Spiritual enlightenment is something every culture and religion has sought to deliver by its own unique method. Christianity (although not necessarily the Bible) says the best way to do it is to actually avoid all traditional forms of intoxication (i.e. comestibles) and to focus our energy on connecting with the Spirit of God. Eastern traditions emphasize the power of meditation as a way to clear one’s mind and discover truth about yourself and your place in the universe. To “tune in” to this “higher place” is something all humans like to do, whether that “higher place” be a physical location (Mecca), intellectual ideal (atheism), or good old-fashioned hallucinogenics (reefer). I guess what I’m really trying to say is this: everyone, Christian or not, wants to get high, and indeed, must get high, in order to feel fully human.

Christians like getting high on worship, so they create songs that will do very little to interrupt their perceived elevation into the heights of heaven’s courtyard as they lift hands, close eyes, bunch up their faces, and try to forget about their surroundings for a while. I remember in high school how much people emphasized the power of worship, and the looks on people’s faces after they had just gotten really emotional about a song that had just been sung, and how similar that look is to people who have just had really great sex or taken a puff from a joint. I never liked this extreme style of worship, mainly because the people who did it freaked me out and I thought it was phony. Well, I’m now realizing that I was wrong; worship is far from phony, it’s a totally legitimate and effective way to get high. It’s because they aren’t drinking or smoking pot, so they have to get all that “high energy” out somehow, usually by being really enthusiastic and energetic and silly, like at youth camps. Some Christians get high on intellectualism, to borrow a quote from Sheryl Crow, and pride themselves with the joys of mental rigor through debate and personal, “quiet time” reflection (another commonly-used method by Christians to get high).

Do you see how radically this can change our perception, as human beings, of other people and their personal habits? It makes sense of a lot of things–why people are drawn to intoxicating substances in the first place, and why religions emphasize enlightenment so heavily. It’s all to address the same innate human need, mysterious as it may be, to transcend sobriety and transport oneself to another realm where life is fulfilling and simpler to understand, contrary to the survival-of-the-fittest world of reality in which enlightenment at times seems altogether absent. Humans may have a maker, or some kind of spiritual energy that binds them together, or they may simply need a way for their brains to take a break or step back for a moment and see the “big picture,” which is that we are very small creatures on a very small chunk of rock in an infinitely vast universe. Whatever the case may be, we’re all getting high, folks; it’s just a matter of picking your desired route.

Polished, squeaky-clean catchy poppy piano hooks, subtle distortionless electric guitar, plain vanilla bean vocals, a drum beat that makes Ringo Starr sound overambitious, nostalgic in that it blends into the homogenous tapestry of its uninspired ancestry. It stands to reason that every new musical movement is in some way a departure or rebellion from its predecessor, and I think our most recent development has been no different. Music from the 90s has rough textures, dissonance, lead singers who can barely maintain their grasp with reality and in fact reject the ordered sobriety of the real world. This was back when cool was angular and harsh; nowadays cool is smooth, streamlined, pleasant, unassuming. And then there’s stuff like this:

This merits no further explanation. Although not without its standouts, hip hop has taken a long and steep dive to the recesses of banality when it comes to music that is meaningful and creative. Hip hop stages that once came alive with the glorious synthesis of talented musicians now groan under the weight of special effects and coordinated dance routines and synthesized, soulless machine drones, accompanied by someone whose spoken or sung words most authentically embody the aesthetic of an increasingly hedonistic audience.

Before you accuse me of being a rock “purist” who doesn’t consider the vast universe of sound that is music, consider this: Has the vast universe of sound been tapped? Or are we simply satisfied with the calculated efforts of marketing and computers to make the most pleasant-sounding music possible? You see, sound in and of itself can’t be the only criteria for music. You can’t just tell a computer to make noises and call that art, unless you want to broaden the definition of art to encompass all impressive human achievements, in which case both personal computers and gas chambers can be included. Efficiency, ergonomic design, superior timbre—all of these are good, but are they art? Are they music? Or just like any other mass-produced toy you pick up off the shelf, play with for a while, and eventually discard, are they simply carefully marketed products aimed at a specific audience?

