I know you are (sucessfully) making a joke, but I'll go ahead and respond.
I do agree that the quoted individual did mispeak a bit. I believe Christian music has significantly gained credibility in recent years, but I wouldn't describe it as "skyrocketing" and I disagree with his history.
Christian music was HORRENDOUS for a very long period of time. The musicians had a heart for God, but not an aptitude for writing lyrics or music.
Originally the genre was nothing more than the equivalent of hymns or thinly-veiled theology set to not always competently played music. Obviously this brought a lot of deserved ridicule.
I put 1995 as the year that Christian music started to not suck.
That year the self-titled Jars of Clay disc debuted (along with it the song Flood), as well as dcTalk's Jesusfreak. Both displayed expert musical skill along with lyrics that actually MEANT SOMETHING to listeners.
Fast forward to today, and it's not unusual to hear about overtly Christian artists having secular success. Switchfoot (and their Meant to Live) is the current poster child for this.
But I think the biggest impact is in the bands that you aren't aware are Christian, which I (and others) call "Christian-influenced."
Lifehouse is comprised of Christians, write on Christian ideas and themes (many of their songs can be properly interpreted as worship), but also intentionally allow their music to be correctly interpreted secularly.
They don't compromise their Christian roots and beliefs, while not beating non-Christians over the heads with the Jesus Stick.
Bringing this back to gaming (since this is the games section of Slashdot), I believe Digital Praise will be successful if and only if they are able to produce games that are as technically credible and enjoyable to the player as that which is currently on the market.
It's great to focus on God and attempt to glorify Him. But in order to have impact in the world at large, you have to have relevance as well.
Christian music (eventually) learned this lesson. We'll see if Christian gaming does.
Someone told this story on Slashdot regarding over-qualification months (years?) ago...
Essentially, someone had a Ph.D but was looking for some sort of relatively menial but steady work so he could continue to eat.
In order to avoid being thrown out for being over-qualified and therefore requiring more pay / risk of leaving for better work, he changed his resume to the still truthful:
Education Diploma: Smalltown High School, 1975
Hobbies B.S in Mechanical Engineering, Foo State University, 1979 M.S. in Physics, University of Bar, 1981 Ph.D. in Physics, University of Bar, 1984
He was hired, and told that his soon-to-be employer "approved of hobbies."
"Taking a 3mm drill bit and very carefully working through [the back of the N-Gage near the phone speaker housing] until you break through the plastic"
They misspelled "with extreme prejudice and a priest on hand."
I just can't put my finger on what they're up to...
I have two words to answer your question.
Software Patents
A few more words...
Eben Moglen spoke at Harvard in February regarding not just SCO, but the future direction of the IT industry at large.
He said that today the battle is over copyright. In five years the battle will be over software patents. And in ten years the battle will shift to that of bandwidth. Of ensuring that everyone has access to bandwidth as easily as they do electricity, so that all may share in the information that is available.
My dates may be slightly off, but you can see the coming progression of battlefields.
Microsoft engages in illegal and immoral behavior. But they are not stupid. They are preparing for the next war, which will be software patents.
If you haven't seen that speech, you should. To call it enlightening is to do it a disservice.
- Neil Wehneman
P.S. I realize I use battle and war imagery a lot in this post, but quite frankly I believe the stakes are that high. Imagine if the printing press revolution had fallen to the entrenched interests of the day. We are now in the same situation, only with digital information.
Is anyone aware of CMS's designed specifically for writers (or adaptable to them)? Or perhaps what I envision a Content Management System doing is different from what others are doing.
Specifically what I am in the process of coding (poorly) is a system that will allow me to manage and elegantly present information about the various writing I've done. This information would be metadata such as Date Written, Themes, Similar Pieces, Inspiration, etc...
What I have now on my personal site is pretty rudimentary. (example)
I just have the texts themselves as individual HTML files in a separate directory, while the metadata is in a MySQL database that is queried through PHP.
Thoughts, links, direction, or experiences to share?
I will assume that you are joking and don't believe that all (or even most) Christians believe in the "Christ-centered recovery and rehabilitation" you are attacking.
Just in case though, I will go ahead and relate my experience.
