizzes. This one tests your "autism quotient", and while one doesn't put much store in pop-quizzes like this, it does raise some interesting questions for self-examination, which I find the value of a quiz like this.
Autism is a syndrome which results in aversion to social interaction. It is essentially a brain disorder that affects three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play. For some of us, withdrawing can be exacerbated by our work or home situations. We all need to make effort to maintain and develop our social skills. Different personality types adapt much more easily than others.
Because our youngest child was born at about 24 weeks' gestation, he was vulnerable to autism, which occurs more frequently in extremely premature infants. It needs to be remembered that autism is largely a social-interactive disorder, and is not directly related to intelligence in academic areas. Many people with autistm are quite brilliant in certain spheres. You may remember the film Rain Man, the story which revolves around Dustin Hoffman's character's autism.
I have always been somewhat shy and introverted (though I know a few people who would dispute that!), and have had to work hard from time to time in this area. Being in pastoral ministry has pushed me at different times and in different ways in this area. While I rated a 15 on the quiz, I would probably have rated much higher at earlier stages of my life. This might indicate that autism is within the control of the person, but nothing could be further from the truth - therein lies one of the problems with quizzes like this: you don't wake up one day, stick your head under a pillow and become autistic. It is much more about capability than level of present function.
We were lead to think in earlier days that our son might have been autistic, but there were other physiological aspects which impacted upon his social interaction. A more social being you'd be hard-pressed to find now!
If you want to practice your social skills, there are plenty of clubs (and churches) which welcome new members and provide a place for developing new friends and meeting new people. Life's too short to waste away on one's own.
Posted by gary at 03:45 PM | Comments (6)
Interesting collection of panoramic photographs from around the world as people celebrated the arrival of 2006. Aside from the images available, the technology allows you to view through 360 degrees (in all directions!)
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Posted by gary at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)
What is your gut response to the question: is the world becoming increasingly violent and dangerous? This writer suggests the true answer is 'no'. But then, the perspective from which you answer might make a difference... And it might be worth pondering whether this account for personal attacks, etc.
Interesting thought, though. Perhaps with international terrorism, the shape of overall conflict is shifting. Or he might be right.
----
Peace on Earth? Increasingly, Yes.
By Andrew Mack
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Seen through the eyes of the media, the world appears an evermore dangerous place. Iraq is sliding toward civil war, the slaughter in Darfur appears unending, violent insurgencies are brewing in Thailand and a dozen other countries, and terrorism strikes again in Bali. It is not surprising that most people believe global violence is increasing.
However, most people, including many leading policymakers and scholars, are wrong. The reality is that, since the end of the Cold War, armed conflict and nearly all other forms of political violence have decreased. The world is far more peaceful than it was.
Why has this change attracted so little attention? In part because the global media give far more coverage to wars that start than to those that quietly end, but also because no international agency collects global or regional data on any form of political violence.
The Human Security Report, an independent study funded by five countries and published by Oxford University Press, draws on a wide range of little publicized scholarly data, plus specially commissioned research to present a portrait of global security that is sharply at odds with conventional wisdom. The report reveals that after five decades of inexorable increase, the number of armed conflicts started to fall worldwide in the early 1990s. The decline has continued.
By 2003, there were 40 percent fewer conflicts than in 1992. The deadliest conflicts -- those with 1,000 or more battle-deaths -- fell by some 80 percent. The number of genocides and other mass slaughters of civilians also dropped by 80 percent, while core human rights abuses have declined in five out of six regions of the developing world since the mid-1990s. International terrorism is the only type of political violence that has increased. Although the death toll has jumped sharply over the past three years, terrorists kill only a fraction of the number who die in wars.
What accounts for the extraordinary and counterintuitive improvement in global security over the past dozen years? The end of the Cold War, which had driven at least a third of all conflicts since World War II, appears to have been the single most critical factor.
In the late 1980s, Washington and Moscow stopped fueling "proxy wars" in the developing world, and the United Nations was liberated to play the global security role its founders intended. Freed from the paralyzing stasis of Cold War geopolitics, the Security Council initiated an unprecedented, though sometimes inchoate, explosion of international activism designed to stop ongoing wars and prevent new ones.
