Posted 9/20/2002 10:15:37 PM
Revival Works a Transformation

"Burn This" emerges as an exquisitely arranged chamber piece for four self-distancing people who have misplaced their deepest feelings....

And it can be embarrassingly literal in showing how its characters translate life into art. But it also presents a bracingly clear-eyed portrait of an age of disconnectedness, a state in which American life still seems firmly lodged.

Posted 9/20/2002 05:37:40 PM
Shark credited with ‘virgin births’

parthenogenesis or self-fertilizing hermaphrodite? hmm.

Posted 9/20/2002 11:21:48 AM

somethings that i have learned from my hitbox stats over the last 3.5 days:

- Generally, even hours are busier than odd hours for TheyBlinked

- TheyBlinked is result #2 if you search for the japanese word for "sex friend" on google/yahoo

- TheyBlinked had traffic every hour of the day during this period of time save 1am, 2am and 3am CT

- Based on the data from 3.5 days the projections are that TheyBlinked should have 5000+ page views this month

- Daily TheyBlinked is getting unique users from all North American times zones, West and South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia

- There have been some crazy google query referrals to TheyBlinked (sekusutomo, beeow, beastie boys, jihad, axis of officially anglophone, 8 mile, bible granola, et al). The worst being someone's query that read "naked 11 year old kiddy." To the person who found the site via this google query, its time to stop the madness, get help (professional counseling) and get accountability (xxxchurch.com perhaps).

Posted 9/20/2002 11:18:01 AM
Comments on "Can We Still Trust God's Word?" Continue...

David: Well, the Bible entered into an oral society, so the written word seemed sacred, unique. But once we carried the Bible into a print-friendly culture, the medium lost its uniqueness. The Bible became mundane. There became a counter-reaction to make the Bible holy. As a result, we deified the text and displaced our God.

the discussion in the pub continues. the score:

1 disgruntled lite beer epistemologist,
1 flat guinness religious revolutionary,
1 passed out renaissance conspirator,
1 latte nursing old guard watchman,
1 diet coke publishing peacemaker,
1 media savvy, always teaching, bar tender...

who will pull up a chair next?

Posted 9/19/2002 11:42:33 PM

Akbar Ahmed: When Honor is Threatened

Economics is important. But the notion of honor or dignity is more important. What you are seeing in many societies throughout the world is the reaction to perceptions of dishonor.

Posted 9/19/2002 10:58:50 PM

Comments on "Can We Still Trust God's Word?"

"It is right because it is right because it is right." That is a type of faith I can't muster anymore.

some great responses to an ongoing article/comment exchange.
thanks michael and jon for your measured responses and scott for your creative delivery.

Posted 9/19/2002 08:47:33 PM
DallasNews.com | Dallas-Fort Worth | Rumsfeld raises stakes on Iraq

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, putting Iraq squarely at the center of the war against terrorism, said Wednesday that only a coup or Saddam Hussein's voluntary surrender of power could avert war.

"We can fight all elements of the global war simultaneously," he assured the House Armed Services Committee, leaving little doubt of the administration's intentions.

this is ridiculous. irresponsible.

this smacks of a new public american imperialism that will do nothing but increase the hostility that fomented an event like 9/11. it is time to change our rhetoric in the press. it is time to change our posture in the world. it is time to hold power as a sacred trust.

Posted 9/19/2002 08:43:43 PM
Deliver us from evil - Michel Kinsley

So, check and mate: Terrorism is evil, evil, evil — gosh, it’s evil — and there’s nothing else to discuss.

Posted 9/19/2002 02:44:49 PM
current.mp3
twisted.sister::we're.not.gonna.take.it
(spy1d is playing it off of his laptop)

Posted 9/19/2002 12:35:24 PM
it is still very cool in my little world when people blog about the same thing on the same day without any orchestration. joho wrote about children yesterday too.

