January 2005 Archives

There's likely to be much debate in the coming days (on U2 email lists, if nowhere else) on how ticketmaster could more effectively handle hugely popular ticket sales without more debacles like Saturday's (we didn't get tickets, btw, despite having 4 browsers across 2 computers searching for close to an hour). In the quest to find an email address for the CEO of Ticketmaster.com in order to register my disgust, I found myself thinking quite a lot about the inadequacies of that service.

It's not just their lousy HTML (surely server load could be reduced with judicious use of CSS) or the massive accessibility issues (as documented in the excellent Defensive Design for the Web) that I kept coming back to, but the serious lack of imagination they've shown. I've entirely lost track of the number of emails from Ticketmaster that I've deleted because they weren't customised to the sorts of acts I search for on that site. By contrast I've learned of a number of albums I wouldn't otherwise have known about thanks to Amazon's recommendations system.

If someone were to break the monopoly that Ticketmaster holds in the US, it'd be great if they could build a site around the notion that music is a social undertaking. They could begin by noting which acts people buy tickets for and who they search for, building recommendations based on matching that with the geographical data they'll already gather. I'm far more interested in the U2 show in Chicago that they didn't tell me about, than seeing Cher in Kalamazoo, and that shouldn't be hard to work out.

But what I'd really enjoy would be if they began to look at services like audioscrobbler and built not just their recommendations, but their queueing system on that. How much I listen to a given artist is probably a pretty good indication of my interest in them. At any rate, it's one of the best measures we have. So given some idea of a person's commitment, and combining it with knowledge of where they live, you could begin to build a fairer way of distributing tickets than 'who has the most computers to hand?' or 'who has friends who work at ticketmaster?'

Then, of course, you could add more 'social' options. Build up a 'friend of friends' system (perhaps using FOAF) and you could make your queue more sophisticated by including the possibility that people might want to take in the show while visiting family or friends. And if the show sells out and people legitimately end up with spare tickets, there could be a simple way for them to sell those spare tickets on to people based on their position in that friends' network, or perhaps some other 'reputation management' system?

It'd be a huge undertaking to begin to rebuild online ticket sales, but a lot of people would be very grateful.

Tags: u2 ticketmaster audioscrobbler foaf music ticketing

It can sometimes be tempting to believe that receiving a 'cease and desist' is a rite of passage for bloggers. If it is, then mine came today as Brian Mayes made a claim that I have been making false statements (apparently Christian Music Makeover is not controversial in the slightest) and threatened to contact his lawyer should I "continue to make false statements, slanderous comments or personal
attacks." Make of that what you will.

For quite some time I've pulled away from the bizarre world of "Contemporary Christian Music." Having spent a lot of time writing increasingly critical reviews of much of the dross released through that industry I got burned out and pulled away almost completely. But of late I've been reading a few more news sources from that world and as anyone who reads this blog will know, ranting at length about some of its more distasteful initiatives.

Since writing my entries about Christian Music Makeover I've emailed the editors of a number of CCM news websites to ask if they'd consider adding a note about the entries when they run stories on CMM and this week one of them said she thought such conversations should remain private and copied their reply to Brian Mayes, who accused me of using his campaign for my own publicity. I replied and told him that I was sending these emails because I consider the CCM industry to be theologically bankrupt. Too much that is dreadful is allowed to pass in that ghetto because its not politically correct to criticise, and because those of us who would offer critique find much more worthwhile uses of our time looking elsewhere.

As I've reflected on these emails and the existence of CCM I've come to realise that it may just be worth caring about. In many ways the cultural arbiters of CCM share a lot of ground with the gatekeepers of evangelicalism. Those who would argue that Christians should use their money to buy propaganda posing as sub-standard music often overlap with those who would argue that to be a Christian means to vote however James Dobson tells you. And the same lack of critique, retreat from debate, and genuflecting to a set of assumptions that allows people to buy this dross, gently supports an uncritical acceptance that God takes partisan sides.

So I'm wondering whether there's cause for a sustained critique of CCM? One that engages with what's happening in that space and constantly asks questions. One that hopes that by opening up questions of any sort people can be spurred into asking questions of all sorts. Is there any space for such a critique? Is there any chance that it might have an impact?

Tags: CCM conservatism

I was very pleased a couple of months ago when I was told that Wealthy Street Bakery had finally switched on their wireless router. Wealthy Street serve the best sandwiches in Grand Rapids, along with a range of great sweet foods. But somehow we've never had occasion to stop here for any length of time since then so I hadn't been able to test it. Till now.

The connection speed is very similar to Four Friends, rating at 344kpbs up/274kbps down when I tested it. Everything has been running smoothly, though I've not been making any substantial data transfers or doing any remote working. From my limited use of FTP I'd guess working via SSH would be an option.

Over lunchtime the environment was a little noisy for high-concentration working, but once the rush drops off it's a great space with a lot of light. As with so many locations that have lately added wireless, there isn't much in the way of access to power. A few outlets around the walls are about as far as it goes, but when things are quiet that's not a problem.

With so many other spots a short walk from our house I'm unlikely to make this a regular spot for work, but when good sandwiches are needed, it's well worth checking out.

Tags: GrandRapids WiFi Bakery

Needing to be at Calvin for lunch but not really caring to set off at the crack of dawn to travel in with Kari, today seemed like a good opportunity to try out the bus system. I've picked up from a few people that travelling on the town's buses can be a little daunting for those who've not tried it before, so I thought a few words about the experience would be in order.

On climbing aboard it wasn't hard to spot the ticket machine. Slightly in front of the driver, to the right as you're looking at them, and about at waist level. There was space to slip in an existing bus ticket or for dollar bills. I'd expected my fare to Calvin to be $1 but somehow it only came to 50 cents, so after I inserted my dollar into the machine and informed the driver of my destination, a ticket printed which also bears 50c credit.

The driver remembered that I was bound for Calvin and pulled over just a little way from the bus stop. That was lucky for me as the bus stop was surrounded by somewhere near 2' of snow that I definitely didn't want to climb down into. If he hadn't known when to stop for me, I would have pressed the button in one of the straps hanging by the windows every couple of rows.

So there you have it. Nice and simple, and pretty much like every other bus system in the world. Plus, it was a great opportunity to draw a little nearer to finishing reading Smart Mobs.

Tags: transport GrandRapids

The final speaker in the 2005 January Series was also the best received. Fleming Rutledge, an Episcopalian Priest from New York with one of those genteel southern accents I'd only previously heard in movies, took on the most politically charged issue in modern America and did so impressively.

As she began to laud evangelicalism while critiquing theological liberalism I was rather concerned. In the context of a series which has had a clear conservative bent and a talk entitled "Christian Right, Christian Left: The Polarized American Religious Scene" the danger of an hour on the merits of legalistic theology was very apparent. Thankfully, that apprehension was quickly subdued as it became clear that Rutledge was not interested in tight definitions but was looking for theology that surpasses the narrow confines in which modernist liberalism and conservative evangelicalism both languish.

Noting the near-omnipresence of Jim Wallis in the popular media over recent weeks, Rutledge urged those on the "Christian left" to follow Wallis' lead in being explicit about their engagement of faith and politics and declared that she was keen to try and engage the "Christian right" in dialogue. She talked of the dangers of a church that makes no public comment on the fact that a man recently jailed for his leading role in the Abu Ghraib abuses was a committed member of his local church, of the need to be humble in the wake of disasters such as the recent tsunami, and the need to be radically inclusive.

Rutledge has clearly thought deeply about the much-discussed clash of civilisations, and the forecast confrontation between Islam and Christianity in both the global north and south. She called for a faith that in its inclusivity, its respect for human life and its determination to be good news, did not enter any such confrontation as a belligerent party. At the same time, she didn't hold back from pointing fingers, most notably at Dick Cheney for his many abuses of power. The talk clearly embodied the bold assertions she was making.

It is easy to be cynical about the possibility for reclaiming the name of Christian in America. As the voices of Richard Land, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson continue to ring loud, clear, and increasingly insanely, it is tempting to simply search for other battles. Despite Rutledge's words I very much doubt that serious engagement can take place between evangelicals who remember the root of their label and the figureheads of the "christian right." Perhaps if figures like Wallis and Rutledge continue speaking clearly there is some chance that they could chip away at the support for these mavericks. Or perhaps that's just the memory of the standing ovation talking?

Tags: CalvinCollege religion politics usa jamesdobson

Each year on Oscar Nomination Day I find myself lamenting the difficulty of getting hold of the short films that get nods. This year, with all the talk about film downloads (word got out yesterday that Napster is planning to offer video downloads, and that google is to launch video search) I'm left wondering why no-one was poised to announce that they were offering downloads of the ten shorts.

The best I've found so far is this teaser of Gopher Broke and this one of Ryan. Walt Disney Pictures aren't even advertising their Short Film (animated) nominee on their homepage...

Video download could be a great place for short films to re-establish themselves. Bandwidth is less of an issues, people are likely to be more eager to try something new, and the cost of entry is a lot lower. I for one am hoping it won't be a long wait.

Four Friends Coffee House has been one of those places I've been meaning to visit since I first started visiting Grand Rapids. One of the town's more talked about coffee shops, it was also one of the earlier adopters of WiFi. Finally, this evening I've made it here.

The first thing that struck me was the good sized tables found towards the rear of the cafe. Too many coffee shops are stuck with tables not really suited to a work environment so a few tables with space for more than one laptop is a welcome sight. A few more power outlets and it'd make a very good spot for meetings. The connection clocks up at a respectable 345kbps up/228kbps down—nothing outstanding, but definitely usable for most tasks.

The atmosphere is difficult to gauge. In just half an hour the music has varied widely, and the current choice of 90s dance tunes isn't the most conducive to a relaxed environment, but other than that the selection would mostly fit comfortably in films like "Almost Famous" or "High Fidelity," options I'd say were about right. It may well be a case of picking your visiting times.

Four Friends is certainly one of the better options in downtown Grand Rapids, and the selection of coffees is great. It's unlikely I'll be back for a while as snow has rather curtailed my habit of cycling downtown and Common Ground remains my coffee shop of choice, but it's good to know it's here.

Tags: GrandRapids WiFi

Howard French's penultimate January Series lecture couldn't have been more different than that which preceded it. Where Frank Deford offered light-hearted stories, French dug deep into the issues facing Africa and its portrayal in the West. Where Deford had a light, informal stream-of-consciousness approach, French read from a script in a manner that was often hard to follow, but rewarded careful attention.

French's style was hard to follow. A Senior Writer for the New York Times, he demonstrated very clearly the skill with prose and clear grasp of critical issues that won him that position but was much more impressive when questioning took him away from his script. Nevertheless, his topic was a vital one and I sincerely hope he made the impact it deserved.

Probably the closest thing to a left-leaning speaker the series has thus far presented (he spoke in the wake of Frederica Mathewes Green's naive call for single-issue voting on NPR this morning) French highlighted hypocrisies in Western approaches to Africa and was particularly impressive when making an impassioned response to a question as to whether African problems aren't Europe's responsibility rather than America's. His two-pronged argument that America was complicit in imperialism even if not an imperial power, and that anyone who believes in humanity has a responsibility to care for a continent facing so many trials, received a strong round of applause. Personally I bristled at his positive casting of US involvement in Latin American politics, another area where the US government has not lived up to its freedom rhetoric, but I suspect given more time he might not have made that generalisation.

French was also good at making clear that we must look beyond the headlines to see what is happening in Africa beyond the crises. He cited the growth of democracy in Mali as one positive sign neglected by the press, as well as similar moves in a number of other countries. As a significant player in the media he was critiquing, he didn't entirely own the problem but encouraged his audience to hold the media to a higher standard in its coverage of Africa.

The talk was clearly rushed and didn't provide the clarity of thought on how we should respond that might be hoped for. French's talk of the need for reform of international trading practices fell on receptive ears here, but it would have been good to hear more on how we could enact change there, and for all the use of the word 'debt' and criticism of the lending practices of the richest nations in past decades, too little was made of the ongoing debt crisis. Nevertheless, another interesting contribution that I hope fosters further debate.

Tags: Africa Debt Trade Mali

It took me two years to notch up my first two hundred posts on this blog. It's taken only six months to reach this three hundredth entry. I wondered whether the increased posting frequency was due to several months without work, but looking back it seems I actually blog at least as frequently during the busy times. I suspect the pressure to focus disparate thoughts and observations in a tighter timeframe results in less procrastination and more writing.

With the flurry of January Series posts one thing that slipped through the cracks was a planned post on wikipedia. Some very public criticism of the wikipedia project from one of its founders was followed by a storm of entries on the subject. The core of the discussion was whether the anyone-can-contribute, peer-reviewed model embraced by wikipedia resulted in a 'trustworthy' information source.

There's been plenty of discussion over recent years, but we're going to hear a lot more about the question of 'trustworthiness' of sources as time progresses and web-based resources become more and more the norm. I link to wikipedia as they often provide the best introduction to concepts, not because I consider it in any way authoritative. There's a series of booklets published in Cambridge that describe themselves as "not the last word... but often the first." That's probably what wikipedia does best.

Tags: wikipedia blogging

There've been several interesting comments following from my entry on Tom Ackerman's lecture about climate change, particularly on whether the issue needs to be de-politicised. Eric contends that the issue needs to be de-politicised, while Jim responded that he doesn't feel that the answer lies that way (but don't take my brief summary for it, do go back and read their comments)

I think it's important to note a difference here between the ways 'political' issues work in the US, in the UK, and in other parts of the world. In the US it is easy to develop a view that the Democrats are pro-environment and the Republicans are anti-environment. Climate change as a political issue often becomes a partisan issue, getting thrown around just like any other. While British politics is often subject to the same dangers, the existence of a prominent third party and a slightly more nuanced debate leaves me believing that it might be possible for climate change issues to be political without becoming quite so starkly partisan.

I'm entirely convinced that an important prong of any strategy to respond to climate change has to be political in the sense that it will need legislation, and it will need the involvement of our elected representatives. At the same time it seem safe to say that we must make very clear that it mustn't remain a partisan issue. This is bigger than that.

At times during Frank Deford's January Series talk, it felt a little like he didn't believe people like me exist. A sports writer, occasionally he'd pass reference to women who didn't like sports, but I kept getting the feeling non-sportsfan men were an alien concept to him. But lest that sound too negative, the talk was probably one of the most entertaining to date. His gentle storytelling style, mostly stream-of-consciousness made a subject I normally can't muster the interest to follow quite fascinating.

There was one note on which I differed from Deford, and that was his contention that the US has managed better than any other country to balance its praise for the individual and for 'the team.' In the world of sports, he may well be right, but to many outsiders (and a fair few on the inside, it seems) this country appears highly individualised.

From the cars that get bigger and bigger, keeping people further and further from the environment they're travelling through, to the strong focus on 'private morality' and tax cuts that seem to have landed a certain international villain back on Philadelphia Avenue, and on to the rejection of the international community that has occurred over the past four years, there are many signs that make it hard for me to take seriously the contention that this is a good balance.

Tags: CalvinCollege Sports

I had the plan quite carefully laid. I needed to have a meeting this morning that meant I couldn't make it to Calvin for the January Series today, so I ensured the meeting was scheduled with plenty of time for me to listen in online, and enacted at Kava House so there would be WiFi at hand. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear stream. I quickly gave up. If the talk is archived, I'll try and listen in and continue my commentary.

Also. since several people have asked, I didn't watch/listen to the inauguration today. I did, however enjoy Colin's report that Channel 4 News had a French MP on who riposted: "We in Europe watch with a small smile, because we know you cannot spread freedom like you spread perfume."

Tags: inauguration

It was clear as Tom Ackerman gave a quick précis before launching into his talk proper that there was no real question for him about global warming. Though his January Series talk, "Global Warming: Fact or Fiction," was dominated by a hasty journey through a series of graphs showing the unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide currently increasing the levels of ozone gases trapping heat within our atmosphere, and models clearly suggesting the human role in that CO2 buildup, Tom Ackerman is clearly as convinced as most of the rest of the world: global climate change is a reality, it has been deeply affected by human involvement, and we have already done untold damage to the earth which will be felt for generations.

Ackerman also worked hard to introduce his listeners to the current state of public policy in the US on the issue. He highlighted the inaction of successive administrations, and the need for radical change given the United States' dominance of the league tables of carbon emissions whether in raw terms or per capita. And he noted that we must be ready to heavily subsidise any alternatives to our current energy sources as they are not yet ready to be financially competitive with fossil fuels.

Listening to the talk I was reminded of Phill's post this morning, in which he uses the metaphor of an 'all you can eat' meal to talk about inequities in a world of limited resources. I'm grateful for opportunities such as A Year Of Living Generously to help set manageable targets for changing lifestyle.

Try as we might, few of us will achieve an overnight turnaround of lifestyle, so I've been wondering most of the day how to extend that model. Perhaps there'd be some interest in a version of YOLG more adapted for those in the US? Perhaps those of us in Grand Rapids can do more to support the woefully under-realised public transport we have available? I'm hoping this lecture continues to work as a salient reminder of an all too pressing issue.

Managing Editor of Newsweek by the age of 29, Jon Meacham has certainly had a glittering career to date. His memory for details and ability to apply those details to the questions he was asked give some insight into that meteoric rise. Beyond those attributes, Meacham's enthusiasm for the topic of the relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill and his respect for those two men was more than apparent in today's January Series lecture.

As someone whose knowledge of US political history remains distinctly sketchy, the stories Meacham told were fascinating, helped by his enthusiasm and storytelling skills. The intimacy of their relationship was made very apparent, as well as some of the tensions that occasionally rose to the surface. He made his point well that being a political leader in a time of war can be a very lonely experience and that this relationship played a great role in the outcome of World War 2.

What wasn't so much touched on was the second pair of names in, or indeed the second clause of the advertised title "From FDR and Churchill to Bush and Blair: The Changing Face of Leadership." Early on Meacham made reference to Bush's use of religious and moral language in the post-twin towers attacks era being somewhat reminiscent of the stark tone Churchill often employed, he noted the obvious overlap of nationalities, and the context of a nation at war. But the discussion didn't go far beyond that.

I for one got little sense of how leadership has changed beyond my own observation that those leaders have far greater speeches to their names than their modern counterparts. The closest thing we got to an appraisal of the modern pairing performance was a comment that Meacham had no problem with Bush using religious rhetoric (personally I'd be more comfortable with that if he had never started conflating America and Jesus).

An engaging, enjoyable talk that would have been better still if it had a more fitting title.

Tags: Newsweek Meacham CalvinCollege Churchill FDR Leadership

By far the most personal offering so far, Barbara Omolade's story of coming of age in the civil rights movement was concisely presented as today's contribution to the January Series. Omolade is currently Calvin's first Dean of Multicultural Affairs and a noted expert on minority involvement in US Higher Education.

While the focus on the presentation was principally to chart the journey from youthful membership of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to her present position, Omolade also slipped in a thesis of 'generational challenges.' When asked a question about the success of the Civil Rights movement, Omolade argued that it had met its goals and achieved that generation's challenge. Our task, she suggested was to identify the corollary challenges of today, and there was a hint that she sees that as extending some of the freedoms of civil rights globally.

I was particularly struck as she talked of how SNCC co-ordinator Ella Baker insisted all her staff and volunteers spend time listening to the voices of the people they were advocating for. All SNCC workers were sent to meet with the victims of segregation and encouraged to respect their voices. It's amazing how the idea of "listening to the affected" remains radical whenever it's suggested; how much we need to be reminded to be grounded.

Tags: SNCC CivilRights CalvinCollege

Last month I tipped my virtual hat to the Yes Men, talking about how much I enjoy hearing reports about their brand of agitprop comedy. I was, therefore, delighted to discover that Grand Rapids Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts would be screening the 2003 documentary The Yes Men Movie.

We managed to see it on Thursday night, accompanied by Kate and Nathan, and it was quite a ride. Following the group from their origins back in 1999, through their early stunts and up to their announcement of the closure of the WTO, it was a very personal telling of their story. The production quality was generally pretty low, with footage largely coming from handheld cameras which often had to be hidden from watchful security guards. Those coming into the film without an understanding of the ills of global trade that the Yes Men are trying to draw attention to won't find all that much exposition, but I would guess it would still be both entertaining and thought provoking.

Those thoughts extend well beyond the humanity-deficit of global institutions. The Yes Men's concept of 'identity correction' is both a creative development of deconstructionism and a radical question about the artifices we build all too readily, and their creative humour and grasp of satire have a power to remind viewers of the lack of creativity in day-to-day life. The film is unlikely to appeal to those who don't share The Yes Men's political bias, but it has much to say to us all.

Tags: Yes Men Film Activism

I'd been meaning to get back to Global Infusions with my laptop since I first noticed that they offer wifi access. Alongside a shop selling the fairly traded Ten Thousand Villages range of craft products and a selection of teas and health herbs, there is a tea/coffee bar and four tables, and the most multi-ethnic range of music of any of Grand Rapids' coffee shops.

The atmosphere is very relaxed. There's a steady stream of people in and out this Saturday morning but few enough that the shoppers don't distract those of us who are here to read or work. Two of the owners are running the place and there's a good rapport between staff and customers. I hear that things have been going very well so far for the shop, which opened at the same time as various other outlets in the new East Hills development. They're offering live music every other Friday night, as well as a range of poetry and other events.

For WiFi users the connection speed seems good, though I'm the only user currently on the network, with decent download rates, tolerable latency for remote working, and a very strong signal. What is currently lacking are power outlets within reach of any of the tables, so don't come here intending to spend a long time or with a low battery. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a short stay or laptop use is only part of the reason for your visit Global Infusions is yet another worthy destination.

Tags: wifi fairtrade grandrapids

It's been several months since Netflix and Tivo announced their partnership, beginning to explore options for delivering films online, but it seems to have caused a recent flurry online. With online music distribution settling down a little since the launch of the iTunes music store and its many rivals, it's natural that discussion should be shifting to video.

Sharing of music online took off far more quickly than sharing of video footage, due largely to the considerable difference in file sizes. But with more and more people getting broadband connections and then the advent of BitTorrent, a protocol/software tool that completely changed the logistics of distributing large content online, things have begun to change.

The flurry of discussion online is in part due to this piece at Wired about BitTorrent creater Bram Cohen, though it also follows in the wake of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas which, Chris Anderson at The Long Tail reports, saw "explosion in innovation around freeing TV from its distribution shackles".

Both the Wired piece and a string of articles at The Long Tail are doing a good job of discussing the implications for existing television companies of an age where content distribution is not limited to the schedules we've all become used to. For a concept that we've been hearing about for a long time now, TV-on-demand doesn't seem to have many well-developed business concepts as yet.

The Wired piece suggests that Reality TV may pave the way into this new model of content distribution as it allows players who may not have the capital to produce more expensive shows to build a body of content quickly and cheaply. A new medium entirely populated by reality TV is a frightening concept, but I would imagine that if it works it would only be a matter of time before the funds began to flow for shows that require serious investment in scriptwriting and all the other production expenses. It imagines a future where television companies operate in a manner similar to the current internet behemoths as pointers to the popular items and hidden gems in a massive body of content.

It is entirely possible that a television programming arm of amazon.com would prosper, but there will clearly also be opportunities for equivalents of Audioscrobbler and of course anecdotes on blogs to point people to video content just as they currently do to audio. It won't be dissimilar to the current word-of-mouth approach, but the erosure of time constraints will make such recommendations more powerful, and the disappearance of schedules would make formalisations more important. What isn't clear is what would happen if these sorts of grassroots pointers grew more rapidly than their commercial counterparts. Once again just as in music we see old questions of who will fund artists re-emerging.

Naturally, this will all take some time to take hold, though it is perilous to make too many predictions. There is a lot of work to be done on interfaces that will allow people the flexibility they're used to when channel-surfing, and in many cases when people turn on the television they're not wanting to spend too long hunting around for programming — broadcast allows us to be lazy. On the other hand, that interface could be just around the corner, and once someone gets it right the content (both video, and recommendations) will surely follow.

Another highly anticipated January Series speaker, Frederica Mathewes Green left a chorus of lively debate behind her. Taking as her title "When Every Day is Casual Friday: Anxiety Hangs Over a Culture When Adults Act Like Children" she developed a thesis that the baby boomer generation, brought up by parents well used to hardship, generally developed a negative perception of adulthood and as a result have engendered a culture that doesn't know how to be adult.

Contrasting modern film heroes with those of the films of the 20s and 30s, Mathewes Green made a compelling claim that the filmstars of that era carried a far greater gravitas than those of today. She pointed to later marriage and extended time in education as causes, and the emergence of films such as Garden State and books like Quarterlife Crisis as evidence, of an increasingly extended adolescence.

She cogently argued that a greater degree of maturity is good for a society, not saying that adulthood involves claiming that the world is simple (she was questioned on this and clarified there) but that it is a developmental stage that allows us to effectively engage with the world, rather than spending our time searching for a place within it. Her analysis shed more light on the plight of the orphaned children Paul Farmer had discussed on Monday.

Mathewes Green believes that one answer to this maturity-deficit is (while making a point of reinforcing some peoples' calling to celibacy) earlier marriage. Her own children were all married in their late teens and early twenties and she pointed to statistics that show that 50 years ago when the average age of marriage for a woman in the US was considerably lower the divorce rate was also lower. She argued that marriage and child-rearing considerably increase maturity and that biologically we are wired to want this earlier than it often takes place in the modern west.

These claims naturally drew strong reactions. Questioners pointed out that there are a range of other factors involved in getting married—it's not so easy as simply deciding to get married early! Sadly time was limited, and I for one would have liked to question Mathewes Green on whether perhaps having children and marriage have these effects because of particular innate characteristics that they share with other activities, whether this could perhaps lead us towards other models of developing maturity within society, and where the line comes between the essentialness of childlikeness and this maturity.

This interview with New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan (via NT Gateway) makes for interesting reading. Crossan is not a writer I often find myself in agreement with, but his comments are well worth consideration. I share Mark Goodacre's amusement that "the major new stress in Crossan on Paul and early Christianity as anti- Roman Empire is that this brings Crossan closer to Wright than ever before, does it not?"

I actually started writing some comments on this piece at the end of last year, but they got lost in the works, and I'm not sure I was reading the piece correctly anyway. But with no January Series lecture today, I returned to it and found something that resonated in the wake of Tuesday's lecture.

In any system, where the economy is booming, it doesn’t boom for everyone. And there might be very conservative people for whom the raw excesses of a booming economy are destroying the values they hold dear. I’m thinking of people who might find the whole dislocation of family life in the big cities intolerable.

So now Christianity offers a society to pagan city-dwellers that it fits in--it looks like the associations we know existed at that time. This Christian society believes in a God who is just, and here’s how that justice works out: We share what we have. If I break my wrist and can’t work for a week, I get supported by this community--and then I’m expected to share with the community. It’s a socio-economic safety net, in other words. But it also gives you a world run by a God who cares about you.

That dislocation of family life loomed large in Eugene Rivers' talk at Calvin, and shifts in the nature of the family are quite rightly something we should be considering carefully. But these shifts are a natural part of history, and a similar shift probably resulted from the changes people made when they joined the early Church. Crossan's words speak to me of space and support in wake of changes, with time to consider the strong and the weak in the new paradigm. Perhaps a more useful model for engagement than that expounded on Tuesday?

In a former life, I completed an undergraduate physics degree. I only barely passed that degree, but complete it I did, thanks in large part to my dissertation titled "A Response To Postmodern Critiques of Physics: Towards a Narrative Understanding." It may have been a pretentious title, but it seemed to sit better with my supervisor better than "The Physicist and the Fairytale" which was my preference.

I hadn't been to a physics lecture, or even read much about physics, since completing that degree. Brian Greene's January Series lecture, "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time & the Texture of Reality," broke my fast and I'm very glad I did.

Moving deftly through a brief history of how physicists conceive of space and time, Greene stayed on a clear trajectory towards his goal of introducing the audience to the cutting edge of super string theory in all its 11-dimensional glory. Naturally given his audience, he glossed over the maths and didn't spend long on the theory's competitors but he did own his biases and place the theory in appropriate historical and philosophical context.

That inclusion of context, bringing with it honesty, openness and an all important conceptual framework was what my paper had been attempting to argue for. Too often higher-level physics teaching loses sight of its context, ignores the many philosophical implications of its content, and glosses over its bias, and it was good to see the power of a presentation that did none of those. But beyond that, this particular talk suggested to me that one day I might open my textbooks again and try to remember how we used all those equations that flashed back into my head.

Eugene Rivers' contribution to the January Series, "Our New Post Civil Rights Reality: A Christian Perspective," came highly anticipated but turned out to be an exercise in hiding occasional good points in rhetoric and hyperbole.

Rivers is involved in some fabulous projects to revitalise urban areas plagued with gang violence, broken homes, and crippling poverty. In the question and answer time that followed his brief sermon (I'm not sure I can really call it a lecture) he was able to outline some startling statistics of drops in homicide rates in Boston that he argued (with the backing of several studies) were the result of those programmes. His arguments for strong role models, for church groups to advocate on the behalf of those experiencing systemic injustice and to work with law enforcement to assist those who fall foul of law enforcement, and for the need for civil rights mindsets to enter a new paradigm were potent ones.

Those arguments were also at times hard to make out. A plea for recognition of the uniqueness of the black American experience was hidden in a torrent of homophobia, and a call for strong father figures for black children and teenagers came swathed in implied misogyny. It is certainly true that the black American experience and the resultant civil rights movement has many unique qualities, but that does not give it ownership of the phrase 'civil rights'. Most agree that children are better off if brought up when intimate relationship with strong male and female role models, but that is not in itself reason to numerous times lash out at 'white upper-middle-class lesbian' strawmen. And while it may have been a slip of the tongue when he appeared to say that he didn't care whether white people did anything for Africa, the context was at best confusing.

Things improved a little when it came to questions and answers. Rivers commented that he had joined a march against hate crimes being perpetrated against the gay community. But he did not fully engage with questions on whether the gay community had the right to its own 'civil rights' movement, or whether we lived in a time of (wholly precedented) change in the nature of the family.

Disappointing, to say the least.

It seems Christian Music Makeover has competition....

Via titusonenine:

Father James McCaskill, 31, has agreed to take part in a new fly-on-the-wall documentary about his attempts to boost the congregation of St Mary Magdalene in the former mining community of Lundwood, near Barnsley.

Under the working title God Help Us, the cameras are already rolling, and even filmed the priest's first service. The ailing congregation had already doubled to 17 — although that included his parents, visiting from North Carolina.

There's more at yorkshiretoday.co.uk.

Paul Farmer introduced the second week of the January Series with a talk entitled "Pathologies of Power: Rethinking Health and Human Rights in the Global Era". Farmer works with Partners In Health seeking "to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care". His primary work has been in Haiti and many of his examples were drawn from the successful community health programmes his team has initiated there, but also peppered with anecdotes from extensive travelling exploring the multi-faceted issues of healthcare.

Building from principles found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Farmer's talk was often cluttered and unfocussed, but contained compelling insights from a passionate campaigner.

The main gist of the talk was that cost-benefit analyses of treatment options for diseases such as TB and HIV/AIDS are often short-sighted. While cost-benefit analysis is a useful tool, too often the results of studies are peppered with conventional wisdom (which he argued can often be wrong, using three statements from the WHO and two from The Lancet as examples) and fail to analyse the costs of not taking action. When exploring the latter, he drew out the example of a community in Kenya where an entire generation has been wiped out by HIV/AIDS, but didn't quite complete making his point which I presume was that the social cost of an entire generation of parentless children having to recreate society for themselves could be immense.

Farmer's anecdotes about the ways his organisation has sought ways to make use of the particular details of the communities they work with was inspiring. In rural Haiti they found themselves working with a community with no money and 80% unemployment. That unemployment had led to many social problems, but it also meant there was a large population they could pick from to train community health workers, meaning that everyone in a treatment programme can be assisted and supervised by one of their neighbours. This in turn freed up the organisation's workers to negotiate considerable discounts with pharmaceutical firms. In one case, the cost reduction negotiated was 95% which, as he noted, raises serious questions about the initial pricing.

In the realm of human rights, healthcare and a number of related issues, public scrutiny remains vital. As Farmer pointed out, HIV/AIDS is one area which has risen to government attention of late largely as a result of public pressure. With his example of medical profession received wisdom that could be effectively debunked by an inquisitive public Farmer reminded me of the importance of detailed scrutiny from that public and the need for still further tools to enable that. Programmes to open up consultation documents for simpler dissection within the blogging community (and, I'd hope, overspilling beyond that) are a good start, as are discussions such as this one at Personal Democracy Forum, but engaging public discourse in issues that matter is always going to be a task that requires the very best of our imaginations.

