• Paleo-Future is an intriguing blog that looks into “the future that never was”. For example, look at this post which shows a picture from 1979 of an envisaged “Sea City” ca. 2000. 03/29/2007
• An interesting list of hosts and musicians who have been banned from SNL. “Adrien Brody became the latest person banned on May 10, 2003. He came out to introduce reggae musician Sean Paul, while wearing Rastafarian attire including faux dreadlocks. Without any prior notice, Brody began rambling in a Jamaican accent for close to 45 seconds before finally introducing the act incorrectly, misannouncing [sic] ‘Sean Paul’ as “Sean John.’” 03/27/2007
• If you don’t believe comic strip artists are some of the most potent cultural prophets/critics, let this Bizarro comic dissuade you. I’ve been a fan of Bizarro and its creator, Dan Piraro, for some time; this book has been on my Amazon Wish List since last March. 03/27/2007

Shane Hipps on blogging

One of the books I am reading for my senior paper is Shane Hipps’ The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church. This afternoon I came across an interesting passage about blogging:

Blogs… present a related problem. They allow us to participate in organic dialogue. However, they also have a remarkably addictive tendency to tickle our intellects, secluding us into a Pandora’s box of perpetual links, people, and ideas. The result is that we are drawn wider but rarely deeper. This is true both in terms of the ideas we explore and the relationships we build. The great wonder of blogging is found in its dynamic speed. We are exposed to many more ideas than previously possible, we are given a chance to dialogue about them in near real-time settings. However, the medium of blogging, regardless of content, has a natural bias toward confusion rather than clarity. It prefers careless language patterns, slack logic, and superficial relationships. This is at the expense of intellectual precision, thoughtful language, and meaningful connection with those in close proximity.

What are your thoughts?

• On March 16, 2007 Jeopardy finished in a three-way tie for the first time in the show’s 23 year history. “‘We’ve had a lot of crazy things happen on Jeopardy! but in 23 years I’ve never seen anything like this before!’ said an amused host Alex Trebek.” Here’s the video on YouTube. 03/22/2007

Spring break

My spring break is pretty much going as planned. I have been making lots of headway on my senior paper, spending about four hours per day reading/taking notes and formulating the basic outline of the paper. As far as movies are concerned, I have seen three of the seven on the list: The Number 23, 300, and Zodiac.

The rest of break looks to be about the same. More reading and more movie-watching. Keep in mind that I am still restricted to dial-up at home which is reflected in my lack of posting.

Cracking the Digg comment code: An experiment

As far as stereotypes go, I am probably your “average” Digg user. I am 23, male, and I have my own blog. Since joining Digg in Feb. 2006, I have dugg 215 stories while only submitting 16 (I only started submitting fairly recently), none of which made the front page. I have long been fascinated by the dynamics of the commenting system on Digg, so last night I concocted a little experiment to see if I could crack the comment code. It’s no Copernican revolution, but it was pretty successful. Here’s how it worked.

I have seen The most dugg up comment on Digg as well as The most hated comment on Digg, and several other front page stories here and there regarding comments. Reading these stories and perusing the comments of many other Digg stories made two things very clear. If you want a comment to have lots and lots of diggs, the comment must (1) be submitted early, usually before the story hits the front page and (2) be funny or witty.
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Spring break is for flicks

Unlike many college students, I have never taken a spring break trip, and this year is no exception. In the past I have spent the week at home, getting some R&R and catching up with some friends. I have only two goals for this spring break: (1) make lots of headway on my senior paper and (2) see as many movies as possible.

Listed below are some of the movies I would like to see while I am on spring break. Links are to the respective trailers.

The Number 23

Zodiac

The Namesake

300

Reign Over Me

Shooter

Reno! 911: Miami

Are there any movies missing from my list? I should probably prioritize my paper, but it would totally be nice to see a bunch of movies.

• As a follow-up to Undeclared’s performance in the ICCAs, Luther publication NewsBeat has published an article: Undeclared’s Latest Competition A Learning Experience. “Everyone in the group has 100 percent ownership,” Bouma continued. “That’s 900 percent ownership, and we are able to do it all ourselves. That’s a really cool thing.” 03/07/2007
• Kester Brewin is the author of Signs of Emergence, a book from the new Emersion line of books to be released on July 1. “If you read the book, you’re not reading something by someone paid to be a Christian. You’re not reading something by an academic stuck in a dark library. I teach math in high schools in London. I make short films. I read Pynchon and Eggers[!]. But I’m also passionate about practical, dirty theology forged in the everyday.” He’s a man after my own heart. 03/02/2007
• On February 23, Alain “Spiderman” Robert climbed the façade of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority tower in the United Arab Emirates with his bare hands before a crowd of about 100,000. He completed the climb in only 20 minutes. Robert has also climbed the Sears Tower, the Petronas Twin Towers, the Eiffel Tower, and the Empire State Building. 03/01/2007
• “Stuck In My Heart” is a featured song for the month of March at Iowa Acoustic, an organization seeking to “support, promote, and advance the acoustic music scene around Des Moines and its surrounding areas.” 03/01/2007

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