Cobwebs

Revisiting my blog after what seems like an eternity, is a surreal experience. Even logging into the platform that hosts it reveals much has changed  (although thankfully the fundamentals seem intuitive enough and the editor visuals seem largely cosmetic).

I'm minded to think of my childhood haunts on the edge of Cold Comfort Woods in Alcester - they too, were sanctuaries of mine.  I'd usually find a place alongside the Spittlebrook that ran alongside the dirt track leading to the woods that was lined by trees. The gentle flow of the stream coupled with the wind softly blowing the btanches were a  source of tranquility and a place for me to mull over my thoughts... much like this place was when I first set it up.

Here's the thing though; from time to time I neglected those places for one reason or another (busy school or work schedule, places to go and people to see), but I always came back... I never forgot them.  Sometimes I'd have to clear the place out and make them accessible by pushing through thorns and brambles, or occasionally get a helping hand from mother nature where deer had crossed the stream from the other side and forged new places I could use.

I guess that sometimes this place can be like that. I may go away for long periods be it through distraction, priorities or being lost in my thoughts.... but it always here.  My reasons when I come back are diverse (on this occasion I want to voice my thoughts  on a topic and I want to see where it will end up if I just push the big red button and publish it.

Sometimes when I do, like an archeologist it feels like I've stumbled through a cavern or underground tunnel that breaks open into the works I have fashioned in this place... the whispers of words I have spoken or pondered in the past... the treasury of memories and dreams long forgotten, and the echo of hopes resounding off the walls.

But they aren't forgotten... they are always waiting for me and whoever wonders among them, only slightly veiled beneath the surface and awaiting rediscovery.

Even now I'm reminded about a piece I wrote several years ago concerning digital footprints and how what we write online might be here long after our time in some format... and that our words are a witness to our thoughts and feelings... that how we may think time and tide erase those things and consign them to the shades of lost memory... science has proven that even prehistoric footprints can be recovered.

So here I am again weilding my machete and chopping dow overgrown roots and branches, brushing off the dust and uncovering all the things that went before... thinking what needs to be added next. Sometimes I think a refit helps these processes, like the Doctor's TARDIS having different "scrensaver" modes.

Let's see what the future holds.

Do We Need Social Media "ASMBOs"?

A strange question for me to choose upon my return from a blogging hiatus, to be sure. However it's highly topical at the moment as I'm sure you'll agree.

Twice this week in the news, stories have broken that directly relate to the antisocial online behaviour of certain individuals that have been directly linked to poignant and painful news stories; both have been given court sentences. Matthew Woods - an unemployed teenager from Chorley, was jailed and given a custodial sentence of 12 weeks following his posting of jokes that poked fun at the desperately sad and highly emotive case of the abducted schoolgirl April Jones. In a totally unrelated case, that stretches back to events in March, Azhar Ahmed was fined and ordered to participate in 240 hours of community service after expressing a desire to see soldiers die and burn in Hell, just hours after 6 British soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan.

What links these cases of course is the Facebook element. Both used the social media platform to express themselves and in both cases, the authorities saw fit to throw the book at them.

You get the impression that many of those in authority don't fully grasp how social media works and are terrified by the power it gives to those who previously did not have a voice. They understand it enough to use it tactically as a way of gathering information, yet when social media manifests its power in a more sinister fashion (riots, trolling and tasteless comments such as those recorded in the stories above), politicians, police and judges alike seem at a loss to navigate the minefield of civil liberties and responsibilities.

Knowing what is acceptable online behaviour is one thing... getting  a correct and proportionate response when somebody deviates from that path is quite another. In what is still the most prominent social media court case to date - the Paul Chambers Twitter Joke Trial, a judiciary sledgehammer was used to crack a peanut. Chambers in a moment of blind frustration had quipped that he was going to blow up Nottingham's Robin Hood Airport if they didn't sort things out.  After an off duty employee of the airport intercepted the tweet and called it in, the police got involved and things got out of hand.

Of course there is a clear difference between the Twitter Joke Trial and the cases of the young men above, I think we can all be prone to a knee-jerk utterance of ridiculous hyperbole when confronted with a frustrating or trying situation.... but when it comes to events that involve the real-life suffering of others... there's a line that thankfully most of us know not to cross.

