Roundup From Around The Blogs

We Need To Re-Think– Brilliant “presentation” on the changing role of text in a digital age – Web 2.0, mashups, authorship, content and creativity. “Teaching the machine” – very provocative.

Cocreation – A New Path to the Bottom of the Pyramid – C.K. Prahalad is one of the most important thinkers today. Co-Creation is the latest stage in his thinking and it’s a powerful vision for dealing with global poverty.

The Jack T. Chick Documentary – Apparently Scoobie Davis is, in all seriousness, working on a documentary about the legendary and reclusive Jack Chick, of Chick Tracts fame. Those little booklets had a complex and long-lasting relationship with my faith jounrey, so I’ll be every keen to see the documentary when it coems out.

The Sorry Affair – John Smulo has compiled a powerful list of apologies from Christians on behalf of themselves and their communities. This is exactly the kind of humility we need to foster.

On The Inheritance Of Loss – Highlights not only the issues in contemporary fiction, but the problems faced by anyone who wants to make a meaningful critique regarding Indian Culture and Media. Also, brought to my attention the phrase “pallative fiction,” which I’m sure to use again and again.

On Faith-Based Scientology – Case study in the problems with government funding for faith-based programmes.

Five Media-Savvy Strategies for Peacemakers – Follow the link to some highlights from Scott Appleby’s keynote address at the 2006 Fundamentalism and the Media conference. Revealing and suggestive analysis.

Re-Writing History – Excellent comment on the current science versus religion debate. Highlights how facile it is to suggest that modern Science owes nothing to religious traditions.

Michael Duffy on Australia Legalism – Somewhat harsh quote from the SMH writer. However, it highlights a paradox at the heart of Australian culture.

Follow the Yellow Arrows: An Interview with Michael Counts Part One and Part Two – The nature of advertising, the relationship between media and reality, the urban context – these two interviews cover a wide range of important topics.

Get More Done By Starting Earlier And Going Home On Time via LifeHacker – I’ve been struggling for six months now with completing daily writing and music projects. It’s fair to say that stress levelsgo up around 5-6pm as I realise I either need to work into the night, or face an incomplete. The answer (for a night owl like me) is simple and painful – get more done before 9am!

Why I Decided NOT To Critique The Emerging Church – Thoughtful post not just on witholding critque, but on the blurring of the edge between the “emerging church” and the conventional church. In my own thinking I’m also becoming less concerned about the emerging church category and more than a little weary of the scathing anti-traditional rants (that often feel like they are fuelled by resentment).

[tags] Productivity, Missional, Digital Ethnography, Media, Science, Poverty [/tags]