The Effect of Television in Our Post-Modern Society

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to see a film about Queen Elizabeth and the way that she responds to Princess Diana's death in the hours and then weeks after it occurs. It was fascinating to revisit a time that I can recall vividly, and to experience through the medium of film a little of what the Queen, her family and advisers were going through in the weeks following the tragic accident. It was good to get some perspective from "the other side"and to see how Diana's death ended up threatening the monarchy. Even more intriguing was to see the royal stoicism of the Queen yielding at last to the humbling advice of her then newly elected Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

One thing that the film kept revisiting, and on which the story revolved, was that of the mass grief and hysteria of the British people following Diana's death. The question that struck me when it happened came to me again during the film. I have often wondered why (aside from the fact that it was a tragic way to die, and yet this sort of death commonly occurs) all of the public grief and obsession for a woman whom the larger part of the British population had never known personally? It was a question I asked again when "America's Prince", John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife and sister-in-law perished in a plane crash and we saw a repeat of the same media fixation and public grief that is now becoming a common way of dealing with the deaths and tragedies of celebrities: those people we know intimately but have never met personally. Carl Trueman answers my question superbly in his book The Wages of Spin:

...The scenes of mass hysteria following the tragic death of a young mother were simply incredible - but what was really disturbing, if not a little frightening, was the language of familiarity which so many of the mourners interviewed on television used in connection with the princess. "She was a friend to us all"; "We felt she was one of our own; "She was like a big sister to me". Statements like this abounded, statements which implied that a real, personal relationship existed between Princess Diana and those being interviewed. Such was not the case: these individuals had come to know an image, albeit a carefully cultivated image, of a young woman they had never met but who entered their houses and their lives through the box of electronic wizardry in the corner of their living room. Then, at a moment of tragedy for the Princess and her close family and friends, these unknowns had also been swept up in the and been bereaved - not of a real friend, but of an image, of a character in a fantasy world. That they were incapable of discerning the difference is perhaps the most eloquent testimony to the power of television in our time.

-from chapter 2 of The Wages of Spin by Carl R. Trueman

Cisco Takes A Bite Into Apple

It's days like this one when you are glad that you don't have stock in Apple. After this lawsuit was announced today, Apple stock fell in after-hours trading. Oops. You would think Apple would cover it's backside before taking such a risky plunge as introducing a phone with a name that they know is already copyright-protected. Apple needs to get over thinking that because they're Apple and rule the technology world, they don't rule the real world. Copyright names means that they are legally protected. As in, no one else is allowed to use it.

Incidentally, Cisco* shares were up today. Now I'm thinking that stock in Cisco wouldn't be so bad right now...
(Actually, it all makes me grateful that I don't dabble in the stock market)

and yes, the title is bad, but I'm too tired to change it. :-)

Wow.

It's days like this one when you probably wish that you had Apple stock. If you don't already, that is. I'm just assuming my readers don't. It's up, incidentally, by 11%. Why? Only because these new iWonders were revealed:

The new iPhone.

To make a call, users can tap out the number on an onscreen keypad or scroll through their contacts and dial with a single touch.

Apple is also introducing what it calls "visual voicemail," so users can jump to the most important messages rather than have to listen to all of them in order.

The phone supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology and can detect location from Global Positioning System satellites. It also can send and display e-mail and text messages. Apple is partnering with Yahoo Inc. on Web-based e-mail and Google Inc. on maps.

With a few finger taps, Jobs demonstrated how to pull up a Google Maps site and find the closest Starbucks to the Moscone Center. He then prank-called the cafe and ordered 4,000 lattes to go before quickly hanging up.

It does even more. Read the rest here. See more pics here.

I'm starting my phone savings now. And rethinking the switch to T-Mobile.

The new Apple TV.

The gadget is designed to bridge computers and television sets so users can more easily watch their downloaded movies on a big screen. A prototype of the gadget was displayed by Jobs in September when Apple announced it would sell TV shows and movies through its iTunes online store.

I must confess that the tv doesn't hold the same appeal as the iPhone. I do like the design, though.

