Archives for category: communication

NPC Day Two: Chocolate Covered Turds and Genuine Forgiveness

February 11, 2009 //

At this morning’s main session at NPC, Rob Bell delivered a great message about forgiveness. Skye Jethani has written a nice summary of Rob’s message over at Out of Ur. Some brief observations:

Rob Bell is a total rock star. Well, let me take that back — people treat him like a total rock star. He doesn’t seem at all wrapped up in himself or looking for special treatment. Before his message, I saw people crowding around him for photo ops. In fact, during his message, people were snapping cell phone photos as he walked the aisles. He even asked one photo snapper, in the moment, “Did you just take a photo of this shopping cart?” (which, incidentally, he used to great effect throughout his message).

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…

Read the rest of this entry »

Categories church, communication, community, faith, hope, reconciliation

NPC Day One: A Love Supreme

February 11, 2009 //

Started day one of the National Pastors Convention here in town today. A few quick observations:

I was deeply convicted by Efrem Smith‘s powerful message in the morning about speaking life into the hearts of those who despair. In today’s haywire financial environment, it was a timely and necessary word.

The music from Ashmont Hill was fantastic. I must admit, I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t know any of the songs because I had never heard of them before today. I didn’t, but it turned out not to matter. My wife often says that she thinks gospel music will be the soundtrack of heaven (and I agree). Ashmont Hill combines elements of gospel, r&b and rock to great effect.

A personal highlight today was sitting in on a seminar by Robert Gelinas — better known as Jazz Theologian. Robert shared some great insights into what a jazz-shaped faith might look like in our churches today (quick note: it’s not so much about the music, but the ethos). Building on the keynotes of syncopation, improvisation and call & response we can build vibrant, listening, covenant communities of life. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the analogy of pastoral leadership as jazz drumming. Robert’s book, Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith, will be released this week at NPC. Can’t wait to read it!

One small regret: I wish I could’ve gotten one of those snazzy, “Walk and not be faint” walking club t-shirts!

Categories books, church, communication, community, faith, hope, ministry, music

Art in the Streets

January 26, 2009 //

I’ve always been intrigued by the subversive, immediate, and sometimes jarring nature of street art.

Banksy‘s work on the West Bank powerfully conveys a longing for freedom, regardless of one’s political perspective.

Sometimes, street art can be subtle and/or whimsical — for example, The Kiss by Leon Reid IV in London would be easy to miss. Works like this, titled Eat Out, rearrange everyday items in thought-provoking ways.

This street sign, though fake, rings true (at least for me, with my deer phobia).

I recently read about something called The Pedestrian Project, which brings street sign characters to life in unexpected ways (although for sheer awesomeness, it’s hard to beat Robocop emerging from a television to consume fried chicken).

* * * * *

We hope to capture some of this spirit as we raise awareness about human trafficking with The Freeze Project, which will be coming to San Diego soon (stay tuned for details).

Categories art, communication, design, justice

For Those About to Transport Data…

January 15, 2009 //

… we salute you!

These days, USB drives are offered with ever-larger capacities at lower & lower prices. So, other than competing with rock bottom pricing, how can a tech company differentiate itself from the rest of the field? Gang signs and devil horns, of course!

See the images below for the Hand USB sticks a company called Sirtified will be releasing in February [h/t: Engadget]:

When the USB sticks are plugged in, they remind me a little bit of the Wicked Witch of the East getting crushed by Dorothy’s house.

I guess nothing says, “I might look like a working stiff transporting my data from a regional quarterly sales meeting in Dayton, Ohio but, deep down, I roll on the westsiiiiieeeede” like this blue model.

Categories communication, design, tech

There is No Charge for Awesomeness…

January 12, 2009 //

… or attractiveness, as Po from Kung Fu Panda says.

We can thank the internet machine for the awesomeness and attractiveness of these Diamond Dave nuggets to kickstart the work week.

The first is the David Lee Roth Running with the Devil Soundboard. [h/t: Marko] Guaranteed hours of fun.

Or, if you want to take things to the next level, you can bask in the glory of/recoil in horror from this truly mashed-up mashup of Diamond Dave colliding with Microsoft’s Songsmith [h/t: Gizmodo].

Songsmith is a program that generates music to accompany a singer’s voice. Could be interesting, but the background music sound un-ironically 8-bit. Call it a failure of my imagination, but I can’t see a purpose for Songsmith other than the DLR fail. I give them credit for their surreal, ultra-cheesy ad, but, seriously, I’m confused — “So help me a find a way to move my groove on”? Really? Is that even a phrase, or is Microsoft trying to invent new slang?

Categories advertising, communication, just grinning