I went though four years of depression with suicidal intent. Doctors and medication solved part of the problem (the clinical aspect of it) and returning to Christ solved the other part of the problem (the situational aspect).
My belief is that medication gets you stable, counseling gets you fixed. I was helped by, and continue to work with, many individuals who hold both degrees in Pastoral Counseling and state regulated counseling / social work certifications.
Just because someone implements Christ as part of their psychiatric solution doesn't mean that they believe modern medicine to be of the Devil.
I can't claim this joke as my own. I'm pretty sure I read it on Slashdot months before.
Everytime I see one of those intelligence-insulting pre-movie commercials telling me that "by downloading movies off the internet I'm causing this stunt man's family to starve," I want to stand up and shout as loud as I can:
"HOLY SHIT!! You mean I can download movies for free off of the Internet??!!"
And then run out of the theater as quickly as I can.
That seller is listing OOo with the words "Word Excel" in the listing. He's not selling Word or Excel. It's against eBay policy to use the names of similar or competing products in your title.
As for the morality / legality on the F/OSS end, I think he's relatively free and clear. In the description he's pretty honest with what they're getting, even though I didn't see him mention OOo by name.
My one complaint is that he lists OOo as "100% compatible" with MS Office, which it isn't yet. You can ding him on that.
Would I buy from this guy? No. But his feedback looks like a lot of people have and they're satisfied.
I agree that our discussion on the affects of suicide will hinge on our spiritual beliefs. I'm not going to beat you upside the head with mine (unless you really want me to).
I'm really glad that you got immediate relief from whatever treatement you received. Most meds though take several weeks before they show results. I try to be realistic with people when I recommend they see a doctor and start a serious treatment plan.
I wouldn't describe my poem as a "nice way to describe what [I] felt." An honest way, but not necessarily nice:).
As to your postscript, I actually have an intersting story with that. I'm a Christian (have been for years) and am involved with Campus Crusade for Christ. After I graduate I will be joining staff with Crusade.
However, when I entered college in Fall of '99, I had some discussions with upperclassmen in Crusade about the doctrine of Eternal Security. Basically Eternal Security states that once you have sincerely accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, there is NOTHING you can do to lose your salvation.
I didn't believe in Eternal Security when I got to college, but honest discussion with friends in Crusade convinced me to accept it.
Now I had one less reason to NOT kill myself. After all, if I was going to Heaven anyway, why not speed things up a little?
Thankfully, I've gotten better, and that whole "Suicide = Straight to Hell" thing (which I assume you're referencing) is a moot point for me.
I do agree that much more is gained from correcting the suicidal-causing feelings and problems than copping out through suicide.
I'm glad things are getting better. I would recommend that you do get into counseling just because there is rarely just a clinical / medical aspect to depression. Also, a lot of your relationships have probably suffered over the years, and you might want to get some help with how to repair them.
Just speaking from experience.
As to your sig, don't worry about having something depressed up as long as you're honest with how you feel. I can't stand people who put up a happy shiny bullshit appearance when in fact they know things are horribly, horribly wrong.
One thing that has been very difficult for me as well is waking up. I've often felt physically chained to the bed, struggling for consciousness but unable to break through and get moving.
I would often fall back into dreams where I would be moving and interacting with what appeared to be my house. I would have to try to find logical inconsistencies with my environment to try to prove to myself that I was still dreaming, so I could force myself awake. And then I would simply awake to another dream.
Yes, admitting defeat before the day has begun makes a lot of the other therapy less effective.
But when you're worn down, you're worn down. That's part of what makes depression so difficult to beat, as you often lack the energy to work towards a cure.
Another aspect of what you're talking about and linked to is called Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy, or CBT.
CBT helped me a great deal. Basically CBT says that feelings are caused by thoughts and thoughts are caused by belief. We have to trace back to our core beliefs if we want to understand what's happening to us.
For example, let's say I ask a woman out and she says "no." I ended up feeling sad, depressed, and lonely.
My feelings are "sad, depressed, and lonely." Feelings are always true and real, as I am really feeling lonely, and it true that I am lonely.
What thoughts triggered these feelings? Well, the thought that I'm alone and going to stay that way. Again, thoughts are always real, but not always true. It is very real that I am thinking that I'm alone and going to stay that way. However, it is not necessarily true that that I am alone AND going to stay that way.
