In the past, I have posted slightly more personal goings-on on my blog.  But, thanks to the evolution of the Web 2.0, I get to do those types of things in bunches of ways.  First, there’s services like Twitter and Pownce that allow you to post a quick little message to your friends.  Both of these can be easily posted from my phone, so it’s easy to post directly what I’m up to.  (I use a service called TwitterFeed to just post to Pownce and then they cross-post it to Twitter for me.)  Here’s what I’ve been talking about on Pownce/Twitter for the last couple months:

• I posted my regular goings on during a March trip to Arizona.
• I talked about my love for artists like Andy Hunter and John Reuben, as well as being hopeful about the new Coldplay.
• I commented on the squealing power brick on Kevin’s computer.
• I posted random, out-of-context quotes from life here in Dinkytown.
• I overrreacted a bit when housemates were burning stuff in the kitchen and it made the house reek.
• You can pretty much get me to do anything if you offer me fresh Chipotle burritos.
• I posted links to some of my favorite content from HomeStarRunner.com.
• I professed my love for jQuery (which I get to learn about more today with the Lullabots).
• I got my bicycle out and have rode it around a couple times.
• I “live-blogged” some of the talks from the People of Praise men’s retreat by posting some of the more pivotal points in the talk.
• I quoted Sixpence None The Richer and Avril Lavigne.
• I posted about last weekend’s adventures camping near Taylor’s Falls, MN.
• I’ve made a couple comments about this week’s Lullabot workshop as well.

The second place you can see stuff I’m interested is on my Google Reader Shared page.  I use Google Reader all the time to keep track of sites that get updated, and if you have me listed as a Google Talk contact, you should see my Shared Items right in your Google Reader (or you can use the page).  Here’s some cool items I’ve shared as some of my favorites:

• Dietrich gets a knife for his 10th birthday.
• Notifications of major new releases of WordPress or Drupal, as well as a case study of the new FastCompany.com and Drupal usability testing.
• Joel on Software on headphone jacks and web standards.
• Shaun Groves talks about Compassion, helping kids, and how Twitter makes you dumb.
• Info about the amazing Google App Engine.
• Lots of cool ThinkGeek products that caught my eye.
• A demo of Google Charts and ranting about Microsoft.
• A former teacher’s meditation on John The Baptist from the men’s retreat.
• A bunch of hilarious Twitter one-liners from Merlin Mann, a Mac lover and productivity expert.

I’d say that if you want to know what I’m thinking about and doing, just bookmark the Pownce and Google Reader pages and keep up with the reading.  If I do have longer, more thoughtful posts to put up, I will keep posting them here.  Also, a regular feature showing off my many stylish T-shirts may be in the works as well for this blog.

UPDATE: This video was removed from YouTube due to “artistic differences”.

We shot it pretty quickly, and within a half hour we had the title added and some cut out by using the new iMovie 7. It was really easy to use once I figured out the interface. There was a nice integration feature with YouTube, but we weren’t able to use it because YouTube was slow and down at times. In the end, though, it was a nice, quick little video.

To my horror, I found that the main wireless access point/router on the 2nd floor had been somehow reset. It was named “linksys” and available for all the world to use. What a shame! Even worse, it would’ve been easy for someone connected to it to wreak havoc over the network and lock us out for a while until we could reset everything.

I pretty quickly patched up the holes and got it working. Now, we can share our music among just us, we can be sure that no neighbors are using our bandwidth, and, if we wanted to, we could start networking the printers. That would rock.

Tonight starts the second summer of live videos, but this time they’re not going to be from Louisiana. This year, there are city building projects of different types in Indianapolis and also starting in Memphis, Tennessee in the fall. So, this year’s broadcasts are, at least for now, coming from South Bend, Indiana. Who knows what they’ll be about, but I’m told that you’ll be able to watch them anytime from their archives on blip.tv, which is great. (They also put up the archives from all last year too!) So, if you want to learn a lot more about People of Praise life, check out what we’ve been thinking and talking about this summer and last and, if you want, join in the conversation. Also, don’t miss the nice new CityBuilder.org website, which includes a blog, photos, and much more about our life in common. Join us live tonight, too, if you like.

Click To Play

Second, Andy Osenga posted one of the best music videos I’ve seen in a while. It’s not as professional as the Mute Math one, but it’s a keeper:

Lastly, there’s the dual-video selection that Shaun Groves called “Crowder Versus Squirrels”. First, there’s David Crowder telling it, which is hilarious, and then there’s the anime version of the story in their first-ever music video.

Enjoy them all!

Shaun recently posted a very intriguing post called, “The Church I Want“. He outlined what he’s looking for in a church within driving distance. First, he explains what he’s not looking for because he already has it, from people to hang out with to a place to serve. Second, he explains his criteria for a church, which includes a commitment and a purpose for being.

Although this definitely is the ideal definition of church, it’s not how I commonly use the phrase. To me, “church” is just going to a service on Sunday morning. It’s a building a couple blocks away. That’s not what Shaun is talking about.

