That’s what I’d call a party featuring this A Capella group. Voca. What you are about to see (assuming you watch the video) is produced solely using the voice. Robyn tells me it’s old. But it’s still impressive.
Category: Culture
OCC Episode 5
The fifth, and penultimate, episode of the cynical and unacclaimed Christian drama/parody/soap opera.
The ultimate episode is on the DVD and still to be ripped and uploaded. This may take me some time. But in the mean time, enjoy. May contain art rock… and Coldplay… in this one you’ve pretty much got to ignore the video – it’s about ten seconds out…
What if Star Wars was a TV Serial?
I’m using the fact that Robyn is writing school reports to do some spring cleaning of the “starred items” in Google Reader – which I basically use as a queue of things to post here… there were things from a couple of months ago waiting to see the light of day – including this Macgyveresque Star Wars TV serial intro… You’ll understand if you watch it. I got it from Ben at bathgates.net – which is truly one of my favourite blogs. It’s scope is pretty much as broad as mine so it makes me feel less eclectic.
The O’Riley Factor
Christopher O’Riley is a modern day renaissance man. If you believe the hype on his personal website – he’s a TV and Radio personality and classically trained pianist.
One of my colleagues lent me “True Love Waits” an O’Riley collection of Radiohead songs played on piano. It is most excellent. Here are a couple of samples from YouTube. Karma Police starts at about the one minute mark,
This one just has the album cover rather than him actually playing the song…
OCC Episode 4
Because I’m a day behind I figure I can post two videos at once – plus, it’s not really cheating in the blog off because the blog off appears to be off. Simone pulled out.
Are we still on Ben?
OCC Episode 3
I’m a day behind on these – and I’ve also realised that the program I used to convert them from hi-def quicktime files to YouTubeable files has not only messed up the audio – but cropped the last few seconds of sound… One day I’ll fix that. But for now. I give you. The OCC. Episode Three.
In the city
The 9Marks website has a great article on this whole “the city is where it’s at” “theology” that’s sweeping through city churches (and church planters) at the moment with nary a thought for those poor country cousins.
While I love and appreciate cities for all their goodness, and have lived in cities (excluding Townsville – which is regional) for just under half my life, I also think healthy, wholesome country towns are the lifeblood of the church and are often neglected.
A big part of my professional life involves helping the push for a regional area in Queensland to get appropriate per capita (and per revenue raised) government investment into infrastructure. It’s an eternal frustration. There are few votes in pleasing the country areas – so we’re the poor second or third cousins when it comes to government priorities.
There’s a real danger that the church ends up looking the same. It takes courage for a city raised ministry candidate to move to the boondocks. There’s no (real) program for sending graduates into rural service like there is for other vital professions (school teaching etc). City churches are too keen to snap up graduates for their vibrant and exciting “city” ministry.
And of course, as some good friends would itch to point out, these city churches could telecast their services into regional areas as a pragmatic solution.
There’s a lot to be said for feet on the ground ministry that’s engaged in community life – particularly when community life tends to be stronger the smaller the community (this is a generalisation based purely on my experience living centres with populations of 5 million, 3 million, 170,000 and 6,000). The opportunities for ministry are greater with greater natural community – but the opportunities for exciting ministry programs and huge growth decrease with the size of community.
So good on the 9Marks guys for pointing out this flawed hermeneutic (and particularly flawed Biblical proof texting) of city based ministry. It’s one of the few problems I have with the Mars Hill fan club. And in fact any city centric thinking.
OCC Episode 2
I was asked in the last post whether I was aware the audio was so out of sync – no, I wasn’t. But I don’t think it makes much difference given the production values are what they are…
Also, I make no apologies for the terrible voice overs – we were on a budget.
YouTube Toosday: Wiilax
Perhaps inspired by the “bed goes up, bed goes down” hospital bed – this beanbag is controlled by the whimsical waving of a wiimote. Here’s the original concept drawing…
Beautiful. Applied science. The laziest piece of furniture evolution ever. Amazing.
And you can make your own – thanks to Make Magazine.
The designers called it “the Beancat”…
“The Beancat is an all-wheel drive, battery powered bean bag chair, controlled by a Wii nunchuk. Getting a drink from the fridge has never been so much fun. The low profile drive, frame and controlling hardware are completely concealed so at first glance it’s just a simple bean bag.”
Here’s how you can make your own – complete with detailed diagrams.
YouTube Tuesday: The OCC Episode 1
A few years ago two jaded young Christian males (myself included) sat down to write a highly cynical depiction of Christian dating in the context of Christian camps. It was called “The OCC” – the Obligatory Camp Crush. It’s now on YouTube. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in a sick day. I’ll be putting them up in a serial fashion – probably daily. But if you’re the impatient type feel free to head on over to YouTube and check them all out.
I don’t know about you – but I reckon it stands the test of time. Despite the obvious Queensland in jokes. It is set at an Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) Mid Year Camp (MYC) – camps famous for bringing students from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the University of Queensland (UQ) together.
There was an epilogue of sorts that I’ll need to track down, and a trailer produced using Lego that I similarly don’t have on hand.
