Little Miss Sexy Mother Nature April 24, 2008

It’s very popular to be ‘green’, especially if it gives you an excuse to buy a Hybrid car or other earth-toned, cool-looking, expensive devices that cut your carbon emissions.  The surging popularity in staying green annoys me.  I enjoy saving the Earth, and the current trend has probably made me more aware of daily atrocities I commit against our planet, but I don’t enoy the trendiness of said actions and the fact that Al Gore has become an icon. 

It especially annoys me when marketers capitalize on the green movement. At Walmart the other day the greeter handed me a stylish, environmentally friendly bag that I was supposed to use for my fruits and vegetables. If Walmart is truly using methods to alter their wasteful productions, great. But if this fashionable bag is merely a ploy to make me think they are environmentall friendly, and forget about their other unfair labor practices, then I feel tricked. I wasn’t able to shop in peace at all, and I certainly wasn’t able to use their cute little bag for my strawberries and celery. 

I realize all advertising is really a mind game trying to make me think I need a particular item or that a company brand stands for certain ideals when in fact they may not. I work in advertising and consistently the word of the day in our office is “sexy”.  We want our product to look sexy, our brand needs to ooze sexiness, we need to wow our clients with our sexy proposals.  By the end of the work week I’m very tired of being so sexy all day, it’s exhausting.  It’s tiring because we are constantly trying to promote an image that is cool, on the edge, and the next emerging “thing” for the Gen Y generation. I don’t like trying to think of the next thing; I find it incredibly stressful trying to imagine what 18-24 year olds could possibly think is going to be cool three months from now.  I hardly know what is cool now.  Eventually every past cool thing will make a come-back as retro cool, but there is a very fine line between when that old thing is just worn out and overused, and when it’s fringy enough to be trendy. 

At this point in time, saving the earth is cool. Organic, tree-hugging, granola-eating, earth-toned wearing fashions are in. And somehow even in my own job I’m supposed to market on that. I’m supposed to sex up Mother Nature, put her in lipstick and high heels, and sell her out to as many people as possible. Maybe I should I be glad the newest marketable trend is also somewhat helpful to the environment, but something just doesn’t feel right about it to me. 

 

A beautiful thing happens in Bloggerdom April 18, 2008

Don’t be alarmed my faithful blog readers, but I think we may have just hit double-digit readership levels, as in there may be more than 10 of us actually concerned about what’s being typed on this post.  Pretty amazing.  I’ve now been an official blogger for about a month, and the experience has been enjoyable. Admittedly, my favorite part is still looking at my blog stats to see how many people viewed my page, and also discovering how they came to my blog in the first place.  The search terms that bring people here are always the most interesting to me. My favorite so far has been “kick ass Jesus”. I wonder if this person was looking for a really cool Jesus or was looking for ways to beat Jesus up?  Either way, and however you got here, welcome! I’m thankful for anyone taking the time to read my thoughts.

There are millions of bloggers in America- 2,947,239 on WordPress alone. What does the typical blogger look like, as distinguished from the rest of the population?  According to a recent article by the Center for Media Research, 26% of all adults say they regularly or occasionally blog. Of those:

• 53.7% are male
• 44.7% are married
• 28.4% hold a professional or managerial position
• 10.4% are students.

“Bloggers tend to be younger, averaging 37.6 years old, compared to 44.8 for adults 18+ (the “general population”). Ethnically:

• 69.7% of Bloggers are White/Caucasian (vs. 76.1%)
• 12.2% are African American/Black (vs. 11.4%)
• 3.7% are Asian (vs. 2.0%)
• 20% of Bloggers are Hispanic, compared to 14.8% of adults 18+

In addition, Bloggers report a lower income ($55,819 vs. $56,811) and are better educated (14.3 years of education vs. 14.2). Analysis of Bloggers shows that they are using most forms of new media significantly more than the average market.” 