I think what Shaun is really looking for is what we call “Christian community” or more specifically, the People of Praise. We’re not just a community that lives in one cul-de-sac, we’re in cul-de-sacs in 20+ cities across the country. Our purpose is to spread that type of richly lived Christian life where we have meals together on a regular basis and live our lives more in common. We’re not just about cleaning up a poor neighborhood, but we’re about moving in with them and making their burdens our burdens. We’re also working on meaningful ways for young people to live high school and college life with much more than a social scene. Not only are we reaching out through preaching, but we’re also reaching out through creating useful businesses that are Christ-centered and support our work in other ministries.

By most definitions, People of Praise is not a church. There are no pastors. We are a group of laity who all are a part of our respective churches but seek a more purposeful and communal life. I myself am Roman Catholic, but regularly share life with Lutherans, Baptists, and many more Christians.

If you want to learn more about the People of Praise, I recommend reading our publication. Sorry, Shaun, but we’re not in Nashville yet, but maybe we’ll be starting up in Music City in the future.

At the housing meeting, we learned a bit more about a committee formed to look into options here in the Cities. All of the 125 people who were at the meeting filled out a questionaire detailing what kinda of housing they were interested in and what they could afford. There were a vast array of people there, from seniors and empty nesters looking to downsize to post-college adults looking for a bit more trendy place or to raise a family. The thing that brought us all there was to live in closer proximity to their brothers and sisters in Christ. The committee is still in the really early, formative stages, but it will be interesting to connect with others who are looking for more deliberate, common life on a regular basis.

The other meeting was for people interested in starting or fostering Christ-centered businesses. About thirty people of all different ages and backgrounds attended and we talked about really practical ways to get a small business off the ground. We talked about good business ideas, how to finance a startup, and more. The committee is lead by a couple people who have started small businesses of their own. I think it’s a great idea to help others out and if something interesting comes up, being a part of a startup could be really exciting. This group is also in the early stages, but there is already another meeting planned and the expectation that we’re working to get new business ideas to fruition with the next six months to a year, depending on how well research and other ideas go and if anyone actually wants to take on the business.

I think it’s definitely worth a read even if it is a bit long, and even if you’re not a CEO. He covers four major problems in the world today and then offers some thoughts on the outcomes. Here’s a couple of highlights:

1. The War in Iraq

[...]

Today, terrorism is the third attack on Western civilization by radical Islam. To deal with terrorism, the U.S. is doing two things. First, units of our armed forces are in 30 countries around the world hunting down terrorist groups and dealing with them. This gets very little publicity. Second we are taking military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are covered relentlessly by the media. People can argue about whether the war in Iraq is right or wrong. However, the underlying strategy behind the war is to use our military to remove the radicals from power and give the moderates a chance. Our hope is that, over time, the moderates will find a way to bring Islam forward into the 21st century. That’s what our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is all about.

[...]

2. The Emergence of China

In the last 20 years, China has moved 250 million people from the farms and villages into the cities. Their plan is to move another 300 million in the next 20 years. When you put that many people into the cities, you have to find work for them. That’s why China is addicted to manufacturing; they have to put all the relocated people to work. When we decide to manufacture something in the U.S., it’s based on market needs and the opportunity to make a profit. In China, they make the decision because they want the jobs, which is a very different calculation.

[...]

3. Shifting Demographics of Western Civilization

Most countries in the Western world have stopped breeding. For a civilization obsessed with sex, this is remarkable. Maintaining a steady population requires a birth rate of 2.1. In Western Europe, the birth rate currently stands at 1.5, or 30 percent below replacement. In 30 years there will be 70 to 80 million fewer Europeans than there are today. The current birth rate in Germany is 1.3. Italy and Spain are even lower at 1.2. At that rate, the working age population declines by 30 percent in 20 years, which has a huge impact on the economy.

[...]

4. Restructuring of American Business

The fourth major transformation involves a fundamental restructuring of American business. Today’s business environment is very complex and competitive. To succeed, you have to be the best, which means having the highest quality and lowest cost. Whatever your price point, you must have the best quality and lowest price. To be the best, you have to concentrate on one thing. You can’t be all things to all people and be the best.

These are only the layouts of the problems. He then goes on to present the implications of these problems to American and worldwide business and the world at large. I just love his final conclusion:

Ultimately, it’s an issue of culture. The only people who can hurt us are ourselves, by losing our culture. If we give up our Judeo-Christian culture, we become just like the Europeans. The culture war is the whole ballgame. If we lose it, there isn’t another America to pull us out.

Read the rest.

Herbert Meyer, the author, served during the Reagan administration as special assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council. According to his bio, “Meyer is widely credited with being the first senior U.S. Government official to forecast the Soviet Union’s collapse.” Before reading the full document, I was thinking of mentioning that there may be some political bias, but I don’t think that needs to be mentioned anymore. It seems like a well-supported, down-to-earth paper.

In other community news, Dan Reinbold started off his new blog with some great posts: one about his story and another about what the People of Praise is. Very good reading. Also, a longtime friend, Josh, seems to be chiming in with an almost minute-by-minute look at his life in Allendale. I hope he keeps it up.