The Kansas Brand Image Task Force came up with a new state slogan, “Kansas: As big as you think,” which is being criticized across the state. Alternative slogans have been suggested, including “Moving at the speed of Kansas.”
I’d like to recommend a few:
Kansas: Flatter than a pancake.
Kansas: Somewhere in the middle.
Kansas: You’ve gotta stop somewhere.
Kansas: What’s urban sprawl?
Kansas: Buy your Wizard of Oz t-shirt and get out.
There’s no place like Kansas. (or just embrace the Oz)
I’ve started a new blog dedicated entirely to my new novel, Downtown Dandelions. So if you’re tired of hearing me go on and on about it, I’ve moved that conversation. Of course I’m feeding the new entries to the home page of this blog, so if you come here for your updates, you’ll still hear about it.
I hope you’ll check out the new blog. I’ll also be asking questions about the novel, talking about the process and calling myself a novelist as much as possible. The whole process of writing, editing, publishing and now marketing a novel is interesting stuff (at least I think so), and I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks.
Christianity Today’s weblog is reporting on what has to be the wackiest politically correct holiday debate ever. Here’s the story:
Seventh-grader Bryan Lafond dressed up in a Santa Claus costume to attend a holiday dance at his school, Hampton Academy Junior High. Principal Fred Muscara turned jolly St. Nick away out of concern for students with other religious beliefs. So the story goes. School officials later said they turned Lafond away for not meeting the “semi-formal” dress code of the dance. However, Lafond was later readmitted to the dance in shorts and a T-shirt. It gets even weirder as one student reports hearing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at the dance, a song clearly associated with Santa. As the controversy continues, one of the biggest concerns is that Lafond left the building on his own, creating a safety issue.
Read it for yourself:
ABC News declared bloggers People of the Year in 2004. As part of the story 11-year-old Dylan Verdi was featured as the youngest videoblogger.
She posted her first entry on December 20, 2004. The ABC News camera crew showed up on December 29. The Person of the Year story aired on December 30, leading off with her story.
Of course her dad tells the whole story in video. And you’ve got to love her video about getting a record player for Christmas–forget iPods! (link via Nick Ciske)
The new book from youth leader Jonathan McKee of The Source for Youth Ministry is now available: Do They Run When They See You Coming?: Reaching Out to Unchurched Teenagers
McKee presents practical ideas for youth workers to start conversations and connect with teens. Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries interviewed McKee about his new book and working with teens.
So go check it out. Oh yeah, Monkey Outta Nowhere helped edit the book.
I love all these doofy ‘year in review’ things people do (though it seems no one cares for mine–sniff, sniff), so in honor of Matt Bronleewe’s 2004: Personal Review (it’s a goofy frames site, so it might open all weird), I present my own year in review. Though I don’t know as many cool people as Matt Bronleewe, so don’t expect as much. Of course you could just look through the archives, but that’s not fast enough for you people, is it?
Scientists have discovered a new species of monkey in the Himalayas. The stocky, short-tailed, brown-haired creatures have been named Macaca munzala. While the monkeys were new to scientists, locals were familiar with the animals and called them “mun zala” or deep forest monkeys.
Everyone else is making lists about 2004, so why not?