The bottom line is this: we’re a consumeristic society, consumed by our consumerism, and therefore we can’t help but produce art that reflects our disposition to accumulate the best, purest things technology can provide. We want our products quickly and efficiently and consistently, and that’s what we get. We get it from the drive-through, the shopping mall, the porn website, the tweenie novel, and the record store. What have we produced? Should we be proud of it? Should we fear for the future of music? Mos Def’s ’99 debut “Black on Both Sides” waxes poetic and prophetic in its candid opening track:

Listen.. people be askin me all the time,
“Yo Mos, what’s gettin ready to happen with Hip-Hop?”
(Where do you think Hip-Hop is goin?)
I tell em, “You know what’s gonna happen with Hip-Hop?
Whatever’s happening with us”
If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright
People talk about Hip-Hop like it’s some giant livin in the hillside
comin down to visit the townspeople
We (are) Hip-Hop
Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop
So Hip-Hop is goin where we goin
So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is goin
ask yourself.. where am I goin? How am I doin?
Til you get a clear idea

It makes a lot of sense. Our music embodies our values, and I’m not just talking about lyrics. What’s really valuable to you? Do you identify with the music you listen to, or merely objectify it? Do you connect with the artists in some way, or do you merely use them?

By the way, just because I like it doesn’t mean you should give a shit about it. That’s not what this post is about at all. It’s about YOU going on YOUR musical journey that will be entirely different from mine, perhaps to the extent that you disagree with most of my prior assessments about modern music. Be that as it may, I encourage you, stalwart listener, to continue your noble quest into the fantastically paradoxical world of human expression.

Christianity is a religion, and Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. Quite the opposite, in fact; he came to dismantle religion, which is a man-made institution fashioned for the specific purpose of controlling people. This is raw human lust for power manifested under the guise of God-given mandate and it’s what Jesus died and rose again to abolish. Unfortunately we humans are susceptible to deny that which we desire and crave the most. So many of us settle for the mundane, working dull, predictable careers and getting married and having kids and “settling down” because we seek security in riches and success when we really just want the freedom to be who we are to the utmost. In other words, we want to be what God made us to be. We all have inborn passions and desires that drive us, as well as things that happen to us throughout our lifetimes that shape our attitudes and rationale. Are we supposed to turn our backs toward the things our souls cry out for the most in exchange for slavery to the assimilation machine which is modern Christianity?

Modern Christians are squares. L 7 wieners. Please forgive my cynical honesty. They try to exude a hip persona by reinventing the church experience, hiring a younger pastor who wears rectangular thick-frame glasses and doesn’t tuck his plaid shirt in to his cargo shorts, adding mood lighting and instruments to the band for a “richer” worship experience, or (my personal favorite) holding separate services to accommodate people who would rather their church experience be as dry as possible. Churches are like Starbucks; trying to reinvent their brand with new fixtures and furnishings in order to attract more people to what is most often a loosely-connected and harebrained monologue on Christian ethics that has little or nothing to do with the gospel.

Christians everywhere, I beseech you to be painfully honest with yourselves. Do you feel actual joy every Sunday morning, or even most Sunday mornings? Are you happy, having found a place where you not only realize who God is, but who you are? Or are you merely “churching by faith,” confident that somehow God will speak to you despite your inability to understand or resonate with anything the preacher is saying from week to week? When you open the Bible, do you go about it with excitement, knowing that you can and perhaps will learn something completely new? Or do you approach your Bible reluctantly, already convinced that you know what it will say and what it means, but you read it anyway hoping you’ll remember some belief about God that you either forgot or haven’t revisited in a while? When you pray, do you feel like you’re communicating with someone? Or do you feel like you’re merely practicing self-therapy, creating a conversation with yourself in your head that sometimes leads to enlightenment but most often leads to empty silence?

You might be one of those people who loves Chris Tomlin & co. and really gets a lot out of church every week. Obviously that model works for you, at least for the time being, and that’s wonderful. But you can’t expect it to work for everyone else. The Church is, first and foremost, a community of believers, and that’s something that can’t be fragmented by man-made divisions. Humans have tried with all their might to institutionalize Christianity ever since Christ’s ascension. The first experiment made Christianity a government organization, wherein a single central authority dictated the practices of every Christian; what kind of music and clothing was permissible, what language should be spoken, which passages should be read, etc. With the Reformation came the radical discovery that you don’t have to be Catholic in order to know the gospel. Unfortunately they didn’t quite abandon the church model, instead attempting to adapt it and subsequently giving rise to the most fragmented and quarrelsome iteration of Christendom the world has yet seen.