Regular/Occasional New Media Usage (Top 5)
	% of Regular/Occasional Bloggers	% of Adults 18+
Cell Phone	93.0%	87.5%
Instant Messaging	75.3%	49.3%
Download/Access Video/TV Content	72.2%	45.0%
Video Gaming	66.9%	47.5%
Text Messaging	65.5%	45.2%
Source: BIGresearch, January 2008, N=15,727

Now we know who the bloggers are, but why do bloggers blog? Journaling, fame, money, frustration, creativity, outlet to express ideas or opinions, attention, and anonymous confession are a few ideas.  If you blog, why do you do it?  It can be a very personal experience, so why choose to share it with potentially millions of viewers whom you do not know?  My reasons for wanting a blog started simply.  I had a crappy week, which led to a lot of frustration. I tried journaling on paper, but my thoughts were coming so quickly I really couldn’t write fast enough.  I decided to type them instead, and then my thoughts took on more of a story format than a journal.  I appreciate good dialogue with other people. It brings people together, creates community, and allows you to consider new ideas and opinions. A blog was a chance to start dialogue, even if noone ever responded or left comments. At least I knew my audience was more than 1 (sometimes!), and so it allowed me to pose questions to myself and others.  

I didn’t want this to be a personal blog that merely shared pictures and detailed stories about what’s new with the Petersohns or the exciting world of Indiana.  I’m sure you’re all curious about what we ate for dinner last night, but that’s not the kind of newsworthy items I wanted to share. I also didn’t really want this to be a “Christian” blog, as in every topic and post would center around religious, faith, or moral issues.  That would have felt forced.  But as it happens my faith is a big part of my life, and therefore interacts with other portions of my life even if I don’t intend for it too.  That interaction between life and faith does not feel forced at all, just like my love for NPR.  I love NPR, and so I really want to tell other people about it, and the cool stories I hear. NPR somehow ends up in the blog because it is a part of my life that shapes me and interests me.  I also didn’t want it to be a “Christian” blog because I wanted it to be cool, and Christianity is decidedly uncool in our society.  As we know by now, I am not cool. I am decidedly nerdy.

Personal Blog vs. Christian Blog

Donald Miller says, “There are many problems with trying to market the gospel of Jesus, not the least of which is that, in itself, it is not a cool or fashionable idea. It isn’t supposed to be. It is supposed to be revolutionary. It’s for people who are tired of trying to be cool, tired of trying to get the world to redeem them.”

Confession #1 for my faithful readers: I’m tired of trying to be cool, aren’t you? It’s a relief when you just get to be yourself and you’re not trying to fit in with what’s fashionable. I’ve avoided certain things in my life because they were not cool. I think I probably missed out on some great friendships in high school because I didn’t associate myself with certain people. Chritianity as a religion will probably never be cool, even if you wear a “Jesus is my Homeboy” T-shirt, and it probably would be frightening if it was cool, because does that mean the message would be changed?  The ideas of Christ are worth looking into if you’ve never considered them because of hypocritical Christians, televangelists, or abusive “Godly” words.  Love, social justice, the relief of oppression, compassion, truth, forgiveness- these are the things Jesus talked about and wanted to see done in this world by Christians. I haven’t always lived for those things- and I’m sorry if you’ve ever been affected by me not living that way or someone else who hasn’t. But publicly and privately those are the things I strain to live and die for. 

Trying to live your life for certain things, whether yours is a kick-ass Jesus or something else altogether, doesn’t feel cool and it doesn’t feel nerdy, it feels beautiful. 

Of Chalkboard Artists and Video Game Music Composers (or: two jobs I would rather be doing) April 16, 2008

My recent Ode to NPR could hardly do justice to the many intriguing stories I’ve heard during our whirlwind romance.  Sure, NPR and I have endured ups and downs in our relationship, but the positive moments stick with me forever.  For example, although it aired over one year ago, I still fondly remember the story NPR presented to me featuring grocery store chalkboard artists.  This was an entirely unnoticed art form in the prouduce section of my local market that I was missing out on every week! NPR you have really spoiled me this time. 