A small change in the name: Apple Computers, Inc. becomes Apple, Inc.
I wondered when they would change. Glad to see everything done at once. Nice efficiency.

David Wells: The Weightlessness of God

"The fact is, of course, that the New Testament never promises anyone a life of psychological wholeness or offers a guarantee of the consumer's satisfaction with Christ. To the contrary, it offers the prospect of indignities, loss, damage, disease, and pain. The faithful in Scripture were scorned, beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and executed. The gospel offers no promises that contemporary believers will be spared these experiences, that they will be able to settle down to the sanitized comfort of an inner life freed of stresses, pains, and ambiguities; it simply promises that through Christ, God will walk with us in all the dark places of life, and that he has the power and the will to invest his promises with reality, and that even the shadows are made to serve his glory and our best interests. "

God in The Wasteland

David Wells: The Weightlessness of God

"In a psychologized culture such as ours, there is deep affinity for what is relational but a dis-ease (sp) with what is moral. This carries over into the church as an infatuation with the love of God and an embarrassment at his holiness. We who are modern find it easier to believe God is like a Rogerian therapist who emphatically solicits our knowledge of ourselves and passes judgement on none of it than to think that he could have had any serious business to conduct with Moses.

This peculiarity of the modern disposition, this loss of substance and vigor, betrays our misunderstanding of God's immanence, his relatedness to creation. We imagine that the great purposes of life are psychological rather than moral. We imagine that the great purposes of life are realized in the improvement of our own private inner disposition. We imagine that for those who love God and are called according to his purpose, all things work together for their satisfaction and the inner tranquillity of their lives. Modernity has secured the triumph of the therapeutic over the moral even in the church."

-from God in The Wasteland

A (friendly) Public Defense

I have edited this post so that only the below remains of the original. A lot of what I said was pretty much tongue-in-cheek, but I realize that only my brother and my family would know that, so I am hereby deleting the original paragraph here, and beg that no one take me too seriously.

I would hereby like to state for the record that:
1. At the time of my statement quoted in the webzine, I was very nervous. After having avoided the video camera all evening, that man cornered me at the last and there was no escape.
2. I am horrible in front of cameras. This is why some people are actors and some are not.
3. I could not think of anything, and the man prompted me with: "How about something funny? Does your brother do anything you should warn Sarah about?" Thus my comment. It really is very lucky that his bad mood was the worst thing I could come up with at the moment. If someone said that a bad mood every now and then was my worst trait, I think that I would kiss that person. Cuz I have worse than that. Which brings me to this: I don't think it's Trent's, either, but I am note sure what is, then. (I suppose Sarah could help us on that one.)
The defense rests. :-)

I would also like to recommend my brother's article. If you have a minute, click your way on over to The Brew and read his front page article on depression. It has certainly gotten me thinking on depression, mental illnesses and a Biblical response to them, and I hope to post some thoughts on the subject throughout the weekend.

View Christmas vintage clip art here.

A Baby's Birth

The anticipation builds. Years of prophecy will soon be filled with the birth of a tiny baby in Bethlehem. His coming has been foretold by the prophets, and a nation waits for her King's birth. Will they know their king when he is born at last, humble and lowly mid the dirt, straw and animal filth? Who could know that this baby, this tiny human, is He who has come at last. Not just an earthly king, this baby is the One who was, and is, and ever more will be. He will live and die for His people, and for all who will follow Him. Israel did not know her King that night. But Mary, Joseph, shepherds and wise men did. The angels rejoiced in heaven, singing "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to all men." A song of praise for the baby born in Bethlehem. King Jesus has come.
Joy to the world!

It's All In The Spelling...

First, I entered my name and came up with this:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Then, just for fun, I changed the spelling to "Shelby" and got this:

* There are 53,994 people in the U.S. with the first name Shelby.
* Statistically the 748th most popular first name. (tied with 18 other first names)
* 69.44 percent of people with the first name Shelby are female.

