bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Friday, April 26, 2002 ::

This just in: The latest issue of The Good News Bulletin is now online here.

:: Andrew 13:34 + ::
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Dove Awards musings. The Dove Awards, which is the Contemporary Christian Music industry's version of the Grammys, were handed out last night, and -- big surprise -- Steven Curtis Chapman won again. The dude has now won 45 Doves in his career, according to this report. He's like the New York Yankees of CCM.

Meanwhile, P.O.D., which performed at the Dove Awards, comments on the hypocrisy of the Gospel Music Association, which sponsors the awards. ''It's like the same people that banned us,'' P.O.D.'s Sonny Sandoval says in this report, ''now they're in their little office and they're like, 'Our goal is to help them break into the mainstream.' 'No, it's not. Let's be honest with ourselves, that's not your heart's intention. You're just selling records. Whatever link you have to this, it looks good on your plate.'' Linked via Rock Rebel.

Speaking of selling records: the Christian music industry seems to be doing quite well at it. Sales increased by 13 percent in 2001, even while the mainstream record industry was in the doldrums. But Crosswalk music columnist Mark Joseph wonders how legit those sales numbers truly are. "Kerry Livgren of [the band] Kansas once posed this question: 'Are we making converts to Christ or to Christian Music?'" Joseph says. "That's a question that those who are part of what is called the 'Christian Music industry' should ponder."

And then he made a great point:

It's becoming clear that most non-Christians will be no more attracted to a genre called 'Christian Music' than Christians would be attracted to a genre called 'Buddhist Music.' By ditching the label Buddhist Music, prominent Buddhists like Duncan Sheik have won a hearing among non-Buddhists for their music and their ideas. Christians who won't abandon the label 'Christian music,' even when doing so will bring this music and its lyrical content to more non-believers, are making a serious and critical mistake.

Friday Five time. Here they are:

1. What are your hobbies? In descending order: reading, writing, playing guitar, running, drinking too much coffee, blogging, playing trivia games and word games like boggle, crossword puzzles, etc.

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? I have a coin collection, but I don't actively collect coins anymore. I'll occasionally take them out and look at them. I guess you could say I collect books, because I usually buy more than I am able to ever read and have a backlog of reading that dates back to college. Often, I end up taking unread books (as well as read ones) down to the library for its semi-annual used-book sales.

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? Yes. Several. World traveling would be at the top of that list. Collecting and restoring '60s-era muscle cars would be another.

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? I've sold writing and coins. But I can't say I've made any real money at either. :-)

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? Does church count? I belong to a local church, and work in the youth ministry and with the worship team there.

:: Andrew 07:12 + ::
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:: Thursday, April 25, 2002 ::

Working on Good News. I spent a good deal of time yesterday afternoon working on this Friday's issue of my newsletter on all things Internet evangelistic, the Good News Bulletin. There'll be some good stuff in this issue, so if you aren't already a member, sign up today.

Multisensory web experience No. 1: Something that made me smile today. If you want to smile today, turn up the volume on your speakers and click on over to Aarondot.com.

Multisensory web experience No. 2: Something that made me laugh yesterday. For fans of blogging and Billy Joel, click here. Then listen while you read. Somebody had way too much time on their hands.

:: Andrew 09:09 + ::
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:: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 ::

"Everywhere I go, I'm asked if the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them." -- Flannery O'Connor

From Memorable Quotations.

:: Andrew 08:56 + ::
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:: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 ::

Search Party 2002. I'm attempting to start a discussion on The Ooze related to the cyberspace portion of the upcoming Search Party 2002 in St. Louis. If you'd like to participate in the discussion, go to The Ooze, then click on "Message Boards," then drill down to "General Message Board," and look for the thread labeled "Search Party 2002 - e-tools discussion."

I'm not too fond of the term "e-tools" for this discussion. It implies that the Internet is nothing more than a tool for ministry. So I posted this thought on the thread today:

Does "e-tools" really capture the essence of what we're talking about when we talk about the Internet? To my way of thinking the Net is more than a tool for ministry. It is a place for doing ministry, a place for community. Is a church building a "tool" for ministry, or is it part of the community itself? Just wondering what anyone else thinks about this.

What is church? One church attempts to answer that question here. (It's also a church that blogs.)

Rushkoff blogs. Author Douglas Rushkoff's blog has been added to the blogroll. This entry includes a link to a RealVideo interview with Rushkoff about linear narrative vs. collective stories. Rushkoff's take on the metanarrative -- how we got here -- is well articulated early on in the interview. Interesting thoughts from an interesting thinker.

:: Andrew 07:43 + ::
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:: Monday, April 22, 2002 ::

Editing day. Today is my editing day, but I've done precious little of it. The news releases and alumni magazine articles are clogging the que, awaiting my virtual red ink. But where do I go? I go to the blogs.

Welcome to the blogosphere. That's what this Washington Post article calls our "rapidly expanding universe where legions of ordinary folks are launching Weblogs -- blogs for short -- with such titles as 'Ramblings of a Blue-Collar Slob' and 'The Brigade of Bellicose Women' -- that feature lots of reader feedback."

Welcome to the postmodern laboratory. I've been thinking long and hard about the Internet and its role in ministry as part of my preparation for Search Party 2002, when I remembered an article I'd read about the Net being a great big laboratory for the postmodern experiment. Adrian Mihilache, the article's author, points out that:

The main figures of cyberspace -- the cyber-surfer who explores the Web, the cyber-smith who builds up its places and founds its institutional sites, and the cyber-evangelist who promotes ideas, invites attention, and lures passers-by -- are no longer the stable, coherent and rational selves of the Modern School, but the petulant, playful, multicentered, disembodied 'spirits' of postmodernism. They do not recognize such thing as 'universal truth' and reject the belief that reason and science offer a stable foundation for knowledge and ethical behavior.

Hmmm. What do you think of that? Drop me a line with your thoughts.

:: Andrew 10:32 + ::
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