In all likelihood, the average Aldi’s probably won’t be debuting the next Picasso, but Whole Foods Markets employs a full-time artist at each of their 183 stores nationwide.  The on-air correspondent interviewed several grocery store artists, including Kate Lanciano, who started working at Whole Foods making smoothies at the juice bar while attending art school, and eventually began work as a chalkboard artist. She says, ”It’s like a revolving gallery. People get to see my artwork every day.”  I thought this story was fascinating.  However, it created one more job that I was otherwise unaware of that I would rather be doing than my current job.  But the next time you’re shopping, take time to enjoy the art work within your vegetable aisle.  You can listen to the full NPR story here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6520545

 

NPR spoiled me more recently with a story about, well, let me preview the first paragraph…

“In May 2004, a composer named Nobuo Uematsu joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a single performance of his most famous work. The show sold out in three days. In fact, there was almost a riot at the box office when people couldn’t get tickets.“

“What was the music? Uematsu’s soundtrack for the popular video game Final Fantasy.”

That’s right, video game music. I’m not much of a gamer, so this story caught me by surprise.  When I turned on the radio I actually thought it was classical music hour, which seemed a little odd for a weekend afternoon.  The music, however, sounded more contemporary and emotionally compelling like a movie soundtrack.  I decided to listen a little longer, and then realized it was a music clip from a video game after the NPR correspondent’s voice over began explaining this unknown world to me.  John Wall, one of today’s leading video game music composers, grew up playing PacMan and says, “Playing all those arcade games, I never even paid attention to the music. It just sounded like sounds to me. However, you know all the tunes. It’s so funny. The bleeps and bloops, they kind of invade your brain.”

What child of the 80s does not remember the classical Super Mario Brothers song? Doot Doot Doot do do do Doot…Here are two versions better than my humming: A Capella and Beatboxing Flute.  If you’d like to learn to play this 80s classic yourself, go here: http://gprime.net/images/mariopiano/

The memorable images and characters from the Nintendo Entertainment System have highly evolved, just like the music within the three-dimensional, virtual reality games themselves.  From the simple bleeps in Pong, to the Russian folk song featured in Tetris, to today’s full orchestra symphonies, video game music has been able to evolve as computer hardware technology advances.  Video game music composer Tommy Tallarico explains in the NPR piece that ”video game music isn’t a passive experience, but an integral part of the foreground.” He even believes that if Beethoven were alive today, he would be a video game composer. (An interview with a video game music composer, one who is still alive: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/apr08/6113)

The ‘Video Games Live’ concert  highlighted at the beginning of the NPR piece featured music from Final Fantasy, Halo, World of Warcraft, Tetris, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, and also included video footage from the games, synchronized to the music and projected on large screens at the performances.  The concert also had interactive elements where contestants came on stage to play Frogger And Space Invaders, while the orchestra played the music to the game to match contestants’ actions.

I think I’m truly beginning to appreciate art in all it’s many forms. From “The Lone Wolf” to this: Final Fantasy scores and grocery store chalkboards featuring broccoli in bountiful colors. Call me Mario, because NPR you’ve just 1-upp’d my life.

The origin of Darla, the Befunge Hacker April 14, 2008

 

  

Only a true nerd could wonder about the origins of the word ‘nerd’ itself.  As I delve more into my nerdish pride through my blog, I will attempt to uncover some of the beginnings and little known facts surrounding the word.  (You can determine your own nerd quotient here, or come up with your own nerd name: thus meet Darla, the Befunge Hacker)

What exactly is a nerd? There are many fine examples that we could choose from.  There is of course the true nerd, and then the stock character “nerd boy” or “nerd girl” that fits into distinctive categories for his/her TV or film debut.  Among some of those features includes (from Wikipedia):

• often wears eyeglasses, which typically have large lenses and thick frames dresses unfashionably, not as a statement but because she doesn’t care about fashion. Typically her clothes will be loose and comfortable wears her hair in unfashionable styles (such as a ponytail or pigtails; while male nerds have messy hair or flattops, sometimes with hair gel)
• is obviously intelligent
• has expertise or knowledge in a specialised area, and/or a wide general knowledge
• is fascinated by some area of knowledge, usually cultural, liberal arts and humanities as opposed to science and tech-related fields of the male nerds.
• is not popular
• is not considered conventionally attractive (exception: male nerds)
• is shy and may be somewhat socially inept in groups
• uninterested in and unskilled at sports (distinguishing her from the tomboy)
• may be slightly overweight (usually not much) or notably thin, also normal/average weight

The more conventional definition from Webster’s is:

1.	a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.

2.	an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.

