Brandon's Blog

My Online Presence Takes a Turn (#CaptainObvious)

As you can see from the gap between this post and the last, I'm not updating this blog anymore.  I've slowly been migrating to a Tumblr blog HERE where my Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Dublin Blog feeds will show up.  It's a simple way of having an aggregated online presence and move to more of a microblogging format.  When I have thoughts that might take more than the 140 characters that Twitter permits, I'll probably turn to the Tumblr blog.  Between that and Facebook, it's (probably more than) enough.

It's interesting timing for all this.  TyepPad have recently rolled out some features that I kinda like.  But apparently not enough to keep me interested.  I'm hoping that once my TypePad subscription runs out, I'll be able to keep the archives of my TypePad history.  Always interesting to go back and see what I was thinking and wrestling with a year or 2 or 3 ago.

So long, 'Brandon's Blog.'  (You REALLY needed a more creative name anyway.)

Love Is . . . Watching Someone Die??

Last week, my wife and I had an opportunity to get away for a few days together and leave our daughter with the grandparents.  It was a brilliant time of refreshment, reflection, prayer, and reading - with very little technology to provide any “background noise.” 

On our way home, Kristy put in a CD of one of our favourite albums, Death Cab for Cutie’s “Plans.”  I’d forgotten how much I loved that album.  When it rolled around to a song called “What Sarah Said,” I was blown away.

American Christians & Torture

Tonight, I'm incredibly saddened that American evangelicals can't even represent their God when it comes to a simple doctrine/belief that people are created in His image.  CNN is reporting a Pew Research  Center poll that 6 out of 10 evangelicals say torture is "often" or "sometimes" justified.  My hunch (okay, it's more than a hunch - more along the lines of a personal conviction) is that much of American evangelicalism has subtly shifted to a kind of "civil religion," whereby things such as patriotism/nationalism and conservative politics trump scriptural conviction at best, and actually inform its worldview at worst. 

Kevin Drew's Directorial Debut (starring Cillian Murphy & Leslie Feist)

A few years back, I remember reading this interview between Cillian Murphy and Kevin Drew.  Kevin was supposed to be interviewing Cillian, but it ended up being a reciprocal kind of thing where, by the end, you forget who is interviewing who.  I loved feeling like a fly on the wall listening to one of my favourite songwriters (though only recently discovered at the time) sit down for a conversation with a phenomenally talented Irish actor. 

Oink Oink! *Cough Cough*

Scottish Village Now on the Map

So I finally got around to watching the "Britain's Got Talent" moment that is spreading around the WWW like wildfire.  It truly is a magical TV moment.  Heartwarming.  Joyful.  Ironic.  Awe-inspiring.  Etc., etc.

What made the scene so thrilling was that the stunningly beautiful was springing so unexpectedly from the lumpy, greying, and "unattractive" (esp. compared to the middle judge, who no doubt is there strategically to bring an "attractiveness" to the show). 

BUT . . .  (Yeah, sorry if this ruins if for you.)

A Common Thread: Semiotics & Brain Hemispheres

I’m really enjoying my latest read, GloboChrist, though I’ve had a bit of a slow start.  So far, I’ve enjoyed it more than the last book in the “Church and Postmodern Culture” series (What Would Jesus Deconstruct?). 

I’m often fascinated by the connections between books that I read consecutively.  The last book I read was “Intuitive Leadership,” by Tim Keel and it was probably the clearest case I’ve read for the postmodern shift and why churches must change. 

In chapter five, Keel discusses the fact that our modern ways of thinking are dominated by the left side of our brain where “linear, sequential, analytical ways of knowing are processed.” (p. 130)  He goes on to quote Daniel Pink, “The left hemisphere of our brain handles sequence, literalness, and analysis.  The right hemisphere, meanwhile, takes care of context, emotional expression, and synthesis. . . . Until recently, the abilities that led to success in school, work, and business [and I would add here church] were characteristic of the left hemisphere.”  As Keel argues later, even the way we read (left to right) engages the left hemisphere, whereas in eastern cultures (including Hebrew culture, from which Christianity was birthed) reading involves moving the head and eyes from right to left, “thus engaging the part of the brain responsible for understanding context, metaphor, and synthesis.”

