Entries Tagged 'blogging' ↓

A million years ago when I wrote that pens should be mightier than toilet plungers, A Musing Mom commented, “Some truth stinks and we really don’t need to read the smelly stuff.”

That’s a comment that stuck with me. Because it’s such a tricky thing. See, I’m a big fan of Keats:

‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’

If something is true, it will also be beautiful. Something that is true and stinky, still has a stinky kind of beauty. Sound crazy? Have you ever had limberger cheese? Or anchovies? They are truly delightful–and their stench is part of their beauty.

It is stench for its own sake that we need to be careful about.

For example, culling through my own Twitter comments this weekend, I found one that horrified me. Kevin Hendricks was bemoaning the fact that so many writers don’t follow the guidelines we editors send them. “Why?!” he asked.

I responded, “Because they are idiots.”

Ouch. What was I thinking? That isn’t the kind of stinky beauty that tastes good on crackers. In fact, there’s nothing beautiful about that comment at all.

But there is a kind of beauty in my ability to delete stupid, ugly twitter comments like that. So that’s what I did.

Which reminds me about something I just read on CultureSmith. More and more people are getting into the twitter thing, using services like twirl (the application that made Twitter work for me), facebook, twitpic, snurl or tinyurl, and twitterfeed.

Christians have to wonder what it looks like to be the church on twitter. In short, What Would Jesus Tweet? Or would he Twitter at all?

Personally, I think he would. Twitter may have a stinky kind of beauty. But it’s still a beauty that’s got lots of room for truth. As long as I can delete my own stupid comments from time to time.

…and Children, Television, Recreation, Relatives, Food, Pets, Automobiles, Bugs, and Bibles

You see, Robert Hruzek is hosting a group writing project where people write about a mash-up of 18 fun topics. I added bugs and Bibles to his list just for good measure and polished up a poem for his group. He says it’s the first ever poetry entry. Yea, me!

First, the poem itself. You can hear me read it on the Evoca recording, but you’ll have to skip ahead to 1:20 remaining because I get long winded in my intro. (Be sure to check out my sweet musical intro/outro. Royalty free audio is fun!)

Welcoming Summer

Two love bugs mate on my leg
Until I draw them off with this
#2 pencil. The pair crawls past
my thumb as I write—then up
to the pink eraser which must taste
funny to tongue buds on their feet.
They fly away, black-legged snow-
flakes. We think of Christmas specials
where painted children catch snow
on tongues to welcome winter.
“Open wide, kids,” I say. “There’s
never snow in South Texas.”
My son plays along and we run
up and down the blacktop lot—
heat rising in waves around us—
we must look a pair of Baptist Johns,
prophesying protein in the desert.
A voice of two calling between
parked cars: “Prepare the way
for summer bugs. Make straight
your tongues for them.” Push that
play too far and bugs become God.
All mankind finds salvation in bugs.
And why not? God can raise up
children from rocks and bugs—
even cars with bug-splattered bumpers.

Second, here’s how the poem fits the mash-up rules.

A few weeks ago, we drove (automobiles) to a family reunion (relatives) where my children and I found ourselves surrounded by bugs on our little vacation (recreation) to decorate the graveyard at the Hebron Baptist Church. In fact, the bugs were so thick, we talked about how it was like a blizzard of black snowflakes with legs. My son loved this because he keeps bugs as pets (which means he puts them in bug cages over-night and holds a daily funeral for the ones who don’t make it). You can see from the picture above what so many bugs do to a white car (automobile—again). The snowstorm made me think of the peanuts gang catching snow on their tongues (like food) in the television Christmas special. At that point, my mind took off, and I started writing this poem.

I have to ask, though. Who uses the word automobile anymore, Bob?

Also, Gordon, you asked about W. P. and decoration. I provide a long answer in the audio file above. And you can see W. P.’s grave there on the right. He is my kid’s great-great-great-great granddad. Or maybe just great-great-great, I can never remember.

One last thing about poetry. Bob’s project “What I Learned From…” suggests that I’ll have answers for you here. But poetry isn’t very good at providing answers in the traditional sense. Nevertheless, I hope you’ve found some things to think about in my mash-up of mashed-up of bibles, bugs on my windshield, the subsequent discussions that followed us that weekend, and Writing, Children, Television, Recreation, Relatives, Food, Pets, Automobiles.

The first HighCallingBlogs.com meme is spreading around the net. We’ve got people reflecting on lessons from some really odd jobs - a BBQ busboy, a Venus Fry Cook (not really), a sorter of phone cords (phones have cords?), and one really frightening picture of gas masks.

Drop by our main page to read some of these fun articles and insights.

And if you’ve ever had an odd job, write about it! Then shoot me an email so I can include you in the group. My Editor-in-Chief for TheHighCalling.org has tentatively agreed to let us publish the best meme entry on TheHighCalling.org. It could be you!

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. But they do have wireless.

I’m not going to belabor the details, but this is going to be just as great as I hoped. Not only are there many industry insiders, there is a particularly generous spirit here. The writers want to help each other. The editors want to listen. The agents want to share.

So each day (or so), I’m going to post

1. who I meet
2. what I learn
3. the story of the day

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Guy Kawasaki brings you 59 feeds about faith. In one sense this isn’t surprising to see. After all, Beliefnet has been around for awhile, bringing together lots of faiths under the banner of one URL.

Still, what Guy Kawasaki is doing seems significant. Last year when I approached the b5media group to ask why they had no religion category, they said the topic was just too explosive.

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Yesterday after we had our new pastor over for an old-fashioned pot roast lunch, complete with my wife’s to-die-for homemade chocolate pie, I found myself weeping while I did the dishes.

The pie really was that good, but it didn’t make me weep. And the pastor wasn’t picking on me. Or at least, he didn’t make me cry.

Stephen Eley, Ken Scholes, and Edward Bear did that.

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I’ve been talking to Ken Mann a bit via email lately. He directed me to this video that wrestles with relativism and the human need for absolute truth–and a rowdy discussion of the video over at ThinkingChristian.

The video is not quite three minutes. (Click here if it won’t load.)

So here are my thoughts and questions for you.

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Who cares what the bloggers say about blogging.

Who cares what Facebook users say about Facebook.

What does NYU say about social media trends? What does the New York Times say? What do investors say?

Sometimes we need to step outside our blog bubbles and take a hard look at the online world we’re living. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard question about all these promises.

What is hype, what is hope, and what is verifiable fact?

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Lately, L. L. Barkat and I have been pretty busy trying organize everything we know about social media for a presentation at Mt. Hermon. Yesterday, I presented some of what I’ve learned about social media to the San Antonio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

I promised the AFP people to share the slideshow online. Here it is…
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Ok, not really. And I don’t want folks to think this is some kind of weird self-promotion, branding thing. But really, if you are part of the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour by all means grab the widget for your sidebar or for a permanent page on your blog.

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