The more casual Urban Dictionary gives an insight into the subtle differences between geeks and nerds:

Nerds: Often mistaken for Geeks, who aspire to become nerds, yet lack the intelligence, and end up giving nerds a bad name due to their poor social skills.

Nerds exist covertly within the fabric of society, often choosing to ‘nerd it up’ in private or in the company of fellow nerds. It is for this reason they are feared the most - unlike geeks, who are easily identified, nerds can only be found out when casual conversation reaches a subject that they like nerding.

And who do we have to thank for this wonderful word that is frank? The rhyming is supposed to give you a clue about who:  Dr. Seuss!  The first documented use of the word is attributed to Dr. Seuss’ character in If I ran the Zoo, “in which a boy named Gerald McGrew made a large number of delightfully extravagant claims as to what he would do, if he were in charge at the zoo. Among these was that he would bring a  creature known as a Nerd from the land of Ka-Troo. The accompanying illustration showed a grumpy humanoid with unruly hair and sideburns, wearing a black T-shirt.”

The second documented use of the word nerd occurs in the October 8, 1951 issue of Newsweek.  The magazine states, ”In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd, or in a less severe case, a scurve.”  The use of nerd in this article appears to have the same context for our use of the word today, whereas Dr. Seuss’ use of “nerd” did not carry the connotation of a geek, or socially unacceptable person.  The February 10, 1957, issue of the Sunday Mail in Scotland also featured the word in it’s present day context in a regular column entitled “ABC for SQUARES”: “Nerd—a square, any explanation needed?”

Some word historians claim the original spelling of the word was ‘knurd’, the reverse of ‘drunk’, and that the word was taken on by students to differentiate themselves as the non-drinkers.  According to Wikipedia, throughout the 1960s the word’s defintion remained constant, used as a synonym for ’square’ or ‘drip’.  However, ”it was only later, in the 1970s, that the word took on connotations of bookishness and social ineptitude.”

I’ve also learned that nerdcore hip hop or geeksta rap is an emerging subgenre of hip hop music (even a Nerdapalooza music festival!), not unlike the many subtypes of nerds that can exist within the realm of geekdom:  the whiz-kid, the band geek, the Star Wars geek, the book-a-holic geek, the newspaper geek.  These variants of the Nerd species all have their distinguishing characteristics and preferences. The Spanish equivalent of a nerd is a ‘friki’, and all frikis are invited to celebrate in Nerd Pride Day every May 25th in Spain, which appropriately enough coordinates with the date of the Star Wars premier in 1977.  I say, a country that appreciates their nerds together is a country that stays together (an admittedly poor pun of ‘the family that prays together, stays together’)

No matter the origin, nerds remain a constant fixture in TV, movies, books, and commercials.  No group of friends contrived through the media would ever be complete without the token nerd.  We may come in many shapes and forms, but nerds everywhere can appreciate a good Start Trek debate (I’m more of a Star Wars girl myself), a humorous scientific joke, or an intellectual pick-up line: 

A neutron walks into a bar and orders a drink. Upon being asked the price, the bartender responded, “For you? No charge.”

Two atoms are walking down the street. One suddenly stops and says, “Oh no, I’ve lost an electron.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive!”

There are 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who understand binary and those who don’t

If I weres an enzyme, I’d be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes

Nerd Girl’s Ode to NPR April 13, 2008

It’s strange that right about when you learn to embrace your nerdy side, weird habits and all, you start realizing you’re not so weird after all.  Some people are able to passionately enjoy fringe artists, bands, books, and clothes, etc, and then by doing so become so different that they cross over to cool.  I was not one of those priveleged nerds who by my weird status somewhat altered into the realm of “trend-starter”. I liked weird things, and by me liking them I never started a trend or a loyal group of followers.   I didn’t realize that it was usually only the passionate enthusiasm that most people followed, not the actual trend itself. If someone could voice an opinion excitedly enough or back up a band with enough head-banging enthrallment, then surely this band or this thing must be worth following.  When I was younger, I was  enraptured by anyone who didn’t care about peer’s reactions or opinions.  I tried desperately hard for a while to fit in.  I think most of us did, but somehow we thought the cool kids didn’t have to try.  You know those cool kids like Paulie Bleeker:

Juno MacGuff: I think I’m, like, in love with you.
Paulie Bleeker: You mean as friends?
Juno MacGuff: No, I mean, like, for real. ‘Cause you’re, like, the coolest person I’ve ever met, and you don’t even have to try, you know…
Paulie Bleeker: I try really hard, actually.

