:: Friday, August 22, 2003 ::
Finally...
Got around to tidying up the place a bit: updating the blogroll (doesn't anyone stay in one domain anymore?), delinking a couple of sites (by request), and updating the reading and listening list.
I've been listening to a lot of old punk and new wave lately.
I think the fire at the Olde Heidelberg got me nostalgic for my college days, and the music of that era takes me back. I've been tempering my nostalgia with some of the newer stuff, which isn't all that bad. But, of course, the old wine (Clash, Pretenders, Ramones, Talking Heads, et. al.) is better.
:: Andrew 10:46 + ::
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Happy Birthday, JoelHe's a white boy gangsta who drinks PBR and signs notes to my blog as "Mista Sinista," and he's 23 today. He's also one of the nicest white boy gangstas you'll evah meet, yo. That's his embarrassing bachelor party photo there on the right.
A favor, please, dear readers: E-mail him a birthday wish today, and tell him bloggedy blog sent you.
:: Andrew 11:10 + ::
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:: Thursday, August 21, 2003 ::
Have you noticed?
Yes, the old, self-indulgent Andrew is back. And blogging with a vengeance. He's blogging about stuff that interests him lately, which is primarily writing and journalism, his first loves. He's blogging in the third person, which some readers may find a tad annoying. But it's his blog, darn it, and he'll write from whatever perspective he wishes. I might even switch perspectives in mid-stream. You never know, do you?
You probably won't be seeing much talk about Christianity, church and religion for awhile. Frankly, I'm tired of blogging about it. Tired of the factions, the petty debates, the inchoate chorus of "God-bloggers" who bully and belittle one another, the church, the faith, and the faith of others. The telegraphic posts. The flotsam of links. The attempts at wit and irony. The caustic, know-it-all, soapbox speeches. I'm tired of being a part of that crowd. I wish to wash my hands of it all. For the time being, anyway. Of course, as soon as I say this, no doubt I'll read a posting somewhere, or a news article, that intrigues me or angers me, and off I'll go, into the fray, arms flailing like nobody's business, adding to the confusion and muddle of the blogging hoard.
Ah, blogging. What did we do before the advent of this wonderful medium? How did we get our instant gratification? What was the world like, back then? It's all so distant, so distant in my memory.
:: Andrew 07:30 + ::
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One reason why I don't quit my day job
This could be me! (After a bit of surgery, I suppose.) Link via Dan Johnson Jr./Streams of Consciousness.
:: Andrew 13:15 + ::
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:: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 ::
A must-buy: Best Newspaper Writing 2003: The Nation's Best Journalism
To those who say newspaper writing is merely dull and lifeless, I say read this:
CAIRO – Slowly, with pain, Orani Mahmaud Daker climbed the stairs to the second floor schoolroom where he was supposed to vote.
He propped himself with a stout wooden cane that was in his right hand. His grandson, Rashid, helped on the left. His breath came in short whooshes from brown cheeks, which were not so much wrinkled as folded where the absence of teeth let the skin go lax.
Once Orani Daker was a tall, graceful man. But 32 years of delivering water in Cairo, a liter at a time from a heavy leather gourd that pressed cold and damp against his back for 10 hours a day, had stiffened and bent him and used him up before his time.
That's an excerpt from aforementioned book, the 25th anniversary edition of the Best Newspaper Writing anthology. As pointed out by this Poynter promo about the book (Poynter is, after all, a co-publisher), "writers share their best tips, their insights and techniques, their secret fears and, most importantly, their winning work." This is the kind of stuff I my my writing staff can learn from.
:: Andrew 08:05 + ::
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But they still haven't found what they're looking for...
Some searchers recently stumbled upon this site while seeking:
Hispanic reading habits Missouri high school American Lit class on-line listen to kid rock and cheryl crowe "theme for english by langston" metaphor "john o'keefe" london kiwi Criticism of the Inverted Pyramid
:: Andrew 16:57 + ::
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F magazine: the urban online magazine
An interesting ezine coming out of the UK, discovered via blogjam (who pronounces F magazine "just awful," because, among other things, "you can't read it in the toilet"), which in turn I found linked at Blogumentary.
:: Andrew 13:16 + ::
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The church isn't the only organization with issues
Jenny Smith adds a refreshing perspective from the corporate world. So loosen up, church carpers.