A few months back I registered for the Technorati Developers' Contest with a vague idea of a tool to help people track blog conversations about bills currently before various legislative bodies.

I never got myself organised enough to build anything, but it seems other people had similar ideas. They actually got as far as refining those ideas and implementing them rather effectively.

Check out the winners here (contrary to some expectations, I suspect this will be of interest to at least a few non-techies).

With all the changes that 2004 brought I didn't get to nearly as many new records as I usually would, and I'm still trying to catch up so this list is very much in flux. But then, I've never written such a list without a disclaimer of some sort... This list is in a rough order, but not a fixed one. It also does not contain Julie Lee's Stillhouse Road purely because I listened to it so much in 2003. For a more accurate picture of what I've actually been listening to this year, there's audioscrobbler.

Nick Cave - Lyre Of Orpheus/Abbattoir Blues

I came to this one a little later than I'd hoped but can't stop hitting repeat. The inclusion of London Community Gospel Choir and a few production choices mean at times this has a bit of a 'worship album' feel, but every now and again that's ok. Probably what a worship album ought to be.

Sam Phillips - A Boot And A Shoe

Not my favourite Sam Phillips release (Martinis & Bikinis still takes that title) but the first one I've seen her tour. The lyrics are customarily intricate, the emotions a little less guarded than they've sometimes been, and the concert was little short of a revelation.

Wilco - A Ghost Is Born

It's been talked about to death, and my perception is probably once again coloured by seeing them live for the first time, but this really feels like the album on which Wilco begin to deliver on all that promise. On a drive to Traverse City in October we listened to all Wilco's albums in sequence, realising that none of them have been as much of a departure as some critics would have us believe, but this one certainly does feel the most mature. Very carefully constructed/sequenced, its an album that brings out the old cliche 'where will they go next?'

Brian Wilson - Smile

Long awaited etc. etc. etc. About as good as pop gets. The second time Van Dyke Parks' work appears on this list.

Polyphonic Spree - Together We're Heavy

They'd played most of these live before releasing the album, but it's still great to hear them on record. The production lives up to the tunes in a way that the first album couldn't, and the result is more fun than any album deserves to be.

Air - Talkie Walkie

We just kept playing this over and over.

Tom Waits - Real Gone

Another recent acquisition and one that I haven't yet given the time it deserves, but it's a strong release from a man who doesn't really make weak ones. I think everything I love about Tom Waits can be found here somewhere.

Bjork - Medulla

Entrancing.

David Byrne - Grown Backwards

David Byrne was the soundtrack for about half of our summer (the Spree were the other half). I think I probably preferred "Into The Eyeball", but this certainly demonstrates he still has an ear for a good song.

Lamchop - Aw C'mon/No You C'mon

One of two double albums on the list, this one isn't quite such a tight collection as Mr. Cave's and still doesn't quite top "Nixon" in the Lambchop album ratings, but Kurt Wagner demonstrates once again that strange knack for conjuring an intimate sound from a 14-or-so-piece band. Once I start this pair playing, they usually keep going for several days.

Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans

I've probably talked too much about the surprise I experienced when I spotted one of Sufjan's singles in the Junction11 studio some months ago. He moved from being 'that guy Denison is really into' to 'that guy every one seems to be into' remarkably quickly. This album is more complex than "Michigan", which was itself a good release, and shows there's far more substance than you'd expect from his meteoric rise.

Woven Hand - Consider The Birds

I've been a fan of 16 Horsepower—David Eugene Edwards' main band—for some time but despite being very taken with the first Woven Hand album never got round to buying it. On the strength of this (which I've written about in more details elsewhere) I'm going to have to.

The Arcade Fire - Funeral

One of those bands who've been discussed to death on many other blogs. A friend recommended them a few months ago, and that combined with a few clips on the web had me convinced. They're one of those bands whose influences are at first far too apparent (when we first played the album in the car, I couldn't help but comment on the influences apparent on each and every track) but it's a real grower and those influences are better melded than it first appears.

Iain Archer - Flood The Tanks

A very long time in coming, but probably worth the wait.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Solid, but not really a development. I listened to this over and over in the week before its release (that online streaming thing) but by the time of release, as the reviews and other furore refused to abate, it felt like time for a break. I'm sure the tour will be great. There aren't any surprises, but when the band is U2 that's not all bad.

Pedro The Lion - Achilles Heel

I'm not quite so taken with this as I was with Control, but it certainly showed that the band deserve the sell-out crowd that showed up when they played at Calvin in November. Dave Bazan's storytelling is carefully layered, evocative and empathetic. And he upsets a lot of the CCM world, so that's good too :)

The Postal Service - Give Up

The one or two standout tracks on here are what makes the album for me. The opening "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" and "Such Great Heights" stand tall above the rest of the songs, but it's still a nice little album that belies its side-project status.

Via Jeremy Zawodny's linkblog I discovered this piece at arstechnica reporting that CNN has cancelled Crossfire, the 'debate' show that Jon Stewart very publicly dissed a couple of months back. Of particular note are these comments from Jonathan Klein, new President of CNN:

Mr. Klein specifically cited the criticism that the comedian Jon Stewart leveled at "Crossfire" when he was a guest on the program during the presidential campaign. Mr. Stewart said that ranting partisan political shows on cable were "hurting America." Mr. Klein said last night, "I agree wholeheartedly with Jon Stewart's overall premise." He said he believed that especially after the terror attacks on 9/11, viewers are interested in information, not opinion.

