Everyones Connected and... Loving It?

EC Etiquette
So I’ve been on EC a couple of months now. I have to say that it is a culture all its own, filled with intricate subtleties. I now have the material for a dissertation. Two important chapters would include the following:

1. The yellow/green light for single status
Apparently it is not cool to give yourself a green light. I didn't know this, but I have discovered that if you are single, the chic pick is the yellow light to add a level of mystique to your profile. Oh well. Points to me for honesty if not mystery.

2. The reckless abandon with which people freely proclaim their interest in others and their appraisal of the opposite sex’s “hot”ness.
I find the ladies are bolder about this. If you can actually locate an A/P guy who doesn't have a red light, you're sure to find at least 294573 guestbook entries and photo gallery comments in which young(?) single(?) ladies praise said gentleman's dashing good looks/choice of dress and declare their undying adoration.

Hint
The boy-girl ratio is already out of wack, but on EC it goes up exponentially. Ladies, if you’re joining EC to get the hook up, I have to warn you that the numbers are against you.

Your Sins Will Find You out
I also have to warn you now that EC has a feature which allows you to see who has visited your page. I did not know this. So I did a little “research.” You know, just seeing who’s out there sort of thing. Then I get these nice e-mails from strangers who inform, “I saw you checked me out and just wanted to say hi.” Anyways, just don’t think you’re going to be sly and sneak around and window shop. You will be spotted.

The Best of Times and...
You reach your friend limit in about 2 and a half weeks. Those are the happy times—your inbox constantly filling with requests from people who want a chance to say wonderful things about you. Then it’s over. Your obsessive “stay up till 3 a.m. and see who else I know and can link to” moments are gone because you realize you’ve hit the cap on people you know.

Then you’re just checking out people who know people you know, and somewhere in there it starts feeling a little stalker-ish-y. Then it’s just depressing that you only know 27 people. Then you decide to make yourself feel better about who you are, you’ll find ways to know people you really don’t know. That’s when you start getting the generic “sweet girl from camp” links. When you realize you’re never going to beat the greedy ol’ pros out there who’ve hit the 200 mark, you give up…. And then you discover myspace.com…..

American Idol Update

The Latest on Kaitlin's Success
Kaitlin Johnson advances another round after the first cuts on American Idol (AI) in Hollywood. My network reports that clips were shown which included Kaitlin, but none of her actually singing. So our curiosity builds!

The Schedule
As I understand it, next Tuesday night AI will air the second half of Round 1 competition in Hollywood. (Kaitlin was in the first half.) Wednesday night, however, should begin Round 2 competition, and hopefully the many curious fans Kaitlin has gained overnight will be granted a clip of her singing talent. For those of us with midweek service and no Tivo, we can always check the AI web site's video links on Thursday morning.

Comments & Trivia
Many of you have shared your views in the Comments section of the original post. While reading all this, I found myself wondering if there was ever an A/P on Star Search? Anybody remember that show? (This is a trivia test to see how young/old you are.) Had there been an A/P on Star Search back in the day, what would have been the church’s response? Is it any different now?

Pictures
Source: Fox’s American Idol web site

Salute to Curious George

Curious George Television Collaborator Found Dead
Just days before the release of the motion picture Curious George, Alan Shalleck, who created Disney television cartoons based on the children’s books, has been found dead. It’s a real shame that the circumstances around his death are so odd and could indicate a homicide. Instead of focusing on that, however, I’d like to salute the brilliance of Curious George and its creative team.

The Man in the Yellow Hat and Me
Curious George was among my favorite children’s books. That George could get into some predicaments. Little did I realize that these stories were written by two very fascinating people, H. A. and Margret Rey.

An Adventure All Their Own
The Reys combined their love for animals, writing, and drawing and began authoring and illustrating children’s books shortly after they married. The couple, however, were German Jews living in Paris in the 1940s. Just hours before the Nazis invaded Paris, the Reys escaped on bicycles H. A. built from spare parts. Among their sparse possessions they fled with was a manuscript of Curious George. And how fortunate we are that their work developed into seven original stories, future sequels, Alan Shalleck’s television cartoons, and now the motion picture.

The Scholars Come to Play Ball
Until today it has never crossed my mind to apply literary theory to the Curious George series. But while researching, I realized that there exists literary criticism on Curious George. Who knew? Feminists take issue with the lack of women in the story (as well as with Margaret Rey not being fully credited as a collaborator). And from a colonial reading, the Man in the Yellow Hat represents the evil West terrorizing and kidnapping other peoples (George). I guess it goes to show you can always read between the lines. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t mind reading the series again just for the simple reason we enjoyed it as kids: it was fun.