If God made the world, he invented humans and the way we function. Why the hell should we have to repress so much of ourselves in order to have a relationship with him? Isn’t it just possible that I hate worship music because God wants me to worship him another way? What if worship is way bigger than singing or devotion or prayer or anything even remotely related to liturgy and recitation of Scripture? What if worship is merely living, fully and honestly, as the person God made me to be? Could it be that God’s greatest pleasure and glory comes from our fully realized potential? Is it crazy to think that God sent Jesus for just that purpose: to enable us to live freely and without guilty constraint knowing that we are in God’s favor through the redemptive work of his son?

Sure, I’ve declared myself a non-Christian, but knowing what I’m not isn’t sufficient information for me to declare who I am. And that’s something I’m slowly discovering daily as I detach myself from the structure and order imposed on me by the church model. I’m breaking loose from the chains that have shackled me for so long and starting to taste freedom, perhaps for the first time in my life. If freedom is what Jesus came to give us, then Christians are most definitely doing something wrong. Rather than feeling enslaved to Christ, I felt enslaved to other Christians. Christians should be the people I can relate with the most, who are the most free and the most wildly passionate and creative; instead, Christians are slaves in a prison of their invention. For now, my only guiding principle is that I can’t be anything but who I am, and the only way I can be happy is to figure that out. And the way I can figure that out is by living my life and going where I feel I belong. If there is such a thing as the Holy Spirit, it has either given way to some other driving force or it is pushing me stronger than I’ve ever felt in my life.

Jesus was a fascinating person. I love his untempered criticism and opposition to the establishment. It’s something anyone who has felt out-of-place at some point in his life can understand. His methods are even more refreshing. Are people pushing you around? Give ‘em the other cheek, he declares. Don’t play their game. Just take it. Live in it. Engage it. Spread yourself around in it. Notice he never says “ignore them.” If anything, he’s saying we need to actively give even more of ourselves to those who might seek to harm us. Christians are actively avoiding harm these days, setting up quarantined areas where they can conduct their religious rites without the filthy outside world meddling with their schemes. It sounds more like a sinister plot to take over the world than an honest attempt to share the good news of the gospel with the world. Christians aren’t dressing the wounds of the world anymore; they’re just trying to expand the boundaries of their sterile bubble. Dressing wounds means you have to get blood and guts all over your hands, and you can’t do that while simultaneously trying to keep your hands clean at all times. Our hands are dirty, no matter what. Jesus’ hands are scarred, and they’re clean.

Let’s get one thing straight: Apple makes the best hardware, period. I don’t even think anyone really comes close to the build quality of their products. For some reason they’ve figured it out and no one else has. I’m perfectly happy with the solid and beautiful build quality of my Pre, but when I pick up an iPhone 4 the difference is undeniable. Same with their laptops. I’m a proud Apple laptop owner, in fact! But I’m sick of playing their game. Apple’s business philosophy is brilliant; the secure, all-inclusive hardware/software partnership. Beyond that, however, they’ve ensured anyone who is a part of their ecosystem has a very difficult time expanding beyond their envelope and can only do things when they say it’s okay to do it, whether it’s for technical reasons or purely arbitrary (and unfortunately a majority of the time it’s the latter).

So why did I switch to Windows 7? Because the morons at Apple decided it’d be a good idea to artificially restrict their “average consumer” MacBook line to 32-bit computing, even though their MacBooks have long been capable of running up to 4 GB of RAM (an entirely pointless feature unless 64-bit computing is an option). I wanted to upgrade to 64-bit, but unbeknown to me, the powers that be in Cupertino deemed my upgrade contrary to their wishes. And when a software company starts dictating what their users can and cannot use, they’ve officially been given too much power. So I quit Mac OS X, and switched a platform that would allow me to use my hardware as I see fit. The fact that I have to switch operating systems in order to be able to do that is comically depressing. How silly is this, Apple? You’re losing customers because you’re actively blocking their endeavors, something that actually costs you valuable resources to do! In limiting MacBooks to 32-bit computing, you actually had to go out of your way to make sure the software couldn’t be fooled into installing a 64-bit version. Not only that, but when I installed glorious, beautiful Windows 7 64-bit, the Boot Camp software tried to shut me down! “You can’t install Boot Camp 64-bit on this machine.” So I said “Fuck you!” and manually installed the drivers, which work perfectly.