And if you hadn’t noticed, all things nerdy are making a come-back.  But how do the true nerds feel about the “cool kids” taking over the realm of dorkdom?  Here’s an excerpt from a pretty funny blog post:

My fellow nerds, certain members of society are debasing those of our kind. You see them everywhere you go: they wear shirts that depict the heroes of our culture and act as if they are like one of us. They know nothing about the discrimination our forefathers endured, or the hardships they overcame. These fakers have appropriated our culture because it’s cool, never knowing what it truly means to be a nerd.

You see, for the last half-decade, video gaming and nerd-dom in general has become cooler and cooler. Bands of pretty boys sing about Dungeons and Dragons. Guys with thick-rimmed glasses are suddenly hot. Hell, being a skinny weakling whose likes include Mario Kart and twenty-sided dice is even considered cool. Although the fact that nerds like myself are suddenly hot commodities on the man-meat market doesn’t terribly upset me, the way others have appropriated and abused my nerd-culture is outrageous.

The fact that I’m 26 and still care about being cool sometimes is terribly upsetting. I thought the glory of growing older was not caring any more.  The good things is, I am starting to care less, so I can actually admit: I like Billy Joel rather than Fergie or Timbaland or Fall Out Boy, I could spend an entire weekend organizing my books on the bookshelf, and most importantly: I really enjoy NPR.  I do not find many people to discuss my love of NPR with, unless I visit my grandma.  I’m sure there must be people in my generation also enjoying the dry humor of Michael Feldman or hoping that you too can win Carl Kassell’s voice on your home answering machine.  Am I really the only one out there waiting for the lunch hour so I can listen to Terry Gross?

The saga of me and NPR was a quiet flirtation that led to full-blown romance.  We met by accident, after a rude awakening from another suitor radio station.  I grew tired of said radio frequency showing up time and time again with the same songs, like a boyfriend who only knows how to romance you with chocolates and flowers.  Delicacies and nice smelling things are sweet for a while, but they get tiresome (and fattening).  I started looking elsewhere for someone to take his place, someone that could carry an intelligent conversation, someone that shared my own interests, someone who could give me an oddly informative news quiz .  I live in Indianapolis, so the choices for beaus on the radio dial are few and for someone who does not own an i-pod.

NPR and I met about a year ago, and we’ve been together ever since. Sure I have the occassional fling with Bob & Tom on the side, and dabble a little with WZPL, but NPR is my faithful and true.  He gives me the local news I want to know, without having to endure increasingly dramatic nightly newscasts (”How much snow can we expect for the following weekend? We’ll tell you right after this commercial!”  I HATE how they tease out the news like that!). NPR knows I’ll get fat on chocolate all the time, so sometimes he brings me entertaining, sweet items about movies and popular culture, but then brings home some meat with the growing concern over the one-child policy in China.  He woos me with classical music in the evening, tells a good story with This American Life, and he even helped me fix my automobile this weekend with Car Talk.

Me and NPR organize my bookshelf with glee over the weekend, and laugh over the differences between mute and moot.  We will probably never be the cool kids on the block.  We will probably have our lunch money stolen and our head dunked in a toilet from time to time, but we would be able to explain to you the best way to invest that stolen coinage and maybe even a little bit about how that toilet works, because after all, All Things are Considered.

My name is Molly; I am a nerd and I love NPR.

A Face by any other symmetry April 11, 2008

     In my “Lone Wolf” post I noted that humankind’s expression of art reveals an aspect of what God considers beauty.  Beauty in general is a fascinating topic, because it means so many things to many different people.  Whether in nature, a song, a movie, or the human figure itself, each person uniquely expresses preferences of desire.  Some men prefer a curve of the hip or the tip of a nose or a certain fleck of green or brown in someone’s eyes. 

