The Onion announced Thursday, July 25, 2013 that Print, “the method of applying ink to paper in order to convey information to a mass audience,” passed away early Thursday morning. The obituary follows in the wake of frequent predictions that Print would soon breathe its last. From the obituary: However, though print enjoyed a long, […]
Archives for July 2013
God, the Hacker: Technology, Mockery, and the Cross
July 29, 2013 By
The antiquity of the Bible may lead one to conclude it has little to say about technology. Yet, technology, broadly understood, is also ancient and the Bible actually says much about it, even giving examples of God’s own interactions with it. This article will explore the Bible’s attitude towards technology, focusing on God’s appropriation of […]
Online Privacy: How Did We Get Here?
July 26, 2013 By
From the description: As technology has evolved over the past two centuries, so have our expectations about privacy. This new digital world allows us to connect with each other with increasing ease, but it has also left our personal information readily available, and our privacy vulnerable. Cultural norms have pushed us all online, seemingly at […]
“North Korean” Film on Western Propaganda
July 22, 2013 By
The outsider always has something to teach the insider. From the YouTube description: Here is the formal statement I gave to Federal Police on 16 June 2012: On a trip to visit family in Seoul in April, I was approached by a man and a woman who claimed to be North Korean defectors. They presented […]
Review of Greenman, Schuchardt, and Toly’s latest book “Understanding Jacques Ellul”
July 19, 2013 By
Cardus has published a review by Bryan Kibbe of Understanding Jacques Ellul by Jeffrey P. Greenman, Noah J. Toly, and Read M. Schuchardt. All three authors are Wheaton College (IL) professors, and the last one, Read Schuchardt, is a Co-founder of Second Nature and the Chairman of its Editorial Board. Kibbe summarizes their new book: With this […]
5 Myths About the Amish
July 19, 2013 By
A recent Huffington Post article purports to dispel 5 myths about the Amish. In addition to denying the existence of an ‘Amish Mafia’, one of the myths dispelled is that the Amish are luddites: Because they don’t have television or Internet in their homes or Volvos or even pickup trucks in their driveways, the Amish […]
McLuhan on Snowden…in 1972
July 17, 2013 By
An interview of Marshall McLuhan in 1972 recently surfaced and is published in full by Maclean’s. Many of McLuhan’s insights are more relevant than ever, particularly his comments on surveillance and espionage with electric media. The new human occupation of the electronic age has become surveillance. CIA-style espionage is now the total human activity. Whether […]
Why Environmentalism Needs Media Ecology
July 15, 2013 By
Much of Christian thought about the environment has proceeded from a dualistic emphasis on the eternal, spiritual aspect of humanity set in opposition to our temporal and material aspect. The result, particularly among evangelicals, has often been one of neglect bordering on disdain for human effects on the natural environment. As Theodore Hiebert (2011) observed, […]
Digital Exile: Media Ecology in a New Key
July 12, 2013 By
The newly released album, Subtlety, is your perfect new soundscape for long stretches of media ecology reading. The band, Digital Exile, puts media ecology into a smooth progressive rock setting with titles like “Senses,” “Abstracted,” “Council of Heretics,” featuring a great blend of thoughtful lyrics, heavy riffs, rocking guitar solos, and biblical references to satisfy […]
A Look into Bolivia’s Mennonite Community
July 10, 2013 By
CNN recently posted a gallery of some beautiful and fascinating photos taken of an isolated Mennonite community in Bolivia. In addition to what appears to be an agrarian lifestyle, the community forbids the use of electronics. Apparently, sometimes people try to sneak them in anyway, and if they’re found, they’re confiscated and destroyed (picture 14 […]
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