Connecting the dots between Christianity and consumerism. Fellow bloggers Tim Bednar and Wade Hodges both share some thoughts about the corporate world's influence on Christianity -- or, should I say, consumer products and services purchased by Christians.
First, Bednar. He posts about the latest corporate schemes behind the Bible trade in Christian bookstores. He points out the crass corporate interests behind a new promotional effort to sell Bibles that is spearheaded by Zondervan Books (publisher of five of the top 10 Bibles purchased in the USA), which is no longer a true Christian publishing house, but merely a division of HarperCollins, which in turn is just a slender sliver of the huge media pie owned by A. Rupert Murdoch, an empire which in recent years has given us such wonders of wholesome entertainment as "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?" (TV) and "Freddy Got Fingered" (movies). Bednar lists a few others, with links. "We need to never forget to connect the dots while browsing the 'The Total Bible Solution' section at the Christian bookstore," Bednar writes. "I just think that people need to understand that even our Bibles are big, profitable business. I also want people to understand that the Zondervan web site buried its tie to HarperCollins and does not even mention that HarperCollins is owed by News Corporation. There is a reason for this. If most Christians connected these dots, it would impact the bottom line." You need to read this!
Looking at a different aspect of the Christian consumer industry, Hodges posts a snippet and a link to a recent news about Chevrolet's teaming up with Michael W. Smith, Third Day and Max Lucado as a sponsor for a series of Christian concerts. From Steve Betz, a Chevy spokesperson: "It's important that we get the message out there with regards to Chevrolet and how we're so family oriented and have great values." I wonder why Chevy never sponsored Audio Adrenaline during the band's "Some Kind of Zombie" tour. It would have made sense, as one of the songs from "Zombie" was all about a popular Chevy product of days gone by.
:: Andrew 15:15 + ::
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:: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 ::
The answer to everything. The number 42 seems to be a popular one, particularly among fans of the late Douglas Adams' classic novel, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Today, that number and I are one. Today, 42 years ago, I was born. 42. That's 21 doubled. Sometimes I still think I'm 21, or no more than 22. How could I be so old?
But wait. Let's look at the upside. Now that I am 42, I assume that before this year is over, all of life's mysteries will be unveiled before me. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, for those readers who fail to grasp the significance of 42, here's a pretty decent explanation from a site called, appropriately, Chapel42.
Today is also All Saint's Day. How appropriate that my parents named me after two New Testament saints. Was it coincidence or fate? Am I destined for sainthood? Express your opinions below and I'll personally forward them on to the Vatican.
:: Andrew 07:05 + ::
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:: Tuesday, October 29, 2002 ::
Haunting melodies. With that spookiest of holidays creeping upon us, and being recently inspired by this song list (thanks, Josh Claybourn, for this find), I thought I'd add my own list to the brew. Here, then, is my list of scary, spooky, silly and sublime songs of the Halloween season.
Andy's List of 13 Scary, Spooky, Silly or Sublime Songs Suitable for Samhain (Halloween [but "Samhain" is more alliterative])
13. "The Time Warp." Let's get the obligatory Rocky Horror Picture Show reference out of the way. "Time Warp" is a great song, but not that scary or spooky. Still, no Halloween Party would be complete without it. It's just a jump to your left...
12. "Frankenstein" (RealAudio sample). Nothing The Edgar Winter Group could come up with would be nearly as frightening as seeing Edgar's brother Johnny Winter in concert. But this funky instrumental is a nice homage to the original horror novel.
11. "Black Magic Woman" (RealAudio sample), by Santana. More sensual than scary, it's about black magic, a woman, and casting your spells on me, baby.
10. "Werewolves of London", by Warren Zevon. The most recognizable of Zevon's Excitable Boy tunes. I love the toe-tapping piano intro. But the song is not as macabre as a couple others from the same album: the title song (He took little Susie to the Junior Prom/Excitable boy, they all said/and he raped her and killed her, then he took her home/Excitable boy, they all said) and Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, which is more of a political statement than a horror song. For a Halloween wing-ding, "Werewolves" is the right Warren Zevon tune. Note: Zevon has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. You might want to keep him in your prayers.
9. "People Who Died" (RealAudio sample) (lyrics), by the Jim Carroll Band. This is junkie-turned-high school basketball star-turned-novelist/poet/performance artist-turned-survivor Jim Carroll's classic tribute to the friends from his tough New York neighborhood who didn't survive. A sample of his gritty poetry: Teddy sniffing glue he was 12 years old/Fell from the roof on East Two-nine/Cathy was 11 when she pulled the plug/On 26 reds and a bottle of wine/Bobby got leukemia, 14 years old/He looked like 65 when he died/He was a friend of mine. A great song for El Dia de Los Muertos.
8. "Sympathy for the Devil," by the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards pay homage to the prince of darkness. Honorable mention: "Paint It Black."
7. "The Raven," by The Alan Parsons Project. Not nearly as scary as Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem -- and how could it be? -- but nonetheless a great effort to put the story to music. Take a listen some midnight dreary.
6. "Enter Sandman," by Metallica. Back when front man James Hetfield looked a bit more creepy, and Metallica wasn't spooked by the specter of peer-to-peer file-swapping.
5. "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)," by David Bowie. In the years between Bowie's Ziggy Stardust days and his Aladdin Sane persona, Bowie created some decent music. The title track to the Scary Monsters album is one example, and while the song's subject might not be fitting with this theme, the song title is.
4. "Mary Jane's Last Dance," by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Only if you watch the video can you grasp the true macabre nature of this song. The video portrays the necrophilia implied in Petty's lyrics, sung in that haunting southern accent.
3. "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," by J.S. Bach. Otherwise known as the Phantom of the Opera song. Spooky organ music! I get goosebumps just thinking about it!
2. "The Monster Mash," by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. Early '60s tribute to Hollywood horror.
1. "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," by Blue Oyster Cult. Great haunting guitar intro, with that off-kilter guitar bridge just before the solo. Plus, it's a seductive song about suicide. What could be creepier?
:: Andrew 09:57 + ::
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Move over, Jakob Neilsen. There's a new usability webslinger in town. His name is Tim Bednar. He just posted his first usability report, a thorough analysis of the redesigned Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Next on his list: The Ooze.
:: Andrew 11:30 + ::
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The shiny new blogdex is out, and AKMA's new site, Disseminary, is in a nine-way tie for 11th place. Perhaps my little linkage here will bump him into the top 10. Due credit: I first read about AKMA's new site on Jordon Cooper's blog.
I should have blogged about this earlier, when I first discovered it about a month or so ago, and this morning I went Googling for it but couldn't find it. Anyway, I discovered a very nice anti-consumerism screed on some blog, and neatly tucked away on the blog's sidebar was the author's Amazon.com wish list. Ironic, no?
:: Andrew 08:10 + ::
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Simon Dawes, 
