Deep Vibration | Third Day of July

I'm hoping to post more about this band for an upcoming music Monday but seeing as how today is the third day of July ...

Gillespie on what the idling bylaw brings to light

The LFP's Ian Gillespie has a great editorial on the contentiousness of London's new idling bylaw that is well worth the read.

In it, he hits the nail on the head when he admits the law is merely symbolic. But what's more important is how the backlash has highlighted the unwillingness of many Londoner's to fully grasp the situation we're in.

"... if we're so hostile to making such a simple change in our lives, how on earth are we ever going to make the myriad other changes -- everything from how we consume energy to where we buy our produce and dispose our waste -- that are so desperately needed to repair the environment?

If we can't do something as simple and logical as shutting off our vehicle shortly after it stops moving, if we're so selfish, spoiled, unthinking, uncaring and inconsiderate that we resist making even the most minor changes to our precious lifestyle, then our chances of saving the planet from global warming are pretty much doomed.

And so, of course, are we."

Change is never easy, but it's got to start somewhere. Hopefully the debate this bylaw has created will underscore the need for Londoner's to start taking some baby-steps.

Read the full editorial here.

Waterlife Trailer/London Screening?

As somebody who has just returned to a part of the country surrounded by the great lakes, I'm very keen to check this documentary out.

If anybody is interested in trying to throw a screening together for London, leave a comment or shoot me an email at jkblogspot at gmail dot com and let's see what we can do.

Random Linkage for Theology Thursday

The Sometimes Surprise Price of Success by Bob Hyatt
c/o Nathan Colquhoun
"We ask people to love their neighbors. But what if that means they need to be less involved in church activities? Is that okay? Of course it’s okay. But for us—internally—is it okay?"

*

Hands-on Advice from Servolution
These four ideas about your local church's growth and health may seem pretty common sense, but Lord knows common sense isn't as common as we'd like it to be.

Number three on the list is quite succinct and timely and gets to the heart of what I was blathering on about here.

*

Daryl is now blogging
If you're around Hillside, our youth pastor has set up a blog over here.

*

Kyle asks whether we can bring about a culture change in our understanding of church "leadership"
As this conversation develops, we're gonna uncover a doozy for sure. Ask any burnt-out pastor and you'll know we're already behind on moving things forward to greater freedom/health.

*

Lessons from Stale Lake
c/o Church Marketing Sucks
Warning: this video spoof on life inside a "relevant" church is chock-full of inside-jokes. That said, it's a guaranteed gut-buster for anyone who's ever been or is currently in a full-time "ministry" role.

*

On Tent-cities and Homeless Shelters
The most interesting part of this article about the continuing challenge of Victoria's homeless trying to find/make shelter is the story of Ralph who credits the community found in a tent-city as helping him get clean, housed and back on track.

Drive-By Sandwhiches

Pedal power + pb & j + rad design = one good (looking) idea.

"Busses, taxis and cars will hate, but nature, polar bears and kids will love: Drive-By Sandwich - a bicycle sandwich delivery company in Copenhagen that delivers organic, fresh, and healthy sandwiches anywhere you are. We’ve made sandwiches to-go more hip, fun and stylish by creating a modern visual identity for the brand. From menu cards, bicycle graphics, t-shirts, sandwich wrapping and bags, we’ve given sandwich delivery an edgier make-over with eye-popping aesthetics."

Design by: Hello Monday
c/o The Dieline

Three for Canada Day

Brown on reclaiming the "real"

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but the actual content convinced me to not worry about rushing it (that'll make more sense as soon as you read it).

Josh Brown has created a list of 13 suggestions on how to "transition out of the world of computers and back into the world of flesh and blood."You can read the full post here, but in an effort to cut down on your internet time, I've pasted the meat of the post below.

With summer finally here, this list couldn't have arrived at a better time. Personally I'm a big fan of numbersr 3, 4 and 13 and with the new place I'm looking forward to dining/partying with some of you dear readers in the near future.

13 Loose Suggestions for Reclaiming the Real
c/o Josh Brown

1. Use only 1 form of social media. Whether it be blogging, Facebook, or Twitter. But never more than 1. And then use that 1 in moderation (see #9). Pick the one that helps you live “for the good of the world” the most and choose that one. I quit Facebook after 4 years a month a go and haven’t missed it at all. I quit Twitter after almost 2 years and haven’t missed it at all.

2. Clean out your RSS reader. Leave only 25 feeds in there and ditch the rest. Then only check it twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening.

3. Throw parties on a regular basis. And by regular I mean once every 2 weeks to a month. It doesn’t have to be 100 people. But get in the habit of having at least 10 people over to your house on a regular basis.

4. Eat 1 slow dinner a week with friends.

5. Get at least 1 hobby that doesn’t involve technology. Preferably one that forces you to be outside and social in nature. And preferably one that forces you to be outside and in reflective solitude by nature (see #6).

6. Practice solitude. Learn to turn off the internet. Learn to turn off the music. Pick up a book. Take a walk. Go kayaking. Sit on your porch or deck. Learn to BE without relying on a soundtrack in the background or a screensaver drawing your attention back to the monitor.

7. Leave your laptop at home. Whatever it is that you think is so important will probably still be there when you get home. No need to carry it with you to work. To your friends. To your parents.

8. Get rid of any stat counters or other analytics that you use to track your blog or podcast. Get back to writing for the art and therapy of writing. Not for a magic number that strokes your ego.

9. Think before you write. Don’t regurgitate. If you are going to speak, say something that hasn’t been said before. Or at the very least builds off of a previous thought. Keep the momentum moving forward. I know blogs are personal so there is nothing wrong with sharing what’s going on in your family life as a way of communicating to close friends and family. But if you’re going to be personal when you blog, keep some perspective that your family doesn’t care about what you ate or what you are currently doing every 10 seconds (cough, cough Twitter). And if you are going to be serious when you blog, be original and thoughtful. It’s time to clean up the blog-o-sphere for all the rubbish that is piling up.

10. Remember technology is a means to an end and not an ends in and of itself. Remember what technology was created for. Keep it utilitarian in nature as opposed to pure entertainment. There are probably healthier more helpful ways to be entertained.

11. When you are around your “emergent-y” friends, find things to talk about besides theology or church or the latest book (see #12).

12. Quit reading theology books. Reality is you’re probably not going to read anything that you don’t already agree with. You’re just going to be reading for more ammunition to make your points on your blog or in your “conversations”. If you’re going to read, read something that you know nothing about.

13. Think and talk locally. Quit talking globally. If you’re going to blog (see #9), blog about ideas or thing that you’re practicing locally. Or conversations that you’re having locally. Quit bitching and/or dreaming about the entire globe. Think locally. Talk locally. Act locally. Save the globe for another day.

Covers Vol 4: Sunday Morning

I realize I'm a day late on a great pun with these, but better late than never I say...

The Original
Performed by The Velvet Underground and Nico
1967



The Cover
Performed by Record Club
(Beck,Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker, Brian Lebarton, Bram Inscore, Yo, Giovanni Ribisi, Chris Holmes, and from Iceland, special guest Thorunn Magnusdottir)
2009

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico 'Sunday Morning' from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Mid-Move

It's been three nights of moving for us and we've only got books, cd's, food and a few odds and ends left at the old place now...

Expect me back online and in the groove once when we're out of the boxes.