Posted 9/19/2002 12:04:01 PM
BookCrossing - Free Your Books!

bookcrossing is a very cool grassroots idea virus community mechanism... check it out...

from the site:

You know the feeling you get after reading a book that speaks to you, that touches your life, a feeling that you want to share it with someone else? BookCrossing.com gives you a simple way to share books with the world, and follow their paths forever more!

Posted 9/18/2002 10:46:39 PM
"Talks collapse in Winona Ryder Case"

this is an actual news headline i saw tonight. does this strike anyone else as odd and a bit pretentious? talks? what?

Posted 9/18/2002 04:46:08 PM

this is not an animal.




this is your son.



global neglect

easy, but don't stop here...
ongoing solutions

Posted 9/18/2002 02:00:13 PM

Posted 9/18/2002 01:01:23 PM

Monsanto is a huge, agricultural, revenue driven, for-profit corporation. They genetically engineer seed to grow plants that are incapable of producing fertile seeds. This is called a "Terminator Technology." It keeps customers coming back year after year to buy new seed.

American Christianity is a huge, spiritual, revenue driven, not-for-profit corporation. They theologically engineer the kerygma to grow spiritual lives that are incapable of producing maturity. This is called a "Terminator Theology." It keeps pew dwellers coming back year after year to "be fed."

Posted 9/18/2002 12:18:14 PM
what is left when success is mounted
the last battle won
the conquest now empty
control no more the arousal it once was?

what is left when life runs its course
and the dust of a hundred billion
who have gone before swallows the
trillion particles that once constituted
a self no more differentiated from the
rest of creation?

what is left?
is there a vast data center in the sky
holding backups of all our lives
somehow archived do we again return
in some cosmic restore
do we find ourselves anew in a place
unexpected and yet home

what is left?
we tell stories and enact secrets
we laugh and play
but what is left in the end
is only what can be held without clutching
known without owning

what is left?
the way, halakah, dharma, sunnah
the details may shift
as indeed we all do
and yet the way continues

aug.3.2002

Posted 9/18/2002 11:52:29 AM
in my ongoing series of book recommendations i would like to throw out two on the subject of contemporary islam. these books are representative of a new scholarship that is emerging within islam in progressive cultural centers such as south africa, the uk and to some extent the usa. this particular author is from south africa. farid esak has three books available on amazon. the two that i have read are excellent (Qur'an, Liberation and Pluralism and On Being a Muslim) .

while i am on this topic i guess that i will throw out a couple more. A Faith For All Seasons by shabbir akhtar is good as is Postmodernism and Islam by akbar ahmed. these last two works are older (from the early 1990s).

Posted 9/18/2002 11:42:54 AM
Iraq, Upside Down

...this poverty of dignity... drives them to suicidal revenge. The quest for dignity is a powerful force in human relations. Closing that dignity gap is a decades-long project.

Posted 9/18/2002 09:29:59 AM
the axis of... applet

my favorite:

New Zealand, Australia and Jamaica:
Axis of island-dwelling, officially Anglophone, vodka-exporting, US bullet-buyers

Posted 9/18/2002 12:29:57 AM
my cell phone is again dead--resurrected once there is little hope this time.
a public wake will be held this evening at the coffee haus in arlington, tx.

Posted 9/18/2002 12:23:34 AM

NPR : Hunting for Gravity Waves

so, we are going to use this thing called a "laser" to detect "gravity"...
does that get your excited, baby?
grrrr.