Finally, what beliefs triggered those thoughts? Well, the belief that if one woman turns me down, it is indicative of the fact that all women will turn me down. Beliefs are often not real and / or not true. For example, my belief that if one woman turns me down it is indicative of the fact that all women will turn me down is definitely not true. It is also not necessarily real, as at my core I still have a faint glimmer of hope.
Once we recognize that we can begin to work on changing beliefs to something more real and true, which will cascade into more enjoyable / workable thoughts and feelings.
Slashdot Mirror
I know you are (sucessfully) making a joke, but I'll go ahead and respond.
.
I do agree that the quoted individual did mispeak a bit. I believe Christian music has significantly gained credibility in recent years, but I wouldn't describe it as "skyrocketing" and I disagree with his history.
Christian music was HORRENDOUS for a very long period of time. The musicians had a heart for God, but not an aptitude for writing lyrics or music.
Originally the genre was nothing more than the equivalent of hymns or thinly-veiled theology set to not always competently played music. Obviously this brought a lot of deserved ridicule.
I put 1995 as the year that Christian music started to not suck.
That year the self-titled Jars of Clay disc debuted (along with it the song Flood), as well as dcTalk's Jesusfreak. Both displayed expert musical skill along with lyrics that actually MEANT SOMETHING to listeners.
Fast forward to today, and it's not unusual to hear about overtly Christian artists having secular success. Switchfoot (and their Meant to Live) is the current poster child for this.
But I think the biggest impact is in the bands that you aren't aware are Christian, which I (and others) call "Christian-influenced."
2001's most played radio song (as determined by Broadcast Data Services) was Lifehouse's Hanging by a Moment
Lifehouse is comprised of Christians, write on Christian ideas and themes (many of their songs can be properly interpreted as worship), but also intentionally allow their music to be correctly interpreted secularly.
They don't compromise their Christian roots and beliefs, while not beating non-Christians over the heads with the Jesus Stick.
Bringing this back to gaming (since this is the games section of Slashdot), I believe Digital Praise will be successful if and only if they are able to produce games that are as technically credible and enjoyable to the player as that which is currently on the market.
It's great to focus on God and attempt to glorify Him. But in order to have impact in the world at large, you have to have relevance as well.
Christian music (eventually) learned this lesson. We'll see if Christian gaming does.
- Neil Wehneman
I'm one step ahead of you and put that link as the one in the write-up :).
- Neil Wehneman
Well, as a guy, I automated part of the process of being rejected by women.
- Neil Wehneman
Essentially, someone had a Ph.D but was looking for some sort of relatively menial but steady work so he could continue to eat.
In order to avoid being thrown out for being over-qualified and therefore requiring more pay / risk of leaving for better work, he changed his resume to the still truthful:
He was hired, and told that his soon-to-be employer "approved of hobbies."
- Neil Wehneman
"Taking a 3mm drill bit and very carefully working through [the back of the N-Gage near the phone speaker housing] until you break through the plastic"
They misspelled "with extreme prejudice and a priest on hand."
I don't know if I'd mod that Flamebait.
:).
(-1, Capitalist Whore) perhaps.
But not Flamebait
- Neil Wehneman
More information is in a similar article over at News.com.
They mention that proprietary BIOS's is one of the key obstacles to implementing proper power management (ie hibernation) under Linux.
- Neil Wehneman
A Lord of the Rings marathon?
That's impossible!
Since clearly all of Slashdot has boycotted buying DVD's due to the rampant evil of the MPAA...
</sarcasm>
- Neil Wehneman
I just can't put my finger on what they're up to...
I have two words to answer your question.
Software Patents
A few more words...
Eben Moglen spoke at Harvard in February regarding not just SCO, but the future direction of the IT industry at large.
He said that today the battle is over copyright. In five years the battle will be over software patents. And in ten years the battle will shift to that of bandwidth. Of ensuring that everyone has access to bandwidth as easily as they do electricity, so that all may share in the information that is available.
My dates may be slightly off, but you can see the coming progression of battlefields.
Microsoft engages in illegal and immoral behavior. But they are not stupid. They are preparing for the next war, which will be software patents.