     But overall, how do humans measure beauty? Why is one face generally agreed upon as beautiful and what are the differences in opinon on beauty in other cultures?  Opposing sides of the argument pose these two questions: ”Is there some mathematical combination of angles, ratios and proportions that produce an equation for beauty , making one face more beautiful than another? Or is beauty like a work of art a matter of opinion, taste and culture? “

     The mathematical argument is intriguing. The website Beauty Analysis reviews that a beautiful face is generally broken down into two components: Symmetry and Harmony. The more symmetric a face, the more beautiful it is generally considered.  Harmony is described as a recurring theme.  Mathematicians have suggested the recurring themes of geometric figures (such as circles or squares) or mathematical relationships such as the square root of 2.  Audrey Hepburn’s concept of beauty was quite more simple: 

“Sex appeal is something that you feel deep down inside. It’s suggested rather thanshown. I’m not as well-stacked as Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida,but there is more to sex appeal than just measurements.  I don’t need a bedroom to prove my womanliness.  I can convey just as much sex appeal picking apples or standing in the rain.”  (although it probably didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous)

One recent study found that beauty transcended culture: “the Japanese found the same European faces beautiful as the Europeans did, and vice versa.”  Another study from my days in psychology class even suggest that babies prefer attractive faces to plainer ones.  What is it that these babies are picking up on? Is it higher cheekbones, bigger eyes, straighter teeth?  I wouldn’t pick up on the symmetry of a person’s face. It’s definitely not one of the characterisitcs I listed when considering my favorite attributes of my husband. “Oh darling, what a wonderfully, symetrical face you have!”  But do I naturally react more favorably to more symmetrical faces without even realizing it? 

(While writing this I had to examine my own facial symmetry in the office mirror. Sadly, I am highly asymmetrical.  Thank goodness my husband hasn’t noticed yet because we’re about to hit our four year anniversary.  You can check out what your face would look like if it was perfectly symmetrical or measure the exact symmetry of your face).  The most symmetrical face in Hollywood? Supposedly, that belongs to Cate Blanchett.

Thankfully not all of us are as perfectly symmetrical as Miss Blanchett.  Below are three separate images made from the same face.  On the left is a symmetrical face using the left half of the original face. Middle: Original face. Right: Symmetrical face using the right half of the original face.  Which one do you find more attractive?

Research has also revealed that the more child-like a face appears, the more attractive it is generally considered.  These childlike features include:  

• Large head 
• Large curved forehead 
• Facial elements (eyes, nose, mouth) located relatively low 
• Large, round eyes 
• Small, short nose 
• Round cheeks 
• Small chin 

Below are also variations of the same face with varying degrees of childlikeness. Face one is 50% child, 50% Adult Woman; Face 2: 40% Child, 60% Adult Woman; Face 3: 30% Child, 70% Adult Woman; and so on until Face 6 which is 100% Adult Woman.

For another interesting read on beauty go here: http://www.ericspaulding.com/media/beauty.pdf

All I can is I feel bad for the friends that we’re hanging out with tonight. I have a feeling that I will be staring intently at their facial symmetry or lack thereof the whole night.

Jeepers Creepers April 10, 2008

     Last month I posted about Dave’s unusual (some would say creative) swearing phrase “gadzooks”.  This got me thinking about other creative phrases that people use in place of what I consider more crude remarks (egad, gee whillickers, fiddlesticks, jinkies, tarnation, what the blazes?, the dickens, oh snap, good gravy, dash it all! Share more if you have some.).  Now I don’t swear often, at least out loud, but I ashamedly  appreciate a good, creative swear word said at just the right moment.  

     The usual fare of curse words don’t usually cut it for me.  They’re rough and not very inventive.  I like bollocks, but I can’t very bloody well say that without looking ridiculous.  And I enjoy kick-ass, because how kick-ass would it be to say kick-butt instead? Not very.

     Because I’m a curious person, I decided to do a little research on profanity. I came up with a lot of interesting findings, just in case I’m ever at a dinner party and need a cute little story about swearing while other people talk about their children.  According to one study, there is a double standard in swearing between men and women. No surprise there! When is there not a double standard between genders? The research noted, “Female swearers are often perceived to be of a low moral standing. Men, on the other hand, can generate reverence from swearing, though they tend to tone down the use of profanity in front of women. It turns out, however, that women tend to swear more in mixed company as a means of asserting themselves and preventing the conversation from being male-dominated.”

