Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
JJ Abrams and the Creative Power of Mystery
A few weeks back I asked a handful of friends who I consider to be creatives, "what is it that proceeds acts of creativity for you?" The answers were all generous and insightful, But the one from my friend Dr. Myron Penner, was answered with one word "Wonder". JJ Abrams takes a few more words in the clip above, the answer is satisfying all the same.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
28-28-28 Remembering Keith Green Today
Keith was one of the first Christian musicians I had ever listened to, and I was a huge fan. This was back in 1977-79, I believe. Our family had just come under the influence of the waning Jesus movement in Southern California. The first youth group that I was a part of at Hillside Disciples of Christ, with Pastor Tom Wymore (actually his brother Rich, who led the group.) would go to Riverside or Calvary Costa Mesa and hear groups like Second Chapter of Acts, Chuck Gerard, Oden Fong. And Keith of course was a/the leader in this early movement. I'm still inspired by Keith's passion for God, his amazing talent, and the incredible music left behind. Good memories thanks Keith!
The Resurrection Changes Everything!
Preview the song here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/aint-no-grave/id355807230?i=355807240
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Michael Pahl's New Book!
This is what Scott McKnight had to say about my friend Michael Paul's new book From Resurrection to New Creation: A First Journey in Christian Theology
"This is the way to do theology, as rooted in Story, God's own Story that emerges with yearning for resolution at the time of Jesus and which only Jesus Christ resolved. Theology has too often lost sight of this Story, but Michael Pahl's book calls us back once again to the Bible and to the earliest theologians' way of doing theology - let the gospel story be told and let that Story shape how we understand theology."
Can't wait for my copy to arrive, let me encourage you to give it a read, Michael's writing, intellect and heart are eminently worthy of it.
Sir Ken Robinson
This is the second message delivered at TED in the past four years. Worth a listen.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Blog Books, and Souvenirs!
I still think it was a good idea, in fact I think it was an idea just a bit ahead of its time. This book was an experiment really, a playful attempt to have a conversation with people we were interested in, open it up to others, and use social media to create a tribe to help with the conversation, then publish it all up at the end of the road.
We began the project in 2005/06 and was eventually published in 07. Blogs were becoming the thing, and the book is essentially a published form of the blog. That was the big idea! We convinced a publisher (Paternoster) to pay for the printing of a book, a book that any reader could read for free on the web.
To work at making the discourse rise above some of the unfocused shuffling that goes on in many blogs, we asked a handful of smart people, recognized "experts" as it were, to blog on an assigned topic like "what is postmodernism?" or, "what does a postmodern apologetic look like?" then we had the other "smart" people comment on the blog. All very safe at this point, but what where we really stretched it out was by inviting any reader (tribe member) on the web to offer their own comment to the questions being blogged about, with the promise that anyone could find their own writing on the blog published in the final printed book! Yes you too could be published with our assigned "smart people"!
So we sold it to the tribe by offering them the carrot that they too could be published with our hand selected "smart" people, simply by being a part of the conversation, being a good tribe member.
And low and behold, it worked! A publisher printed a book that could be had for free, and tribe members bought the book that they participated in writing, and they bought it as a souvenir! and souvenirs for their friends and family, because they were in it!
The reason I say the idea was a bit ahead of its time is because we now have best selling author and blogger Seth Godin telling his tribe members essentially the same thing. People buy Seth's books, but virtually all of what is printed can be read for free on his blog, but they buy the book as a souvenir, a reward for being a good member of his tribe.
I remember telling the publisher that someday we would see many books published in this way, that this was the beginning of something altogether new, not sure all what, but new and different.
I'm playing with writing another book on the imagination, the Bible and creativity made in a similar manner, wanna play too? I'll give you a souvenir when it's all done.
We began the project in 2005/06 and was eventually published in 07. Blogs were becoming the thing, and the book is essentially a published form of the blog. That was the big idea! We convinced a publisher (Paternoster) to pay for the printing of a book, a book that any reader could read for free on the web.
To work at making the discourse rise above some of the unfocused shuffling that goes on in many blogs, we asked a handful of smart people, recognized "experts" as it were, to blog on an assigned topic like "what is postmodernism?" or, "what does a postmodern apologetic look like?" then we had the other "smart" people comment on the blog. All very safe at this point, but what where we really stretched it out was by inviting any reader (tribe member) on the web to offer their own comment to the questions being blogged about, with the promise that anyone could find their own writing on the blog published in the final printed book! Yes you too could be published with our assigned "smart people"!
So we sold it to the tribe by offering them the carrot that they too could be published with our hand selected "smart" people, simply by being a part of the conversation, being a good tribe member.
And low and behold, it worked! A publisher printed a book that could be had for free, and tribe members bought the book that they participated in writing, and they bought it as a souvenir! and souvenirs for their friends and family, because they were in it!
The reason I say the idea was a bit ahead of its time is because we now have best selling author and blogger Seth Godin telling his tribe members essentially the same thing. People buy Seth's books, but virtually all of what is printed can be read for free on his blog, but they buy the book as a souvenir, a reward for being a good member of his tribe.
I remember telling the publisher that someday we would see many books published in this way, that this was the beginning of something altogether new, not sure all what, but new and different.
I'm playing with writing another book on the imagination, the Bible and creativity made in a similar manner, wanna play too? I'll give you a souvenir when it's all done.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Seth Godin's Linchpin, are you a Linchpin?
Read the book this month, devoured it really, and now Heather has it with her in Alaska. I've enjoyed Seth Godin's blog now for years, but this is the first book I have actually read of his. Almost everything in it is in his blog, so whether you read it for free at www.Sethgodin.com or by the book, I'm pretty confident you will find his thinking on work and creativity inspiring.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Paradise Lost, but not this guys memory
This guy is an inspiration. An hour a day and nine years later he has memorized all of Paradise Lost! has performed it in it's entirety twice from beginning to end. Three days to get through it. Find out more about John Basinger at his website http://www.paradiselostperformances.com/
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
He who has ears to hear...let him hear!
Joshua Bell one of the world's most renowned violinist played six of the most beautiful songs in his repertoire in D.C's Metro station. An experiment to see if peoples thinking would allow them to be stopped, and be arrested by exceptional beauty, or not. Watch this video and see what happens. And may your day be open to all that is truly remarkable.
Psalm 121 A song of Ascent - from David to Heather
I came home for lunch today and Heather had more cooking than food.
Here is a very rough cut of a song she wrote after reading Psalm 121-124
this morning. Psalms of Ascent. Take a listen!
Here is a very rough cut of a song she wrote after reading Psalm 121-124
this morning. Psalms of Ascent. Take a listen!
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