One more post on Rich Mullins… he and his band perform an impressive feat here with a cup game throughout the song. I don’t know how they manage to keep track of it all.
Great share from The Music Corner. Check out their blog if music (especially Christian music) is your thing.
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Lessons I Learned from a Ragamuffin
Here’s some insight from an individual who had a passing meeting with Rich Mullins… and his thoughts on what made Rich such a powerful minister of God’s grace and truth.
Rich Mullins Was Aptly Named
A few days ago (before I went on this short work trip away from home), my wife and I finally watched Ragamuffin – the life story of Rich Mullins’ ministry and struggles fitting in to the Christian music industry.
She pointed out that Rich Mullins’ name is appropriate: a guy who’s always mulling over the deep and rich things of God’s love, the practical expressions of it that get lost in religious structures and routines.
I know as a newly-recommitted Christian, Rich Mullins’ songs challenged me and pushed me to go farther and deeper in my faith, to be authentic and to think about what it really meant to pursue Christ.
For days since watching the film, I’ve had one of my favorites of his songs stuck in my head: If I Stand.
The chorus really captures a simple passion that it would all be about Him and not about me:
If I stand, let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through
And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
If I sing, let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep, let it be as a man who is longing for his home.
In the verses, he points out how the “stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things.” As I write this, I just finished reading through Psalm 4, which includes the phrase, “How long will you love what is worthless?” (v.2)
I love a lot of arguably worthless pursuits. Or I’ll say I engage in a lot of pursuits of debatable value. I can make a case for the “good” that may come out of them. But it rings hollow.
Songs like “If I Stand” refocus me and get me centered back on Christ. But that’s just one of the awesome songs Rich wrote, just one topic on which it felt like he spoke and sang directly to my soul. So for a while I’m going to post a song a week, starting Wednesday, and briefly share my thoughts or why the song means so much to me.
Here’s If I Stand, recorded live. (I had to see him actually playing piano, because I don’t want to believe he can intentionally hit all those keys. He also makes a mistake in this, so you know he’s human.)
A Critique Feedback Method
Last night, I chatted with an old friend and former co-worker who is also an aspiring writer. It turned out he was looking for a writing accountability partner. I was happy to oblige, as I can always use another kick in the rear to get me motivated.
He suggested a feedback system that I thought balances the positive and negative very well. It captures some important overall aspects without necessarily digging into line-by-line details (which is what I normally do in my current critique group).
I thought I’d share it here as another option, perhaps less intrusive, for getting some feedback on a writing project.
After reading, answer the following questions:
1 – What did you like best overall? (Feel, characters, tone, etc.)
2 – Best lines (hopefully 1 or 2)
3 – Things that worked (made you want to keep reading)
4 – Any other comments
Then
1 – What doesn’t feel right?
2 – Worst lines / paragraphs
3 – What confusing thing needs further clarification now (i.e. not an intriguing mystery to be explained)?
4 – Things that definitely don’t work
5 – Other constructive criticism or funny/biting comments
I think this is a great idea, and I am eagerly looking forward to how this partnership develops.
Any thoughts about additions to this feedback method? Are there any aspects you’d want to see covered if it was your piece getting reviewed? Let me know in a comment.
Also, I really can’t say enough about the importance of getting a real person’s feedback on creative writing. Critique group has been the most wonderful experience thus far in my short writing journey, and it’s the school where I’ve learned the most lessons in the shortest time.
I documented many of those lessons in a series of posts in April, discussing Elements of Critique that I look for when critiquing a piece of writing. These lessons are condensed into this free e-book .pdf for your use: Elements of Critique
It’s designed to help any critique know what to look for, and to help anyone set up their own critique group if they don’t have one available to join.
If you find it helpful, I’d love to hear about it.
Home Away From Home
Last night as part of my first full day away from home for a bit, I picked up a coffee maker.
Buying a coffee maker seemed silly. I wouldn’t be here THAT long.
This morning, as I struggle to not crawl back into bed, as the aroma of Sumatra coffee fills the room, I am so convinced I did the right thing.
Don’t be jealous. But I’m about to enjoy 48 ounces of amazing.
How’s your day going? Mine’s off to a great start!
Is He For She For Me?
Emma Watson invited me to a party, but I’m not sure if I’m going to accept.
Her speech at the United Nations for the start of the He For She campaign was all the rage on my Twitter feed.
I listened to the speech with interest after hearing that it riled up a bunch of dissenters. What could she have suggested to get such angry responses?
She suggested such lofty goals as equal pay for equal work. Or girls receiving the same access to education as boys. Or girls not being married off like property while they are still children.
I agree with her on all those things.