This was an “Everybody’s Second Favourite Segment” production by Phil Enchelmaier and myself. Stay tuned for more such awesomeness from our past…
Stable mates
Gordon Ramsay made a bit of a splash by insulting his Channel Nine compatriot Tracy Grimshaw. This can go one of two ways – the “all publicity is good publicity” way will keep him in the public eye and generate some buzz for his new restaurant – he can appear to be bravely raging against the network machine, or, he gets hammered by the press, loses his slots on Channel Nine, his restaurant fails and his star fades. So far it’s looking like heading down the latter path.
It was either a gross tactical error or the start of a Symondesque piece of career sabotage.
What he said wasn’t nice. It was a purile bid for some “sensational” media coverage. He’s gone the way of the Chaser, and thus been “unfanned” on my Facebook profile.
Picking on your colleagues at a television network is an odd move. But, and I’m not in anyway condoning the treatment Grimshaw received, she’d be hypocritical to make that point after her editorialising the Matthew Johns saga the way she did. There are no doubt some Matthew Johns fans feeling pretty smug today.
I saw Ramsay on the Today Show on Friday morning and he was pretty rude there too, perhaps he’s sick of the constant cross promotion he’s been forced to do on his tour.
What the Cronulla Sharks teach us about the News Cycle
The Cronulla saga is dragging on and on. The media are having a field day with the club and in one way or another the focus on the club’s on and off field discretions (and its culture) has claimed some pretty major scalps, including:
- Matthew Johns, high profile media star and former player
- Chairman Barry Pierce
- CEO Frank Zappia
- Captain Paul Gallen (lost the captaincy but is still playing)
- Greg Bird
- New signing (and drug taker) Reni Maitua
I wouldn’t be surprised if it now claims Ricky Stuart as well… his team isn’t performing, he was sacked as Australian coach for his tirade against a referee, and he’s now been embroiled in this whole CEO scandal.
The Sharks need a change of culture pretty quickly in order to save the club – and part of the cultural problem is a problem endemic in club sports – where mateship rules and indiscretions are swept under the carpet.
There have been a number of different scandals that have almost damaged the Sharks brand beyond repair. In fact, it may well be past the point of no return. The scandals came at a time when the club was already in dire financial straits – they’re in debt, they’re looking to sell or get the NRL’s blessing to relocate, since the Johns scandal they’ve been hemorrhaging sponsors – with their primary sponsor also pulling the pin.
They’ve been caught up in immorality, racism, violent assault and drug taking. And the media is loving it. The Sharks are buried in a quagmire of bad publicity – which is a PR nightmare (or opportunity if you like Crisis Management). And it’s been pretty poorly handled all round. The board has failed, the CEO has failed, the Shark’s PR girl is one of their main accusors, only the NRL and the NRL’s predominant media partner have come out of it in improved positions.
The NRL has taken a pretty down the line, hardline, stance – calling for cultural change and including to back its associated club. David Gallop has had far too much practice in this sort of situation to do anything less than a good job.
Nine has put Matthew Johns through the ringer (gaining great ratings in doing so) and managed to both distance themselves (through his sacking), show empathy (through Phil Gould’s tears on the Footy Show), and they’ve left the door slightly ajar for Johns with the Sam Newman precedent… they’ve also changed the content of the Footy Show – and made it less offensively boorish and more about the game.
In a couple of cases – particularly with Matthew Johns and Frank Zappia – there has been a clear instance of media manipulation as their respective PR people try to turn the tide – discrediting whoever has made the claim against them… in both cases women, and in both cases about inappropriate treatment of women.
The Sharks have an endemic cultural problem – but that’s an altogether different topic. But they have also failed grossly in managing and protecting their brand. When the accusations first came to light they should have immediately stood down their board and elected fresh faces (which they tried to do but this was politically circumvented by the current board), sacked the CEO, and started a massive proactive “cultural clean up” – instead they’ve, to steal a mafia term, “gone to the mattresses” – they’re trying to fight it out, while hiding. The Chairman was re-elected unopposed at a board meeting, the CEO was given support despite obviously financially mismanaging the club – and not taking appropriate action regarding the culture. And they’re paying for it – because the net effect of taking these steps has now been realised – but it wasn’t voluntary. And it looks like the media has forced their hand.
They’ve also tried to play the media outlets against one another – which is never a good move. Fairfax blasted them for allegedly engaging in a number of immoral practices to essentially keep the players happy – and they ran to News Ltd to publish a counter story – now their ex-PR representative says the stories were true. News Ltd now has egg on its face. When managing a crisis you should never, ever, lie. It is, if there is a worst time to do it, the worst time to do it.
After Matthew Johns was brought to tears and the point of collapse on A Current Affair stories started to circulate from “unnamed friends” of “Clare” that she had in fact spent the weeks following the incident bragging about her conquest. Stories that began to paint Johns in a new, less guilty light. Here are two stories from the opposite ends of the media spectrum (ABC and Fox Sports) released within an hour of each other… notice the similarity in the headlines:
- Johns’ woman ‘bragged’ about group sex
…of the Cronulla Sharks sex scandal involving Matthew Johns claims her co-worker bragged about the incident. From FOXSPORTS.com.au | Rugby League – 15/05/2009 8:48 AM - Woman ‘bragged’ about NRL group sex
The woman at the centre of the Sharks group sex scandal experienced “no trauma”, a former colleague says.
