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The reply to my last email to Brian Mayes, the man behind Christian Music Makeover, was rather shorter than I expected: Hi James, Thanks for all of your interest. Check out the site when it launches in January - I believe all of your questions will be answered. Merry Christmas. I was disappointed with this response, to say the least. The interest these blog entries have generated suggests I’m not the only one with deep concerns about this initiative. It may be that as Brian says, the yet-to-be-launched website will answer my questions, but it’s a shame that conversation couldn’t continue. ...

The Christmas break delayed the continuation of the ‘Christian Music Makeover’ discussion started here and continued here. But Brian responded last night with this email: Hello James, Your contention that music-based reality television shows focus only on surface aspects of the industry has no factual basis. “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson is not your average stick-thin bombshell, and Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken hardly fit the superstar mold. “Nashville Star” selected a middle-aged songwriter. Shows like “Star Search”, “FAME” and “America’s Most Talented Kid” have solely focused on talent and musical ability, going so far as to draw fire from the industry for not selecting more marketable talent. And let’s not forget that Christian music finally got it’s own show with “Gifted”, which aired in November on TBN. ...

Spending Christmas Eve in downtown Chicago seemed like a great plan in theory. After gathering with Kari’s family on the 23rd, we decided, we’d check into a hotel and then travel back to Grand Rapids on the 25th. For most of the day it worked well, we enjoy the chance to spend time in a larger city and were definitely glad to finally see Almodovar’s excellent " Bad Education" (it’s typically provocative, and well worth seeing, but not up to the standard of " Talk To Her"). The hotel was great and with Christmas presents being opened it was particularly handy to have a good stereo in the room. ...

Via Joi Ito I found the news that Chris Anderson, author of the article The Long Tail that I blogged about here is writing a book on the subject and now has a blog at www.thelongtail.com. Should make for interesting reading.

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): ...

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. ...