I’m unsure as to whether I’ll get another Mac in the distant future when this machine has run its course. A lot of that will depend on the direction Apple takes these next few years, but I can tell you one thing, if iOS ends up dominating their ecosystem then you can count my ass out. This brings me to my next point: my switch from iPhone to Palm Pre.

A lot of people were skeptical of my decision, mainly Droid owners who rightly believe that Google’s operating system is going places. And it is! Google’s done incredible things already at a breakneck speed, as opposed to Apple’s updates which come dribbling out slower than molasses once a year or Palm which has yet to release a major update to their webOS since its initial release two years ago. So why the hell did I go with Palm? The answer is simple: recommendations.

I know a lot of Android users, and most of them love their phones. My parents both own an Android phone, so I’ve had the pleasure of playing around with the HTC flavor, as well as the more mainstream Motorola Droid interface. But I couldn’t help feeling like Google basically took iOS and stamped their insignia on it. Increasingly they’re differentiating themselves with awesome software upgrades, but the basic structure of the operating system is the same. To my more tech-savvy friends, this is awesome, but for people like my parents who aren’t “tech stupid” (well, my dad isn’t–sorry mom!) but aren’t exactly “tech hobbyists” either, iOS seems like the more no-nonsense solution for them. This point could be easily contested, though, so I would simply say that at this point Android is a little too volatile for me to feel comfortable giving the next 2 years of my life to it.

It’s a different story with webOS. Everyone I know who owns a Palm Pre loves the hell out of it. And as a somewhat experienced owner now, I totally get it. WebOS simply “works,” and does so in a such a beautiful and seamless way that it makes me wonder how they haven’t gotten more attention from the tech world because of it. Multitasking is hands-down superior because it’s actual, real multitasking, as opposed to the “symbolic” multitasking you get on the others. I don’t need to see a list of my apps every time I turn on my phone, I need to see what I’m running. When you start up a desktop computer, you don’t start with a Program Files window. You start with a blank desktop that displays your open apps as you launch them. WebOS, in my view, is the perfect port of the desktop metaphor to a small touchscreen interface. You don’t have to “go home” every time you want to launch another app. You simply access your ever-present launcher and do it right then, and with a simple swipe of the finger you can switch between them quickly and use them instantly when you do.

WebOS is, quite simply, the best smartphone interface on the market today. Unfortunately, it’s backed by one of the most lackluster pieces of hardware in the market today. Hopefully that will change this Fall as we see new devices rolled out by HP and Palm, perhaps some of them with a real touch screen keyboard (that’s probably the one thing I miss about iOS). WebOS 2.0 promises to be an awesome upgrade, if 1.0 is any indication.

So bottom line here, I’ve switched over to hardware and software that suits my needs far better than the purist, Nazi-esque sanitized world of Apple software (Steve Jobs’ “defense” of HTML5 sounds more like a toddler talking about how pink things are too girly and therefore infested with cooties), and I think this is a point that will resonate with most people, whether or not they agree with my reasoning for the alternatives I’ve chosen. As John Lennon once said, “You may think I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” Fellow dreamers, express your thoughts in the comments below!

Together's album cover is the first to feature all six band members dancing at the edge of an icy cliff in the middle of a snowstorm at night.

Those of you familiar with my fickle taste in music know that there are a few “core” bands that, for whatever reason, have endured the test of time and ruthlessly command my avid devotion. Among them resides prominently the Canadian power pop supergroup the New Pornographers. My ceaseless delight at nearly everything this band has produced is no secret; however, the measure of my fervor is matched only by the disinterested reception they receive from my peers. I can recall my own mixed feelings upon first hearing Twin Cinema when a friend of mine recommended it to me–but those feelings quickly receded as I discovered new and delightful twists and turns in their musical and lyrical style that kept me coming back for more.

