YouTube community

Michael Wesch, an anthropologist at K-State, presented An Anthropological Introduction of YouTube at the Library of Congress on June 23. The presentation is almost an hour long (so it's a bit of a committment to watch.) I've watched the first few minutes and it's very insightful. Wesch discusses the community YouTube is creating and the changes it is bringing to media.

The most interesting quote I've heard so far: "I don't think of (media) as content, and I don't even think of it as tools of communication. I think of media as mediating human relationships. And that's important, because when media changed, then human relationships changed. ...And that's why I wanted to suggest that we're gonna have to rethink all of these things, including ourselves."

How human relationships are changing in response to technology is fascinating to me. I'd like to say that I'm developing a theory on it, but that would be stretching it a bit. Right now I'm just observing and thinking.... (My groundbreaking theory will be out later this month.) :)

By the way Wesch's first video, Web 2.0...The Machine is Using Us, has over 6 million views (and ranked above superbowl commercials when it was posted).

Fred

Meet Fred. He greets us each night when we come home. Rumor has it that he's lived around our house for several years. Lately we have seen little Freds, so Fred obviously feels like this is a good place to start a family.

The Lost Sheep (or iPod)

Last week wasn't a good one for keeping things. At the beginning of the week I thought I had lost some music--Sufjan Stevens, who I've really come to enjoy. I let someone (I don't remember who) borrow the CD thinking it was on my computer. When I went to look for it, it wasn't there. I racked my brain for a couple of days trying to remember who had the CD and why the music wasn't on my computer. Then I thought to look on my computer at work. Wouldn't you know it, there it was! Found!

Then a couple days later I wanted to go for a run and was looking for my iPod. It was nowhere to be found. I dug around my room, no iPod. I retraced my steps in my mind. I had worked out a couple days earlier and I distinctively remembered walking back to the locker room listening to music, so I knew I had it after my workout. Beyond that things got fuzzy. Did I put it in my locker? Did I wear it to the car (which I almost never do)? I decided to check with the people who work around the building to see if some honest soul had turned it in. As I asked various people I got the same look, a look that said "Do you really think someone would turn in an iPod if they found one?" They all looked for me in their respective lost and found piles. The searches' results were all the same: no iPod. As I thought of where I might have left it and what it would cost to replace it, I realized that I would have gladly lost several CDs of music if I only hadn't lost the iPod. Finally I decided that I should search my room from top to bottom one last time. Not five minutes into my search I spotted it, underneath a Kleenex box underneath my dresser. Whew! I was elated! The lost had been found!

As I thought of these two things I lost last week I was reminded of the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son in Luke 15. I read a book by Kenneth E. Bailey on Luke 15 once called The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 Through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants. The book gave amazing insight into the parable of the Prodigal Son. I highly recommend it. Bailey talks about how the three stories go together, each one telling of a more valueable loss. That thought is what triggered my memory: first I lost my music then I lost my iPod. Maybe the next in line would be the loss of my hearing.

The book also emphasized that in each story there was celebration over the item (or person) when it(he) was found. I have rejoiced over the finding of the things I lost, but I haven't celebrated. The people in these stories really celebrated. The lady who found the coin called all her neighbors and they had a party to celebrate her finding it!

Lastly, of course I am reminded of how lost we were. (Sometimes I feel like I still am in my understanding of different issues, especially grace.) And our Father runs to us as we, with unsure steps, walk towards Him. He takes our shame and welcomes us as sons while we are completely unworthy. He even throws a party in our honor and rejoices with us that He has given us something we could never deserve!

Dr. Horrible and other cultural phenomenons

While I'm don't know much about blog etiquette I feel like I should apologize for not posting here for a time. I'm still alive and kicking. If you were worried about that, then see my post below about worrying. You might want to take some time and see what's at the root of it. ;)

Like most people, I find myself wondering where the summer has gone. I went on a wonderful vacation in Colorado where I enjoyed the mountains, shopped, read, and slept. It doesn't get much better than that! The temperature and humidity rose as we drove back to Kansas and I asked myself, "Why am I doing this again? It's so beautiful and unhumid in Colorado!" Since I've been back home I've discovered that Kansas is sometimes hotter (and most times more humid) than Saudi Arabia! One upside to this is that you don't get spoiled by the weather when you live in Kansas, it toughens you up!

As soon as I got back from vacation I started a seminary class called Cultural Literacy. As the name implies, we are learning to read culture. What do trends in a culture tell us about who people understand themselves to be? What do they tell us about their view of others? Of God? We are studying American pop culture as an example, but the questions we are attempting to answer can be applied to any culture. We've had some fascinating discussions and I feel much more ready to engage culture (my own and others) as a result.

Just last night we learned about Mixed Martial Arts (http://www.ufc.com/), Twitter (www.twitter.com) , and Superheroes. We watched part of an entertaining new superhero musical blog (http://drhorrible.com/). Topics slated for the rest of the week include online dating, road rage, increased anxiety, and others. I will keep posting tidbits...

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

But God saved the best for last. From the beginning, God had a shining dream in his heart. He would make people to share his Forever Happiness. They would be his children, and the world would be their perfect home.

So God breathed life into Adam and Eve. When they opened their eyes, the first thing they ever saw was God's face. And when God saw them he was like a new dad. "You look like me," he said. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever made!"

God loved them with all of his heart. And they were lovely because he loved them.

And Adam and Eve joined in the song of the stars and the streams and the wind in the trees, the wonderful song of love to the one who made them. Their hearts were filled with happiness. And nothing ever made them sad or lonely or sick or afraid.

God looked at everything he had made. "Perfect!" he said. And it was.

But all the stars and the mountains and oceans and galaxies and everything were nothing compared to how much God loved his children. He would move heaven and earth to be near them. Always. Whatever happened, whatever it cost him, he would always love them.

And so it was that the wonderful love story began...


This is a part of the creation story from The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Many of you reading have heard me talk about this book. It is amazing! I've often wondered how stories written for children can have such an impact on an adult too. The fatherly love and the abundant grace of God overflow from each page. Sometimes I think that a book like this is exactly what we American church people need--a focus not on what we should or shouldn't do but on the beautiful story God has written and is writing to win back the one He loves (His church--us--you and me).

Embracing Worry

I worry. I spend much of my time and energy worrying about things--many of which will never happen. I try not to worry. I try really hard, but it doesn't seem to work. As I was talking to a friend about this the other day, she asked "What would it be like for you to embrace your anxiety?" As I've thought about this, I have had some ideas that, if they are true, could be very freeing.

Embracing my anxiety would be allowing myself the freedom to worry. I'm not sure what that would do. My guess is that I would worry about something for a while and then eventually see that: 1) I started worrying for an irrational reason, and 2) if the things I am worrying about happen, then maybe God is just providing something else for me. For example I worry about my job. What if I don't do well enough at it? What if I don't work hard enough? What if I can't accomplish some of the things I'm given to do? (I've been trying to write an overview of the goat industry for months and it's just not coming together...wonder why?) Well, maybe I would lose my job. If that would happen then maybe God has another means of provision in mind for me. Maybe He would be nudging me toward something that's more in line with what I want to do anyway. That wouldn't be so bad.

I think that I'm scared to embrace anxiety because I don't want it to define me. I want who I am in Christ to define me. Right now worry feels like this huge river that I have to hold back. It's hard. I can't do it, and inevitably I let some water leak out. Each time I do the river gets closer and closer to gushing over me. So, naturally I get mad at myself for letting a little water out because with each trickle I get closer and closer to being washed away.

But maybe there's not a river. Maybe there are just a few trickles and after that the "river" would be dry. If that's true, I am exerting a whole lot of energy for nothing. I'm trying to hold back something that doesn't exist.

I think it comes back to the issue of trusting myself. If I were to embrace worrying, I would be trusing that God's mark on me runs deeper than my worrying does--that at my core I am not a worrier, I am a child of God (which means I trust Him as my father). I would be trusting that God is already in the deepest parts of my heart, even when it looks like nothing but ugliness is there. Can I believe that?

A Freight Train's Damage

Although I've lived in Kansas most of my life, I have never heard the foreboding freight train-like roar of an approaching tornado. Last week, however I was convinced that would change. A tornado that had started some 80 miles ago was approaching the town I live in. Despite being in the middle of Tornado Alley we seldom get hit. In fact I believe (if I remember what I heard correctly) that it has been 40-odd years since our town has seen a tornado. Since this tornado had already traveled 80 miles the chances that it would break up before it hit us were slim.

As we watched the storm coverage from the basement we started hearing reports of damage near our house--just blocks away. We moved to the hallway away from any windows and listened and waited. Nothing, except of course the pounding of rain and rumbles of thunder. But no freight train.

We all breathed a sigh of relief and ventured upstairs to see what there was to see. The damage reports were slow to start but soon became continuous. Flooding, limbs down, debris everywhere, entire homes destroyed, a car dealership badly hit, a hardware store leveled, and unconfirmed reports that it hit the college campus.

Since the reports were "unconfirmed" I didn't think much about showing up to work on campus the next day. After seeing a little of the damage I quickly decided that the reports were now confirmed and that the sheer power in a tornado is nothing to take lightly. I drove into my parking lot to find trees ripped up, light poles torn down, and a car overturned. As I explored the tornado's wake this surreal feeling came over me. How could something do so much damage so quickly?

I don't think I'll ever fully understand the wind's ability to bend and twist things. I found a tree and a light pole sitting by one another that were bent at the same angle. The window in my office was sucked out. (I know this because there were very few shards of glass in my office.) I realize that, being from Kansas, I should have a good idea of how this all works, but the power that is displayed in something like this is just amazing...breathtaking in its own way.

I use words like breathtaking and amazing because no one in my town was seriously injured in this storm. My home was not damaged. Its effect on me has been minimal. My tone would surely change if I had been more closely affected.

From the inside of the building where I work.

The tree is uprooted and the sign and stoplights are blown over.

A bent light pole.