Ninetyandnine: An Apostolic in Hollywood

I can’t say enough good things about this week’s Ninetyandnine.com cover: An Apostolic in Hollywood. It features an interview with Eric Roemheld, who is a set designer for some famous big budget movies and a man making an impact in church drama ministry.

Hitting Home
I’ve mentioned my conflict over my personal involvement in the medium of movies. I thought the article with Eric Roemheld was extremely enlightening because it allows a view into the life of an upstanding Christian who happens to work in an industry many Christians have mixed views about. The interview was an eye-opener, and I respect Roemheld. Could you live in Hollywood, rub shoulders with celebrity actors, and approach movie-making with a humility that it is just your way of earning a living? What’s more, could you make healthy Christian choices each day about your career when that career by its very nature raises certain Christian dilemmas? Roemheld does and goes a step beyond to apply his skills to church ministry.

It’s sometimes easy to make a candy stick out of movies. We can easily pigeonhole film as a “bad” medium, and since very few Apostolics are involved, there’s little threat in making blanket statements about the film industry. The interview really shed some light on the industry and those Apostolics who are prayerfully trying to maintain their vocation and apply those skills back to the kingdom. I encourage you to read the interview and consider how the expanding prevalence of media in our society will impact the church, and in return, how we can impact others through media.

American Idol Continues…

Have you ever waited and strategically planned a party for optimal entertaining (i.e. while your parents are out of town and unaware of said party)? You invite ten or fifteen of your best pals for a laid-back night of fun at the parents’ pad, only to have those ten people invite ten and those ten invite ten and so on, creating a massive pyramid Mary Kay reps spend their whole lives dreaming about. The unexpected mass turnout is both scary and exciting.

That’s almost my reaction to the response and ensuing discussion generated by Kaitlin Johnson’s American Idol (AI) appearance. I did presume there would be a sector who took issue with her involvement in the show. But I was surprised at the volume of widespread comments we’ve seen.

The Hot Topic
It seems that many of us are trying to decipher our feelings about Apostolic participation in secular media. I hope that we will respect personal convictions on Kaitlin’s part. I also hope that we will use this occasion to generate some healthy discourse on Christian involvement in mass media. I find it interesting that this discussion is arising at a time when Ninetyandnine has just released a series of issues featuring several interviews, articles, and related reviews that explore the church and the role of media. Be sure to check those out. And in conclusion, I’ll basically say what I do when the aforementioned party scenario occurs: thanks for coming, and everyone enjoy.

The Schedule
Tuesday's AI episode (2/7/06) featured auditions from Boston, the final stop before beginning the Hollywood competition. So beginning Wednesday (2/8/06), Kaitlin will be among 175 contestants who've made it to Hollywood from the thousands of people who've auditioned. It's anybody's guess as to when or if at all the show might feature Kaitlin singing, but my network will be on it, and we will post any updates.

Two Seconds of Fame
An Everyonesconnected newspaper has not only included a link to one of my AI blogs, but they have actually quoted a statement from the post. Over 3,300 readers have checked it out, and there are over 150 comments. Thanks to Steven for including the quote. If you run across other similar references or Idol news, please e-mail me.

The Intersection of Christianity and Comics via Manga

From the Makers of G.I. Joe and My Little Pony
Wal-Mart welcomes the gospel in the form of a new Christian-themed manga. Familiar with the term manga? Many aren’t. In a nutshell, it’s Japanese style comics. And manga is etching out a niche in today’s media. Serenity: Bad Girl in Town by a veteran comic team is really making waves because it embeds a Christian theme in a manga art form. Following is an excerpt from a review of Serenity:

And although comics-lovers might find the Christian aspect annoying, and Christians might find the comics aspect annoying, at least one higher power has smiled on it—the power of Wal-Mart. This summer, a lot of kids associated with neither hard-core Christians nor comic-cons are going to be thumbing through Serenity—I predict many will like what they see.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear...
I find it interesting that the article mentions the Christian trepidation. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the differing opinions recently over an Apostolic on American Idol. Certainly there are other factors there, but for the sake of this magna discussion, it's interesting to see how the medium and the message interact. (Remember the famous book The Medium is the Message?)

Medium
It can be threatening to venture into uncharted territory, so I see the magna catching flack from traditionalist Christians, perhaps because of inconsistencies in the message, but perhaps also because the medium is so non-conventional. However, isn’t there something to be said for any venture that at its core is an attempt to share the hope of Christ, even if it is a nonconventional medium? In the case of Serenity, doesn’t the end justify the means?