Other international agencies, donor governments and nongovernmental organizations also played a critical role, but it was the United Nations that took the lead, pushing a range of conflict-prevention and peace-building initiatives on a scale never before attempted. The number of U.N. peacekeeping operations and missions to prevent and stop wars have increased by more than 400 percent since the end of the Cold War. As this upsurge of international activism grew in scope and intensity through the 1990s, the number of crises, wars and genocides declined.
There have been some horrific and much publicized failures, of course -- the failures to stop genocide in Rwanda, Srebrenica and Darfur being the most egregious. But the quiet successes -- in Namibia, El Salvador, Mozambique, Eastern Slovenia, East Timor and elsewhere went largely unheralded, as did the fact that the United Nations' expertise in handling difficult missions has grown dramatically.
A major study by the Rand Corp. published this year found that U.N. peace-building operations had a two-thirds success rate. They were also surprisingly cost-effective. In fact, the United Nations spends less running 17 peace operations around the world for an entire year than the United States spends in Iraq in a single month. What the United Nations calls "peacemaking" -- using diplomacy to end wars -- has been even more successful. About half of all the peace agreements negotiated between 1946 and 2003 have been signed since the end of the Cold War.
With the Security Council often reluctant to act -- the abject failure to stop the Rwandan genocide remains a key example -- and with too many missions having been denied adequate resources, appropriate mandates or properly trained personnel, these successes are all the more remarkable.
In the wake of last month's global summit at the United Nations, many critics wrote the United Nations off as an institution so deeply flawed that it was beyond salvation. The analysis and the carefully collated data in the Human Security Report reveal something very different: an organization that, despite its failures and creaking bureaucracy, has played a critical role in enhancing global security.
The writer directs the Human Security Center at the University of British Columbia. He was director of the Strategic Planning Unit in the executive office of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan between 1998 and 2001.
source
Posted by gary at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
With all the discussion about closing church services on Sunday (which also happened to be Christmas Day), here is one church which did so in a creative way...
...which makes me wonder whether Christmas is primarily about spending time with family... Although the message of the incarnation (is that an oxymoron?) is being spoken, is the real message about family being communicated much more powerfully?
-----
Northshore Christian Church wants you to feel at home for Christmas Day service.
In fact, you will be at home.
Northshore's new interactive DVD kit is designed to allow the 1,500 members of the Everett church to spend more time with their families, by replacing the Sunday service with an in-home version.
"We are just so grateful that you've allowed us to come into your home on this Christmas Day," the Rev. Ken Long says in the DVD's introduction, which was filmed in his living room as he sits in a leather recliner in front of the fireplace.
A DVD Christmas might conjure up images of a family gathered around the television to watch a recorded service.
But the kit, called "Christmas Unwrapped," isn't a passive activity.
Besides viewing the disc, which includes meditative music and an abbreviated sermon, participants unroll and read tiny scrolls that describe spiritual meanings behind familiar Christmas symbols, such as candles, wreaths and candy canes. They take Communion, express thankfulness and say a Christmas prayer. The entire service takes 30 to 60 minutes.
"We're not canceling church. We're taking it out of our four walls," said Christina Bergevin, Northshore's music director, who helped create the kit.
Churches in Illinois, Tennessee and Florida also are offering DVDs in lieu of Christmas services, according to news accounts. Recordings include sermons, a drama, carols with words rolling across the screen and, in one case, a 30-minute image of a burning fireplace.
Some of the nation's largest and most prominent megachurches have canceled services Sunday, expecting smaller crowds because it is Christmas and wanting to give family time to the armies of volunteers who run the services.
Such cancellations aren't the norm in the Seattle area, where Overlake Christian Church, The City Church, Cedar Park Assembly, Antioch Bible Church, Christian Faith Center and Mars Hill Church, among other big congregations, will hold Christmas services, although some will have fewer services than normal.