She also suggested that feminism shouldn’t have a negative connotation, nor should it be a “women’s thing.” Hence the campaign, intended to call up support from men who agree with the above. It’s not enough for women to say “I’m for equality.” We need men to say it too, not just with words and tweets, but with actions in the public and political spheres.
She said:
“I want men to take up this mantle, so that their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too.”
I agree wholeheartedly. I grew up getting picked on sometimes (even as an adult), because where other boys would play football or whatever “real guys” do, I was happy to draw comics, play piano, or cook my favorite foods. When my crew in the Air Force would go drinking or fishing, I would go to the Chapel (a reliable place to find a piano) or library. I had a crewmember express shock that I was married with (at the time) a child on the way. “Dude,” he said, “I thought you were gay!”
Nope. Just human. Just an individual who does things differently than you.
If Emma Watson wants people to be free of gender stereotypes like that, I happily agree.
She also said:
“Both men and women should be free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong.”
You bet! I know some really strong women. And it seems to me that they’ve paid a steep price for being that way. What would be accepted or even respected in a man is often treated like a threat in a woman, at least from what I’ve seen. It should not be so.
Great points, Ms. Watson!
That said, there was something that caught my ear about the speech.
While on the one hand, she said “everyone’s invited to the table, everyone’s welcome to join the conversation,” this was immediately followed with “women should be in control of their own bodies.”
If I disagree with Ms. Watson (and I’m sure I do) about abortion–what it means, whether it is morally acceptable, when life begins, what life is worthy of legal protection–am I welcome to the table? Am I permitted to join the conversation?
More importantly, what kind of conversation will that be?
Because it seems patently obvious that there is one accepted right answer on this subject, and it is the answer Ms. Watson already possesses.
There might be an RSVP on my invitation from Ms. Watson, but there’s no point in responding if my contribution is going to be ignored.
The Power of a Blog
Some people measure their blog’s success in views and visitors. For others, the measurement might be the number of armed policemen who show up in the middle of the night.
The news out of Hong Kong reminded me that I’ve had this draft post in the hopper, waiting to be completed.
I recently completed a Mandarin-Chinese language refresher course.
As part of our exposure to cultural issues, our teacher brought a documentary called “High Tech, Low Life” which followed the lives of two Chinese bloggers and their experiences dealing with China’s governmental restrictions on expression.
Here’s the trailer.
One is a man in his fifties, who goes by the name Tiger Temple. He refuses to be called a “citizen blogger” because creating a label or category like that invites government crackdown and restrictions on what “citizen bloggers” are permitted to write.
The other is a man in his twenties, Zhou Shuguang, who is well on his way to a form of celebrity status on the Internet. He is even invited to speak to a worldwide forum in Germany about China’s web restrictions and his blogging experiences.
I watched with interest and was challenged by thoughts about the power of this concept called a “blog.”
At one point, ten armed policemen come for Tiger Temple, swarming the humble older man in his temporary home. They pack him into a van and drive him back to his hometown several hours away from the city.
Why? To quell fears that his communicated thoughts or even mere presence might create a disturbance to the status quo during an important conference of Communist leadership.
All because a man jots down his experiences and thoughts about life happening around him.
Tiger Temple writes because he sees it as a way of showing the real situation wherever he is, and a way to ensure that the voiceless get their stories heard.
Zhou Shuguang makes it clear he has no such altruistic thoughts about the purpose of his online activities. He’s not out to make a political scene to defend someone else or call out the government about an issue unrelated to him. But he still stands as an example of someone demanding the basic rights and freedoms of humanity – the right to think as we desire and speak as we like. His focus may be self-centered but his action still benefits many.
This made me wonder: Do I value my ability to communicate freely the way these men do? Would I suffer personal loss or some level of government oppression to keep saying whatever I want on the Internet?
It’s easy to say whatever I want when hitting “Post” costs me nothing.
Oh, Progressive San Fran, there you go again.
I’m certainly not a Puritan, but…
Dear SFO Pacific News outlet,
You might want to not place adult mags like Penthouse and Hustler literally right next to the toy airplanes and Hello Kitty plush animals.
THAT’S NOT WHAT HELLO KITTY MEANS.
Just a thought, from a Midwestern prude.
Time Travellin'
Happy joy, I get to take off from Japan about 4 PM and land in the States the same day at 9 AM.
I don’t even need a blue box.
Take that, Capaldi!
SaluteGate Seriously?
If you’ve seen a video or picture of the “Latte Salute” a.k.a. Semper Venti, or if you’ve heard (or participated in) the rambling cries of how much our President supposedly hates the military and disrespects them by this action, I invite you to check this link,
Warning: there’s some language in the article, and the comments section as always should be avoided as the bane of rational thought.
But the writer absolutely KILLS it on this subject.
Let’s give our thought and attention to that which is deserving.