The Bible According to Google Earth

"Scenes from the Bible have been imagined by countless artists over the centuries, but never quite like this... (read more)
Via Creative Review
and Kottke

Ryan Adams

When we took the train to Copenhagen on Thursday afternoon, my expectations were high. We were to see the artist who, as a 14 year old said:

"I started writing short stories when I was really into Edgar Allan Poe. Then later, when I was a teenager, I got really hard into cult fiction: Hubert Selby, Jr., Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac." (via)

He has inspired the likes of Elton John, who credits Heartbreaker as an influence to his Songs from the West Coast album, not to mention the many who have covered his songs (including Bono).

We were excited as we ate Thai food in Fredricksberg, picked up some salty licorice, and joined a long queue that took us into the Falconer Hall.

And we weren't disappointed.

From the moment Adams and his Cardinals entered the stage we were delighted with the skills of not only a great songwriter, but a band of skilled musicians. They are a band who, for me, redeem a genre (country), which is oft filled with hype, commercialism and a sickly glitz.

We marveled as Adams, who reported that he was going deaf, delivered some of his greatest songs (highlights included Nightbirds, When the Stars Go Blue, Goodnight Rose...the list goes on.) with everything he had.

Yes, I would have liked to have seen him in a smaller venue, but this was still one of the best gigs I have watched.

Overheard in our apartment

Me: So, what time are you going?
D: I'm catching a bus at 7. Then I'm catching the train to Copenhagen Airport. Do you know how much it costs?
Me: No...(raises his voice and shouts into the next room) hey! do you remember how much it costs to go to Copenhagen?
C: I think it's something like 180
Me: For a single?
C: I don't think they care if you're married or not.

Gift Vouchers or Cash?

Last year, more than $8,000,000,000 was wasted on these cards. Not in the value spent, but in fees and breakage. When you give a card, if it doesn't get used, someone ends up keeping your money, and it's not the recipient. People spent more than eight billion dollars for nothing... buying a product that isn't as good as cash.

Along the way, we bought the story that giving someone a hundred dollar bill as a gift ("go buy what you want") is callous, insensitive, a crass shortcut. Buying them a $100 Best Buy card, on the other hand, is thoughtful. Even if they spend $92 and have to waste the rest. ~ Seth Godin

I don't have the figures, but logic dictates that this doesn't just apply to gift cards in the US.

Last night: Niklas Hegfalk

I recorded this on my phone. That's why the quality sucks!

A note on Ringtones

When choosing a ring tone be careful not to choose a track by a band you really like. For the past month I've had 'The Well and The Lighthouse' by Arcade Fire. Now I associate the track with stressful moments when time is demanded from me without prior warning.

In Småland

This weekend we're in Småland. We arrived this morning and it just started snowing!

Don't Worry!

Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
“So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.
“Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Tonight we've been thinking about these words of Jesus. They sound so simple, but, as with most things Jesus said, they raise so many questions. Was Jesus serious? How do I "seek the Kingdom of God"? Where is my treasure at the moment? What would it look like to stop worrying?

The Great Firewall of China

Beijing has recently added a new weapon to its arsenal of surveillance technologies, a system it believes to be a modern marvel: the Golden Shield. It took eight years and $700 million to build, and its mission is to "purify" the Internet — an apparently urgent task. ~ Oliver August, Wired Magazine

Black Ox Orkestar: best musical discovery of the week

Black Ox Orkestar are linked with so-called "New Jewish music", resetting European Jewish folk ballads traditionally sung a cappella, by writing and performing new, political texts in Yiddish. ~Wikipedia

Their members also play in the amazing Godspeed You! Black Emperor Go listen!

I've been making boxes. This one symbolises a carrot.
~ Emma, 2 minutes after arriving at our apartment

Dear Reader,

Please forgive the state of my blog at the moment. After one and a half years with the same template I decided that it was time to change. Instead of sticking within my usual boundaries for design (photoshop draft-->static template-->blogger integration-->browser testing) I have decided to go old school and chip away until I am happy with the design.

Once I'm happy, I'll browser test (so beware, unless you're using Firefox things could get pretty funky.

Yours,
Jonathan.

Mark asked me the following question yesterday, so I thought I'd answer it here...

Q. Can you tell me why you so like the movie Fight Club?

I think it has a lot to do with the theme of loss of identity that seems so current in our culture. There's this sense that there has to be more that holds us together than what we own, our taste in furniture, or the daily grind.

The story has so many layers that I've found myself watching it (too?) many times and seeing new things. The idea of an antihero, whose dual personalities are both his salvation and his downfall, is far more convincing than any character Tom Cruise has ever played.

Father Figure
Father Greg Boyle wants to stop the causes of gang violence, instead of waiting to clean up the results... [read more]
~via Good Magazine

Early this evening I begin my journey back to Sweden. When I get there tomorrow morning I'm moving in with Dave and Christopher.

Assuming climate change hasn't taken it's toll yet, this will be my 3rd cold Autumn/Winter season in Sweden. Sucker for punishment?

A new era for ideals-driven politics?

Who says in ten years time, we will not have turned back the inexorable rise in global emissions?
Who says in ten years time every child in the world won't be at school?
Who says in ten years time, there can't be a democratic and respected Iran, cooperating with us and the international community against global terrorism?

I'll tell you who. The same people who say my generation doesn't care about politics. ~ David Miliband

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, delivered a cracking speech yesterday at the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth. The only thing that stopped me blogging about it immediately was that the transcript hadn't been published.

He demonstrated that there are still politicians out there who are driven by the ideals that surely lead most people to politics (after all, there are easier ways to make money). He is articulate, passionate and to my mind stands apart from the crowd as a leader in a country that apparently lacks authentic leadership.

I felt tingles in my spine!

Read the speech here

Some recent work:
Plymouth Vineyard website: www.plymouthvineyard.org.uk
Brain Team Consulting: www.braint.net

Deadlines Kill Inspiration

I sometimes have the feeling that some clients seem to have an idea in their mind that being a designer is just pressing some buttons on the computer and 'voilà' a work of art is born. If only it was that easy! Designing to me isn't something that can be automated to reach the maximum production. It's an unpredictable mindset that some days works well and other days it's just procrastinating and staring at an empty canvas. ~Veerle

Archbishop hits out at policy on Zimbabwe ~ The Observer

By the way, it's so nice to be writing again. In a previous post I mentioned the idea that blogging is somehow "pure". I think this is because it doesn't have the same orientation towards sound-bytes, or strap lines that characterise tweets, Facebook comments and status updates, or SMS.