New Graphic.

First graphical logo for the site (circa Summer 2001):

Pre-asisaid.com logo (circa April 2002):

Old logo (circa March 2003):

New logo (circa right now!):

So, which one's best? Yeah, I know, don't quit my day job.

Need a Bible geek button?

I was just thinking, what better way to acknowledge that you consider yourself a Bible geek (small “g”), and thus believe it is a generic term, than to put a button on your blog/site somewhere?

Feel free to include a link to your own Bible geek graphics in the comments section!

I'm a Bible geek.

I can't believe it. As I just found out on Sakamuyo, some guy that goes by the name Bible Geek has trademarked the name and has threatened to sue a Christian blogger that used the same name (see the original post on Cruciform Chronicle). This isn't Christian, and I would suggest it is even dubious trademark — after all, Bible geek is a descriptive term that is quite generic and used by more than just this one fellow.

Imagine if I trademarked the name Linux Geek or Computer Geek? It's really not that different in this case, except that someone claiming to desire seeing the spread of the Gospel has gone against Christian principles and threatened to sue another Christian for claiming to be a Bible geek.

While I won't claim that lawsuits are never acceptable, consider Jesus' words:

“Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” — Luke 12:57-59 (NIV)

And can you guess Paul's stance on the issue?

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.
— 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (NIV)

And yet, it would seem the Bible Geek® guy, who seems to fancy himself a Bible Answer Man, oh, oops, Hank probably owns that trademark, is busy threatening a brother in Christ and blogger who has the nickname Bible Geek.

This is a sad day for Christianity.

Sola Gracia All The Way!

Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Pretty good quiz, I've always found that I relate strongly to the Apostle Paul (Almost any posts, articles or papers I've written on the Bible and theology come out with strong Pauline influence, no matter the topic). It seems short of Ephesians, I have the most in common with the book of Revelation, which also should make sense to anyone who knows me.

Hmm...

I can't say I've completely gotten my mind to grasp what this is suppose to do, but here's something intriguing at any rate. It's called a Blog Coop (Web Log Cooperative):

Blog Cooperatives are businesses jointly owned and operated by their members. BlogCoops are for-profit ventures that embrace emergent democracy as a means for governance and decision-making.

Here is the site if you want to read more about it. Thoughts?

And They Still Charge THAT For Popcorn?

So, I give the theatre advertising company a call thinking maybe we could buy some time on a few nice “G” or “PG” rated films and spend, oh, maybe $500-$1,000. Yeah right.

Turns out that the company charges the better part of $13 dollars per CPM (that's advertising lingo for thousand ad impressions or showings), you can't pick what movies your ads show on — they must appear on all the movies — and you must show for at least seven weeks. Needless to say, even with an non-profit discount that comes out to the better part of $3,000. This amazes me, because these are highly untargeted slide adverts.

Anyway, I bring this up because it occurs to me just how much theatres make that you don't even think about. Not only do they get the better part of fifteen or twenty bucks per person on refreshments and tickets, then you watch numerous slideshow ads before… you see the really cool big screen motion ads. Then you finally get to the movie, but before you leave you see all kinds of ads plastered on the wall advertising various services as well.

With that much revenue, you'd think they could at least keep the floors from being sticky.

Linux Showdown: Take Two

Well, it's been four months since I wrapped up the 2002 comparison series in which I talked about the good and bad features of all the major GNU/Linux distributions. Today, I've started it back up as we hurdle to the end of July and the Open Choice 2003 awards. In the next week and a few days change, I'll be considering a lot of distros, starting with SuSE 8.2 today.

If you use GNU/Linux or want to know how you can try it, read along and learn which distribution is right for you.

Now You Can Get Twice the Tim!

Kevin, perhaps in a lapse of judgment, has invited me to write for The Sakamuyo Network. TSN has been Kevin's blog for over a year now, and more recently he has added two other authors. Now with me, there are a total of four bloggers writing on Sakamuyo providing all kinds of bloggy goodness.

So if Asisaid.com hasn't succeeded in driving you crazy already, now you can get more of the Asisaid guy himself at Sakamuyo (Kevin's always insightful posts will continue to be there as well).

Standing Still Part II: The Meaning

Afterall, once you turn the music off, it's gone, right? Well, maybe for some, I won't speak for everyone, but personally have never found that. When I listen to music, it stays with me (my last post demonstrates that). If hearing a song inadvertently can stick with you, and often I think you'll catch someone humming along with the radio and continuing once it is off, perhaps even subconsciously, then just think how much it sticks with you if you purposely listen to it.

Now, before I go any further, if I happen to have any Jewel fans that read my blog, don't fear, I'm not comparing Jewel with Eminem. As far as I know, Jewel Kilcher has never released an album that requires a “Parental Advisory” sticker. That's not my point.

Simply, we are what we listen to (at least to an extent). I personally find that Jewel's music puts me in somewhat of a melancholy mood and that's exactly the mood that having Standing Still stuck in my head gave me. If I listen to Michael W. Smith's Worship for awhile, I might instead find my mood is more upbeat and prone to be thankful to God for things. Before I realized this and began to take music seriously, I would occasionally listen to less tasteful music, such as Alanis Morissette and it would put me in a more aggressive and angry frame of mind without a doubt.

Perhaps all of this is because music is something that requires both the left (analytical) and right (creative) sides of our brain to process it fully. It has the opportunity to reach deeper than just plain text. We also generally listen to it over and over again.

If this is the case with a song, it should be no surprise that it has an impact on us. And once you accept that it does, do you really want that impact to come from music that goes against the very nature of Christianity… like Eminem for instance?

I know I don't.

Standing Still

Sigh. You know what it's like when you get a song stuck in your head and can't get it out? Usually you hear it inadvertently and then your head just replays it again and again. Well, that's what has happened to me for the last day.

I was peacefully eating a Tostada Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen (very good, by the way!) when Jewel's Standing Still was being played in the background. I like her music, although I don't own any of her CD's or anything like that. Anyway, while I've heard the song before, it stuck in my head for some reason this time. I mean stuck!

Cuttin' through the darkest night in my two headlights Trying to keep it clear
but I'm losing it here to the twilight
There's a dead end to my left
there's a burning bush to my right
You aren't in sight
you aren't in sight

Now, it would be good if some how I could draw a deep meaning out of all of this. You know, something about being stuck and how you can learn from it (don't listen to music and eat a weird pizza at the same time?). I can't.

Or am I standing still beneath the darkened sky?
Or am I standing still
with the scenery flying by?
Or am I standing still
out of the corner of my eye?
Was that you passing me by?
Are you passing me by? (Passing me by)

I've tried listening to, or thinking about, other music to no avail. Listening to Sixpence's cover of Don't Dream It's Over gave a slight repreeve, but not for long. It would seem, for the moment, my mind is indeed Standing Still. Oh well, maybe if I got another pizza…