Cranium-Embedded Concrete

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Final exams begin tomorrow and these pretty well depict my posture for the next two weeks.
(HT: 3 Quarks Daily)
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Indoctrinate U

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This film piqued my interest. I hope it comes to the college/university-saturated city of Minneapolis. Anything that raises awareness of the intellectual inbreeding that happens in many universities today is in itself a valuable contribution to higher education. (HT: Instapundit)
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"Bono Still Hasn't Found What He's Looking For" - More on the (RED) Campaign

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Ryan T. Anderson writes a discerning article over at First Things that illuminates some of the conflictedness Christians feel when considering relief efforts like the (RED) Campaign. Actually, he does more than that; he summarizes the spiritual dissonance of sacrifice-free humanitarianism. He also points out the practical damage done when millions of dollars are imprudently thrown at the problems of Africa, when Africa's greatest needs are spiritual and social.

Here's part of what he wrote:

A little more than a year ago, Bono and Bobby Shriver launched the (RED) campaign in London. It would go on to attract attention (and advertising) from such media elites as Steven Spielberg, Chris Rock, and Oprah Winfrey, while attracting sponsorships from AOL and MySpace. It created quite a buzz: Ads were all over the place and the world would be changed.

The idea was simple: new lines of consumer goods—all from the trendiest companies, Gap, Giorgio Armani, Motorola, Apple iPod—would be launched with the (RED) logo. When you bought one of these products, the company would give a fraction of the proceeds to the Global Fund. The (RED) Manifesto put it simply: “You buy (RED) stuff. We get the money, buy the pills and distribute them. . . . If they don’t get the pills, they die. We don’t want them to die. We want to give them the pills. And we can. And you can. And it’s easy. All you have to do is upgrade your choice.”

By “upgrade your choice,” they meant buy their products. “You, the consumer, can take your purchase to the power of (RED) simply by upgrading your choice. Thus the proposition: (YOU)RED. Be embraced, take your own fine self to the power of (RED). What better way to become a good-looking samaritan?!”

Buying overpriced luxury items—the true meaning of the Parable of the Good-Looking Samaritan. Anyway, it’s been a year now, and the results seem poor. Unhappy with the Advertising Age report, the CEO of (RED) issued a public response. It makes some valid points: The money was going to be spent on product advertising anyway, so we might as well raise awareness about AIDS in Africa and raise some money at the same time. Certainly the sick in Africa aren’t sneering at the $18 million. For many, it has been the difference between life and death.

But there is something wrongheaded—even repulsive—about the approach. Turning the life-and-death plight of an entire continent into just another advertising strategy. Making charitable giving a matter of satisfying consumerist desires. Attempting to solve African need by Western greed.

It reminded me of one of Bono’s earlier endeavors: the ONE Campaign. Bono titled this “the campaign to make poverty history.” Its strategy was simply to rally Americans to call upon President Bush to allocate one additional percentage point of the U.S. budget to fighting extreme poverty across the globe.

Surprisingly, they never ask for any direct contributions: “ONE isn’t asking for your money, we’re asking for your voice. ONE does not accept donations. Instead, we hope that you’ll take action with ONE by contacting Congress, the President and other elected officials and ask them to do even more to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty. We encourage you to sign the ONE declaration and help by spreading the word about the ONE Campaign by talking about it with your friends, family and co-workers. Additionally, you can show your community that you support ONE by purchasing ONE merchandise on our website.”

Just sign our petition! Just call President Bush! Wear our wristband! That’s all it takes to make poverty history! You don’t even need to give a dime!

What a bizarre method. Why not appeal to our consciences directly and ask every American to donate 1 percent of our personal budget to the poverty-fighting charity of our choice? The ONE Campaign made significant inroads with the religious communities—having them demand more from the government. Why not ask for a tithe? Why not call for personal contributions instead of political noise-making?

But that would require sacrifice. And that wouldn’t sell. Nor would it be trendy. It’s so much easier to say we can fight AIDS by buying Armani and Gap. It’s so much easier to say we’ll end world poverty by telling Congress to do something about it. My “good-looking” “fine self” sleeps so much better at night knowing that my (RED) purchase has bought pills for someone in Africa, that my signature on the ONE declaration means I’ve done my part.

The entire thing is well worth reading. _________________________________________________________________________________________

Globalism

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Just your average 21st century, AK-47-toting, lip plate wearing, Coldplay listening Mursi tribeswoman.
(HT: Wired News)
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Random Essentials for the ADD-addled Mind

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1. An irresistible reminder that relief is as close as your nearest bunny.
2. How the heck do I select a good seat on an Airbus A320?
3. Best free online documetaries.
4. Of the many reasons to hate the band Nickelback, this is probably the best.
5. A brief, lucid summation of the dangers of paternalism and imperialism for western
Christians
6. Google's effort to illuminate the tragedy of Darfur
7. Didn't get into MIT? Trip not, my friend.
8. Probably one of the nicest songs you'll hear today
(HT: Kottke, Evangelical Outpost, Cute Overload, Between Two Worlds)
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"Pearls Before Breakfast"

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The Washington Post had a question: If you took a world-class violinist and had him play for spare change in the D.C. subway, would anyone recognize the genius? Would people stop and listen? How much money would he make?

This fascinating article answers these questions and contains some remarkable insights about beauty, context, children and gratitude.

The speculation during the planning of the experiment:

In preparing for this event, editors at The Post Magazine discussed how to deal with likely outcomes. The most widely held assumption was that there could well be a problem with crowd control: In a demographic as sophisticated as Washington, the thinking went, several people would surely recognize Bell. Nervous "what-if" scenarios abounded. As people gathered, what if others stopped just to see what the attraction was? Word would spread through the crowd. Cameras would flash. More people flock to the scene; rush-hour pedestrian traffic backs up; tempers flare; the National Guard is called; tear gas, rubber bullets, etc.

Did these concerns prove justified? Read the article and find out.


(HT: Kottke)
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Here You Go, Mac Snobs

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(HT: Between Two Worlds)
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