02.07.08
Posted in Faith and Practice, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 2:29 pm by Jeff
Greg Gilbert is coming out “Against Music’:
I wonder if the whole “excellence in praise and worship music” phenomenon we’ve seen over the past few years—for all the good it’s done—hasn’t also had some less-than-desirable effects on young Christians. I wonder if it hasn’t created a generation of functional mystics who gauge their relationship with God by emotional experience rather than the objective reality of redemption.
Good issues to ponder.
Read more: Church Matters: The 9Marks Blog
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02.04.08
Posted in Faith and Practice, Music and Literature at 7:02 am by Jeff
I recently discovered some really cool bible charts that I created for hermeneutics class at Talbot way back in 1997. Man that was a long time ago. I like this visual approach to outlining books. If these are helpful to you, let me know.
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12.05.07
Posted in Science and Technology, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 1:04 pm by Jeff
Okay, at first I thought “no real musician needs this!”
Musicians of the world are getting a new kind of artistic freedom with technology that eliminates the challenging chore of tuning.
But what’s really cool is that you can lock in preset alternate tunings! Okay, this would actually be a nice feature. The bummer is that the technology adds $900 to the price of your new axe! They say the technology would be great for beginners, but I don’t know many beginners who would buy a $2,500 Les Paul in the first place, much less when you add $900 to the sticker.
Maybe the tech will get cheaper with time. In the mediate period, I’ll just stick to using my Kyser short-cut capo for quick alt-tuning options.
Gibson shows new self-tuning guitar
Update: of course I just realized that I posted about a self-tuning guitar almost four years ago!
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10.15.07
Posted in Culture and Ideas, Business and Economy, Music and Literature, Computers and Internet at 10:53 am by Jeff
Late to the party, Led Zeppelin to sell music online.
Well, it’s not a big deal to me because I already own the box set, but interesting to see one of the last hold-outs come around to online music sales.
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05.25.07
Posted in Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 11:53 pm by Jeff
Melinda Doolittle Shortchanged On American Idol
Well I couldn’t agree more (and not just because she is (distant) family!).
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05.09.07
Posted in Music and Literature at 3:52 pm by Jeff
All I can say is wow. Andy McKee is certainly one of the most amazing guitar players I’ve seen.
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Posted in Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature, Computers and Internet at 3:43 pm by Jeff
Rob Paravonian is stinking hilarious. Check out his rant against Pachelbel who apparently has managed to become the bane of all cellists.
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05.12.06
Posted in Faith and Practice, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 3:46 pm by Jeff
Nathanael Blake has some harsh words regarding the Christian Music industry. While his tone borders on the vitriolic, I think he brings up some good points regarding the conflicts of interest inherent in the marriage of big-business and the Christian community in America.
Check it out and tell me what you think.
Nathanael Blake: Christ as Commodity
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03.28.06
Posted in Politics and Issues, Music and Literature, Humor and Sarcasm at 11:31 am by Jeff
Perhaps Apple’s strategy in the UK is to start by hooking judges and lawyers on iTunes?
Apple Computer Inc. is on the defensive in Europe for the second time in as many weeks as the company prepares to battle The Beatles’ record label for its right to distribute music in the United Kingdom’s highest court.
If I was Paul McCartney, I wouldn’t want those barristers listening to my music either.
Beatles Say iTunes Is Bad Apple - Yahoo! News
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02.27.06
Posted in Personal, Music and Literature at 7:54 am by Jeff
If you have yet to visit my music page, now’s the time. I’ve uploaded high quality mp3 files of all the songs from my album The Crossing. Also, you can check out my new MySpace page. Tell a friend!
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02.24.06
Posted in Culture and Ideas, Business and Economy, Music and Literature at 2:27 pm by Jeff
Here’s an interesting case of overt, flaunted identity theft:
Doo-wop and rock ‘n roll legends are asking lawmakers across the country to stop performances by some not-so-great pretenders.
There are hundreds of bands touring the country these days claiming to be The Platters, the Drifters, the Coasters or some other group from the ’50s and ’60s, according to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pa.
Most of them have no ties to the original artists.
Read More: ’50s and ’60s Bands Aim to Stop Copycats - Yahoo! News
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11.08.05
Posted in Music and Literature, Computers and Internet at 10:23 pm by Jeff
Whether you are a fan of the band Rush or not, this video is pretty cool:
NEP - Animated YYZ video
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08.08.05
Posted in Faith and Practice, Music and Literature, Humor and Sarcasm at 12:39 pm by Jeff
Gotta get some NIV with a ribbon bookmark…
southpaw :: Baby Got Book
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07.05.05
Posted in Music and Literature at 3:11 pm by Jeff
Well, not quite every month. For the past few weeks, my attention has turned to the classic rock genre, specifically to Boston.
A guitarist’s collection is not complete without this ground-breaking CD from the 70’s. Tom Scholz crafts a masterpiece of audio production which is still envied by many audio engineers today. His chops are excellent, though repetitive at times, and evoke memories of a time where guitar solos defined a song as much as the vocals.
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04.20.05
Posted in Music and Literature at 6:35 am by Jeff
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04.01.05
Posted in Music and Literature at 12:35 am by Jeff
Welcome to the inaugural “Book of the Month” feature at Jeff Doolittle dot com. Each month I will highlight a different book that I am currently reading.
