this is the video i used sunday at tapestry to talk a little about all that happened over the summer within tapestry AND my hope that the fall will be even better. honestly, it is not one of the best videos i’ve ever made but it did make my kids smile when i sang “ole” and i got a 6 mile run out of it.
Beloit College Class of 2013 Mindset
Just saw this. It is the annual Beloit College "mindset" release. Here it is in full.
(The Beloit College Mindset Lists for previous years are available at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/ . The current list and a webcast interview with the authors will be posted there at 12:01 a.m.on August 18.)
BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES MINDSET LIST FOR THE CLASS OF 2013
Beloit, Wis. — If the entering college class of 2013 had been more alert back in 1991 when most of them were born, they would now be experiencing a severe case of déjà vu. The headlines that year railed about government interventions, bailouts, bad loans, unemployment and greater regulation of the finance industry. The Tonight Show changed hosts for the first time in decades, and the nation asked "was Iraq worth a war?"
Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Emeritus Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. It is used around the world as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation. It is widely reprinted and the Mindset List website at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/ receives more than 300,000 hits annually.
As millions of students head off to college this fall, most will continue to experience the economic anxiety that marked their first two years of life just as it has marked their last two years of high school. Fears of the middle class–including their parents–about retirement and health care have been a part of their lives. Now however, they can turn to technology and text a friend: "Momdad still worried bout stocks. urs 2? PAW PCM".
Members of the class of 2013 won’t be surprised when they can charge a latté on their cell phone and curl up in the corner to read a textbook on an electronic screen. The migration of once independent media–radio, TV, videos and CDs–to the computer has never amazed them. They have grown up in a politically correct universe in which multi-culturalism has been a given. It is a world organized around globalization, with McDonald’s everywhere on the planet. Carter and Reagan are as distant to them as Truman and Eisenhower were to their parents. Tattoos, once thought "lower class," are, to them, quite chic. Everybody knows the news before the evening news comes on.
Thus the class of 2013 heads off to college as tolerant, global, and technologically hip…and with another new host of The Tonight Show.
###
The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2013
Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991.
1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.
2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.
6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.
7. Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.
9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.
10. Rap music has always been main stream.
11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.
13. The KGB has never officially existed.
14. Text has always been hyper.
15. They never saw the "Scud Stud" (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.)
16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
17. They have never had to "shake down" an oral thermometer.
18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.
20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.
21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.
22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods.
23. The European Union has always existed.
24. McDonald’s has always been serving Happy Meals in China.
25. Condoms have always been advertised on television.
26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.
27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.
29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.
31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
32. The nation’s key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.
34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.
36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.
38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.
39. It’s always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.
40. Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented.
41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.
42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.
43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.
44. There have always been flat screen televisions.
45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix.
46. Disney’s Fantasia has always been available on video, and It’s a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.
47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.
49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
52. They have never been Saved by the Bell
53. Someone has always been asking: "Was Iraq worth a war?"
54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.
55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.
57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.
58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.
59. For one reason or another, California’s future has always been in doubt.
60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.
61. "Womyn" and "waitperson" have always been in the dictionary.
62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.
63. There has alway
s been a computer in the Oval Office.64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.
65. Avon has always been "calling" in a catalog.
66. NATO has always been looking for a role.
67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.
68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.
69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.
70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.
72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
73. Nobody has ever responded to "Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up."
74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.
75. There has always been blue Jell-O.
simple answers can be real powerful
i haven’t read any of john goldingay’s works and had not heard of him before watching the above short video. yet his quick, concise answers to three questions is enough for me to want to read some of his work. i specifically love his answer to “what is your strategy for love?” answer – “to do it.”
you could be a winner
i started smiling 10 seconds in
since i’m posting videos that make me laugh i should probably post this hammer time video by a&e also. it’s a promo and therefore not as much fun but i still would have loved to have been in the store when it happened.
SIDE NOTE – thanks to brad’s comment concerning the type on the door hangers i got adam, a graphic designer who is a part of tapestry, to walk me through improving the door hangers’ type. here are the new ones.
i love watching this
two things that i love watching:
- several different “threads” doing incredibly significant acts of love and service that they noticed on their own. i can’t tell you the specifics but i can say they are just plain cool. i love being a part of this church.
- will ferrell on “man vs. wild” – that was funny t.v.
SIDE NOTE – i had the greatest conversation with jessica lawrence, a co-worker/laborer from baton rouge, today. she and matt are simply amazing people.
not a sport for me
i could never do this because, as anyone who knows me can tell you, i have really weak shins. it’s a curse.