From (ABC Sport) – 14/05/2009 7:06 PM
Now, after Frank Zappia stands down, we see a story aiming to discredit the key witness in his prosecution. A girl he allegedly punched in the face and then suggested receiving a “spanking” as appropriate recompense. She apparently signed a document clearing him of wrongdoing. The woman at the centre of the claim is on the record as wanting to keep her job – despite the incident. This couldn’t be a factor? She’s also got that pesky audio recording that would seem to suggest the wrongdoing occurred – despite what a signed, written report might say. Channel 7 is having a field day with that exclusive.
The best PR, if you’re guilty, is to fall on your sword with grace and aplomb. Not to go down fighting. That drags your brand down with you. None of the men involved are bigger than the club they represent – and none of them are acting as representatives by staying on. They can’t fix the problem when they are the problem. There’s a precedent here too. The Bulldogs have essentially resurrected their brand (and their performances on the field) following a similar cultural cleanout – that encompassed both playing personnel and backroom staff. Their fullback Luke Patten had some wise words for the Sharks to consider…
“I guess the club just made some tough decisions.”
“Anyone that was stuffing up, they got rid of them and they brought (CEO) Todd Greenberg in and he just made decision after decision really – new coach, all new staff, new players and with that everything’s changed.”
“There’s a new attitude and everyone’s working really hard for that and maybe the Sharks, that is something they can look at.”
Extreme Segway
Segways are our future. So it’s great to know that in the future there’ll still be something like Motocross for bogans to enjoy.
Speaking of Motocross reminds me of an old motorbike racing game Paul (best man at my wedding – currently in South America and occasional reader) and I bought once where you could design your own awesome tracks and win money to upgrade your bikes… it was awesome.
Anyway, I found this at Gizmodo.
Crunch decision
There are dumb lawsuits and then there’s this law suit…
On May 21, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed a complaint filed by a woman who said she had purchased “Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries” because she believed “crunchberries” were real fruit. The plaintiff, Janine Sugawara, alleged that she had only recently learned to her dismay that said “berries” were in fact simply brightly-colored cereal balls, and that although the product did contain some strawberry fruit concentrate, it was not otherwise redeemed by fruit. “
It would seem there’s a legal precedent with a case involving “Froot Loops”…
The judge put the plaintiff in her place:
This Court is not aware of, nor has Plaintiff alleged the existence of, any actual fruit referred to as a “crunchberry.” Furthermore, the “Crunchberries” depicted on the [box] are round, crunchy, brightly-colored cereal balls, and the [box] clearly states both that the Product contains “sweetened corn & oat cereal” and that the cereal is “enlarged to show texture.”
Crap Sound 2
Wow. So I stirred up a hornets nest of angry female commenters (and one male), eager to defend U2’s honour.
And I regret nothing.
I thought about it, and for a while I decided that I was being harsh, that it’s wrong to judge people on the basis of their musical taste. But then I decided that’s exactly what I do. I am unapologetically prejudiced when it comes to Music. That’s why I own a T-Shirt that says “I hate the bands you like” and another that says “you have bad taste in music”… In fact. If you like U2 you should go to this site. Consider it an online support group.
I measure people – and how much I have in common with them – by what’s on their CD shelf, iPod, DVD rack or book shelf. And why shouldn’t I. You no doubt judge me on things equally superficial.
Will I not love you on that basis? No. Robyn had some Christian music CDs when we started dating – and some equally embarrassing music, and I have the Backstreet Boys as a musical skeleton in my closet. I still love her (and she me), though we disagree.
For those not reading the comments here’s some of what went down (well, what I said… other people can make their own points known in the comments – or on their own blogs)…
“Understanding that something is a subjective taste should not stop me objecting to the subjective taste of others.
I don’t like modern fashion – should I not be allowed to voice my opinion on that? Besides, I see providing all these alternative bands as a public service to my readers.
I wonder too, if the label “alternative” could just be applied to “those bands not trying to be U2″.”
Here are the things I’ve actually said about U2 (in the comments on other posts):
- “If you listen to U2 your musical taste is boring and your (clef) palate undefined.”
- “This article pretty much sums up why I don’t like U2 ”
- “They’re also not very good. Musically or lyrically. In my opinion. They are champions of inoffensive blandness.”
- “I’m happy for you to like U2. I’m sure you have reasons. I don’t like U2.”
- “It’s where I write my opinion. On things. Like U2. And how they should retire. They used to be cool. Now they’re old men. ”
- “I wonder too, if the label “alternative” could just be applied to “those bands not trying to be U2″.”
- “Why listen to one band that tries to appeal to every aspect of musicallity and becomes middle of the road when you can embrace diversity which lets you appreciate the whole road, bit by bit?”
- “There’s six bands in a list of five bands that I find more sonically pleasurable than U2″
- “Bono’s public Christianity makes him a bit of a sacred cow. But I don’t like to criticise things without offering solutions here are 5 bands that are better than U2. In my opinion”