Posted 9/17/2002 11:59:19 PM

lost in the waves
thrown to the shore
the euphoria of survival
quickly fades as the next
drama that carries life through
the endless cycles of creation and
return makes its way to the forefront of
existence under the brash pretense called
urgency

lost in the waves
thrown to the shore

Posted 9/17/2002 06:41:11 PM
The Globalist | Guide to Globalization

Posted 9/17/2002 03:25:14 PM
following david's lead i now know what revolution i am:

What revolution are You?
Made by altern_active

Posted 9/17/2002 03:10:13 PM

the cultural matrix that allowed this social phenomenon to emerge in japan is intriguing to me. watching a silent, traditional culture begin to melt under the weight of underemployment and xenophobic sexual presuppositions is like reality television for the sociologically minded. for me this article underscores the need for open discussion around a sexual ethic that is formed from the nuanced sources of our society's traditions in concert with the ground realities that the west functions within--an unprecedented distribution of wealth, the pace and informational sophistication of interconnected global living, the ubiquity of media and the longevity of the human being among other things. for those from the abrahamic traditions we must begin asking how we can live a sexuality that privileges integrity within promises in line with the covenantal thinking of our faiths, that is thoughtful with regard to new science and that is honest in view of our common heritage with other species on the planet. we need to find a path that eschews the extreme polar swings of classical dogmatic sources such as augstine or origen in their work and lives and the monastic/priestly traditions that became central to roman chritianity while holding fast to relational justice, purity on the level of intention and communal integrity.

Dangerous Liaisons

MASAMI HAS SEX with several of her pals, she admits, rotating among partners who themselves enjoy numerous liaisons. Her promiscuity is not uncommon: Surveys suggest that many young Japanese maintain multiple sekusutomo —literally “sex friends.” According to a joint study... in the Shibuya section of Tokyo recently, 43 percent said they keep five or more sex friends at a time...

They form social groups that—like their jobs—are part time, low stress and temporary.

Posted 9/17/2002 06:58:01 AM
A Sacred Obligation

an interesting piece on jewish-christian relations from a mainstream catholic/denominational perspective.

Posted 9/16/2002 09:15:02 PM
Fatblueman recently wrote, The teachings of Christ don't mix well with the goals of nation-building (as the Romans seemed to understand), but co-opting his name seems to be useful for giving people a sense that whatever the nation is up to is right.

Posted 9/16/2002 08:24:59 PM

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Iraq agrees to weapons inspections

Ok, it is time for my $200 Billion USD travel plan to go into effect. I'll be calling Dubya tonight to pass on the information. I think we should all begin getting our visas and brushing up on our ancient Babylonian history.

One more thing while I am thinking about it. How would our self-perception, rhetoric and sense of national security change if, say, Iraq or Iran had bases in Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas?

The USoA has bases in Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Turkey and a sea full of the world's most advanced submarines, aircraft carriers, battle ships and the like in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. How does this influence the citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, et al?

Posted 9/16/2002 04:42:13 PM

Statement from the Beastie Boys

the James Newton (jazz musician) vs. Beastie Boys battle royale continues... this is a battle that pits artists that sample digitally against artists that sample through analog human audio patterning. i have a hard time seeing it any other way. everyone borrows unintentionally ("influence") and samples intentionally ("quotes") in some way. i have little sympathy for James Newton's claim that the three note sample that was cleared ten years ago is somehow a composition that he can now claim copyright infringement on. three friggin' notes??? wow. if the Beasties had simply paid some musician to come into the studio and play those notes for them to record and digitally alter just as they did with the six second James Newton sample the situation would never have come to this because no one could have tied the three notes to James Newton. it was the Beasties act of crediting the source for their sonic quote that opened them up to this frivolous suit that has already cost them nearly half a million USD.

Posted 9/16/2002 04:06:02 PM

Why C.E.O.'s Succeed (and Why They Fail): Hunters and Gatherers in the Corporate Life

An Anthropology of Leadership... another in the collection of articles that I used to give out during my tenure at Siemens.

Posted 9/16/2002 04:01:07 PM

Books by Hans Kung

for those of you who may not have seen the number of kung books in my library i thought that i would put in a plug for the greatest living theologian in the estimation of this small man. kung is a swiss theologian who helped to craft Vatican II, was soon after declared a non-catholic theologian and who has consistently brought a deep reason, honesty and ecumenical spirit to his voluminous writing. in 500 years kung will still be read. there are very few books in your library of which that can be said.

if you want to start someplace and are overwhelmed by the number of books available try Christianity: Essence, History and Future or Great Christian Thinkers: Paul, Origen, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Schleiermacher, Barth.