All of those churches except Mars Hill will offer at least one service on Christmas Eve, anticipating high attendance and holiday visitors. Northshore, which is non-denominational, will have three services.
"We pull out all the stops on Christmas Eve," Long said. "Everyone is on deck for that. (But) we like to encourage families to be together on Christmas morning."
Although many megachurches routinely focus on services on Christmas Eve and not on Christmas Day, the issue drew attention this year because of the calendar.
The arrival of Christmas on a Sunday presents "two values, if you will, in competition with one another: the value of individual families and the value of the family of God," said Robert Drovdahl, professor of educational ministry at Seattle Pacific University.
"Churches that opted to cancel services put value on individual families," he said. "Others said, 'We value the family of God and gather as we always do on the first day of the week.' I wouldn't criticize anyone who thoughtfully weighed those two."
Long said it took more effort to create the kit than just to hold regular Sunday services. "This was a very intentional decision," he said. "It was not made because it was easier to do."
Though some churches have taken heat for canceling Christmas services, he said, Northshore promoted its alternative and received a "remarkably positive response."
The church initially produced 1,000 kits, was swamped with requests and ordered another run of 500.
Bergevin has incorporated aspects of the kit in her family's observance of Christmas for years.
"We take common cultural symbols and try to figure out the spiritual significance behind those things," she said. "It's a way for my husband and myself to share our faith with our family. It's kid-friendly."
For instance, candles originally decorated Christmas trees "as a reminder that Christ came to bring light to a dark world," a scroll reads.
These days, tree lights suggest "that galaxy of stars that shone in Bethlehem on the night of Christ's birth and that one very special star announcing his coming," another scroll reads.
"The most important thing that we can give our attention to on this Christmas is not just the symbols," Long says in his recorded sermon.
"My prayer is that we all come to that saving knowledge of Christ. ... Not just an awareness about him or a knowledge of him, but to personally understand the salvation that he brings," he continues.
Northshore member Fred Sirianni of Marysville believes the at-home service provides a non-threatening way for members to present their faith with friends and relatives who otherwise might not "darken the door of the church."
Tammy Gimbel of Lynnwood, another member, plans to open the kit when her extended family gathers on Christmas.
"We'll listen to a message from our pastor that we'd miss otherwise, right there in our front room," said Gimbel, whose background was "not steeped in the true Christmas tradition."
"For years it has been the goal in our house to celebrate the birth of Christ," she said, "but unfortunately we did not have the insight of how to truly do that. ... So for us this is a great gift and we joyfully receive it."
Posted by gary at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)
It has now been three times in recent memory that I have received news of the 'wonderful opportunity for evagelism'. It began with the release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", was followed by the (late) release in Australia of Luther, and came again in recent weeks with the arrival of Disney's translation of the first of C.S. Lewis's Narnia series - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - appearing on the big screen on Boxing Day. Certainly two of these have generated significant public discussion. Gibson's tortured film certainly gained loads of attention, as has Narnia - not all of it positive. But general publicity aside, I wonder if this constant search for 'the next big thing' is really the essence of Christianity at all. Certainly everyone likes a good story, and such classics as Lewis's works have stood the test of time. And the use of modern technology to tell the story can add to its power. One wonders whether Disney might be the best sponsor of interpreting the story, mind you. Are we really welcoming the story, or being manipulated by Disney to turn around its stuttering film division?
The difficulty is that God has been known to use a donkey to get his message across, so Disney's involvement doesn't write out God being at work. The problem is not so much the desire of commercial organisations to exploit the christian market, but our gullibility in buying in to these things, often uncritically.
I will be taking my children to see the Narnia series. They have read the whole series and I will be interested in their critiques of the movie. I did see Gibson's movie, but found it improbable at many points. I found it to be an interesting but uncompelling interpretation of Jesus' Passion inasmuch as it was without context. "Luther" was an understated but powerful telling of the story of the reformation. For those with an interest in church history, it would provide some useful catalyst for understanding the Reformation.
It makes me wonder whatever happened to the simple personal relationship for sharing what Jesus means today, and the difference he can make in our lives if we let him...
