Blog posts

Smart Mobs links to an introductory piece on technological ’leapfrogging’. Leapfrogging is the name given to the tendency of a number of ‘developing’ countries to skip over some of the technologies that have become popular in the west straight to newer ones, such as skipping land-line telephones in favour of moving straight to cellular technology that doesn’t require the expensive installation of cables across vast countries. The potential of some new technologies to make a difference in isolated communities is immense. I remember one consultant telling me of a programme he was researching that would use videophones to allow specialist doctors to give advice on treatments in villages they would never ordinarily be able to reach, massively expanding the ease of communication between locally based generalists and distant specialists. ...

To continue the ongoing discussion with Brandon, it’s quickly apparent that we could easily be criticised for trying to cling to a notion of community that may be more nostalgia than reality. Much of the ecclesiology we have inherited was developed when most people lived in a rural setting. If a small population is gathered around a tight, isolated geographical centre then the notion of community that develops is going to be very different than when we live spread out across an urban sprawl, or what emerges in densely populated larger expanses. ...

As those who read the comments will have spotted, Brian Mayes, the promoter behind ’ Christian Music Makeover’ commented on my post on the subject and offered to discuss it with me. To that end, I have emailed him the following message. I will endeavour to keep this blog up to date as the conversation unfolds. And do comment if you have any thoughts on the subject. Hi Brian, Thanks for commenting on my blog entry and for offering to discuss this campaign with me. ...

Apparently the Chicago band Daniel’s Window are going to be involved in a new marketing campaign to help step up their career. It’s probably about the right time (five or so years in) for the CCM community to pick up on the ‘reality tv’ phenomenon, and so they’re going to be allowing fans to interact with some sort of makeover in order to take them to “the masses”. According to the press release ( reprinted at Tollbooth News): ...

Having written yesterday about the sense of community in some coffee shops I should note that Grand Rapids Public Library (Main Branch) is a place where that manifests in a quite different way. There is a sense of community about the place and between the staff and a number of other people; it’s clear that there is a fair number of regulars. The wireless signal is pretty good in the central parts of the building, including the cafe on the second floor. dslreports.com claim there’s a speed of only 67kps down/55kpbs up, but it feels a good bit faster than that, and is certainly usable for general browsing or some simple FTP/SSH work, if not for heavy amounts of remote logins or downloads. ...

Another thing I’m a little behind in writing on is the mashup phenomenon. For those who aren’t familiar with them, audio ‘mashups’ are what happens when someone mixes together two or more other sources to create something new. The medium’s key moment was the launch of DJ Danger Mouse’s “Grey Album”, the result of the mixing of the Beatles’ White Album and Jay-Z’s black album. You can read more about it over at Grey Tuesday. ...

This post is a response to Brandon’s response to my question: What is it about church/the bar that means the bar isn’t a replacement for church? I started to respond in his comments, but the response was getting lengthy enough that I thought I’d move it over here. Since moving to the US I’ve had a hard time adjusting to the different understanding of “neighbourhood” that seems standard here. I’ve found the way its expressed hard to adjust to and feel like it rarely happens in what would seem to me a coherent sense (I’m thinking of at least having residences, shopping, churches, entertainment close enough together that for some people walking between them is a regular part of behaviour). That happens in some larger cities and occasional other spots, but is rare. ...

I don’t know how long ago Amazon introduced their ’ Early Adopters’ section. There are blog entries from March 2003 talking about it, so it’s clear that I’m rather late to the game. But the first time I remember coming across it was this past Monday while browsing for a last few Christmas presents. For those who have yet to see it, amazon categorise their customers’ buying preferences and then analyse the listening habits of those who buy particular items some time before they then become ‘hot’ items. So, for instance, they’ll tell you what what gadgets people who were quick to buy ipods are now buying. Or, as in this case, what people on the ‘cutting edge’ of (commercial) indie-rock are currently listening to. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see the feature on their site, as it seems a natural use for the data they gather. ...

After an aborted attempt to upload all our wedding photos to flickr.com (aborted because I’d totally overlooked their upload limits) the task of getting the photos online has sat ignored somewhere in the middle of my list for too long. So last night I finally got them all in place. Check them out here.

The BBC is carrying this piece about Iranian pop band Arian. According to the piece they’re the first officially sanctioned mixed gender pop group to come out of Iran. We actually picked up one of their albums while in Iran and I listened to it a fair bit. Their music is an interesting mix of traditional Iranian elements and some synth sounds, but let me unsatisfied. Mixing two such different musical cultures is a tricky business and there certainly wasn’t the maturity of, say, Talvin Singh. It was, dare I say, a little cheesy. ...