Posted 9/16/2002 03:28:25 PM
current mp3:
gravity.kills:guilty/andy.park:we.will.dance medley

Posted 9/16/2002 01:46:24 PM

i am sitting on the third floor of my condo at the moment gazing out the 12 foot windows at the uncommonly cool day just outside the glass. the leaves calmly sway in the slight breeze and my ceiling fans rattle on their circular course that has been unbroken for six months now. i am at peace--not secure, not without challenge--but my needs are daily met and the gift of life is welcomed with the silent embrace of a friend long on the path with me. the dissonant notes of life ring out and when taken together build to a crescendo of song that is the stuff of which we speak when with steeled gaze we utter the word that our time longs to see lived: hope. i am at peace.

Posted 9/16/2002 01:27:57 PM

soularize '02 ?
maybe something along these lines:

topic: authority, identity and the other kingdom

synopsis:

when scripture and tradition are one
when authority is an agreement
when apologetics is life

who are we?
what is christianity?

we hear and participate in discussions of deconstruction and reconstruction in postmodern faith circles and usually approach the subject from a missioligical perspective. asking questions that center on how one gets the "product" to the "postmodern culture." these discussions largely miss the point. the central areas where postmodern sensibilities call our comfortable authorities and identities into question remain largely unacknowledged and undiscussed. i would suggest that these postmodern sensibilities are often shared by the deconstructing midrash and community enactments of the other kingdom—the message of Jesus—and that our identities are fundamentally reshaped when we begin asking new questions and living new lives in response to the way of the other kingdom.

Posted 9/16/2002 12:14:57 PM
LawMeme: Legal Bricolage for a Technological Age - Top Ten New Copyright Crimes via danielmiller

Posted 9/16/2002 12:05:51 PM
Star Telegram | 09/16/2002 | 'Dream Awake' needs time to corral its elements

the first review for last weekend's play is in...

Posted 9/16/2002 10:47:51 AM
Shirky: Broadcast Institutions, Community Values via joho.

1. Audiences are built. Communities grow.
2. Communities face a tradeoff between size and focus.
3. Participation matters more than quality.
4. You may own the software, but the community owns itself.
5. The community will want to build. Help it, or at least let it.

i would suggest that the modern church is in large part a hosting organization not a community. more on this later.

Posted 9/16/2002 10:19:13 AM
Iraq attack could cost $200 billion

$200 BILLION!

i have a better idea. let's take that $200 Billion and cut a check for $5000 to every tax paying household in the USoA that is good for an extended vacation in Iraq this year. after this momentous year of revitalization for the iraqi economy and hope and perspective for the iraqi people why not again ask for unfettered access for the UN inspection body (we have already waited this long, why not another year?) and if cooperation is not forthcoming utilize the clandestine funds that already exist to insert a regime change body that deals directly with sadam rather than unleashing more war-hell on the children that have come into the world under this tyrannical political economy.

transformation takes place from the inside out. without a transformative evolution in the politics of iraq (read: the iraqi people's expectations) one dictator will be traded for another.

Posted 9/16/2002 09:45:16 AM
for those of you who did not live the early, wacko, dot com life here is a late piece from a "company" that was around in the early days:


"a fish, a barrel, and a smoking gun"

the growing old rants on 18 October 2000 are great: 1 - 2.

Posted 9/16/2002 09:40:01 AM
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | Author on trial over Islam 'insult'

"It is anti-Muslim racism that is at the heart of the trial, not the personality or the provocative tastes of one successful author or another."

ridiculous. this is not racism. this may be "bad taste" or conflicting politics, but it is not racism. when will large islamic organizations stop shooting the global ummah in the foot with courses of action such as this french suit?