Posted by gary at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
Harry Potter the brave, resourceful wizard, who through his sheer cunning and nerve defeats evil... that's the popular myth. But one author suggests that Harry is "no braver than his best friend, Ron Weasley, just richer and better-connected...", that "Hermione Granger, is smarter and a better student..." and that Harry's fame is merely based on his pampered jock status emanating from Quidditch.
Harry is, according to the author, "a trust-fund kid whose success at his school, Hogwarts, is largely attributable to the gifts his friends and relatives lavish upon him..."
Is Harry Potter's fame based on illusory values? Read the full article here.
Posted by gary at 10:48 AM | Comments (0)
In this highly egocentric culture, the ministry of the church does not remain immune. This wonderful little parody from SermonSpice.com would make an excellent introduction in discussions about worship and/or priorities.
Be warned, the parody might offend some.
Posted by gary at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)
How's this for a simple project. Simply print 15,000 of these bubble stickers and place them on top of ads all over New York City. Passersby fill them in. Then go back and photograph the results.
Check out the results here.
Posted by gary at 07:18 AM | Comments (0)
See enough to rot your teeth here.
Or how about putting those old keyboards to good use:
Posted by gary at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)
Ever struggle to think of an oxymoron? Here's a new classic list that will provide every oxymoron in recent history - and before - you could ever have thought of - whether out loud, or in advance, whether you are a beginner, an advanced beginner, or an expert. And you might find a few more to boot, definitely including perhaps your least favourite.
The top 20 Oxymorons are recorded as:
20. Government Organization
19. Alone Together
18. Personal Computer
17. Silent Scream
16. Living Dead
15. Same Difference
14. Taped Live
13. Plastic Glasses
12. Tight Slacks
11. Peace Force
10. Pretty Ugly
9. Head Butt
8. Working Vacation
7. Tax Return
6. Virtual Reality
5. Dodge Ram
4. Work Party
3. Jumbo Shrimp
2. Healthy Tan
1. Microsoft Works
And if that isn't enough, there's more here than you can shake a stick at... Now there's an open secret...
What's your favourite oxymoron? Congregational government??
Posted by gary at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
I'm demonstrating how slow I can be, but I grabbed a copy of Saturday Night Fever on DVD recently and watched it for the first time on the weekend. No, I don't mean just the DVD - it was the first time I had watched the film from go to woe! It wasn't until I watched one of the special features that I realised why the film was so big - it brought disco into the mainstream. Well, that probably has to match the over blackness of the film's plot!
For a film that (re-?)launched two stellar careers: John Travolta and the Bee Gees, it bore a very dark plot, and the dancing, while technically very good, was not all that spectacular, save perhaps for the landmark scene when Travolta monopolises the floor. Life on the wrong side of the river in New York in the 1970s (and still today?) stands in stark contrast to the "Sex in the City" New York which tourists imagine.
Travolta's bleak life came alive on the dance floor of a Saturday night. It was his hope... his redemption... his one place of achievement. It gave him identity and purpose. Which is something of value!
Hard to watch... not a really 'entertaining' film per se, but powerful nonetheless.
Posted by gary at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
Worship pastor Phil Christensen offers a humorous glossary definitions, which probably won't make it number one at Koorong or Word, but are worth a laugh... or cry, depending on whether they are real or not!!!
ALTOS and BARRITONES: (ahl-toez and behr-i-toenz) People who complain that the songs are too high until they learn to harmonize.
BALLAD SALAD: (ba'-lud sa'-lud) A worship set of quiet songs intended to foster a gentle flow of worship and meaningful encounter with the Lord. The Ballad Salad generally follows the up-tempo moments of celebration (see also Rocking the Flock).
BIG KAHUNA: (beeg’ kah-hoo’-nah) Lead Pastor whom God has placed in authority over you. Honor this man. Submit to him graciously unless he asks you to break one of the 10 Commandments.
BLACK HOLES: (blak-hoelz) The dark vacuum around people in the congregation who steadfastly refuse to connect with God during worship. Sometimes accompanied by contemptuous facial expressions. If you can intercede for these individuals during w