Red planet hypothetical

(Hypothetical Thursday is much more fun if you leave a comment with your answer and reasoning and engage with other commenters as to why they are/aren’t insane for choosing their answer. Have at it!)

You have the opportunity to be the first human to live on Mars via a NASA-sponsored solo mission. You will be the first person to step onto the red surface of the fourth planet, while humanity watches the broadcast on television and the internet. The only requirement is that you must leave in six months and live on Mars for ten years, performing various scientific experiments and preparing things for the first multinational group of humans who will arrive immediately before you depart.

You will have contact with Earth while you’re there, and you’ll be able to have video conversations with friends and loved ones. Additionally, you’ll be an instant celebrity and your name will be written in the books of history.

If it was guaranteed that you would survive the mission and return to Earth in ten years in perfect health, would you agree to the mission?

• My recent rating of There Will Be Blood at 4.5 stars (on the right-hand side of the page; not visible to RSS readers) marks the 100th movie rating since I rated (and reviewed) Superman Returns on June 30, 2006. Thats an average of 0.17 movie ratings per day for the past 588 days. The average rating for a movie is 3.5 stars (3.445 to be precise); the highest rated are Little Miss Sunshine, Once, and Juno at 5 stars, and the lowest rated is The Final Season at .5 stars. I’m sure you wanted to know all of that. 01/31/2008

Project Runway, high fashion, and philosophy

I am not ashamed to admit that I am an avid Project Runway fan - I’ve been hooked since season two. For the uninitiated, Project Runway is a reality television show on Bravo that pits fashion designers against one another and weeds them out to determine a winner. Even though I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to high fashion (I’m wearing jeans, a fleece pullover, and Merrell shoes as I type this), the show is still enthralling.

Many of the fashion creations on the show are totally bizarre and over-the-top (like this or these), and it’s easy to believe that the world of “high fashion” is utterly separate from the comparatively lame fashion world that I inhabit (and not just because they mostly design for women).

The judges of the show are quick to point out, however, that the apparent disconnect between high fashion and so-called “everyday” street fashion is not as big as you’d think. They’ll remind us that even though the designs on the runway are often bizarre, it is these very designs that influence the clothes you and I are wearing right now (I apologize to my supermodel readers for this assumption). The general look of a line of clothing, the color palette, and the style of fabric all make their way down the fashion hierarchy to influence the designs of clothes we buy at Gap, Target, Dillard’s and the like.

Philosophy exhibits a similar characteristic.

When you hear the word philosophy, you might visualize an old white male thinking and/or writing about totally abstract and complex ideas that have almost no relevance to everyday reality. But much like Project Runway’s high fashion designs soon infiltrate the aisles of your local Target, these seemingly abstracted philosophical ideas slowly trickle down and influence our everyday thoughts and actions.

In a class I’m teaching at my church right now, we’ve been exploring how the concepts of postmodern philosophical thought are influencing our lives (and our church). Many of the adults in the class didn’t even have a basic understanding of postmodernism (and that’s okay), nor did they realize that many aspects of the general American cultural condition have a lineage that can be traced back to various forms of “high philosophy”.

Case in point: In a book titled “The Postmodern Condition,” published in 1979, French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard wrote, “Simplifying in the extreme, I define postmodernity as incredulity toward all metanarratives.” Twenty-eight years later, singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson penned a song called “Heartbreak World” which essentially says the same thing, albeit with rhyming words and a melody. I doubt that Nathanson has ever seriously studied Lyotard’s postmodern philosophy, yet he has created a piece of art (and pop culture) that shows a recognition and understanding of supposedly abstract philosophical concepts.

My point is this: don’t write off philosophy as an elitist and irrelevant enterprise. Like it or not, it is the philosophers who are the true prophets of our time; it would behoove us to pay a bit more attention. The philosopher David Hume’s words still ring true:

And though a philosopher may live remote from business, the genius of philosophy, if carefully cultivated by several, must gradually diffuse itself throughout the whole society, and bestow a similar correctness on every art and calling. (1737)

Dying Stars reviews

Last week I blogged that I would give away twenty free copies of my Dying Stars EP, and it got such a good response that I upped it to thirty.

Since then, a couple of people who received free copies have posted reviews on their blogs, which I thought I’d share here.

Ben at openswitch says:

I must say, I really like it.

I’ve been becoming increasingly disenchanted with today’s mass produced music. Dying Stars is decidedly not mass produced. It’s just a guy and his guitar (for the most part) singing lyrics that actually mean something to him. Imagine that.

As you’re listening to the album you hear the slight fluctuations in his voice. Sometimes a note is just the slightest bit off. But that, to me, lends credibility. Besides, we all know that mainstream musical performers have their voice run through filters, equalizers and other equipment during production. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear an artist who puts out a clean, honest product.

Jake Bouma isn’t trying to fool anyone with a facade. He’s just writing music and performing it in an effort to lift up another human being. Good album.

Headphonaught chimes in as well:

Expressive. Free. These are the words that come to mind as I listen to songs like the opener “Stuck in my heart” and “last time” >> fiery and spirited performances of self-penned material… love songs for today that drip with sentimentality and ache with real life. The EP shows promise… and I look forward to following Jake’s progress.

If you received a free copy, I’d love a quick review on your blog… but certainly don’t feel obligated. Also, if you can, give it a review on iTunes (link opens in iTunes).

Four must-see documentaries about teens (or, How to fully understand teenagers in under 8 hours)

Okay, okay. The title of this post is admittedly hyperbolic. But my point is that there are some fantastic documentaries being made about teenagers - four of which are listed below. Please leave a comment if there’s another documentary that should be on this list!

Frontline: Growing Up Online (2008, whole program online for free)

A tip of the hat to Brian at Rethinking Youth Ministry for this one. I have yet to watch it, but I plan on doing so once this post is finished.

In “Growing Up Online”, FRONTLINE takes viewers inside the very public private worlds that kids are creating online, raising important questions about how the Internet is transforming childhood. “The Internet and the digital world was something that belonged to adults, and now it’s something that really is the province of teenagers, ” says C.J. Pascoe, a postdoctoral scholar with the University of California, Berkeley’s Digital Youth Research project.

Frontline: The Merchants of Cool (2001, whole program online for free)

I first saw this documentary during my student ministry internship in the summer of 2005, and it impacted me so much that I referenced it two years later in my senior thesis. Even though it is a bit outdated (which throws many of the figures and facts out of whack), the gist of the film is still quite relevant - alarming, even.

They are the merchants of cool: creators and sellers of popular culture who have made teenagers the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts–and wallets–of America’s youth?

Soul Searching: A Movie About Teenagers and God (2007, DVD)

I ordered this documentary after reading Tony Jones’ review. It’s sitting on my desk waiting to be watched.

Based on the book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, which reports on research conducted over a seven year period by the National Study of Youth and Religion. Featuring interviews with the books authors, youth pastors, and teenagers from around the country, this compelling documentary illustrates some of the major themes and findings of the book, and goes behind the book in depicting the inner lives of a sample of American teenagers. Find out what these teenagers really think about God and religion, what their hopes and aspirations are, and what the research says about the effects of religion in their lives.

American Teen (2008, not yet in theatres)

This documentary just debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. The folks at /Film gave it a review that totally piqued my interest.

Set in the small typical midwestern town of Warsaw, Indiana, American Teen follows a self absorbed Cheerleader, a loser video game playing band geek, the basketball star, and the artsy outcast. While at first glance, these descriptions serve as cliche social stereotypes, you will be surprised at how three dimensional these kids are. The drama that is their senior year is both fun, emotional, and at times horrifying. This observational documentary plays out uncensored, giving an surprisingly accurate look at a group of TRL-generation teenagers.

Desktop

my desktop (01/24/08), originally uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.

This is where the magic happens, although I believe things would be much more magical on a Mac.

• Drumming to Super Mario 2 is wizard (thank you, Juno). “Super Mario 2 has a great soundtrack. In this awesome rendition, though, Andrea Vadrucci proves that everything sounds better with percussion. We’re also impressed by his drum set itself — that thing is at least fifteen pieces.” (ht: iamjoshbrown) 01/23/2008

TechStars and the gestation of a killer idea

The following post may sound like an exercise in tomfoolery. However, if you know me at all, you know I’m prone to vaguely outlandish ideas.

I am applying for up to $15,000 in seed funding to create a startup internet company.

Here’s the deal: I had the idea for a new and innovative website/company/community probably two years ago, at which point I just thought it was a pipe dream. Don’t get me wrong, the idea is fantastic, but I had no means whatsoever to take the idea to reality.

I told a couple of other people about my idea, peppering the conversations with phrases like, “Nobody has thought of something this big,” and “Don’t you see the potential?” and “Seriously, I’m not insane.” As it turns out, one of my good friends (Rebecca) actually thought the idea had some substance. We brainstormed and got excited together, but - again - we didn’t have funding or experience. And then we both graduated from college and moved to different states.

But we never forgot about our idea.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Jim Wallis, the author of God’s Politics and head honcho of Sojourners, tells us why he wrote his new book, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post-Religious Right America (@ Amazon). “The Great Awakening speaks of two great hungers in our world today—the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice. I believe that the connection between the two is one the world, and especially a new generation, is waiting for.” 01/18/2008

I’m giving away 20 30 FREE copies of Dying Stars

To the first 20 30 people who leave a comment on this post. You’ll receive the entire Dying Stars EP (as featured on iTunes) in addition to “Red On A Wall”, an unreleased bonus track.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Easy, huh? Please make sure you enter a valid e-mail address in the comment form, because that’s where I’ll be sending your free music. Sure, you won’t get a beautiful, packaged album like the one pictured on the right, but it will sound just as good!

If you’ve never heard any of my music, this the perfect opportunity to get on the bandwagon before I hit the bigtime and become “to good” for blogging.

For more goodies, be sure to check out my music page.

(Please do not comment if you already own a copy.)

Wait staff hypothetical

You are being deported.

The USCIS is giving you two options for your destination country: Country A and Country B, respectively.

In Country A, all of the waiters and waitresses are very invasive. They visit your table far too often; asking if you’d like refills when your cup is still 3/4 full, asking how your food tastes two seconds after it has arrived at your table, etc (You know the type). They’re very cordial, but extremely annoying.

In Country B, all of the waiters and waitresses are very distant and apathetic. They visit your table far too infrequently; they never refill your drinks, they don’t care about your dining experience at all, etc (You know the type). They’re insincere and very annoying.

These are the only bits of information you are provided about these countries. As far as you know, other than having opposite sides of the wait staff continuum, these countries are nearly identical in every other category (geographic location, population, GNP, per capita income, et al.).

Which country do you choose, and why?

• The Official Google Reader Blog recently listed some helpful and interesting ways to use your feedreader. It’s a good example of how practical and time-saving using a feedreader can be, if only you take the time to familiarize yourself with the concept. Click here and watch this video if you’re still confused; it’s worth it. 01/16/2008
• I’ve been chosen as a panelist for the Eighth Annual Weblog Awards (aka “Bloggies”). Finalists are announced Tuesday, January 22, at which point voting will re-open to choose the winners. 01/14/2008
• In the bookstore today I ran across an interesting book called Lost and Philosophy: The Island Has Its Reasons which explores philosophical themes in Lost (I’m currently halfway through season three). USA Today also has an article called ‘Lost’ philosophy: Something to think about which discusses how “Lost pays homage to history’s greatest thinkers by naming characters after philosophers who mused on man, nature and society, themes central to the ABC drama.” Awesome. 01/13/2008

Interview with Tony Jones, author of “The New Christians” (Part 2)

The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier

The following is Part 2 (Part 1) of an interview with Tony Jones about his forthcoming book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier (to be released March 3, 2008). Tony is the national coordinator of Emergent Village, and a doctoral fellow in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Find out more at Tony’s website.

JAKE BOUMA: Going off of your last answer, what role has electronic media - especially the internet and blogging - played in both the shaping of the emergent phenomenon and the process of your writing this book?

TONY JONES: This cannot be overstated. Emerging technology (cell phones, the Internet, email, etc) have made the kind of connection that we’re after possible. It goes without saying that face-to-face connection is still essential, but church leaders of previous generations could not have imagined the kind of connections that we have today. I communicate with thousands of leaders every week by various means, and these communications have absolutely nothing to do with traditional denominational or confessional demarcation. This is a new era.

JAKE BOUMA: What role did your stint in youth ministry play in getting you to think about or become involved in emergent?

TONY JONES: It’s no mistake that many of the emergent leaders were formerly youth workers. Church-based youth ministry is a fertile training ground for so much that is emergent: risk-taking, entrepreneurialism, pushing boundaries, getting in trouble :-), staying up-to-date on culture, etc. All of this has influenced the genesis of emergent.

JAKE BOUMA: As you mentioned earlier, your book draws upon insights from what’s happening “on the ground” in actual emergent churches in what you call “dispatches”. Do you have a favorite or particularly memorable “dispatch”?

TONY JONES: Well, I loved writing about Solomon’s Porch — the church I attend — and that comes right at the end of the book; it’s kind of a coda to the whole book. And each of the “dispatches” that come between chapters is significant to me. Honestly, it’d be hard for me to pick a favorite…

JAKE BOUMA: A recent post on presbymergent titled A Challenge to Emergent Authors raised the following question, among others: “In the emergent conversation, are we writing the things we’re writing because we want to sell books, or are we writing the things we’re writing because we want to change the world?” How would you respond?

TONY JONES: I’ve read that post, and there are some really good points therein. There are also some naive misconceptions about the publishing industry. I see it like this: print publishing is an important way to vet one’s ideas in the broader culture. Of course, Joel Osteen sells a lot of books, so sales does not necessarily equal quality. But the ideas of emergent have been out there in the public square through books and blogs an conferences, and, as a result of the feedback (good and bad), we’ve all become better thinkers and practitioners. In the early days, many of us were committed to publishing everything for free on the Internet. But, at this point, that is just not feasible. For instance, many colleges, universities, and graduate schools do not allow students to footnote websites. You see, having a book printed lends the ideas therein credibility…at least for now.

JAKE BOUMA: Finally, what’s next on the plate for both yourself and Emergent Village? Do you have another book on the horizon? Any emergent events or a book tour (or anything) you want to plug for 2008? Thanks for participating in this interview!

TONY JONES: We’re doing some imagining around EV about the future. It might become more public, or it might go underground. We don’t really know. We’ve got a couple of great theological events coming next fall, and you can read about them at www.emergentvillage.com. Doug Pagitt, Mark Scandrette, and I will be on tour for our books all summer, so watch for that. And I’m currently writing a little book on the Didache, a very early Christian document that didn’t quite make the Bible. Thanks for having me!

Return to Part 1 of the interview »

JakeBouma.com is 'Pressed and Minted, too.
All content on JakeBouma.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.