average christian guy

Danger Will Robinson!

Watch this video then I’ll carry on my post…

OK, so a large part of me thinks that is awesome and just makes me want to see WALL-E even more. Frustratingly though the film won’t be released in the UK until the 18th July yet the US gets it this weekend! Judging by the reviews Pixar can do no wrong.

Comments about international release dates aside the video raise some interesting questions closely related to my post about technology a few weeks ago. Advances in robotics are great but will they really be used just as an excuse to not visit elderly relatives? I appreciate that some people really will benefit from this but it does seem symptomatic of a deeper issue - are we less willing to spend the time connecting with people in the real world?

If all robots are as cool as Wall-E then I for one welcome our new robotic overlords.

Commuting is a curse from the devil

There will be a slight lull in blogging as I acclimatize to my new routine. I started a summer internship yesterday which means working 9 -5 with an average commute of 75 minutes back and fourth each day.

I won’t be blogging about any of the specifics of my placement as it’s incredibly bad practise to talk about internal company issues in a public forum. I’m only there for 11 weeks and I’d quite like to last that long! If anything is blogged in relation to the internship it will be in abstract and concerning lessons I’m learning or experience I’m gaining.

So after two days I am absolutely shattered. My body is kicking and screaming as I attempt to realign my sleep pattern with the “normality” of the rat race. Hopefully within a week I will be able to make the best use of my time by having acquired a bike to cut down the journey.

So until my body has managed to pull itself together I leave you with this. A number of good friends are graduating at the moment and this is the first time I won’t have spent my summer at home with my family. I may attempt to brush up on my Latin over the summer…

Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis - The times change, and we change with them

Sweatshops – Really that bad?

I’m aware this topic could be a touchy one so I will attempt to be as diplomatic as possible.

One of my very first posts on this blog was about ethical clothing and more specifically relating to shoes. Almost anyone who has spent any time in Christian culture recently can’t help to notice the trend towards buying Fairtrade and ethical goods. I am one of these people, I think it is vitally important that Christians endeavour to make the most of their cash in all areas of spending.

In the light of this Sweatshops get a bad rap – and why not? Back breaking labour, criminally low wages, long shifts and seven day weeks. All of these factors contribute towards the soaring (well, perhaps not at the moment) profits of the Nikes of the world. They are exploiting people for financial gain.

I’ve been reading around some basic economics recently. I did Business Studies at school and always felt I should have done economics instead, this is my poor attempt to make up for it. The economics behind sweatshops is interesting. If these people are prepared to work in these conditions you would have to assume that the only alternatives options are worse. Begging, stealing, scavenging, prostitution or drugs to name but a few.

Perhaps the chance to earn some cash and educate their children is the only way out of this vicious cycle? Do these international companies, which bring much needed cash into local economies, do more long term good than bad?

Comments very much welcome on this one. I won’t reveal my opinions on this matter at the moment as I would love to hear from some people with a much better knowledge of the situation first.

Bad day at the office?

[ Sourced from reddit ]

This is possibly one of the funniest stories I have ever heard, so unfortunate. If you are having a bad day at the office this will DEFINITELY cheer you up!

“Jellyfish Bad”

Engineer Jokes

In a vain attempt to bring something to the table today I present a selection of Engineer Jokes.  As a half engineer / half computer scientist jokes like these sadly do make me laugh. Perhaps it isn’t a bad thing if you don’t find these funny…

Q: How do you know when an engineer is outgoing?
A: He looks at your shoes!

Q: What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
A: Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets.

Q: What do engineers use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.

Arguing with an Engineer is a lot like wrestling in the mud with a pig: After a few hours, you realize the pig likes it.

And that is your selection for the day! I am currently working on a little something for a project which I may release opensource if I can ever get around to it, keep watching this space.

Withdrawal Symptoms

So to cut a long story short I started watching the West Wing a little over a week ago. My esteemed flatmate Sir Timothy May Esq. has been waxing lyrical about it since Easter so I felt it was time to give in.

I have just finished Season 1 which I borrowed from my aunt and…

…I NEED SEASON 2 RIGHT NOW!!!

What the heck happens?! If someone has shot Charlie I’m pretty sure I’ll hurt them. Having said that I am currently home along in the flat so I will probably have calmed down before I run into anyone to hurt. Assuming I manage to find a copy of Season 2 that is. If you haven’t watched this before I heartily recommend it. It is clever, funny, a bit more clever (unlike the wording of this sentence) and superbly written with top drawer acting. After each episode I just want to walk around wherever I am barking out orders, handing papers to nondescript aides all the while chastising my none exist PA.

In days gone by I wouldn’t have thought twice about downloading the whole thing. Times change though and ever since the Summer of 2006 I have been a good boy in regards to acquiring digital media through nefarious means. It pains me to be legitimate at times.

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture – Shane Hipps

The very fact that you are reading this blog indicates to me that you would be interested in this book, you are on the internet for a start. Shane Hipps used to be a marketing director at Porsche where his job was to make you want a Porsche. By studying how to manipulate us through various media he became very good at it. However, Shane knew the Gospel wasn’t a gospel of splashing the cash on faster cars. Shane quit his job and is now a pastor. His unique understanding of how our culture is formed alongside his theological training has lead him to write this book which examines how the Church is responding to the electronic culture we live in.

The tagline is “How media shapes faith, the Gospel, and the Church” which turns out is a pretty good synopsis for the book, so good work on the tagline. A lot of Shane’s media theory comes from someone called Marshall McLuhan who was a bit of a celebrity in his hayday during the 60s. McLuhan’s mantra was “The medium is the message” which essentially means that the medium (TV, radio, print, internet, word of mouth) which you choose to convey your message has as much impact on the meaning as the actual content of the message itself. Whilst I don’t necessarily agree with the statement entirely (yet) the book does raise a lot of very interesting questions about how the church is portraying the Gospel with new techniques.

If you aren’t overly familiar with media theory some of earlier chapters may leave you scratching your head but if that floats your boat his arguments are gripping. Not because they are necessarily correct, there is plenty to debate, yet you cannot help but think about the bigger picture and how controlled we actually are by 21^st century electronic media.

Topics such as worship, church, community and leadership are discussed in this light later on and I would highly recommend it to those in the church dealing with the emergence of electronic culture. In fact, it is difficult not to recommend this book to anyone as if we are honest – who doesn’t deal with electronic culture of a daily basis?

I took Media Studies at A Level and I maintain it was a waste of time, almost. The topics discussed were interesting and the ability to deconstruct media as opposed to blindly consuming it is sorely lacking in our society. I really feel we as a church need to be more aware of how we use and, sometimes, abuse the tools and techniques available to us.

So, for my inaugural book review, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church gets two thumbs up. It can be snaffled for less than a fiver over on Amazon market place – I’ve already lent my copy to someone.

- - Bonus Prize - -

Shane recently spoke at Mars Hill. Click here and look for his talk, “The Spituality of the Cellphone“. If you can’t be bothered to read the book, which you should, this talk gives a good summary of many of its points.