Weekend excursions

The adventure begins, originally uploaded by daniel_lee.

My Grandma Margaret frequently used the word excursion to describe a variety of outings. As a child, the word would often make me laugh and question why she chose to be so extravagantly weird with her vocabulary. It wasn't until later in life that her flair for authentic articulation and accuracy really hit home. She chose to speak as she did, not out of arrogance or loftiness, but from a genuine desire to mean what she said.

Though the Ford companies carefully advertised, hideously sized vehicle has almost ruined the word excursion in my mind, there remains some strong flicker of Grandma in that phrase. Having just completed a brief excursion of my own this weekend (an overnight on the Maryland section of Appalachian Trail) the word came back to me again. This time, as I happened to glance at the Wiki definition, a particular portion specifically appealed to my focus: "often an adjunct to a longer journey."

My thoughts are with Margaret today as I remember life's longer journey and the excursions upon which we all embark. I hope this past weekends hike was a preview of explorations to come - an acknowledgement of excursions planned and unplanned - and the inherent worth in diverging.

Refraction and reflection

My thanks to Mary Hess for the framing of this article by David P. Gushee entitled "How to Create Cynics." Though Gushee says what many cynics (me included) have thought for some time, his movement from individual self-determination to authentic community discernment is refreshing and well-spoken.

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On a somewhat separate note, this weekend is the second in a row in which I won't be off witnessing / participating in a wedding. Though I'm happy to be staying in the state for a while, the last few weeks have been both amazingly heart-warming and surprising gut-wrenching. Three weddings in three states - the experiences from each could fill hundreds of pages and postings. And while I won't bore with the details, I will say that being a part of three such immense, intense, beautiful, symbol-driven social gatherings is overwhelming in the least.

All three were times to gather with good friends, reflect upon memories created and memories to come, and contemplate a future of geographic separation, increased technological connectivity and the vast unknown of variability, chance, opportunity and failure. We're talkin' serious dissertation material here.

Simply put, I'm awestruck with thankfulness for these people who have decided I'm worth keeping around.

The Ladies of Tallahassee














Gentlemen carousing as per usual

















Michigan wedding with raindrop accents

Irony and Handholding

Though it becomes more and more apparent that I'll be unable to write as often as I'd like, perhaps less lofty / realistic goals are best. I was reading an article today by Martin Marty entitled Irony and "Islamofascism".

Though I've read the term before, the continued usage is troubling to say the least. Not only because the use indicates a much wider social perspective, but also because of the very basic power of words. Don't worry, I won't bore with a tirade regarding linguistic social theory, as the practice of controling public opinion through language is well established. Case in point, the carefully aggressive spin applied by Bush's handlers shortly after the "freedom fighters"...no "insurgence" began cropping up in Iraq. It's just a powerfully scary phenomenon; watching particular words worm there way into social consciences and begin to inform day to day speech.

Concerning Martin's article: while I find his analysis compelling, his address of Scruton's "poor analysis" dominates the text and frames the argument in such a way as to exclude rather than dissuade. While on one hand I'm compelled by his rallying cry, I'm left wondering whose been convinced. Has this article dissuaded an ardent believer in WW III, or has Martin simply continued the ingroup bolstering for which polarized groups have come to be known?

Thoughts, suggestions? Am I completely misreading Martin, or is it yet another example of propaganda (however appreciated) unapproachably displayed?

Quote for Today

It is the faithfulness of God that allows epistemology to model ontology.

- John Polkinghorne from Belief in God in an Age of Science

Time

It's amazing how quickly a blog can become outdated. Things in the non-profit world continue to hum along as newsletters and publications take shape. Over last week and weekend I traveled to the ELCA Communicator Conference in Chicago and the DMA Non-Profit Federation Conference in New York.