The transcript of Eben Moglen's speech can be viewed here from Groklaw and the video of his speech can be viewed here from Harvard. (Sorry, it's in Real Media format)
If you haven't seen that speech, you should. To call it enlightening is to do it a disservice.
- Neil Wehneman
P.S. I realize I use battle and war imagery a lot in this post, but quite frankly I believe the stakes are that high. Imagine if the printing press revolution had fallen to the entrenched interests of the day. We are now in the same situation, only with digital information.
Is anyone aware of CMS's designed specifically for writers (or adaptable to them)? Or perhaps what I envision a Content Management System doing is different from what others are doing.
Specifically what I am in the process of coding (poorly) is a system that will allow me to manage and elegantly present information about the various writing I've done. This information would be metadata such as Date Written, Themes, Similar Pieces, Inspiration, etc...
What I have now on my personal site is pretty rudimentary. (example)
I just have the texts themselves as individual HTML files in a separate directory, while the metadata is in a MySQL database that is queried through PHP.
Thoughts, links, direction, or experiences to share?
- Neil Wehneman
I will assume that you are joking and don't believe that all (or even most) Christians believe in the "Christ-centered recovery and rehabilitation" you are attacking.
Just in case though, I will go ahead and relate my experience.
I went though four years of depression with suicidal intent. Doctors and medication solved part of the problem (the clinical aspect of it) and returning to Christ solved the other part of the problem (the situational aspect).
My belief is that medication gets you stable, counseling gets you fixed. I was helped by, and continue to work with, many individuals who hold both degrees in Pastoral Counseling and state regulated counseling / social work certifications.
Just because someone implements Christ as part of their psychiatric solution doesn't mean that they believe modern medicine to be of the Devil.
- Neil Wehneman
In reply to the Tetris comments...
Gabe and Tycho have already suggested this, only they initially thought of Jerry Bruckheimer.
- Neil Wehneman
Wake me when it's the U.S. Army handling the spammer smackdown.
And as an upside, Bush's (flawed) policies would help "solve" the whole international jurisdiction problem that spam has.
- Neil Wehneman
That the plural of anecdote is not data.
Yes, I believe Linux is gaining ground. But I don't believe our individual stories are going to necessarily be representative of the entire industry.
After all, many (most?) or us are here because of Slashdot's pro-Linux bias.
Just something to keep in mind.
- Neil Wehneman
Related to the parent's comment...
I can't claim this joke as my own. I'm pretty sure I read it on Slashdot months before.
Everytime I see one of those intelligence-insulting pre-movie commercials telling me that "by downloading movies off the internet I'm causing this stunt man's family to starve," I want to stand up and shout as loud as I can:
"HOLY SHIT!! You mean I can download movies for free off of the Internet??!!"
And then run out of the theater as quickly as I can.
- Neil Wehneman
No, Puffin is not the next name of your favorite email client
But how do we know it's not the next name of my favorite web browser?
- Neil Wehneman
Somebody out to tell this guy.
(Quicktime video linked above, wma available here.)
- Neil Wehneman
That seller is listing OOo with the words "Word Excel" in the listing. He's not selling Word or Excel. It's against eBay policy to use the names of similar or competing products in your title.
As for the morality / legality on the F/OSS end, I think he's relatively free and clear. In the description he's pretty honest with what they're getting, even though I didn't see him mention OOo by name.
My one complaint is that he lists OOo as "100% compatible" with MS Office, which it isn't yet. You can ding him on that.
Would I buy from this guy? No. But his feedback looks like a lot of people have and they're satisfied.
- Neil Wehneman
I agree that our discussion on the affects of suicide will hinge on our spiritual beliefs. I'm not going to beat you upside the head with mine (unless you really want me to).
I'm really glad that you got immediate relief from whatever treatement you received. Most meds though take several weeks before they show results. I try to be realistic with people when I recommend they see a doctor and start a serious treatment plan.
But again, everyone's different.
Take care of yourself.
- Neil Wehneman
I wouldn't describe my poem as a "nice way to describe what [I] felt." An honest way, but not necessarily nice :).
