Moving Forward

Mozilla recently released a plug in for their ever popular browser, Firefox. It's called Ubiquity, and it's destined to change the way you think about and use the internet. It's described as a Human Language Interface, which basically means you tell Ubiquity what you want to do in conversational terms, and it does it. Beautiful stuff.

Interestingly enough, the release of Ubiquity came just before Googles announcement and subsequent release of their new web browser, Chrome. The browser itself contains no groundbreaking features (which of course has critics spouting their typical complaints against Google), but rather contains a unique and very intentional set of tools, found in a number of different places, and in a number of other browsers.

According to some very insightful tech heads, the browser is designed for one very powerful purpose: to be the first operating platform for the internet. Rather than a browser housing search results, blog posts, and consumer products, it's built to run web-based applications, independent of a computers operating system.

Each Tab or Window runs as a standalone application, so if a page locks up, only that instance is effected, not the whole session. Just like your OS! Other features include incredible speed and full Google App integration. Both very cool and very useful.

So imagine if the two were combined. A browser that understood what you wanted in plain English, and ran like an OS. It's the ideal machine, and it's accessible from anywhere on the planet. No more OS battles, just a universal system.

It may sound like a stretch, but the simultaneous release of said technologies seems a manifestation of some subconscious techno longing. As if our generation has unwittingly demanded a paradigm shift in the way we gather and consume information.

It seems Mozilla and Google have answered that call with open-source arms. With such a jump forward, can hover cars be far behind...

Check out this article to learn a little more about the technology behind Ubiquity, and why it's going to change everything.

-JML

In a good groove...

So i've got a few reviews up on Hollywood Jesus.com, and more on the way. I finally feel like i've worked myself into a good groove in regards to writing. Below are a few quick links to what's up on the site.

Transmetropolitan: Issue #6
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Batman: War On Crime

Now if i could just stay on the ball with this silly blog. It would be nice if it didn't take me six months to put up new posts...

-JML

Two Churches Prose

Humans are, by nature, an abrasive bunch, rubbing each other raw with our various and often less than compatible traits. The body of Christ is unique among so many religions, philospohies, and sciences for it's desire not to avoid or subdue this erosion of self. Rather, we embrace it, and work through it, counting it as gain when our fleshly layers are worn away and we begin to resemble more and more the face of our Savior.

We are two churches, two entities, coming together. Yet if we are truly in the Spirit, then the only thing which separates us on any other day of the week is space. It's the same Spirit, the same call, the same purpose, the same end. We approach the throne as humble servants, diversified and glorified for a single cause. Worship is the outpouring of love for something greater than ourselves. We come together to recognize that which is worthy to be praised.

That is what binds us here on earth. The sacrifice of the Savior is what keeps us moving together, growing ever closer to our Lord, by growing ever closer to the people around us. True spirituality arises out of a need, not guilt or duty. Let us be each others inspiration, unifying through communal diversity and humility, admonishing the singular, shared reason we need Him, and realizing how much we need each other.

-JML

Just a quick update

So yes, it's been awhile since my last post, but there's a good reason for that. I am officially doing 3 things i always wanted to on a regular basis:

Employed by Apple Store
Freelance Video Work
Writing Reviews for Hollywood Jesus.com

This is a really exciting time for us. I'm hoping to post links to my reviews, as well as start posting my thoughts again. Until then, let send a quick recomendation out.

Everyone should watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It's a little boring until the last 45 minutes, but it's well worth the enlightenment. Enjoy!

-JML

Invasion of the Kiwis

You may not be a closet Xena: Warrior Princess fan, like I am, and that's too bad. You may not love Lord of the Rings, which means you're an alien or some subspecies of Rhinoceros. But if you don't love Flight of the Conchords, there is something seriously wrong with you.

New Zealand's fourth most popular folk-comedy duo (as they introduce themselves) has landed on our shores in a big way, complete with an HBO series and an appearance at the massively popular South-by-Southwest music festival.

If you've seen the indie comedy Eagle vs. Shark, you already know half the band. Jemaine Clement plays the lead role, Jarrod. His bandmate Bret Mckenzie had a 3 second appearance in the first and third Lord of the Rings installment, which sparked an online cult sensation, FIGWIT (Frodo Is Great, Who Is That).

They've been hitting the late show circuit pretty hard, and will appear in their shows 9th episode this Sunday on HBO. I heartily suggest checking them out and supporting this stellar act. You can watch the first 8 episodes of their show, as well as a wide aray of live appearances on YouTube.

-JML

Which Theologian are You?

You scored as Anselm, Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man's primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read 'Cur Deus Homo?' Anselm 100% Martin Luther 73% John Calvin 67% Paul Tillich 47% Friedrich Schleiermacher 40% Karl Barth 40% Jonathan Edwards 40% Charles Finney 33% Augustine 33% Jürgen Moltmann 20% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

When is it art?

As a man of the church, who was raised in the church, i struggle with modern art. It seems to float a thin line between true artistic expression, and mere pornography. I'm not speaking simply of painting, but music, writing, film, sculpture, and anything else. It is, after all, the artists job to push the limits, to be the brave pioneers, bringing us forward, kicking and screaming, into new territory. I just think the territory isn't as perverse as they make it out to be.

I do, however, think that showing the human body, be it clothed or candidly nude, doesn't necessitate an image being labeled pornographic. Think of the great Italian masters. Their smooth brush strokes capturing the bare, Sicilian babes, their soft, supple white skin spread across fine linens. Is that pornography? I cannot believe that was the intention. And for me, that's the point to be made.

Is the artists intention to honor the genuine nature of the object, to reveal it's beauty, to give the viewer a deeper understanding of the subject's soul? Or is it simply a piece of pulp, catered to thousands of careless, and unappreciative instinct driven animals?

Here are 2 artists i really enjoy.

Stella Im Hultberg
Jason Goad

I can't say all their subjects are clothed, or that some of the images don't border on disturbing. I can say that i see in their work something worth looking at, something creative and satisfying. But in order to see these things, i've had to redefine my definition of humanity since my rather uber-conservative youth.

I believe in the ideal of the human form, that God made us perfect in the beginning. He wants to save our physical nature along with our spiritual, by purifying them together, the way things were meant to be. We have bodies in the next life and for me, to see an artists picture of mankind is to push my understanding of what we are now, and what we might become.

Enjoy.

-JML

Call me a conspiracy nut, but...

If you wanted to covertly test a new neurotoxin, or biological weapon on an enemy nation, how would you do it? Maybe slip it into their toothpaste? Better yet, slip it into the toothpaste of their mentally ill, imprisoned, and hospitalized. Who would notice? This time at least, somebody noticed.

You gotta give the Chinese credit. They've proved to the world, and possibly themselves, that they could single-handedly destroy our country (and many others) by simply slipping a little something into our drink (or food, or toothpaste, or vitamins, etc.)

-JML