:: Andrew 13:11 + ::
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Cookie wisdom
Topping off the all-you-can-eat buffet at China Garden was this inscrutable gem, hidden within the inedible Chinese fortune cookie:
At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgment.
Well, I'm just a few months shy of 43, and not so sure judgment reigns in my life. But, hey, who am I to question a fortune cookie?
:: Andrew 13:08 + ::
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:: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 ::
What Would Jay-Z Do?
Anyone who works in youth ministry, has an interest in pop culture, or has anything at all to do with institutional Christianity ought to read this essay about an unnamed musician couple who have left the insular world of Nashville CCM for the "secular" world of music. An excerpt:
For longer than I have been alive, American evangelicals have lamented that they are losing a "culture war." Since Elvis swiveled his hips on national television and the Beatles dared to grow their hair beyond their shirt collars and Jimmy Hendrix celebrated purple haze, many have demonized pop culturists as doing Satan's work. In response, they have boycotted movies, burned books and magazines, and bulldozed CDs. They have protested in the streets, published scathing editorials, and debated hostile reporters on news magazine shows. But mostly, they have retreated inward, developing alternative entertainments and fostering Christian equivalents to all things cultural, while decrying the ever worsening condition of "Must-See TV." In recent years, some have conceded that the so-called war is all but lost.
Into the fray, this couple is daring to defy conventional Christian wisdom by attempting to reengage the culture without the trappings of cliché Christianity. Thus the controversy. Yet their approach is authentically Christ-like and one the wider evangelical community must learn to embrace, even follow.
The standard for outreach that Christ himself set is a far cry from the insular subculture evangelicals have created over the last three or four decades. Rather than retreat into heavenly glory, He degraded His divinity by assuming the likeness of created humanity; forsook His celestial throne to be born in a barn by an unmarried teenager; lived in an obscure community with a reputation for producing mediocrity; worked a blue color job until the age of thirty; roamed the desert serving strangers; and finally died the unjust death of a violent criminal three years later. His preferred manner of preaching was to embed ordinary stories about pearls and seeds and wheat and coins with spiritual truths. None were overtly "Christian" in the same way CCM and Christian television are, and he rarely bothered to explain them. Instead, he allowed His parables and His life to speak for themselves, while challenging those with "ears to hear," to hear their message. And throughout His ministry, he groomed "fishers of men" who would do likewise. That is, disciples who would live among those they served, smell their smells, relate to their realities, empathize with their pain, and meet their needs with compassion in a culturally relevant way - just like He did.
Link via Rudy Carrasco.
:: Andrew 07:50 + ::
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:: Monday, August 18, 2003 ::
Sad news: The 'Berg burns
This evening I shall have to lift a toast to a great college hangout and Columbia, Mo., landmark, The Olde Heidelberg, which was destroyed by fire Monday. The 'Berg, as we called it, was just across the road from the J-School where I learned the craft of newspapering. It was conveniently located, its prices were reasonable, and most of the waitresses were good looking. (Sounds a bit like Lake Wobegon, no?) The 'Berg was a refuge for harried student journalists grappling with deadlines, writer's block and curmudgeonly editors. I quaffed many a brew there, I did. I even had dinner with the late great Mike Royko there. The 'Berg is a place a guy like Royko's Slats Grobnik could appreciate.
See also:This online forum in tribute The Mizzou Mafia posts on the topic. Here's part of one:
The Berg was like "Cheers" for the journalism school set. Everybody knew your name, and everybody knew your drink. There was no such thing as a bad night at the Berg. It was fun, it was comfy--it was like home, but with more
beer and more places for your friends to sitRegulars remember the Heidelberg Alumni keep plastic cups, fond memories. (Note the abundance of journalism grads quoted.)
I regret that I kept no plastic cups from the 'Berg, but I still have one from another fave J-School hangout, Shakespeare's Pizza.
:: Andrew 11:32 + ::
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Blogger has a new help system
Maybe now I'll be able to find out what happened to my archives.
:: Andrew 09:15 + ::
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Thoughts on blogging
When I go on a hiatus from blogging, I occasionally find inspiration from other bloggers who blog about the subject of blogging. These thoughts from abuddhas memes are nice.
I'm amazed that this blog is still drawing an average of 44 visitors a day.
:: Andrew 09:13 + ::
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Simon Dawes, 