     Another study even found that letting off a few expletives at work increased solidarity among the staff, and therefore also increased productivity.  Just read the entire Wikipedia article on profanity; it’s probably more than I need to know on the subject, but it was interesting.  How Stuff Works has a pretty good article too.

     How does my faith journey interact with all this talk about swearing?  I’m not sure if I’m ready to tackle that topic on a public blog, but I will say this:  the church (meaning God’s people at work on Earth) needs to make sure we’re not only accepting G-rated people into our lives and the building itself.  Over time “Christian” meeting places have beomce more like clubhouses, and outsiders feel like they need to fit in to our standard of who is welcome.  Jesus came to transform broken people into whole people, not religious people into more religious people. 

    Is it possible to end a blog post about swearing on a note about Christ? Especially w/out sounding like a big, fat hypocrite? I don’t know, but I tried.

The Lone Wolf April 9, 2008

Occassionally I paint murals for other people.  My last mural was an illustrative work for children, and my husband didn’t really enjoy it as much as some of the others I’ve painted. This led to a discussion (read:argument) about what is good art, and the many different answers to that question.

Dave’s idea of good art consists of nature paintings, realistic depictions of wolves, eagles, and I’m guessing coyotes and rabbits would probably make the grade too. Gadzooks :), he might even like a quail painting if the bird looked real enough, and if you threw in some baby quails trailing in a line behind mama. He might even tear up. Not really, but he does enjoy a good nature scene.

I appreciate nature. I love wolves and coyotes and all of God’s little creatures. I do not however like them as an art form. When Dave was defending these paintings as genuine, good art, I got mad, and then I got defensive, and then I looked down on him for viewing “The Lone Wof” as a work of genius. And then I realized I had become an art snob.  I really thought I was the one who qualified good art.

Then my dear friend Beth pointed out that perhaps each person is created uniquely to express a different aspect of God himself, and when we understand each other’s preferences and perspectives of beauty, we get a better understanding of what God sees as beauty, even it is a lone wolf in a painting.  Somehow out of Dave’s genuine appreciation of the natural world in art, I have an insight into what God has created and said was good. 

Ahh, look at the lone wolf standing there in all his majesty. I still don’t see it, but I’m glad Dave does, and I can at least appreciate that something within that painting is expressive of beauty.

Blue like a Blogger April 3, 2008

It surprises me sometimes when my blog stats show that someone besides myself actually looked at this page, and then it makes me paranoid, and then I question why I started a blog in the first place.

It makes me wonder if there is a typical blogger’s remorse phase, similar to buyer’s remorse. My blogger cycle (which includes the massive experience of 2 whole weeks) would go like this:

1. Intention to start blog for journaling purposes, not for either a.) fame or b.) glory-read: money

2. Start blogging every day, and even excitedly look forward to and think about what you will blog the next day

3. Beging checking blogstats every hour at work

4. Start becoming offended when the “journal” really intended for yourself isn’t getting any hits on the site besides yourself.  And you ask yourself how blogs such as “I Has a Hot Dog” are massively popular. Granted they have cute pictures of dogs, but millions of viewers? That’s just crazy.

5. Shamelessly begin to promote blog in hopes of getting more viewers

6. A few hits on blog other than yourself, and paranoia sets in. You now begin to filter/edit thoughts on blog in case someone actually reads them. A feeling of slight obligation to write funny anecdotes or very insightful pieces sets in.

7. Blogging slows as you wonder why you wanted to type thoughts out for anyone possible to see anyway (aka: Blogger’s Remorse)

8. Attempt to revive initial blogger joy

 Then I noticed other blogger’s using the term “blogger’s remorse”. The phrase produces 454 Google hits. (A sigh of relief as I realize I’m normal, just blogger unaware because of my inexperience.) Some described it as: the state suffered after establishing a blog and realising that you do nothing that’s exciting enough to warrant a blog. 

