Olympic Butts

I also think it’s hilarious that the same day I was formulating my modesty rant, over on Yahoo! male lust was ruling the realm of most popular photos. According to Jason Kottke, 7 of the top 10 most popular pictures were of female Olympic butts. And then the Pope picking his nose.

And every guy who followed that link out of curiosity better not blame Christian girls for not being modest enough. But that was my rant. Let’s not go there.

For those who can brave the female buttocks without giving into lust, I find it hilarious that the beach volleyball players wear bikinis while the swimmers wear full body wetsuits.

Rant on Modesty

I said before that sometimes I feel like a contrarian, but with the statement I’ll make today, perhaps it is more than that. Perhaps it is heresy. With so much popular opinion stacked against me, I feel there is little room but to conclude that I am wrong. The only reason I stand forward and make my claim is because it continually comes back to me and I wonder if by chance it contains some validity after all. So often I feel like a Christian heretic, clinging to a belief that so blatantly contradicts what other Christians believe. And yet I can’t help wondering, so I lay forth the argument, open to the possibility that I’m completely off my rocker.

So here is my potentially-off-my-rocker claim against Christian modesty…

Continue reading Rant on Modesty

No More Capitalization for the Internet

Except in headlines. Wired News has made the bold stylistic move of no longer capitalizing the ‘i’ in Internet. The casual references Web and Net will also no longer be capitalized. These kind of changes in style really only matter to crotchety editors like myself who still care about consistency.

For those really into style, it’s also worth noting that in 2000 Wired News made the decision to hyphenate e-mail. So there. (As every editor knows, the style debate is simply a more educated form of the old playground debate of who has more friends.)

Everybody Else is Wrong

Sometimes I think my calling in life is to be a contrarian. I seem to have to disagree with everything. I suppose there are bigger, more psychopathic contrarians than me, but I tend to disagree with a lot of things most people generally accept.

I feel it the most when I walk into a Christian bookstore. Yesterday I found a reprinted version of a book I loathe. I thought it would die a lonely death with a second-rate publisher. But alas, it’s been picked up and reprinted, and I’ve lost respect for a first-rate publishing house. To my horror, the most irritating aspect of that book was still there, untouched. I still have the original manuscript of that book that I was asked to read and give quotes for the back cover. I keep it on a shelf in my office as inspiration.

But that wasn’t the only thing I disagreed with. I noticed that in the entire “teen christian living” section, half of it was books about sex and dating. Sigh. I won’t even get into that.

But what I did get into were the several books about modesty. For some reason it’s a topic that’s gathering a lot of steam. Once upon a time I would have been on that train (and there’s probably entries in the archive to that effect). But now I see a lot of holes in the modesty logic. I read an article a few weeks back that really pissed me off, and it’s taken all my restraint not to write an all-out rant about it.

Instead I’ve decided to let the ideas fester, let my brain mull it over some more and see what I really think about it. I think in the end I’ll still be the contrarian, but I’m trying to bring a bit of levity to it. Just a bit though. I’m sure the rant is still coming.

Record Companies, schmecord Companies

After a 12-year hiatus, the pioneering alternative rock band the Pixies are back. But this time around they could care less about finding that usual magic ticket to music stardom: a record label.

“Record companies, schmecord companies,” lead singer Charles Thompson said (aka Frank Black or Black Francis). “Who needs ’em?”

Rather than recording a new album and signing a deal with a label, the Pixies are planning their comeback on their own terms. They released their first new single in 13 years, “Bam Thwok,” on iTunes, and they’ve been selling live CDs produced at the performances. Tickets, t-shirts, and these alternative music releases have been paying the bills.

Scott Stapp, Christian All Along

Christianity Today has a personal and revealing interview with Scott Stapp, former lead singer of Creed, who is venturing out on his own with a solo career.

The interview touches on some interesting points, including the fact that Stapp was never asked personally if he was a Christian:

“The nature of my answers are a lot different now that I’m no longer with Creed. I’m a solo artist now, and I don’t have a band to hide behind. So when someone asks me if I’m a Christian, I have to say yes, because I am. But do you know I was never asked in 10 years if I was a Christian personally? We were only asked if Creed was a Christian band.”

And Stapp’s struggle with being a role model:

“But I’m glad nobody asked, because my life wasn’t right with God. The Christian community latched onto a lot of my music, because there were a lot of things about my struggle they related to. But I didn’t really want to come out and be identified as a Christian, because I didn’t want to be a hypocrite, because my life wasn’t right. I didn’t want to make any kind of public profession until I felt like my heart was right.”

Thankfully he comes to a conclusion many Christians still don’t get:

“I’ve since learned that my life’s never gonna be right, and I’m always going to be scrutinized and looked at under a microscope. And it took me, since I was 17 and left home, running from God, to now, as a 30-year-old man, when I honestly feel like I’ve come full circle and my heart’s finally in the right place. I’m still going to make mistakes, but I don’t have any problems with publicly professing my faith now. It just took me a long time to get to the right place in my relationship with Christ.”

I Have a Marketing Degree!

Well, it finally happened. The immense redesign of billygraham.org (my former employer)—that was initiated only four months after the redesign me and my team slaved over—is finally up. Not everyone is happy with the new look, and I can’t say that I blame them.

For a sense of perspective, you can check out the Internet Archive for past versions of the Billy Graham web site (though the graphics don’t always load). I worked in the Internet Department from 2001 until halfway through 2003. You can see three different designs, though the difference between the first two is primarily cosmetic.

I hate to rag on the new design. I have friends who still work there, friends who don’t have the luxury of shaking their heads and moving on to something else. It’s painful to see some of the changes. We spent eight months working on our redesign, only to see it prematurely dismantled. You’ll have to forgive my bitterness.

I hate to be elitist and act like I know web design better than anyone. Or marketing or ministry or business. The fact is many organizations and businesses make decisions I don’t agree with, but none strike me so deeply as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Maybe it’s because I see so much unfulfilled potential, as someone else said. Maybe it’s because I invested two and a half years of my life in that organization. Maybe it’s because I like Billy and deep down I want him to be cool. I mean, OK, C’mon.

Eclectic Mix of Artists on Passion CD

The ‘inspired by’ soundtrack for The Passion of the Christ, scheduled to come out August 31, the same day as the DVD, features an eclectic mix of artists, including Scott Stapp, Lauryn Hill, P.O.D., Charlotte Church, MxPx and Kirk Franklin.

“It put my life in perspective,” said former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp. “When I think I have it bad, or when I’m feeling down or complaining or trying to place blame on certain things, I think about what Christ did for me and what he endured, [and] it puts things in the right order. What have I got to complain about? What I need to do is buck up and deal with this.”

Continue reading for a complete track listing.

Continue reading Eclectic Mix of Artists on Passion CD