oh perceptions of privacy haha soooo funny

So today the article was called Sound scans of the urban body. I'm not going to finish this title because from the blogs that I have read so far all of them start with it. By now it has been read 3 or 4 times. The article is written by John Shiga if you still don't know yet.

The article talks about Dj Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner. The controversy with this guy is that he uses a scanner to pick up people's cellphone conversations and then uses their voices in his techno. The article goes on about how we perceive sound and how we have been socialized to use phones in a specific way. To us it seems like the cellphone user is having an up close and intimate conversation with the person on the other end of the line, thus adding to this modern view of personal space and privacy.

This view of the singular human by his or her self in an impenetrable bubble is starting to bother me, I am glad that Scanner is doing this. This may sound strange coming from me considering I am an Introvert that likes his privacy. But I know this is not a normal functioning state of humanity. Humans have lived in close quarters with out any need to rely on this state that we call privacy for hundreds of years. Now its almost the staple of the post-modern generation. My own ideas, My own truth, My own toys, My own music, My own personal bubble, My own cage. Yet there has never been such a huge cry out for community!

If people are so desperate to have a community of people, the online ones or your cellphone friends list will not make the cut. I hate to use this quote but I thought it worked well, "Introduce some Anarchy," and break some personal bubbles. Show people they aren't as isolated as they think. Changing peoples perspective on how they live and the things they are addicted to is fun. Try it! Do some scanning! Make some music! Burst some bubbles!
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.

PS. I liked Scanner's music though I guess if you're not a techno fan I could see it being slightly hard to listen to.

*WARNING* THIS IS A RANDOM POST */WARNING*

As I sit here with my newly acquired 44 cent freezer mug full of Mountain Dew, I will ponder over chapter 12 of this fine novel that I have been reading.

While reading through this chapter about Christian theme parks (which I think are the silliest things ever) I came upon something I found to be wholly disturbing. There was a little excerpt called "Should Churches Host Hell Houses?" by Annalee Ward. Unfortunately Annalee didn't answer this question.

So I will..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooOOooOooOOOOoooOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOoOOOOoOo they should not.

I'd like to point out before I continue on, that I think the whole idea of Hell houses and 'trick-or-treating' is rather stupid.

I knew that some churches did little Halloween events to get kids off the streets where they are potentially in 'danger'. I'd also like to mention that most of the deaths on Halloween are not related to people putting arsenic or cyanide in candy or razor blades in apples. They are from motorists not paying attention to children running across the street. I don't think it is a bad idea for churches to create a safe place for children. Not only can this allow parents to monitor the intake of sugar that their children are inducing them selves with; but it gives parents a good place to network with Christians that they might not have run into on the streets.

But where is it ever a good thing for the church to scare kids 'poopless' with disturbing images like fake botched abortions. Abortion is not something that should be used to scare children. Not only does it give people a terrible view of the church but Abortion is not a trivial issue. If Christians want to be taken seriously on the abortion issue this is not the way to do it. Next on the list Ward says that there are fake school shootings. Isn't this insulting to the people who lost relatives in school shootings? It makes their deaths nothing more than a thrill ride for 'candy-tourists'.

The organized church needs to wake up and realize that fear, though occasionally good for creating superficial and problematic believers, does not work for creating good Christians. People that live in fear are not productive to a group that is bent on loving and reaching out to others, that's what we should be doing. Not just trying to frantically push their faces from the shadows into gold pavement.

Don't sit on cathedral spires...

Michael Bull has a lot to say about the current IPod craze. He even goes as far to compare them to the sacred spaces of the Catholic Church. IPods are places where we can worship, find solitude, safety and connect with society? The main function of the church in the days of Cathedrals was to meet up with the people in the town and connect with people. IPods are not allowing this in our "global community". They are doing exactly the opposite, turning man into his own island. Or her own island if you want me to be gender specific.

Another way Bull likes to compare IPods to church buildings is by saying that they are the epitome of architecture in the 21st century. Bull obviously hasn't been in the tower 101. IPods are large brick like objects that take up more pocket space than a good sized hip flask and cause far more frustration. They tend to be dust magnets so when ever you pull them out of your pocket an asthma attack ensues. Though there are smaller sizes these tend to break easily when sat on the wrong way. Churches don't break when sat upon.

As people go about their daily routine, avoiding all human contact and interaction with the outside world, they begin to notice things: "My ears are hurting, oh well." Bull seems to think that allowing people to listen to music wherever they go gives them back power over their lives. I don't understand how this empowers people in anyway. The traffic will still take as long as it always does. Why not look for an alternate route instead of zoning out and ignoring potential traffic hazards. Having your senses completely closed off while walking through the city is in no way empowering, not only that you will miss the music that is the world around you.

You might get mugged to.

What Makes Music Christian?

A question asked by many a listener. Terry Mattingly seems to think it sure isn't rock. How dare music show some semblance of talent or a back beat of any kind? Would this then rule out artists like Toby Mac? Strangely the Rock/Nu-Metal group Chevelle was considered to be a Christian band for many years. They were sold under the Squint Entertainment label for their first three albums. Squint is most famously known for the band Six Pence None the Richer. The lyrics of Chevelle sounded Christian, though strangely the never mentioned a deity other than El Diablo.

A sample from The Clincher:
Could we have known,
Never would I, Helped to nail down,
With nothing to gain
Here's the clincher, This should be you!
Now saturate.

Sounds like it could be Christian. SURPRISE! When asked in an interview, the drummer, Sam Loeffler said, "It's something that's probably going to follow us around forever and that's fine. It's pretty simple. We originally signed with a record company that was backed by Word (known for artists such as Amy grant), so the record was in Christian bookstores. It was really an accidental thing. The Band promptly changed labels and lyrical quality the swearing abounded with titles like, Antisaint.

This is just one example. Another would be the band Evanescence. One of their first big hits Bring Me to Life was accompanied by the lead vocalist from the Christian band 12 stones. Stories shot through the roof that there was this hot new "christian" band called Evanescence. Those voices were silenced quickly.

Now we turn to the band Paramore, I have yet to actually listen to them. But they claim be Christians. WAIT! Pause for a second, these guys are signed under Fueled by Ramen. The same company that signed Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy. You don't see these guys being sold at your local Christian book store.

So really what makes music Christian? I'm going to agree with Bono on this one and say that, Christian music doesn't exist.