That wasn't how I'd interpreted Jon Stewart's comments on Crossfire, and from the general response that appearance received I don't think that's how many people saw it. It seemed that Stewart was criticising the partisan nature of the opinions on the show, the fact that its presenters were more interested in scoring intellectual points against one another than debating for any more lofty purpose. No news network is able to offer 'information' in a pure sense, but they can be honest about their biases and constructive in their debate.

Salon is one of a number of outlets that has discussed the imminent departure of James Wolfensohn from his position as President of the World Bank. I had often wondered why the Bank always had USian presidents, but the article explains that:

The United States is the bank's largest shareholder. The bank traditionally has had an American president. Its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, traditionally has been headed by a European.

In our heavily weighted international finance system it's not much of a surprise that the two traditional power blocs should divide these key roles between themselves, though it will be interesting to see how long Japan and various emerging economic powers will allow that to continue.

Sadly, the status quo is unlikely to change before the succession is announced, so I've been wondering who I'd choose were someone to be foolish enough to give me a say in the process. Right now, the leading contendor for my hypothetical vote would have to be Professor Jeffrey Sachs. A special economic advisor to Kofi Annan, noted academic, and passionate advocate of creative solutions to poverty reduction and disease control, he seems just the man for the job.

Since I took over the Grand Rapids WiFi site I've been wanting to let users search by location, finding all their nearest spots. What I lacked was any simple way of converting addresses into longitude/latitude so that I could then do the calculations required.

While exploring the Wireless London project recently I followed a few links and discovered geocoder.us, a site that provides just that data. So a quick interface to their web services offering, a little application of pythagoras' theorem, and it's all in place on the search page.

Inspired by the Wireless London project, I also added RDF/XML versions of all the location data on the site. For any techies so inclined, you can get to that through link tags in each location page's html header.

The introduction for Kathleen DeBoer at today's January Series lecture (Gender & Competition: How Men & Women Approach Work & Play Differently) had me a little worried. Before working in local government, Ms. DeBoer had a relatively high-profile career in the world of sports and the thought of sitting for an hour hearing tales from the field left this non-sportsman a little concerned. But while there were many, many stories from that world, she is a dynamic enough speaker and grounded enough to spin a presentation that I could identify with.

A self-deprecating photo display looking at the cliched roles she has embodied helped introduce the sense of humour and dynamic presentation we were to expect, to the degree that she was able to introduce gender stereotypes (for the sake of argument rather than arguing for their accuracy) without offending. The thrust of her argument seemed to be that not only does an understanding of our personal biases—both socialised and genetic—help us interact with others, but it is also essential as organisational management heads towards a more network-driven model.

As DeBoer laid out images of two stereotyped 'networking' events (one all-female, one all-male), describing the differing competitive patterns of the two genders (male=self-congratulatory, female=self-deprecating) I did wonder what those events would look like if the conversational approach was more other-affirming than self-promoting. Clearly that would interfere with the traditional purpose of such events, but it stayed with me as we left.

Alan Wolfe was the speaker for the second in the January Series at Calvin, discussing the topic of "American Greatness." Starting off with some well placed comments on the disgraceful response that followed Jan Egeland's criticism of western countries' 'stinginess', Wolfe aptly built his thesis that more fundamental than the liberal/conservative divide within American politics is that between those who are focussed on America as 'good' and those who think the nation should strive for 'greatness.'

He certainly expounded his thesis well, displaying his immense grasp of political history as he drew the division between the proponents of 'goodness' who argue for devolved power, a focus on 'morality' in the personal sphere, and living out values of liberty and equality internally, and the proponents of 'greatness' who want to see the American ideals embodied in the world, with a stronger national government leading a nation deeply involved in the rest of the world. The divide between federalists and republicans has existed as long as this country has, but his analysis wasn't simply a retread of those old arguments but instead a compelling analysis of the modern state of the country.

Woolfe suggested that the 'liberal' sphere of American politics has increasingly become interested in the local more than the global, and that this is displayed in the works of Gore Vidal, the political ideology of Ralph Nader, and through many other outlets. Ecological conservatism and a suspicion of the Vietnam War were for him the instigating factors in this shift, but he made it abundantly clear that he considered this shift in the American left an example of losing the baby with the bathwater.

The retreat of the left from this 'greatness' mindset does, I feel, need to be viewed in the context of some broader questions. Wolfe owned the fact that sometimes 'greatness' can only be achieved at the sacrifice of 'goodness', that in the pursuit of higher aims, mistakes will be made. What needs to be borne in mind when considering that, however, is that while the US has the luxury of making those mistakes, other parts of the world may not be able to bear their impact quite so well, as Wolfe did hint at with his response to a question about the current war in Iraq.

Nuance is also vital in understanding shifts within the left regarding local/global issues. There is a clear ecological need for an increased focus on local modes of production, and I would argue that recent falls in political involvement can be somewhat addressed by more localisation in decision-making. But that does not mean sacrificing a global vision.

A few years ago George Monbiot toured the UK outlining his vision for a mode of government that took more seriously the concept of subsidiarity — decision making devolved to the lowest practical level. In doing this he wasn't rejecting the concept of global action, he was rather suggesting ways of ensuring democratic checks and balances in an increasingly pan-national system of government (the context was a look at ways of making the WTO, IMF and World Bank democratic). It would be fascinating to hear Wolfe's opinions on that concept.

You may also want to check out Brandon's take on Wolfe's talk. Most of the talks are available as RealAudio streams at the January Series website.