Once upon a time there was sky lamp 1. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a more primitive sky lamp lived alone, far from the parking lot, enduring the elements as best it could without the benefits of human companionship.

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This is not precisely in line with what I usually post here, but I couldn't pass this post up: 6 Freelancing Lessons from Tony Stark, aka "Iron Man."

First, let me encourage you to see the film--it's fantastic. Superb special effects, good character development, and witty dialog, with enough gutsy one-liners to make most guys want to run outside and fight the forces of evil with improvised weapons RIGHT NOW. Of course, it is a superhero movie, so if you're not ever so slightly a nerd at heart, you may not like it. Hey, your loss.

Second, as a freelance copywriter, this post is spot on for me. But truth to be told, you could make it pertain to accounting, composing, acting, church planting, you name it. So for an enjoyable reading experience, simply insert the pursuit of your choice in the appropriate places. Great imaginative perspective on what it takes to do something bravely and well.

Excerpt:

Embrace Publicity

"The truth is…I am Iron Man."

Tony Stark knows who he is and he isn’t afraid to tell a room full of reporters. If you want to be successful as a freelance writer, don’t be afraid to tell anyone and everyone what you do for a living. Carry business cards. Call potential clients. Send out query letters and proposals. Create your own web site and blog. Advertise in the local paper. Do whatever it takes to make sure that the people you want to do business with know who you are. Read the whole thing.

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Rumor has it that James McAvoy could be cast as Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit movies. That's cool with me--McAvoy is a good actor, and can carry off that long-haired look that is prerequisite for all these Tolkien films. He did a superb job as Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which convinces me he has what it takes to be a convincing Bilbo. The Tolkien-Lewis connection isn't bad either.

Another rumor is that Jack Black is in the running for the Baggins part. Please tell me no. No way does Black have the nuance or charm to pull off this part.

Also, if you haven't seen the transcripts of Peter Jackson's and Guillermo del Toro's recent chat with the media, they're pretty eye-opening.

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...From Lindsay. She gave the album an initial listen, and diagnosed it as "bad and trippy, weird and annoying." From where I'm standing, that sounds like a mixed review for Third, the first new album from Portishead in ten years.

"Weird" and "trippy" could be understood as denoting something uniquely compelling. The other half of the review, not so much. I haven't listened to this Portishead album yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

Anyone else want to weigh in?

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This review is long overdue, and the best I can do by way of penance is to cut to the chase and point to the best features of The Culturally Savvy Christian. Dick Staub's title is potentially pretentious, but he proves to be his own man, and elaborates on a very popular topic with a conversational voice that's original and very well-informed. Here's a quote that's a good summary of Staub's perspective:

I've spent a lot of time observing today's Christian enterprise. I see people obsessed with evangelism and discipleship, or passionate about the intellectual and artistic restoration of culture, or committed to engaging the culture politically. But for culturally savvy Christians, there is only one worthy obsession: God. Only God's deep spiritual, intelligent, creative presence in us will draw people to him. Only the presence of deeply well people will transform popular culture, and only by going deep in God can we be restored to deep wellness. - Dick Staub

The scope of The Culturally Savvy Christian was wider than I expected, as Straub's argument is that every serious believer should be "culturally savvy"--and that this entails much, much more than hipster cred. I was expecting something clever and stylishly trite, ala Relevant Magazine, but to my relief, Dick Staub surprised me. (An endorsement by N.T. Wright should probably have tipped me off.)

Staub goes beyond mere commentary to critique, integrate, and envision--and his vision is sweeping and compelling. Staub's perspective provides a deep spiritual grounding for cultural engagement and service. It's also loaded with the intriguing cultural references and insight you'd expect from a book with this title.

Staub effortlessly quotes the prophets and spokesmen of American culture, citing George Clooney, Orson Welles, Paris Hilton, Andy Warhol, Neil Postman, Carl Sandburg, Bruce Springsteen, Frederick Buechner, Napoleon Dynamite, Zero 7, Tom Cruise, Homer Simpson, David Kinnaman, Blaise Pascal, Francis Schaeffer, Alan Bloom, Leslie Newbigin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Alan Wolfe, Maxim...and this is just in the first 40-some pages. (Some of my personal favorites like Bob Dylan, Wilco, C.S. Lewis, and Fyodor Dostoevsky appear later.)

Name-dropping does not an expert make, but Dick Staub's ability to synthesize the wildly diverse American zeitgeist is laudable. He uses his expertise to critique Christianity Lite, diagnose the sources of cultural vacuity, and convey a vision for strong, healthy, creative living--not knee-jerk consumption. Ultimately, The Culturally Savvy Christian is a good entry-level work for anyone wondering how the church should interact with culture today. But the book transcends its title, dealing with spiritual vitality and the way Jesus' character forms our stories and can heal us all.

** Staub brings together cultural and theological savvy, and the marriage is blissful. I award The Culturally Savvy Christian two of three stars--well worth your time.

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We're just now getting back up to normal life speed after a long weekend that involved a graduation bash, volleyball, multiple relatives visiting, and, of course, Kansas City's renowned Celebration at the Station.

Last I heard, there was an estimated 45,000 people there, sitting on the hill in front of the historic Union Station, and listening to the KC Symphony play patriotic melodies with the help of cannon and, eventually, fireworks.

We went with our friends Matt & Jessica. Aidan stayed home with his grandparents because large crowds give him the inexplicable desire to run like a manic soccer player screaming BALL! BALL! BALL! and asking strangers for licks of their ice cream cones. Asher accompanied us, however, and was absolutely unimpressed by the cannon fire and large explosions in the sky. I'm not even sure he blinked.

Watching fireworks with a symphonic soundtrack made us feel really sophisticated. You know, even more than usual.

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From Praval Singh comes this great post on the best Firefox extensions for blogging. I use quite a few of the extensions on this list, and discovered some new ones too. As Praval points out with graphs and data, Firefox is hands-down the browser you should be using if you read blogs or blog frequently yourself.

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You have to love the opening line of this KU recruiting article from KUSports.com...

The top four basketball players in the recruiting Class of 2009 — who all have Kansas University on their list of prospective schools — traveled to various AAU tournaments over the Memorial Day weekend. (emphasis mine)

...you have to love it if you're a Jayhawk basketball fan, that is. With blue-chippers everywhere putting Kansas on their top ten lists, the future is bright in Lawrence.

Pop quiz. Name the biggest event in this list: Winning a national NCAA championship, eating Kansas City bar-b-q, or playing a close football game with your border rival. What's that? Winning the national trophy, you say? Congrats, you are saner that the KC Star's Blair Kerkhoff!

As demonstrated in this article, Kerkhoff can't tell the difference between an interstate rivalry and a national title. With depth perception this bad, how does the man to get around town? When Kerkhoff wants to travel to the West coast, does he set off down State Line Road?

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According to Rivals.com, the Kansas Jayhawks have inked the nation's 2nd-best recruiting class (best in the Big 12) for the upcoming season. KUSports.com:

Kansas University’s seven-man basketball recruiting class of 2008 has been ranked No. 2 in the country by Rivals.com.

Rivals on Friday tapped UCLA’s class No. 1 following the Bruins’ end-of-the-week commitment from Dallas South Oak Cliff High center J’Mison Morgan.

KU’s class of Marcus and Markieff Morris, Travis Releford, Tyshawn Taylor, Quintrell Thomas, Mario Little and Tyrone Appleton was followed, in order, by Wake Forest, Louisville, Memphis, Ohio State, UConn, Florida State, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgetown, Alabama, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Oregon, West Virginia, Washington, USC, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Xavier, Nevada, Duke, Georgia, Washington State and Cincinnati...

“Kansas might not have a marquee five-star recruit, but the Jayhawks are reloading after a national championship run with an impressively deep class and intriguingly diverse class,” Rivals.com analyst Jerry Meyer said.

Marcus Morris is ranked No. 29 overall and brother Markieff 50, followed by Releford (70), Taylor (77) and Thomas (150). Little is the No. 1-rated juco player and Appleton No. 3.

Watching the Jayhawks' enigmatic, seven-man class figure out their roles is going to be a major storyline this fall. With three post players and four perimeter players coming in, the current roster will have to compete for their minutes too, which will only help the team.

Bill Self has repeatedly said the incoming players are winners, and "better than people think," and I'm pretty convinced of Self's ability to recruit skill and toughness at this point. That said, other than a few proven starters (Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins) I have no idea what we'll see on the court in Allen Field House come November.

UCLA should be feeling good, though. With the addition of some blue-chip players, maybe in 2009 the 'Ruins will make it to the Final Four showdown against KU that everyone was expecting this year.

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Thought I'd pimp some recent posts from my theology & church planting blog, including a couple book reviews, which will continue to proliferate over there:

A book review of Tim Challies' Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, guest post from Matt Maestas.
A book review of Intuitive Leadership by Tim Keel, guest post from Robbie Phillips.
My post on the church's relation to the creative arts and social activism.

In the near future, I'll start posting blow-by-blow church planting updates over there as well.

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