Reminds me of a different kind of cyle that I’m reading about in Blue Like Jazz:

1. Decision from good intentions to be a Christ follower, not for either a.) fame b.) glory-read: your own special on TBN

2. Overflowing with joy about decision. Read the Bible excitedly and look forward to church

3. Begin checking/comparing your thoughts/ behavior with what a Christian “should do” almost obsessively (aka: legalism)

4.  Start becoming offended when other “Christians” are hypocrites. Start doing Christian things (especially in front of other people) so you look or feel more like a Christian

5.  Shamelessly begin to promote your Christianity (aka “Got Jesus” T-shirt accompanied by the biggest, fattest Bible you can find)

6. A feeling of slight obligation to go to church or read the Bible sets in.

7. Excitement over your Christian faith slows as you wonder how you could have expected to live like this anyway (aka: Christian remorse)

8.  Attempt to revive initial joy……realization that faith is a journey not a religion and you’re free to enjoy all truth because it’s God’s truth.

Love Wins March 26, 2008

      In my last post I lamented that Facebook groups usually don’t lead to meaningful discussion, or discussion at all. Most group pages sit there blank, all the while having hundreds to thousands of members. All these people gathered in one spot under the same name of one particular group, and we have nothing to say?!

      The other end of the spectrum is when we have lots to say at each other, and anyone with differing opinions is close-minded or ignorant.  In a society raised on tolerance and acceptance, many discussions in web forums are angry and exclusive.  For example, I’m a member of Indy.com, a great forum for residents of Indianapolis to read interesting articles about upcoming events, movies, restaurant reviews, and also a place to dialogue with other Indy residents via chat and article comments.  Indy.com also allows users to personally review restaurants, as I did this week.  Another user blasted my review, not on a differing opinion about the restaurant or the food itself, but a personal attack about my opinion on, of all things, Applebees.  Do I really want to spend my time online getting harassed about an American chain restaurant?

      It’s not surprising then when you open up matters of faith, truth, God, love, and justice on a web forum that conversations turn vicious pretty quickly.  But what if we realized that we all believe something, and if we took the time to share why we love the thing we believe in, rather than defend it? Sound familiar?  Rob Bell says it much better than I do in “Velvet Elvis”,

“Because when it comes to faith, everybody has it. People often tell me they could never have faith, that it is just too hard. The idea that some people have faith and others dont is a popular one. But it is not a true one. Everybody has faith. Everybody is following somebody. What often happens is that people with specific beliefs about God end up backed into a corner, defending their faith against the calm, cool rationality of others. As if they have faith and beliefs and others dont. But that is not true. . .Think about some of the words that are used in these kinds of discussions, one of the most common being the phrase open-minded. Often the person with spiritual convictions is seen as close-minded and others are seen as openminded. . . An atheist is a person of tremendous faith. In our discussions about the things that matter most then, we arent talking about faith or no faith. Belief or no belief. We are talking about faith in what? Belief in what? The real question isnt whether we have it or not, but what we have put it in. Everybody follows somebody. All of us make decisions every day about what is important, how to treat people, and what to do with our lives. These decisions come from what we believe about every aspect of our existence. And we got our beliefs from somewhere. We have been formed, every one of us, by this complicated mix of people and places and things. Parents and teachers and artists and scientists and mentors we are each taking all of these influences and living our lives according to which teachings we have made our own. Some insist that they arent influenced by any person or any religion, that they think for themselves. And thats an honorable perspective. The problem is they got that perspective from . . . somebody. Theyre following somebody even if they insist it is themselves they are following. Everybody is following somebody. Everybody has faith in something and somebody. We are all believers.”

So, we are all believers…in something.  And when you take the time, effort, and faith to believe in your “thing” wouldn’t you rather then enjoy your thing instead of spending most of your time defending it? Once again Rob Bell sums it up nicely,

“You rarely defend the things you love. You enjoy them and tell others about them and invite others to enjoy them with you. Have you ever seen someone pull a photo out of their wallet and argue about the supremacy of this particular loved one? Of course not. They show you the picture and give you the opportunity to see what they see.”

To the Indy.com user who harassed me, I just enjoy Applebee’s, and I wanted to share my enjoyment.  Granted, I have much bigger things in my life than Applebee’s that I want to share with people. But maybe we can start small.

 To listen to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” sermon: