Anger as entertainment
March 26th, 2009 | I came across this quote the other day, and thought it too good not to post:
If you want to be angry about something, get pissed at a media culture that goes beserk [sic] about bonuses one week and forgets all about them the next. And be worried, quite worried, about a society for whom anger is a form of entertainment.
It’s from Time political columnist Joe Klein’s blog post Populist Rage? …Never Mind, and for some reason it struck a nerve.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve been listening to disproportionate amounts of public radio lately (my iPod died a while back… R.I.P.), but all I heard about last week was the AIG bonuses. Interestingly, the news was originally about the bonuses and how unbelievable/absurd/ludicrous/etc. they were, but then the news subtly shifted from the bonuses themselves to the anger about the bonuses. As I was driving one afternoon, I listened to a debate between two seemingly well-informed people about “how mad” people should be about the bonuses. All I came away with was knowing how mad I was that I had just listened to that segment.
We need to be careful to not take the bait and accept anger as a form of entertainment. Anger can be turned into something useful if it is handled appropriately, but when anger becomes a steady flow of fleeting fads, we become conditioned to be angry at something all the time. Finding this week’s scapegoat won’t make you feel any better, I promise.
- New poll from Gallup: “Despite suggestions that the economic recession might cause religiosity among Americans to increase, there has been no evident change over the past 15 months in either Americans’ self-reported church attendance or the importance of religion in their daily lives.” 03/26/2009
- Godless America? Say Hello to the “Apatheists”. “It appears that most of the unaffiliated individuals [in recent surveys] are not atheistic or anti-religious in any activist sense, but are rather apathetic toward organized religion and reluctant to join any particular denomination or sect. Perhaps an appropriate term to describe such individuals is ‘apatheist,’ a person who is not interested in trying to prove or disprove God’s existence or any other religious dogma.” 03/19/2009
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Is it pathetic to say that the highlight of my week may have been receiving two boxes of Caramel deLite Girl Scout cookies? Yeah, they’re that good. Also, late last week I shaved my facial hair into a Fu Manchu (Dad, if you’re reading this, try not to fall out of your seat when you realize that’s not a portrait of you).
Book(s) I’m reading: Still working on The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson. It’s totally fascinating thus far.
Music I’m digging: No new music this week, but I did re-enjoy The Damnwells’ One Last Century which you can still get for free.
Something(s) that blew my mind: John Stewart’s interview of Jim Cramer was really, really good. As Andrew Sullivan said, “you almost had to look away.”
Ministry update: I’m focusing this week on doing tons of prep work for the First Annual St. Mark Sale Barn & Silent Auction. T-minus 19 days!
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report.
Looking forward to: Brandon Barker and his wife may be joining our budding tradition of Wednesday night bowling — if so, it will undoubtedly be hilarious. I’m super pumped about the NCAA tournament, which starts on Thursday, and I’m making a trip to Omaha on Friday night to see the masterful William Fitzsimmons. Again. Add the gorgeous weather forecast for this week on top of all that, and it could shape up to be an incredible week.
Photo of the week:
We can talk about the street lights, uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
- Growing Up on Facebook is an interesting editorial on how Facebook impacts adolescents in their transition into adulthood. “College was my big chance to doff the roles in my family and community that I had outgrown, to reinvent myself, to get busy with the embarrassing, exciting, muddy, wonderful work of creating an adult identity. Can you really do that with your 450 closest friends watching, all tweeting to affirm ad nauseam your present self?” 03/15/2009
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Staircase (10/365), uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
Looking for help in planning a spiritual retreat
Brandon and I are trying to plan the first of what we hope are many spiritual retreats, and we’re looking for a bit of advice.
Here’s what we have planned so far:
So that’s a rough sketch of what we’ve been working on, but we’re looking for some advice and guidance. If you’ve been on a spiritual retreat and/or have planned them, what are the best resources you can recommend? Do you have any tips? We’re looking for anything at all to help us plan the most nourishing retreat possible.
If you know of anything that would be helpful, please leave a comment!
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Last weekend Kelly and I drove to St. Paul to see Green River Ordinance play a show, which was totally bizarre because a) the bouncer let us in for free (it was a $10 show) and b) there were less than 25 people there. Even so, they put on a great show. If only I had received my new camera by then.
Book(s) I’m reading: I finished You Shall Know our Velocity! by Dave Eggers and at this point I think I am okay saying that it’s my least favorite work by Eggers. You see, I usually love anything he writes, but I feel like there was something missing from this novel. Anyway, I’ve moved on to The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson.
Music I’m digging: For the past couple of weeks, I have almost exclusively been listening to Out of My Hands by Green River Ordinance, which is a phenomenal pop/rock album, and A Sucker’s Dream by The Alternate Routes.
Something(s) that blew my mind: I just want to be a fly on the wall in this room and soak up every ounce of songwriting goodness.
Ministry update: We’re super busy getting ready for the First Annual St. Mark Sale Barn and Silent Auction, which is less than a month away. Lots of things need to come together for it to be a success; and while I’m really nervous about it, I have faith that it will turn out to be a fantastic fundraising event.
Myself and most of the staff at St. Mark are going to the Congregations Together In Mission mini-conference this Saturday. I’m indifferent about it.
Also, Brandon and I are busy putting together the next several videos for Lenten small groups. Here’s Chapter 3:
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report.
Looking forward to: I’m looking forward to a normal week. I don’t have any extra meetings or anything, so I’m hopeful that I can be really productive.
Photo of the week:
Nook (5/365), uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
- According to Brett McCracken, I am a Christian hipster. “They love poetry readings, worshipping with candles, and smoking pipes while talking about God.” 03/06/2009
Enter photography
2/365, uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
In my life, the days of being simultaneously passionate about photography and not owning a decent camera are a thing of the past. Using this year’s tax return, I recently purchased a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi.
In reality, I know next to nothing about photography, but I am willing to be patient and slowly learn the ins and outs. To help facilitate the process of learning, I’m participating in Project 365 on Flickr, which means I will take and post at least one photo every day for 365 consecutive days.
No doubt I’ll occasionally post some photos here on the blog, so I hope you don’t mind. In fact, I hope you will leave comments with constructive criticism.
Photographers, I have two questions for you (I’m looking at you, Jim): 1. What’s the #1 piece of advice you’d give to a newbie photographer? and 2. What is the best photoblog you read? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Coax mixmaster, uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
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