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Posted in Music and Literature at 12:34 am by Jeff
Welcome to the inaugural “CD of the Month” feature at Jeff Doolittle dot com. Each month I will highlight a different CD that is currently capturing my interest. I may offer some reviews, critiques or insights too, but for now I’ll just say that this CD is smooth:
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08.02.04
Posted in Faith and Practice, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 9:27 am by Jeff
Our nation is clearly becoming obsessed with plastic surgery. People are risking their lives by undergoing major surgery just for the sake of appearance. Shows like Extreme Makeover are nothing more than hour long advertisments for the industry. For those who think that the beautiful people have it so easy, Halle Berry has something to say:
Beauty? Let me tell you something - being thought of as ‘a beautiful woman’ has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory.
Wise words, especially her last sentence: Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory. Reminds me of the words of King Solomon in Proverbs 31:30:
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Read more about Halle Berry’s interview at ThisisLondon.
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06.01.04
Posted in Music and Literature, Computers and Internet at 1:38 pm by Jeff
Last fall I made my final migration away from film cameras in favor of digital. I love the level of control I have by using Photoshop to edit my images before making prints. I no longer lose money on wasted film or bad prints.
I ran across a site today that has some great ideas for using Photoshop to edit images. The Twisted Tree Articles and Reviews page has some great resources and ideas for getting the most out of your pictures. Read through some of the articles and try applying their techniques. You’ll be making perfect prints in no time.
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05.19.04
Posted in Music and Literature at 9:25 am by Jeff
I admit it–I’m an Alias junkie. I’m not a big fan of television and usually watch only a couple of hours a week. Alias is my one and only can’t-miss-show of the week. This being the case, I’m not sure how to take this news:
ABC Primetime Entertainment President Stephen McPherson has been in the job for 29 days. It took him only that long to give the network’s schedule an extreme makeover… “Alias” won’t premiere until January, but will run without repeats for its entire season.
While I’m disappointed to have to wait until January for the series to start up again, it should be interesting to be able to watch all the episodes in sequence with no re-runs. In the mean time, I guess I’ll just have less T.V. to watch.
ABC makes big changes for fall lineup
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05.17.04
Posted in Music and Literature at 5:04 pm by Jeff
Aww, come on. Does Two Princes really belong on this list?
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05.12.04
Posted in Faith and Practice, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 7:50 am by Jeff
A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out that the movie The Day After Tomorrow would be as big for liberal environmentalists as The Passion of the Christ was for Christians (The Liberal’s ‘Passion’). Here’s more evidence of this fact:
Gore is headlining a campaign put on by a group of environmental and liberal orgs that are trying to use “The Day After Tomorrow,” which 20th Century Fox will release May 28, to rally public support for combating global warming.
Gore Promoting Day After Tomorrow Movie
Global Warming Ignites Tempers, Even in a Movie
Don’t forget to read my ‘critically acclaimed’ blog entry: Why Liberals Don’t Get The Passion
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04.28.04
Posted in Politics and Issues, Faith and Practice, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 7:59 am by Jeff
I’m not a big Ann Coulter fan–she’s a bit edgy for my taste. However, sometimes she hits the nail on the head. Last month, Ann summarized why the media just don’t get The Passion of the Christ. It’s because liberals want to believe that the message of Christianity is simply “be nice to everyone.” However, what Jesus taught goes much deeper than this; loving your enemy goes far beyond simply “being nice.”
C.S. Lewis has an aptly titled chapter in his book, Mere Christianity. The chapter is called “Nice People or New Men.” The whole point is that Jesus doesn’t simply want to improve us. He wants us to be the best we can be. Trouble is, we cannot do it on our own effort or will. Here’s where Ann Coulter really sums it up right:
Jesus’ distinctive message was: People are sinful and need to be redeemed, and this is your lucky day because I’m here to redeem you even though you don’t deserve it, and I have to get the crap kicked out of me to do it. That is the reason He is called “Christ the Redeemer” rather than “Christ the Moron Driving Around in a Volvo With a ‘Be Nice to People’ Bumper Sticker on It.”
Sure, she’s crass and sarcastic; but she’s right. However, even this isn’t the entire story.
Let’s say Jesus had all these great teachings, but never did anything memorable. Suppose he just spouted moral platitudes, what we might call “self-help” today. There are many today who tell us that this is all there is to the “Jesus of History.” This type of thinking grows out of the “Jesus was a good moral teacher” wing of liberal Protestantism. Some (read: the Jesus Seminar) even want to remove everything from the Gospels except Jesus’ verbal teachings (and they even pick only a small selection of these). Talk about having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (II Timothy 3:5)!
Whether you are a Christian or not, we should all agree that if Jesus didn’t back up his teachings with something more substantial, there would be little reason to put any kind of faith in him. Even Ghandi lent credibility to his teachings by protesting and gaining widespread notoriety. Mohammed fought many battles in spreading his beliefs, building his image as a leader. Moses performed great miracles to demonstrate his divinely appointed leadership. What does this small sampling show? It demonstrates that the great icons of belief back up their claims with actions. This is a vital key in all faith traditions.
Fortunately for Christians, such substantive demonstration of power was given to us by Jesus Christ. Not only did he perform miraculous healings and display power over nature; he died and rose again. This is the entire basis for the Christian faith. Without the Ressurection, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to adhere to a single teaching of Christ.
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14).
This is the reason why orthodox Christianity (whether Greek, Roman Catholic or Protestant) focuses so strongly on the Resurrection. Without it, we should all pack our bags and go worship some other god. Gutting out Christianty by turning it into a philosophical system with no evidentiary backing is an exercise in futility. Liberal christianity leads to a practical dead-end. It exalts the teachings while diminishing the teacher, thereby removing the whole motivation for obedience to the tenets of the faith.
Reference:
Ann Coulter: The Passion of the Liberal
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