Free Reads! MLK Day Edition

There has been a lot of talk about what words we’re allowed to use these days. My two cents: “You are an ignorant imbecile if you say ‘Negro.’” You can’t mix God and politics – it inevitably makes God a pawn for whatever side you’re on. Jesus had no political ambitions. Focus on the Family however, with the unleashing of their 20-something social media expert, that’s another story. Google to China: “Fightme!” With all that’s going on in the world (Haiti) it’s time for U.S. multinationals to reexamine their relationships with host countries and do good by the people and resources they use. Speaking of China, my oldest friend Jens is there with his wife Kimberly to bring home their new daughter SuLe. A new magalog Sustainable Traditions is a kind of clearinghouse for new ideas and expressions of christianity. Finally i’m still rubbing my eyes over The Third and the Seventh, a one-man, all-CG piece that has to be seen to be believed (full screen it). I leave you with this song honouring Martin Luther King, Jr. from the archives of 90s christian rap (karl will appreciate it):
January 15th – Freedom of Soul

Shake the Dust

Two-time national slam poet champion Anis Mojgani performs “Shake the Dust” during To Write Love on Her Arms HEAVY AND LIGHT benefit.

What is slam poetry? A poet performs a poem for a live audience – a poem which is written to be heard aloud as opposed to read. It’s not hiphop (though it could be), it’s not angry screaming (though it could be), it’s just out-loud competitive performance poetry. Poets are judged and scored. More info at poetryslam.com. Still Waters Collective in Milwaukee is a local slam poetry resource.

“And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” – Mark 6.11

Free Reads: 01/10/10, Binary 26 Edition

What? We’re not in a new decade yet? December 2010 ends the 3rd phase of a decade of research at the National Study of Youth and Religion. A lot of really interesting preliminary findings available to sift through here. The Arts Council of England is funding this inspiring app that i’d love to copy/paste. And maybe OpenLayers will let me do it. Plus, did you know you can order replacement parts for most board games and toys? What’s stopping you from building lite-brite furniture now? An inexplicable viewpoint from subdivision planner Rick Harrison (from a Milwaukee Journal piece): “People don’t want to walk five minutes to a park,” said Harrison. “They want to see it outside their window. And they don’t want to see their neighbors and they don’t want to sit on their porch all day.” He calls it “Prefurbia“. Developing new suburbs and exurbs, no matter how “sustainable” we make them, seems like a bad idea to me. State capitalism: the worst of all worlds? And is the Fox News broadcast really the best place to evangelize Tiger Woods? The row over Allah continues: Muslim groups in Malaysia protesting use of the word Allah firebomb christian churches. Still seems like a non-issue: it’s a pre-islamic arabic word that means “the one God”. Case closed? As always, drop your related comments or links below.

Free Reads: 2010, New Year’s Edition

What does it mean to be awesome? “When I think of awesomeness, I want something awe-inspiring, vast and mind-expanding.” A New Theory of Awesomeness and Miracles is awesome. Ends with a thought experiment on building a Go engine out of matchboxes and beads. What is Go? (I googled it for you.) Why here’s a Google map of Scary London from One Grey Eye, a 21st century penny dreadful. And Google Street View artist Jon Rafman has combed through thousands and thousands of images to create his gallery: “Street View [is like an] indifferent universe that doesn’t much care about the human’s [sic] inside it.” True story. Amazing aerial views of Detroit as it is being reclaimed by nature, urban farmers and artists. Salvo Mag take aim at “believing” in Santa Clause. Is the Tate going soft? Stuckists to Conceptualists: “Fightme!” Reminds me of my brief on Art and Moral Chaos. (yes, i referenced myself) Make your own Artistic License with this customizable web app and become whatever kind of artist you want – legally. Slow down this year: Slow Art, Slow Food, Slow Living, Slow Money, Slow Education, Slow Parenting, Slow Cities, Slow Travel; Slow is the new Punk. See you next week!

Free Reads: 12/26, Boxing Day Edition

“Hey Dan,” people keep saying “what ever happened to ‘Free Reads?’” Well faithful readers, I’ve decided to bring back this roughly compiled snapshot of internet artifacts. Unsorted, many-splendored and with as little commentary as possible i bring you the best of what’s interesting. Feel free to comment on any of these links or add something related of your own. True story: in high school there was a cart of discarded books in the cafeteria with a hand-lettered sign proclaiming “Free Reads!”. I never saw anyone take a book from there.

First: What is Boxing Day? Do you “celebrate it”? Hope you bought local for xmas this year. I did, but i also didn’t, so i’m a jerk. Find a local business group like Our Milwaukee in your area and figure out how you can be a more community-oriented consumer in the next decade. Speaking of local, Atomic Records returns from the grave in t-shirt form (get a free sticker with every order!). Also absurdist literature stimulates our brains (what’s the difference between absurdist and surrealist?). R. Crumb illustrates a non-sardonic version of Genesis (i had to look it up too: “disdainfully or ironically humorous”). In related news The Mountain Goats walk through the bible in their 2009 release The Life of the World to Come, and as we wait patiently for Petra’s Rock Band release, we contemplate the place religion plays in video games (hint: not much unless you’re killing “demons”). In other christmas news we tried to make some new stuff this year – like modified books. I spent $12 at the goodwill and came away with some real treasures, including an original printing of The Space Child’s Mother Goose, which has the best cover ever (seen here) and some truly bizarre content. Also Frank Schaeffer gets all up in the dispensational grill of Tim LaHaye in his new book, and The Economist takes Karen Armstrong, the original Freelance Monotheist, to task for her new book. Karen Armstrong herself delivers a skeptical Christmas message with a heart of gold at the L.A. Times. Finally “Was Jesus Rich?” the prosperity theologians would like you to say “yes, please”.