The New Pornographers at their best create irresistibly catchy and sugary poppy songs whose tunes stay fresh on your mind hours after listening to them. Their melodies are interesting and unique, both hummable and whistle-worthy. Their lyrics will perplex you, astound you, confuse you, and tickle you. Their latest creation, Together, is no exception. A distinct departure from their original 2001 release Mass Romantic, the new album fits right in with their progression from an in-your-face, blast-your-eardrums-till-they-bleed fanfare to a more eclectic, “organic” mix of melancholy and silly-sounding
arrangements that range from giddy to melodramatic to seemingly aimless. Together will likely receive better reception than Challengers, their controversial 2007 release that signaled the most drastic change in the New Pornographer’s sound thus far.

Together emphasizes the orchestral elements that Challengers introduced, mixing them seamlessly with synthesized embellishments and textures. “Moves” sets the tone for the album with a deep, loud opening riff from the string section with a subtle electric guitar overlay for some added crunch. The New Pornographers rev the engines in “Your Hands (Together)” with cymbal crashes and guitar riffs sparsely scattered throughout a gently throbbing, synthesized landscape. “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk” is a charming arrangement with tedious verses that eventually open up into a grand, sweeping chorus that’s as sugary sweet as it is radiant and powerful. “My Shepherd” is classic Neko Case, whose thundering clarion call commands the chorus into submission. Perhaps their strongest arrangement is “A Bite Out of My Bed,” whose ecstatic cries of “Oh my darling! Oh my heart!” will sweep you up into a blissful whirlwind of harmonic whimsy, while the pounding beat ricochets off blasting horns and whining guitars.

The New Pornographer’s latest presents the most mature portrait of the band so far, but many songs left me feeling puzzled or disappointed. “Valkyrie in the Roller Disco” sounds cheap, a predictable progression with lackluster instrumentation and sappy vocals. “Up in the Dark” and “Daughters of Sorrow” seem to wander aimlessly, building up incredible amounts of tension only to finish abruptly without any kind of satisfying resolve. Fortunately, Together concludes with the spunky and aptly named final track “We End Up Together” (unlike the killjoy finisher “The Spirit of Giving In” from Challengers) that sounds much like the opening track and gives the album a complete, connected, well-rounded feel.

This is a great album; certainly one of their best (I’d place it in a dead heat with The Electric Version after Twin Cinema and runner-up Mass Romantic). Would I recommend it to everyone? Certainly not. Fans will undoubtedly find many things to appreciate, but first-time listeners would be better off familiarizing themselves with the New Pornographer’s magnum opus Twin Cinema, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest albums of the past decade and arguably their best (Mass Romantic, however, is my personal favorite). The New Pornographers are truly a unique and refreshingly different band, utilizing many familiar instruments and sounds and arranging them in ways only the New Pornographers could conceive. Despite their fluctuating style over the years, their songs remain instantly recognizable among fans and non-fans alike. The exclusively New Pornographers sound we know and love has remained intact and flourished throughout their illustrious career, and Together, thankfully, is no different.

Psychology has taught me analyze behavioral theories in a different light. Evidence overwhelmingly points to the fact that, consciously or subconsciously, everything we do and experience and the way we do and experience everything affects us. So surely there’s some weight to the idea that online interactions can only provide a synthetic, artificial sense of relationship—nothing that approaches the “real” interactions we experience most of the time. The only psychological basis to this argument can be found in the idea that there surely must be a difference, but that difference doesn’t necessarily have to be bad. As evidenced by the references in Clawson’s article, social networking has not affected the percentage of recluses in our society and in fact is often the reason people go out and get together in the first place. Social networking of the scale we see on Facebook and Twitter would have no place without a basis in reality. Facebook isn’t Second Life; it’s an extension of real life.

Examining the issue further, perhaps it’s not really all that different from “real” interactions. Anyone who’s had a good conversation knows that it always begins with something and ends with something else entirely, often after having cycled through many other topics before arriving at the conclusion. Twitter is a conversation that never ends. There’s no closure, no finality, no “see you next time.” It’s a continuous thread, winding and twisting its way through time, weaving the tapestry of our culture. The conversation is always changing, at times active and explosive, at other times dull, rambling, and more like show-and-tell than an exchange of ideas. The face-to-facers don’t know what to do with this because face-to-face, necessarily, cannot continue at all times indefinitely. There must be meetings, dates, appointments, and sessions. Social networking eliminates these constraints and allows us to contact and converse with our friends regardless of where we are and what we’re doing, and vice versa. Effectively, and I’ve argued this before, Twitter allows us to lead normal, active lives rooted in “the outside world” while conversing with those we can’t always (or ever) actually be with. Never in history have we been able to so easily maintain relationships with so many people, near and far, at any given moment in the day.