As to your postscript, I actually have an intersting story with that. I'm a Christian (have been for years) and am involved with Campus Crusade for Christ. After I graduate I will be joining staff with Crusade.
However, when I entered college in Fall of '99, I had some discussions with upperclassmen in Crusade about the doctrine of Eternal Security. Basically Eternal Security states that once you have sincerely accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, there is NOTHING you can do to lose your salvation.
I didn't believe in Eternal Security when I got to college, but honest discussion with friends in Crusade convinced me to accept it.
Now I had one less reason to NOT kill myself. After all, if I was going to Heaven anyway, why not speed things up a little?
Thankfully, I've gotten better, and that whole "Suicide = Straight to Hell" thing (which I assume you're referencing) is a moot point for me.
I do agree that much more is gained from correcting the suicidal-causing feelings and problems than copping out through suicide.
Take care of yourself.
- Neil Wehneman
I'm glad things are getting better. I would recommend that you do get into counseling just because there is rarely just a clinical / medical aspect to depression. Also, a lot of your relationships have probably suffered over the years, and you might want to get some help with how to repair them.
Just speaking from experience.
As to your sig, don't worry about having something depressed up as long as you're honest with how you feel. I can't stand people who put up a happy shiny bullshit appearance when in fact they know things are horribly, horribly wrong.
Take care of yourself.
- Neil Wehneman
One thing that has been very difficult for me as well is waking up. I've often felt physically chained to the bed, struggling for consciousness but unable to break through and get moving.
I would often fall back into dreams where I would be moving and interacting with what appeared to be my house. I would have to try to find logical inconsistencies with my environment to try to prove to myself that I was still dreaming, so I could force myself awake. And then I would simply awake to another dream.
If that wasn't hell, I'm not certain what is.
Take care of yourself.
- Neil Wehneman
The whole concept behind my site (Falling Grace) is that Grace falls down to meet us where we are at.
These are sister poems that I think you might like. Take care of yourself, and don't lose sight of the hope you've been given.
- Neil Wehneman
************
Fall From Grace
Break the halo
Clip the wings
Shake my fist at God
No more heart
And no more soul
No more broken parts
Your words, your empty words
Shall no longer torment me
They will choke you
As I slit your throat to end my pain
This vision will change
But only because blood obscures it
My mind has fallen
And my spirit's falling
From grace
************
Spread Fallen Wing
The fall has been complete
Feathers float away
Blown by a breeze as formless as my life
While clipped wings cover my forsaken form
A broken halo my crown of thorns
The connection has been sundered
Ripped apart by the tantrum of a child
Not yet fully born
And so with my last bit of strength
And my last ounce of will
I unclench my fist and raise my bloodied hand
To beg my father for one last inheritance
Let me have one final chance for all
Let me return to what I once knew
Let me spread fallen wing
Let me know that grace truly falls down
Yes, admitting defeat before the day has begun makes a lot of the other therapy less effective.
But when you're worn down, you're worn down. That's part of what makes depression so difficult to beat, as you often lack the energy to work towards a cure.
- Neil Wehneman
Another aspect of what you're talking about and linked to is called Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy, or CBT.
CBT helped me a great deal. Basically CBT says that feelings are caused by thoughts and thoughts are caused by belief. We have to trace back to our core beliefs if we want to understand what's happening to us.
For example, let's say I ask a woman out and she says "no." I ended up feeling sad, depressed, and lonely.
My feelings are "sad, depressed, and lonely." Feelings are always true and real, as I am really feeling lonely, and it true that I am lonely.
What thoughts triggered these feelings? Well, the thought that I'm alone and going to stay that way. Again, thoughts are always real, but not always true. It is very real that I am thinking that I'm alone and going to stay that way. However, it is not necessarily true that that I am alone AND going to stay that way.
Finally, what beliefs triggered those thoughts? Well, the belief that if one woman turns me down, it is indicative of the fact that all women will turn me down. Beliefs are often not real and / or not true. For example, my belief that if one woman turns me down it is indicative of the fact that all women will turn me down is definitely not true. It is also not necessarily real, as at my core I still have a faint glimmer of hope.
Once we recognize that we can begin to work on changing beliefs to something more real and true, which will cascade into more enjoyable / workable thoughts and feelings.
- Neil Wehneman