Each was an informative experience, but in drastically differently ways. For many at the conference in Chicago, budget constrains, lack of technological proficiency and assumptions regarding constituent access/interest in new media are imposing unique constraints upon Lutheran programs at the synod and congregational levels. Whereas the conference in New York featured many of the heavy-hitters in the non-profit world. Talk about contrast. Yet in each interaction we were able to develop insights into our own process at Lutheran World Relief and the ways we assume, limit, function and represent in our everyday interactions.

As I think about interconnectedness, interactions and interweaving in general, I reflect upon Psalm 8. Though certainly not an exhaustive list of the connected creation, I like to think of the psalm as a starting point, a beginning for discussing the web of creation. Though some have used the language of dominion in the psalm to promote an "anything goes" ethic of creational exploitation, the language draws me in the opposite direction. I am instead prompted to contemplate responsibility, connectedness and the inexplicable consequences of human action on the creation.

Baltimore and Lutheran World Relief

After much hesitancy to adopt blogging as a truly acceptable medium of communication, I might be beginning to see the worth. After graduation this past May, Ailsa and I loaded the truck and moved to Baltimore, MD where I've taken a job as Communication Project Coordinator with Lutheran World Relief. While I certainly wouldn't call the transition an easy one, I am (albeit a bit grudgingly) present and working.

Though there's been a huge gap in my writing over the past six months, my blog still exists and I'll hopefully begin posting again. If anyone's still interested in reading, perhaps we can become friends.

Noteworthy

If you're looking for a good laugh (and occasionally a philosophical point) check our Waiter Rant. It started as a professional servers blog, and has since changed sites off the blogger server, while still maintaining its content.

Additionally, in the process of constructing our video, Dan and I made use of the huge amount of web-hosted video and images at The Internet Archive. Though most of the downloaded video never made it through our final cut, its an immense library of information and content. I have used the Live Music Archive for several years with great success. It's basically a gigantic collection of live recordings made by fans, of artists who allow free-recording at their concerts. Admittedly, these files can be large and require varying open-source programs to decode or unpack before playing.

If your interested in a artist who has been around for a few years, but has a rather devoted following, my man Martin Sexton has several years of show available. Including the concert I attended in Minneapolis at The Pantages a few years back. Remember, the content is about what you'd expect from a high-tech audio geek totting recording equipment and a tripod mounted mic into a concert hall.

The rapid expansion of vlogs

This particular entry was inspired by yet another article from the New York Times. This time from yesterdays paper. The piece entitled TV Stardom on $20 a Day, continues the discussion on the rapidly growing culture surrounding video-blogs (vlogs) and some of the numerous implications for the increasingly frustrated and oversaturated viewers market. As the author suggests, "the rapid expansion in the number of vlogs and Web sites offering video podcasts strongly suggests how bored viewers are getting with standard commercial TV: a growing number of them are willing to seek out alternatives online, or just create one themselves."
As the author correctly asserts, the implications and possibilities abound. "In the right hands, vlogs can become microdocumentaries of surprising beauty, wit and intelligence." Moreover, because of the ease and speed with which high-quality content can be produced and distributed additional questions of authority, agency, etc. seem to pop-up as quickly as each new vlog entry.

For instance, the Minneapolis correspondent for Rocketboom, Chuck Olsen, has a section entitled Minnesota Stories (which is definitely worth a look) and maintains a video diary Secret Vlog Injection, which recently featured a video discussing "copyright issues and the philosophical difference between the world-views of the vloggers and traditional media companies."

The reliability of web-based content

Last Sunday's New York Times ran an interesting piece on the issue of "trustability" when reading content on-line. These questions, which certainly are not a recent phenomenon, have been again raised after a "Mr. Seigenthaler...read about himself on Wikipedia and was shocked to learn that he 'was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John and his brother Bobby'." The article is entitled Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar. Though I don't find the author of the articles point to be particularly enlightening (or assertive for that matter) it does raise some interesting questions of authority, authorship and responsibility. Specifically, who takes responsibility for specific truth claims, documentation, and opinion pieces, and what are the consequences of this responsibility.

As I write this I realize that I have not yet formed a full opinion on the matter. Just offering up some thoughts and resources for the community.