Perhaps social networking is better for conversation. Responses are delayed, and even as we type things we can read over them and edit them to ensure they convey our intended meaning before publishing. Delays between responses allow both parties space for reflection and thought, which may, in fact, procure an even deeper conversation than would be possible with the demands of real-time response. Conversely, social networking may be harmful to conversation because it allows too much time to respond, crippling our ability to converse in real-time for lack of space to think and process our thoughts, and perhaps also generating responses that do not reflect the commenter’s true beliefs, which may have been evident had the conversation occurred in real-time. Also, people can be tempted to simply rant at another person for paragraphs on end (guilty!) because they have all the uninterrupted time and space in the world to do so. It’s also worth pointing out that some of the most poignant statements are made spur-of-the-moment, without time to reflect or edit before vocalizing.

I am of the opinion that generally, social networking has helped us become more articulate, thoughtful, and responsive human beings. It has also made us more passive-aggressive, more subject to abuse, and more likely to shun or “rank” our friends based on silly but ultimately harmful criteria that we find everywhere from schoolhouses to office buildings throughout the world. This issue certainly offers tremendous variety beyond my tiny view of the matter. What do you think? Do our conversations benefit from social networking, or do they suffer?

When I describe myself online, I most often refer to a phrase I coined a while ago while reflecting on the fact that I often solve people’s tech problems: “Most people consider me a friend, or tech support, or both.” While this is certainly meant to be lighthearted and perhaps procure a few knowing smiles, the fact that I am constantly being asked questions about technology and having to find answers for people has caused me to return to my reflection on this matter, and evaluate whether or not it’s really worthwhile for me to continue providing this free service.

I don’t think any of you who ask me for help are trying to waste my time, or have any desire to do so. Sometimes, though, I get the feeling that you believe you aren’t really incurring any significant inconvenience upon me when you ask me questions that you have decided are much easier for me to find out than for you to find out. And what’s the harm in that? I’m way better at it, I can find answers more quickly, so why not ask me for something that presents a significant burden to you and a trivially small task for me?

I’m coming down hard on this point because in any other area of life this practice would be frowned upon. Finding random information about technical problems is a task that takes time and effort for anyone. Can’t find food? Sure, I’ll just go hunt an antelope for you myself, skin it, cook it to perfection with a side of quinoa and eggplant parmesan, and you can eat it all up. Is your iPod’s hold switch not working? Sit back and sip on a nice cocktail while I spend the next half hour browsing Apple’s support website and forums trying to find the solution to your particular problem, which could be any number of things.

We humans are built to learn. And in the same way that I learned to add and subtract, spell, and read, I learned how to use Google. Only “learning” to use Google is more of an exercise of familiarizing oneself with the technology, because it’s built to operate in a way that most naturally responds to our needs. But nowadays, that really isn’t an issue, because using Google has become second nature to most of us. What’s the point here? I wasn’t born with the ability to find things faster than other people; I simply know that I need to search for things on Google when I have problems and you, my inquisitive friend, with your perplexing issues and highly specific inquiries, apparently do not.

When you ask me for help on something, I simply go through the steps you should be taking to get the problem fixed, but that you haven’t done because for some reason you think I know everything there is to know about anything. I’m here to tell you I don’t. I rarely know the answer to technological questions off the top of my head relative to the volume of inquiries I receive on a regular basis. You can safely assume that in most cases, if you can’t get something to work, I’m just as likely as you or anyone else to know the solution to the problem off the top of my head, because either I have experienced what you have, or I haven’t. And if I haven’t, I have to go find the solution, just like anyone else who hasn’t.

My friends, when I say “use Google,” I’m not being an asshole, withholding valuable information from you for the sake of some stupid principle that you have to find everything out for yourself. I say that because I don’t know! All of you who marvel when I send you the link to the exact place that has the information you need, marvel no more! I had to figure it out using Google, something I know you can just as easily do, though you may not be so inclined.

I’m done playing tech support. It sucks. And if you can’t get by without me, schedule an appointment at the genius bar or take it up with the manufacturer, because they are paid to help you, and I am not. Asking nicely doesn’t make a difference if it means I have to do your work for you. You’re going to have to embark on a magical adventure of discovery that will make you a better person at the end. Sorry to have to impose that on you.

