Studio 60 stereotypes redux
Thursday, September 28, 2006
I don’t want to give this small critique too much emphasis, but I think it is worth a post and maybe a discussion. I watched episode 2 this last Monday and was able to get the “Crazy Christian” plotline a little more figured out. All in, I think it’s a valid (although oft-repeated) commentary on certain evangelical groups’ (yeah, I’m talking ‘bout you, Focus On The Family) tendency to get up and arms about TV programming that they deem offensive (or expect to be offensive, in this case). Par for the course. But American evangelical Christianity is an enormously complex subculture. In order to critique aspects of it dramatically, you have to go deep to be credible and believable. Accuracy, even in fiction, matters.
So let’s think about how this was done on Studio 60 for a minute: At the beginning of the most recent episode, the president of the network holds a press conference to announce the return of Matt and Danny to Studio 60. A reporter who poses a question about the infamous “Crazy Christians” sketch in the Q&A identifies themselves as being from Rapture magazine. Later, there is a heated discussion about the event with the network president questioning how such a publication could get press credentials, to which a subordinate replies that Rapture has four times the circulation of Vanity Fair (which has 1.1 million readers in real life).Aside from the rather silly name for the publication, there’s quite simply no real-life proxy for this data. The only other Christian magazines I could think of with large circulations were Focus On The Family magazine (circulation 1.5 million—and the most likely target of this storyline), Charisma (circulation 250,000), and Christianity Today (circulation 150,000). Why not just say that Rapture (if it is the fictional Focus On The Family magazine) has a larger circulation than Vanity Fair, rather than exaggerate it to four times the size?
But here’s my real beef: Why not use a real-life publication with real numbers in the storyline? Certainly this falls safely under fair comment. When the program refers to real people (celebrities) and real TV shows (SNL), why not refer to real magazines (as opposed creating a fake one to compare to real ones like Vanity Fair and The Christian Science Monitor, both mentioned by name in the episode).
Truth be told, there are a handful of real and smaller publications that would likely show up at this kind of press conference, and one in particular that would do us all proud: Relevant, (circulation 80,000) which was created by Cameron Strang, son of Charisma magazine founder, Stephen Strang. In fact, Relevant did a nice little preview of Studio 60, recommending it in its September/October 2006 issue.Again, I like Studio 60 very much so far. All I can say to Aaron Sorkin et al regarding Christianity in the plotline is, “Let’s be real. Show us you really know the subculture, and we’ll be more apt to really listen to your message.”
Thoughts?
Again, still looking forward to more of this superb show.
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Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Ever wonder about those holographic, 2-D intergalactic communication devices you’ve seen in the Star Wars movies? First, it was a recording of that memorable and desperate message from princess Leia stored in R2-D2: “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.” Then, in later movies, it seemed to be the video phone of choice a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Robert X. Cringley thinks this is one of the possible but heretofore hidden features of the Apple iTV device. He points out in his latest column that the USB 2 port on the device could have a variety of uses—but he thinks it will run an iSight camera allowing an H.264 video conference from your home theater HD big screen TV (just as iChat does today on the Mac).Maybe it’s not all that earth-shattering. Yet, how many of us are able to do this today? Would we be interested in a life-size interactive image of our family and friends from far, far away to converse with and share other media? I know my answer is yes.
I like Cringely’s vision here. And while it’s hard to predict just what Apple has waiting in the wings, I think this would be fantastic.
Zune shares like a bad virus
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
I had high hopes for the WiFi capabilities of the Microsoft Zune. Sadly, I think my hopes were misplaced. Why am I not surprised? Oh yeah. Microsoft built this thing. Actually, it’s built by OEM Toshiba and MS just slapped their name (and maybe software) on it.
It seems the only thing the WiFi is good for is beaming your pal (who also has to have a Zune) a song you want to “share.” This sounds nice, except that the Zune wraps any content (any and all content) in an additional DRM scheme that limits play to 3 times or 3 days—whichever comes first. After that point, the lent media dies—unplayable, unsharable, unconceivable.And that’s it folks. That’s all the Zune’s WiFi does. Nothing more to see here. Move along.
I’ll go on record right now and say that if Apple does WiFi in its 6G iPod (which is a big if), it will be done right.
Oh wait, the Zune comes in brown.
God is my DJ
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Check out this WSJ article (a freebie) concerning the iPod Shuffle’s claim on random play, and the mathematical debate involved in being truly random (hint: it isn’t). The article goes all the way into quantum physics and chaos theory. It’s a good read, even if you hate iPods.
The article points out is that it is difficult (impossible) for humans to develop truly random numbers (via purely algorithmic methods) without tapping into the unpredictability of the universe. The fact that this reflects on the iPod shuffle is an amusing comment on its place as a cultural artifact and object of technology. I have often thought that my iPod, when in shuffle mode, could be directed or influenced by the spiritual. For example, when the perfect song cues up and plays at just the right moment. I think, “Cool! God is in my DJ today.” Whether it’s true or not doesn’t really matter. I know that God knows I am getting something new from Him out of an unpredictable song choice—and I know He’s always interested in that.
Finally, I can sleep at night
Saturday, September 23, 2006
This is the App you can’t live without that you have been living without all your life. For all you with Mac OS X Tiger running, this little widget is the answer to your non-apple software version upgrade/update manager dreams. 
Studio 60 stereotypes born again, for the first time
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I really like this new show: NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Based on the premier episode I think it’s going to be a fun and interesting ride. That said, there were two flaws that became more and more obvious as the episode played on.
First, was the nature of the comedy show they have vaguely based the show on: SNL. The fictional surround of the show (the comedy show cast, the vague references to sketches being aired) just didn’t ring true to me. I think that this will be a nagging issue if it doesn’t improve by becoming more believable. The audience can’t go on thinking in the back of its mind that this must be the lamest sketch comedy show ever—even if it is a fictional construct.Second, is the subplot of an overtly Christian lead character on the comedy show. This could be inspired by Victoria Jackson, SNL cast member from 1986-1992 and an outspoken Christian who rose to fame as the show’s resident airhead. In the fiction of Studio 60, Jackson is recast as one of the “big three” lead actors of the show struggling through the interpersonal conflicts connected with her Christianity and working in the hardened, cynical worlds of both TV and comedy.
This could be interesting, except that it seems to be attracting every negative stereotype of evangelical Christianity out there. While some of this is deserved (and, no doubt, like shooting fish in a barrel for the writers), at a point it stops being plausible. Like the believability of the comedy show above, this plot line doesn’t ring true when they pile on every conceivable “born again” cultural prejudice (positive and negative) around this role. I like that the character is intelligent, in contrast to the ditzy blond of Jackson. But I think they need dole out the Christian subcultural jabs and veiled insults in more measured doses, lest the program devolve into a dry commentary on TV media and Christianity rather than the crisp, intelligent dramedy it has every potential to become.
We’ll have to watch for a while to see where this all goes.
Apple of your Ive
Friday, September 15, 2006
I’m not sure that most people are aware of all the fantastic product designs that have originated from Apple VP of Design, Jonathan Ive. 
This gifted Brit has developed a core of uber-talented industrial designers at One Infinite Loop that have rocked the consumer technology world over the past decade: Apple Newton, iMac G3 through Intel, iBook, iPod, iPod mini & nano, Mac mini, Powerbook Titanium, Mac Pro, etc. You have to view all of this work in a timeline gallery to get an idea just how much of an impact Ive has had. Now you can.If you’ve interested, read this recent article from BusinessWeek and take a digital walk through the Ive portfolio slide show to see the product designs he has been a part of. His work is just one of the many reasons I am a Mac fanatic. (I’m also a Lego maniac, but that’s for another post).
High-def communication
Friday, September 15, 2006
My first paper for COM600 (Intro to Communication Theory) was to create my own definition of communication. Here it is:“The dynamic, contextual and coded interchange of meaning between or within interactively capable beings.”
I’m not happy with it, but I think the paper’s closing paragraph was pretty good—far better than the definition itself. So as a writer I found a bit of satisfaction there. “Crafting a definition of communication is both art and science. As Frank Dance (1970) assigned the role of conceptualizing communication to science, he also asked, 'Do our definitions of communication serve us' (p. 203)? I believe they do. Each model provides a useful new perspective on this essential behavior, even when I don’t fully agree with all of them. These diverse viewpoints have broadened my thinking and given me an appreciation for the skill and originality involved in combining words to produce both an artful and a practical definition.”
The definition is a lifetime work in progress—one that may never “arrive” at a final destination. To give you an idea of this, professor Leta Frazier Ph.D. shared hers with the class last night, and I was blown away:
“Sharing Meaning”
I love it. Sure, you can criticize it for being too simple or too general, but you must give credit to something that says so much with just two words—and very simple words at that. You learn how to “share” in kindergarten.
It's Christmas day
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
The calendar says September 12, 2006, but it's Christmas day in San Francisco. Steve Jobs unwrapped a bevy of new iPod and movie-related goodies in a special media event held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. Check out the event playback on Apple's site.
The most exciting new gadget is the forthcoming (Q1 2007) iTV module. Wireless networking of all your digital content from your Mac (or PC running iTunes 7) to your HDTV home theater. This is truly a game changer in digital convergence. Check out the details here.And how 'bout that crazy small 2 GB shuffle? And I love this about Apple: Let's make the iPod hard drives bigger--and knock $50 off the price while we're at it. The new iPod is available in a 30 GB model at a lower price of $249 and an 80 GB model for $349. Not the wide screen iPod the market was half expecting, but the prices will move some units this Fall.
I am, however, disappointed. I expected an iPod with WiFi--and stand by my previous assertion that this little piece of tech could spark a whole knew game in mobile music and social interaction. I was also looking for this device to have an iSight camera to provide handheld video chat capabilities. For now Apple is content to let the Microsoft Zune (also forthcoming) be the test case for a WiFi device. This may be Jobs acting out of his gut feel for what will catch on. Steve's gut is usually right.
For now, I'm just gonna keep dreaming my WiFi iChat iPod dreams. Of course, iTV will be coming to my home theater next year.
Rediscovering the lost art of evangelism episode 9
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
This is part 9 of a series of posts that interact with Guy Kawasaki's 10 principles of "evangelism." Refer to my February 22, 2006 post for the set up.Principle 9:
Never tell a lie. Very simply, lying is morally and ethically wrong. It also takes more energy because if one lies, then it is necessary to keep track of the lies. If one always tells the truth, then there's nothing to keep track of. Evangelists know their stuff, so they never have to tell a lie to cover their ignorance.
One can’t really argue with Kawasaki on this one. Here we have commandment number 9 of 10 (Exodus 20:16). When it comes to evangelizing our faith, no one intends to lie. That would be completely counterproductive.
But that’s what sometimes happens.
In the quest to grow churches, we often end up become product evangelists for our church organizations rather than Jesus and his kingdom. In doing so, we can end up creating a proxy for the kingdom designed with a wide variety of ministry and life solutions. A mega-mall for Christian consumers.
And this is encouraged by mega-aspiring church leaders precisely because it helps grow their organizations. Recently one person was “selling” my sister-in-law (a believer) on their brand of church by talking about their exciting new family church program. “Think Disney,” she said.
We are driven to invent new marketing slogans to try to impress the marketplace and help differentiate our product: “Church for those who don’t ‘do’ church,” I saw recently. “Been there, done that” was another with a traditional church steeple in the background. "We’re not your father’s church,” another tag-line read. True enough, I guess. Are we talking about cars or church? Or consider the one pictured. Was church not worth "doing" until this church came along and made it cool? One church leadership conference advert asked, “Is your church buzz-worthy?” And I think to myself, is your church marketing cringe-worthy?We dress up the Bride in the latest fashions and expensive jewelry. We do her hair and makeup. We throw in all the frills to make the Bride attractive, desirable, hip and relevant to the popular culture. And boy is she a hottie. We end up saying, “Ask us out on date. We may be ‘the one’ you’ve been looking for all your life.”
Unknowingly we tell a lie. It’s not about the Bride. It’s about the Groom.
Let me step back and say that there is nothing wrong with large churches and extensive ministry programs with manifest creativity. If your church is blessed with these gifts, outstanding. You can serve people and build the Kingdom in greater and greater ways, praise God.
But we lie when these things are what we evangelize—when we make ourselves and our churches into the good news, rather than the person of Jesus.
David Fitch writes about it this way in Out of Ur: “…we have organized church life around the busy lives of Americans living the dreams of capitalism and democracy that leave little time for mission, community and worship. I fear the ‘church’ for evangelicals has, in George Hunsberger’s words, become ‘the distributor of religious goods and services.’ As a result, I fear we evangelicals are becoming less and less noticeable and barely distinguishable as a people from the rest of our society who live as if God does not exist.”
The goods and services, the brand that produces them (a church) become what we “market” and “sell” to consumers.
I think every long-time Christian has heard at one time or another that the newly saved are the most excited and most motivated to evangelize. And I’ve found that new Christians are usually the most focused on Jesus, and what he has done to transform them, rather than what a church has done for them.
Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing found the same truth about consumers. He concluded that the most powerful word-of-mouth advocates might be the customers who have only done business with you once so far. They are the most excited; repeat customers are probably accustomed to the great product/service and therefore, ironically, less likely to talk about it.
The problem with marketing-driven evangelism is that your product has to get better, cheaper and/or faster to keep driving new and exciting marketing fodder. That’s a lot of pressure. When your product is a church—when you have productized your church in order to market it—that becomes a real problem at some point. It can be exhausting to continue to impress and inspire your existing customers, as Sernovitz points out. Instead of making converts and disciples you have cultivated fickle consumers.
Fitch sees this pattern in the church today: “…The church in essence is left to be a sideshow to what God is doing for, in and through individuals. We no longer have a need for the church to be the social manifestation of His Lordship where He reigns over the powers of sin, evil and death, the very inbreaking of the kingdom of God, where His mighty works are made manifest and put on display before the world (1 Pet 2:9), where hospitality is such an overpowering ethos that the lost in this world are compelled by this invitation. As it is right now, we lack a way of life that people look at and see and say, ‘Look what manner of life has been made possible in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.’” (I recommend this entire post by David Fitch)
When the overriding goal becomes presenting Jesus embodied in our community—our local expression of The Church—the pressure to sell, market, persuade, etc. falls away.
Consider the well known verse, Co 5:17 TNIV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
The truth of Jesus we are compelled to share need not be made new through our creative effort. It is already new—and continually so. In Christ all things are new. Our story to unbelievers comes out of living this life “in Christ” individually and as a community. We need not dream up a new Madison-Avenue-inspired church marketing campaign every Fall. Instead, we simply must live this life like we mean it, and tell our stories (yes, even in creative ways*).
Don't sell a new and improved Bride of Christ.
Don't sell anything.
Just be “In Christ.”
Honestly.
*I don’t want to confuse the creative evangelism of the gospel with what I am talking about in this post, which is the evangelism of a church, it’s goods and services. Creativity can help express our stories in wonderful ways. Marketing, on the other hand, can too easily contextualize our messages into products.
No school like the old school
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
I have something new in common with my 7-year-old daughter. We both started school this week—second grade for her and the M A in Communication for me (is that seventeenth grade?). I think she likes the idea of a kind-of shared experience for us. She keeps asking me if I’m going to school yet. Well, it’s official. I’m a student of Bethel University Graduate School.
After a rather involved and compressed admissions process (I just decided to apply for this in late July), my first real class is 9/7/06. Two years from now I hope to be discussing my thesis with you and shopping for a book deal (a guy has to have a dream). For now, Emma and I could use your prayer support as we get used to homework all over again.Agassi: the good sport
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
This says it all....
"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found.And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you.
Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you."
Thank you, Andre.
I'm definitely not a genius
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
The past few days those of you using Microsoft Internet Explorer (MS IE) for Windows XP to get around the internet may have noticed a display glitch on my page. All my posts are being shuffled far down the page. I’m hoping that by the time you see this post the problem has been corrected. It seems that amid the hubris of tricking out my sidebar with new features, some tiny detail in the code created this issue on the Win XP platform (much to my chagrin).
Here’s my story: I’m able to preview my site code on the Mac in Safari, MS IE, Netscape, Opera and Firefox (all Mac OS versions). But unfortunately this does not give me a clue as to what it will look like in Win XP IE. So I have to test (view) the page live from someone else’s Win XP computer to make sure it is rendering properly.This is a bit embarrassing. But, at least, now you know why this may happen once in a while. It’s simply not worth it to me to shell out a few hundred bucks to boot my Mac into Windows XP just to see if its finicky IE browser will render my page properly.
If you run Windows XP, allow me to recommend Firefox. It kicks all over MS IE, is more secure, user friendly and correctly displays my site 99% of the time regardless of the platform.
The trivial nature of eschatology...
Saturday, September 02, 2006
...really lends itself to some kickin' video game development. The book of Revelation is a gold mine of gaming scenarios and visual ideas, once you get past the King James English.Left Behind Games, the geniuses behind the upcoming computer/video game, “Left Behind: Eternal Forces,” have been working overtime lately claiming to correct misinformation in the blogosphere and defend their dubious endeavor.
[actual screen shot]
But I think it is totally unnecessary to tear into this thing. Just go to their web site and learn more about it, look at the screen shots, see how they pitch it, read the marketing hype and get the story straight from the horse's mouth. If you can come away without any kind of uncomfortable or soiled feeling (like maybe some spiritual discernment kicking in), then by all means, buy this game as soon as possible. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as the other kids who were left behind—in school.
But if you can't take the time right now, just read this quote from the CEO of Left Behind Games and think about if for a while (reported by Skye Jethani in Out of Ur):
"Troy Lyndon...says the game will probably appeal to the same audience that was undisturbed by the violence and gore in 'The Passion of the Christ.' Lyndon says he anticipates those on the liberal left will criticize Left Behind: Eternal Forces, 'but megachurches are very likely to embrace this game.' And they will be the main marketing outlets for the product."
I believe in evolution
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Now that I've got your attention, you may be noticing some evolution taking place with TSAWWT. I’ve discovered and implemented a few features that I’ve been wanting on the page for a long time.
Recently added to the sidebar is a FilmLoop animated slide show. This is a software-based internet photocasting tool that updates my web page in real time. I’ll be featuring recent snapshots in that box. Right now you are seeing photos from our recent vacation out West. The software for FilmLoop is free, so go ahead and download it for some photocasting fun (Mac or Windows).
In addition, I brought back my reading list to the sidebar to highlight the current books I am reading or have read recently. This version is powered by LibraryThing, which is an online social networking technology that centers around people’s personal libraries—kind of a myspace for people who love books. Its blog tool allows me to easily generate the list, book cover visuals, book links and it automatically updates my site when I add or delete books—no code changes required. The images link to Amazon, and the titles are linked to LibraryThing. Check it out some time.I do need some opinions. Since I’ve moved to category tags for all of my posts (on the right sidebar), I am considering getting rid of the monthly archive. My reasoning is that everything is available in the category views in reverse chronological order. The archiving system of Rapidweaver only allows this ever growing sidebar list which takes up more and more space, every month. I’d rather get rid of it and replace it with a recent posts section and a recent comments section.
Tell me what you think? Would anyone miss the monthly archives?
I’ve also added details on the technology being used for TSAWWT on the About Me page, in case anyone is interested. This is geeky fun for me, but also provides information to anyone that may want to use the same platform or get the code for various site features. Share and share alike.
Future plans for the rest of 2006 are implementing a simplified URL (such as www.tsawwt.com) to begin to build traffic, a blog roll tool to make my links list more effective and easy to update, permalinks and maybe even a new site design (if I get bored with this one).
Kingdom transparency
Friday, September 01, 2006
There has been a great deal of press on The Myth of Christian Nation since the New York Times article broke July 30, 2006. The topic of God and politics aside, I ran across something in reviewing the recent media coverage that I feel compelled to share. I have rarely read someone giving such a transparent, heart-felt mea culpa related to something they had written.I think we all have things we regret we said or wrote in the past. I have not (yet) published a book to have to worry about this on a large scale, although this blog and my verbal rants likely have seen some low moments that will become more apparent to me as I grow. Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s blind if you never turn around to take a look.
As a persuasive writer, doing a complete one-eighty on something you wrote is excruciating stuff. So I share this quote from author and speaker Dave Burchett from His Crosswalk blog post about Greg Boyd and The Myth of Christian Nation. I pray that I will have the maturity to recognize and repent of any of my former mistakes in such an open manner—even for something like political opinions. I don’t know much about Burchett, but I like him already.
“I have been roundly criticized for supporting George Bush in my first book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I regret the political references I made in that book. I wish I could remove them because I found out that political remarks polarize and deflect the message of the Cross. I tried to make it clear that Christians were making a mistake by trying to change our culture through politics instead of by changing hearts for Jesus. That book was written during 9/11 and after I had been personally convicted of my sin toward President Bill Clinton. I did not pray for Bill Clinton. I did not respect him as the authority my sovereign God allowed to be in power. I regret the impression that I gave to some readers that I believed the Republican party was the official party of Christianity. I do not believe that at all. And yes, I expect to see Democrats in heaven. And Libertarians. A few Republicans will be there too. But the common link will not be political ideology. The link that will bring us there will be Jesus. Period.”
Podfather III
Friday, September 01, 2006
Fans of the Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and comedy enigma Karl Pilkington, will be pleased that Season 3 of the Ricky Gervais Show is off and running with Episode 1. 
The world’s most popular podcast ever (even recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records) now charges $1.95 an episode for its dry, offbeat and riotous installments—well worth it if you want to giggle your way through a 45 minute bus ride. I can’t recommend it for drivers, as I fear most listeners would become quickly impaired and become a danger to themselves and others. Get the links to subscribe on rickygervais.com.