Forsaken, Abandoned

matthew 27.46

Paschal Triduum

Father, forgive me...
Originally uploaded by atty_engel.

“Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into our future so that we can take the next step…If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.” (Ivan Illich)

(HT: Bob)
Paschal Triduum
Maundy Thursday 2008

Twitter Twouble

I have to admit, I'm still a bit undecided on the Twitter thang.  Sometimes it seems like a great way to stay connected with people.  Other times . . . well, let's just say the following animation had me in stitches and sputtering, "It's funny because it's true!"

King David on American TV

I'm not one to get hooked into watching the latest TV shows, but recently I began to get acquainted with Kings via Hulu.  It's essentially a re-telling of the Old Testament story of David with really imaginative modern twists.  Paste Magazine talks it up HERE.  Plenty of other critics use words like "pretentious" and "fascinating" in the same breath to describe the new series.  I doubt that it will have staying power like Lost or 24.  For now, I'll catch what I can since we won't be able to see it in Ireland when we return next month. 

I'm no prophet, but my hunch is that churches across America who really want to be trendy and catchy and "seeker oriented" (oh, please don't use the word "postmodern") are going to start entire sermon series or Sunday School lessons based on the show, video clips and all. 

In this clip, David Shepherd slays a Goliath tank.

Facebook Video TEST

On Saturday, Kristy and grandma went out "garage sale" hunting.  This is some video that I took of Caitlyn experimenting with some of her toys over the weekend.  The teddy bears that wrap around her legs were her first Valentine's Day gift from her daddy.  She's changing and growing so quickly.  I'm trying to get a lot of video footage of her speaking skills.  Should make a great little video collage one of these days. 

It's nice that Facebook now offers embed codes on their video.  Haven't decided yet if I like it better than what Vimeo has to offer, but thought I'd give it a go.

Earth Hour On Again

Tomorrow night, from 8.30-9.30pm, it's Earth Hour.  Turn off everything you can in your house that requires energy and make a statement that you care about the stewardship of the earth's resources.  For those of you Christ-followers out there, you have a responsibility before the One who created all things.  For those of you who aren't too concerned about the spiritual/religious side of things, you have a responsibility to everyone you share earth's resources with.  (Actually, this goes for the spiritually/religiously inclined as well.)

There are lots of ways you can participate and get the word out online, as well as turning out the lights on the day.  The Earth Hour website has lots of suggestions.  Funny enough, one of the suggestions is live blogging.  ??  I thought the idea was to have the lights out, as well as anything else requiring power?? 

College basketball fans, you can at least turn off everything other than the TV, if you absolutely cannot miss an hour of "madness." =)

The Latest Audio/Visual Jewels

Just a couple of remarkable creative pieces I've come across on the web as of late.

First up, just about every modern day kid has seen "the wild things" growing up.  Now, Spike Jonze brings it to the big screen.  Watch and be filled with anticipation . . .

Obama Press Conference

Watching President Obama’s press conference tonight, I’ve been struck by two things: 
1) His ability to articulate himself well “on the fly” (Although it does bother me a bit when he keeps trying to support his views by saying, “I’m not the only one.  A lot of others out there agree with me.”)

AND

2) His sense of what’s fair in the tax system. 

Regarding the tax issues, Obama clearly stated that it’s not fair for wealthier people to get bigger tax breaks on their charitable giving.  He went on to say something along these lines, “It’s not fair for someone who makes a million dollars a year to get a 39% tax break on their charitable giving while someone who drives a bus and makes forty or fifty grand a year only gets a 28% tax break.”