[Updated]: Freedom of expression is, in my opinion, of the utmost importance, but I felt some of the profanity I employed previously in this post was acrimoniously underscored and contributed little, if anything, to the argument. I have edited a couple of phrases to more accurately and poignantly reflect the meaning I wish to convey.

School this year so far has been going well. I started off Fall term strongly, although I will admit that in general I was lazy, and my success is due to the mostly written work required of me in both my Writing 122 and Political Science 386 classes. Writing 122 was like a basic high school essay-writing course, and unfortunately a requirement here at the UO (glad to have that out of the way!) My Political Science class dealt with social movements from the past century or so, starting with the labor movement in the late 1800s; shifting focus to the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1950s, 60s, and eventually dwindling in the 1970s; and finally studying modern social movements like women’s rights and AIDS awareness. My grade in this class also depended wholly on written work, so the effort I exerted was minimal.

I took a weight training course and an Astronomy course in addition to these two written courses. Astronomy proved to be my biggest challenge, and though I passed, I feel that I could have and should have excelled in this class. College has been as much of a lesson in time management and prioritization as anything else I’ve learned in all my other courses thus far.

I’ve definitely encountered a lot of new perspectives, most of them secular. It’s been a humbling as well as educational experience for me as I recognize more and more how little the scope of my own knowledge is compared to the vast sea of ideas I have yet to wrestle with, many of which are commonplace and have a tremendous influence on the way others live their lives. Before Fall of 2008, I lived in a world of self-assurance that my beliefs are ultimately correct, no matter what periods of doubt I may encounter in the future (periods of doubt I had no way of knowing anything about, of course). Now I see that I have for more to learn than to offer in this category.

As the world gets bigger and I get smaller, I struggle daily with my faith. I’m trying to be honest with myself in terms of what I really, truly, convincingly believe and what I merely have clung to over the years without examining the process of arriving at those beliefs. This honesty-first policy has made me feel like a new convert, refusing to simply shrug off issues that bother me and recognizing that they are major sources of struggle for me.

From there I changed the subject, because I felt enough of the already lengthy letter had been spent talking about me, me, me. But the last paragraph will leave many of you (and indeed myself as I proofread this post) unsatisfied, so I’ll expand on that a bit more. I’m still very much a Christian, in that I believe in original Sin and the resurrection of Jesus from death, who was both human and divine, and that by God’s grace his sacrifice pays in full the debt of my inherently sinful nature. In many ways the honest doubts I’ve wrestled with have refined my core beliefs and forced me to consider their wider and practical application.

Ultimately, my continued observation of and experience with human evil, even when good intentions are involved, has kept my belief about the doctrine of original sin intact (as well as my acceptance of the idea that I need to be redeemed if there is, indeed, a righteous and perfect God). My belief in the resurrection as a historically viable explanation of the explosion in growth and expansion of early Christianity has ultimately kept my beliefs about Jesus and his teachings intact. But through it all, a clear need in my life for a solid foundation, a faithful friend, and a meaning and purpose behind my “toils” has kept me desperately clinging to God for sustenance and growth. And though I can’t defend any aspect of my faith perfectly right now (nor can I ever hope to do so, as inevitably my beliefs, though they are sure to change and hopefully strengthen overtime, will always be flawed), I can with confidence say that pursuing Christ has been a truly fulfilling and vitalizing aspect of my life. Inexplicably, my sustained denial of the desire to believe that the best course of action in this life is to achieve maximum pleasure has actually given me greater joy than when I operate under a mindset of self service and gratification.

Job 28:28 says the following: “And he said to humankind, ‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’” To those outside the Christian faith, this statement is truly horrific, because “fear of the Lord” has negative connotations these days. “Fear of the Lord” is the same belief that fuels the hordes of screaming believers to mindlessly and even violently dismiss the beliefs of others in favor of pushing their own agenda. It should hopefully go without saying that this is far removed from my own intention and desire (though in practice this may be quite different, and I readily accept this possibility). You could say I’ve been deeply influenced by Socrates’ philosophical mantra, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” In light of this, my only rational course of action is to place my faith in the wisdom of God, who, if he really does exist, knows absolutely what is right—that is, what is in accordance with his design—and if I believe that he is good, I can only conclude that the “Fear of the Lord” is not only the wisest thing I could do, but the most beneficial to myself and others in my life.