SIDE NOTE – i promise that i actually know when my dad’s birthday is.
a couple of years ago i went through two years of forgetting to call my parent’s on their birthdays. it was awful. i felt absolutely terrible. i know when their birthdays are but for some reason i forgot to call on two occasions. i like to blame it on all the junk that was going on at my former church/work but the truth is it was my fault. my parents deserve better than that. that’s why i put my parents’ birthdays on my google calendar and set google calendar to send me a text message reminder before each birthday. i received the reminder for dad’s birthday last night and since i usually receive these text message reminders one day before an event i immediately posted something on my blog and called mom and dad’s house to leave a message on their voice mail. i’m not sure how i started thinking it was june 5th. my mom even emailed me saying “your dad’s birthday is on june 5th.” for some reason i just thought mom was just sending kenny (my brother) and i a reminder of dad’s birthday. i actually mentally congratulated myself for beating my mom to the punch. it wasn’t until around lunch that i finally realized that it is may 29th and not june 5th. stupid! that’s what they call me.
anyhow, my dad’s birthday is on june 5th if you want to wish him happy birthday on the right date.
current reading
for some reason my “now reading” plugin is no longer working with my wordpress install. therefore i’ll just post about what i am reading until i find a plugin that works for me (if you have a recommendation i’ll gladly take it). so here goes the recent and current ones:
- “surprised by hope” by n.t. wright – i love n.t. wright’s way of thinking about things. this work is a great way of refocusing CHRISTians on the resurrection or as wright puts it “life after, life after death. wright does a great job of explaining why the resurrection should direct who CHRISTians are in the present age. “surprised” was so good that i’ll probably read wright’s “the resurrection of the SON of GOD” even though it is a mammoth book.
- “the brief and frightening reign of phil” by george saunders – a quick and fun read. very kurt vonnegut-esque. an interesting parable of how fear can be used to manipulate people into doing things they would never normally agree to.
- “JESUS for president” by shane claiborne & chris haw- i finished this book 11 days short of a year but it didn’t take that long because of it being boring. it was quite good. the design and typography is unlike much i’ve seen (reminded me of “house of leaves“). absolutely amazing book on living in the kingdom versus living in the empire. “J4p” is claiborne’s most blatant and powerful argument yet for CHRISTian pacifism. i think my favorite part is claiborne’s discussion concerning “building the kingdom.” you’ll hear this phrase around many different ministries. it’s pretty egotistical to think that we can “build the kingdom” for GOD. we get to work “with” HIM as HE establishes HIS kingdom, we don’t build it for HIM.
- currently reading – “omnivore’s dilemma” – i’m 3/4’s through and i think this will be one of those books that changes the way i live. “the jungle” started freaking me out concerning “industrialized meat” and this book has pushed me even further down this path. pam and i have already discussed moving towards grass fed beef and chicken and now thanks to michael pollan we are going to start making the jump. don’t worry mom and dad we aren’t becoming hippies and joining a commune – yet. 🙂
- currently reading – “pagan CHRISTianity: exploring the roots of our church practices” by frank viola and george barna – i’m probably 1/3 through this book. not sure how i feel about it yet. i think viola and barna raise some reall good and important points but make some very dubious assumptions concerning those points. in particular i think they often confuse extra-biblical with unbiblical. i’m not far enough into the book yet to really make a good call on the book so we’ll see what happens as i get further into it.
i should finish the “omnivore’s dilemma” tomorrow or thursday and then will start reading shane hipps’ “flickering pixels: how technology shapes your faith.” i really enjoyed what hipps said at Q so i am pretty excited about reading this.
SIDE NOTE – i watched “taken” with the boys tonight and my word! it’s an awesome action flick. interesting story and tons of action.
SIDE SIDE NOTE – the nba playoffs are amazing this year.
my dirty little secret
i am ashamed to admit this but i actually like watching “the real housewives of new york.” i know. just when you thought you couldn’t think any lower of me i have to go and admit something that lowers your opinion of me even more. it’s a dumb show and i know it. there is nothing redeeming about it. if i were a woman i would hate this show with a passion because these women are not good examples for the gender. they are shallow and pathetic and worse than just being shallow and pathetic is the fact that they actually think they are deep and imitation worthy. that’s why it’s like watching a good comedy for me. i sit there thinking “no! really no! nobody is that dumb and self-centred.” that’s what i think but every time those ladies prove me wrong – they really are that shallow. it’s actually kind of sad and and what is sadder is that i am drawn to watch it hoping that somewhere in the show they are going to turn to the camera and wink in an attempt to say “don’t worry, we’re just pretending for the show.” they haven’t done this yet. this makes me even more pathetic than these ladies … which is really hard to do.
please don’t think too much less of me.
resurrection continues
yesterday i tweeted that i was at the hope center painting with a wonderful group of threads (aka people from tapestry). a friend from nobts tweeted back that tapestry sounds like a really cool group. it makes me proud to be associated with them. i was proud before my friend pointed out how cool all the threads are but it’s nice to know that other people recognize it too. anyhow we finished another room at the hope center and a 6th room is now just in need of touch up work. woohoo!
SIDE NOTE – tuesday we did our “film & theology” thing. as a part of it we had screens on the side of the movie screen that displayed the tweets of the people there. it was kind of cool and more people have expressed interest in doing it the next time we do a “film & theology” thing. i liked it so much that i am going to try it a tapestry gathering some time in the near future. as a part of the prep for the night i posted on a couple of blogs. one of those blogs belongs to john volez. through a timelines that i don’t know john was contacted a reporter for time, interviewed, and then asked for other people who had contacted him. that’s how i ended up being contacted and interviewed last night. apparently the article will be on time.com sometime in the near future. i find this all pretty weird but funny also.