I thought "Wow, I'm the only Shelbi with an 'i'!" So then, still feeling special, I did a "Shelbi" search on Blingo and found "Shelbi: a dog profile". It was some Labrador's web page. After seeing that, I suddenly didn't feel so special anymore. :-)

Christmas Traditions

The family has gathered...

...The fire is blazing...

...The cranberry and popcorn strands are ready...

...Must be time to decorate the Starnes Family Christmas Tree!

Tree Decorating = Lots of Family Fun

Ashley (above) and Parker (below) busily decorating.

Landon (top) and Hunter (below) add ornaments.

That's me (above) admiring my coffee cup ornament from 2005 (yes, I'm a java addict).

Landon (above) and Sarah (below) sort through ornaments.

Maisy enjoys the evening's festivities.

Lexi (above) and Mom (below) busily add their special touches to the tree.

Hunter and Landon admire the tree.

Many thanks to Trent and Landon, photographers extraordinaire, for the fantastic photos!

Snow Fun

More Snow Pictures

Foliage and flowers get a dusting of snow.

First Snow

It is simply amazing to me, even after 20+ years of living here, that it can be over 80 degrees F one day and 20 degrees F the very next morning. I don't think anyone could ever get used to such yoyo-like weather. The temperatures dropped 40 degrees within 90 minutes last night, which was an incredible thing to feel. The wind went from slightly cool and balmy to downright frigid. I think the wind chill this morning was somewhere around 10 degrees F. It started to sleet early, but thankfully it did not adhere to the roads. I was getting lunch at work when a co-worker asked if I knew that it was snowing. Sure enough, it was blowing hard across the wide spaces around the building, and the rooftops of distant houses were already white. It was painful to have to sit at work and watch the snow hurtling and pirouetting all at once outside of my window. It was a joy to get home at last and dress in my warmest winter attire for some snow fun with my siblings. I didn't do much but watch them fight each other and get red noses and chilled fingers, but it was glorious to be outside in the middle of our first snow and to be able to share it with my family.

Snow falling outside, a fire burning brightly in the fireplace, hot chocolate with peppermint whipped cream and sprinkles on top, Christmas music playing and some Christmas movie watching. I just can't think of a better way for November to end and for December to begin.

First Snow Pictures

Thanksgving and Praise

This doxology has been sung by Christians for hundreds of years now. In a few very short verses, theology, praise, and thanksgiving come together in a glorious way.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Amen

Go here to read a short, but very good article on this doxology and thankfulness. After that, go here to read a Puritan prayer of thankfulness and praise.

And may all of your days be filled with thanksgiving and praise unto the One from whom all blessings flow!

The Day of Good Food

My Culinary Feast began this morning with a delightful breakfast of pumpkin cream cheese muffins, sausage, Promised Land chocolate milk, orange juice, and coffee with peppermint mocha flavor. Oh my. My sister set the table with candles and cards with "thanksgiving" verses on them, cute plates and napkins. It was so pretty that I nearly thought that I had slept through the day and had just woke up in time for dinner. But no, the day of feasting had only just begun...
In two hours I will be gorging on turkey, ham, my grandmother's famous dressing, cranberry sauce, my mom's famous sweet potato souffle, bread, corn, carrots, green bean casserole, and whatever other people are bringing that I won't know about 'till I get to the feasting site. For dessert there is Hunter's apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Ashley's famous cheesecake, cookies, and I don't know what else.

Every year it is tradition to go to my Gran's house for the dinner. Anyone and everyone are welcome and there is always enough food for all. It is a tradition that I love and can't imagine life without. I think that I will always, for as long as I live, envision Thanksgiving as that delightful day of feasting, family and memories made at my Grandmother's.

I think I will be starving myself tomorrow. But today will surely be worth it...

Candy Cane Scarf

My first holiday project for '06 is finished! It is destined for an auction at a family reunion Thanksgiving weekend.

Does not my little sister look adorable? :-)

Special thanks to the highly-creative Rachel, who gave me the pattern which I only slightly modified.

 

It's Official...

The Holidays are here!