Monday, April 28, 2008

Internet Fun

In case you are looking for something to use to procrastinate for twenty minutes or so, another Epworth podcast is up:

Monday, April 21, 2008

If you want it done right . . .

I suppose you have to do it yourself. My semester is wrapping up, and one of the classes I have this semester is "Contemporary Ministries with Youth". Since my degree program is Christian Education and youth ministry is where I want to serve in life, one would think that this class would be a cornerstone course for me, and I wanted it to be. Sadly the course has been not so great. Most of the books have not been worthwhile (one was so bad I got rid of it the day after the class was done with it), and the course discussion has lacked severely (mostly because the professor is not very skilled at crafting questions or facilitating discussion), so through May and into June I am going to do my own Youth Ministry course to hopefully learn some of the stuff I wanted to learn. I divided it up into three "micro courses" and the workload is light (seriously I am not going to assign myself a 12 page paper for an imaginary class that is just lunacy) Anyway, for four weeks starting in May here is what I am planning to do teach myself:

Soul Care

Week 1
First half of A Perfect Life
Soul School Chapter 1 (assignment, Lab, and test)

Week 2
2nd Half of A Perfect Life
Soul School Chapter 2 (assignment and Lab)
Soul School Chapter 3 (Test only)

Week 3
Sage Advice
Soul School Chapter 4 (assignment, lab, and test)
Make blog post about A Perfect Life

Week 4
Soul School Chapter 5 (assignment, lab, test)
Soul School Chapter 6 (lab only)


Youth Culture 101

Week 1
Chapter 3, 4 and 5
Listen to the top songs on iTunes
Spend some time looking over websites specifically marketed toward teenagers

Week 2
Chapter 6 and 7
Spend time reading magazines about pop culture, specifically ones marketed to teens

Week 3
Chapter 8 and 9

Week 4
Chapters 10 and 11
Do independent research on “cutting”

Approaches to Youth Ministry

Week 1
Chapters 8 to 15 In Jesus Centered Youth Ministry

Week 2
Introduction- Chapter 7 in Presence Centered Youth Ministry
Skim and familiarize with at least three selections from Imaginative Prayer

Week 3
Chapter 8-11 in Presence Centered Youth Ministry
Section 1 in Deep Justice in a Broken World

Week 4
Section 2 in Deep Justice in a Broken World
Final Due by end of week: Plan out one curriculum set for Fall Semster.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

+1 to Internet Superstar Status

A couple of months ago I applied for a grant to create a community based, Christian podcast. I received the grant, and the podcast now exist! You can subscribe to it on iTunes and everything. For now, I would greatly appreciate if you would give it a listen or download it so you can listen to it later. I will even provide a nice little player right here for you:

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Shamelessly stealing posts

Yes, you may have read a similar blog here. If there is something is kind of known as "my thing" it is being known, for unique and fun T-shirts. Of course this does create a tension with my better half, and she does occasionally veto shirts that I think are oh so awesome, like this one:
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However, what follows are five shirts that I need. They all come from thinkgeek.com, and fit me and my "style" (if you can call it that very well).

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Browncoat is an reference to Firefly/serenity, and I really do need the quote on the back on a T-shirt.

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This shirt is totally an inside joke, that you either fully get when you see it or don't. I imagine wearing that shirt and getting a bunch of odd looks, until someone gives me a knowing nod, and we share a moment together.

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Boomsticks are indeed zombie repellent, I figure wearing a shirt like this would sort of be a public service announcement.

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This shirt really makes me laugh, I especially love that it is signed "-v"

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freaking awesome! I think I am going to consult the law budget and see if I can click on the buy button.

Virtual Reality is Here

It is true, reality has been perfectly simulated in a digital space. The specific reality for me is what would happen if I ever tried out for American Idol. This weekend Abigail "we" got the new American Idol game for the Xbox. My singing ability hovers somewhere between "stupendously awful" and "crime against humanity", despite that it is fun to duets together. However, I did do a single song to let the three American judges scrutinize me, and it turned out EXACTLY how it would if I really tried out for American Idol. Randy commented about how it was weird and rough at the beginning. Paula was nice, but still said I sucked, and Simon said: "I think you made up notes that don't even exist. It was a terrible performance, and now you know the truth."