So for now, that’s what I’m going with, and since this topic is certainly much larger than what I have discussed in this post, I’ll simply stop here and perhaps pick it up again at a later time, ideally when I have a more concise understanding of my beliefs. As always, your insights and critique are invaluable.

I’m a man of simplicity. I like it when things work quickly and quietly. No amount of features makes a sluggish, monster of a product worth using when there are simpler, more effective alternatives available. This is why I’m such a huge fan of Facebook Lite—despite its lack of support for Notes, Groups, and a few other things on the full featured Facebook, the layout is clean, zippy, and (yeah, I know everyone says it) Twitter-like.

Why do I like Twitter? Because it’s the epitome of simple social networking. Twitter is a simple feed. That’s it. If I find someone interesting, I follow them. If I find someone’s tweets annoying irrelevant to me, I don’t follow them. And that’s all the social management I have to worry about.

Many of my friends seem to have developed this idea that Twitter is something akin to texting maniacs and media sponges whose vain conceit drives their every syllable. While this is true for some users, Twitter is only what you make it. If you’re interested in celebrities and uploading hourly pictures and having millions of followers and following millions of people, more power to you! If you’re like me and simply don’t find the occasion to update for a few days and forgo keeping up with your feed for a while, that’s cool too! Chances are you’ll develop usage habits that suit your needs uniquely.

Here’s the bottom line: in my view, Twitter reduces social networking to all that it ever needs to be in a way that is more effective than networks with all the bells and whistles. Twitter allows you to create conversations, memes, and a distinct culture, all using a brilliantly simple system of 140-character updates.

A lot of your friends are already on Twitter! Including me! Log on and use your old pal Google to figure out the rest.

In high school I began blogging. My first ever post, believe it or not, was about a college football game (University of Tennessee vs. University of Florida) in which I ranted that the referees had ruined the game for Florida with some heinous calls, and the touchdowns compromised by those calls were to blame for Florida’s loss. This was to herald a trend in my writing: rants about issues I felt were unjust or needed my personal enlightenment. This first post contains the only mention of sports out of any of my subsequent posts to this day.

My high school experiences had a tremendous impact on my writing. I made my closest friends in high school, and through these new relationships experienced a tumultuous time in my growth as a human being. I began to absorb more ideas from outside of the influence of my home, encountering new methods and perspectives. I found plenty that I didn’t like. These became the subjects of my posts, which dealt mostly with theological issues, because my school had a very mainstream evangelical understanding of Christianity that in many ways conflicted with the reformed, missional tradition I had been raised in.

After high school, I left my home, and the cycle has so far repeated itself. I was and have been in a state of absorption. It’s been exciting in many ways and tough in more than a few, but it’s a time in my life that I have been markedly silent. Except through social mediums like Facebook and Twitter, I haven’t really shared much about what I’m thinking or even doing all the time. To be honest, it’s mostly mundane—this quarter in particular has been a jumbled mess of work, school, Young Life, and the joys (and challenges) of living in a house with four room mates.

All this time my major has remained Undeclared, and I haven’t made too much progress in my thoughts about career since I graduated high school. I had a stronger inclination to teach then, but it was at a time when I felt I had much to teach. Since last year I have realized to a fuller extent how limited my knowledge has always been, and how small of a person I am in this immense, beautiful, painful, puzzling world we live in. I couldn’t find anything to write about because I lost all confidence in my ability to fully comprehend any subject I tried to pursue. Every post ran into a dead end. What was the point, and who was I convincing?

I recently came to the conclusion that this shouldn’t stop me from writing, because I’m considering it as a major factor in my search for a field of study. I owe much of my inspiration to my friend Chris Knight, who is a regular contributor to Geeky Pleasures and has just recently “relaunched” a blog of his own. So I’m committing myself to write again on this fresh palette, to boldly share my thoughts on subjects which I am entirely unqualified to address. The design is bare and minimalistic now, because eventually I will learn CSS well enough to tweak the appearance and host my own page, and I want my design, like my writing, to be honest.

I hope you’ll bear with me as I continue my long-abandoned quest to grow closer to my Creator through the wonky lenses he has given me.