July 27, 2010

Trivia and Trash

Here's something I recently read in Eugene Peterson's book, Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at its Best (IVP, 1983):
"There is little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture. We have celebrities but not saints. Famous entertainers amuse a nation of bored insomniacs. Infamous criminals act out the aggression of timid conformists. Petulant and spoiled athletes play games vicariously for lazy and apathetic spectators. People, aimless and bored, amuse themselves with trivia and trash."
Try enjoying an evening of television consumption after reading that one.

July 20, 2010

What's Wrong with this Blog?

Where to begin? For starters, the font is too small, the posts are too infrequent and the topics are more scattered than my 3-year-old's toys before bathtime. I'm like a disoriented wannabe archer lackadaisically shooting noodly arrows skyward with my eyes closed... once a month. No target + no practice = this blog.

And even if I miraculously developed the aptitude to generate semi-useful content with any regularity, the layout would still need a major facelift. Quite simply, I'm long overdue for a switchover to WordPress. Everyone knows that Blogspot is like, so 2008. But more than just greener cybergrass, WordPress is clearly the provider of choice for anyone who (unlike me) wants to actually keep their blog in functional working condition. And speaking of site maintenance (or the lack thereof), my book/music/film recommendations are never updated so they really need to go.

As for the pretentious "About Me" section, it tells you nothing except that I'm too concerned with your opinion of me to reveal what I really think (or even what I look like). If nearly all of my favorite bloggers are candid enough to post at least a tiny thumbnail photo of themselves, why am I still hiding behind a black-and-white sketch of a bird? Why wear a mask you don't even like? Why bring something for show and tell if you won't take it out of the bag?

There may come a day when I finally convert to WordPress, carve out a critical mass of "followers" and take the evangelical blogosphere by storm with a steady stream of ultra-clever, gospel-centered, justice-minded, mission-driven, skeptic-savvy, doctrinally-grounded, community-oriented, book-reviewing, article-linking, key thinker-interviewing, conference-promoting, speaking tour-date mentioning blog posts. The comments will flow, the web hits will show and the buzz will grow. Today is not that day.