Eternal Wisdom

Even then that still leaves us with the trolls. Poignantly, I myself came under attack by a troll on Twitter the other day.  After initially walking away from the situation and "shaking the dust off my feet", I was disturbed to see that the person concerned held so much hatred after an exchange on what was actually a trivial issue (they thought they'd spotted something really clever that undermined the entire Christian faith and yet there were obvious common sense explanations some of which were included in the Biblical narrative). Within minutes of the initial exchange, said person had tracked back to this blog... and drawn the conclusion that I was a ""smugly condescending bigot" "#liar4Jesus" who should try & "fool children of my own mental age". Just a little bit harsh then. As far as I'm concerned, it was their tone and choice of prejudicial language that made them the belligerent party and ironically, the very bigot they were claiming to be exposing. All they needed to do to complete the full set was break Godwin's Law.

Still it brought me back here and got me writing again... for which i am eternally thankful to them.

I'll admit I don't have much time for people who have an aggressive agenda. I don't mind atheists or humanists promoting their own ideologies... but I do object to those who the basis of their argument is the pure denigration of those who think and believe differently. That is a measure I hold myself and all others against. Militancy is a nasty spectre wherever it raises its ugly head. I also don't like others presuming to tell me what I believe on my behalf. I have a brain, I have a heart, I have a soul... I am capable of utilising them all... just because I draw a different conclusion to my detractors... it doesn't give them the right prejudicially label me or file me in a box with disdain.

That's just my experience... and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Across the world, young people are being targeted with callous hateful exchanges which sometimes have tragic and even fatal consequences.... and it seems we are powerless to do anything as the tide advances inexorably towards us, unless we use the full weight of the law.

Perhaps it is time social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook find ways (in addition to their more potent measures)to "soft police" their networks.

A ban hammer and day in court are pretty much nuclear options  and in the case of contextual or subjective exchanges are not always going to be the most sensible way of dealing with unsavoury characters.

So what can be done?

I was thinking about this while passing the time playing "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron" on my XBox 360 when it hit me... gamer rep cards.

XBox Live incorporates a feature on your profile that records when people report you or avoid you and gives reasons why... here's an example I found from a picture on a Google Search:

A Typical XBox 360 Gamercard Showing Rep

As you can see it gives your profile a basic 5 star rating... but it also gives you a breakdown of communication and behaviour that people have taken a dislike to. Perhaps Twitter and Facebook could benefit from installing a similar feature. Of course it would have to be given proper consideration. Some trolls are organised and could launch concerted campaigns to damage the reputation of perfectly reasonable people.

So there are no easy answers but I think this might be a starting point... a place where we can begin to consider how we can police ourselves and warn others of troublesome profiles before Big Brother comes and does it all for us in a horrible, convoluted and heinous manner.

• What experiences have you had of being trolled?
• What do you think can be done to combat malicious online behaviour?

Computer Says No...

So I was tinkering*... tinkering like a fool... and I appear to have broken my blog.

Somehow, don't ask me how... my list of blog "friends" (blogs I visit periodically and encourage others to read), randomly emptied itself. I've managed to restore a couple from memory and will have a brainstorm in the morning to try and figure out who/what/why/where happened.

However, one should always try and make the best out of adversity or misfortune and so I'm asking you the good people of... wherever you are, to recommend new sites you think are worthy of adding. Now is your chance to plug yourself or shine a light on the work of others**. With any luck...

"Your name shall also go on ze list... Vot is it???!!"

Nick

* What do you think of the new layout and menu bar? Does it work?

** If you are a robot, spambot or any other non-human infiltrator... this is not an option or opportunity for you.  Wait... why am I even typing this???

Early Spring Clean

Been a while since I posted anything here of merit... and I'm very conscious there's a few cobwebs gathering. I've also noticed some of the functionality and links I originally installed have become outdated.

But most disturbing of all... I have noticed references to Justin Bieber creeping on to site links like an unwelcome fungus. As this place is a Sanctuary... I consider that to be a desecration akin to the abomination that causes desolation.

So with all this in mind, I think it might be time to have an early spring clean and get this place looking just a little bit more ship-shape and a little less quaint.

I intend keeping the colour scheme but if anyone has any advice they wish to dispense, it would be most welcome.

I also have a couple of insights that have been sitting in my heart for some time now, that I hope to find time to record and publish in the near future.

Blessings as always

Nick

Stirred

I'm acutely aware that I've been gone for a very long time.

I have found it hard to find the time to gather thoughts worthy of a post here... what with the various projects I've found myself entwined within, over the summer.

However something caught my attention today and although the hour is late and I don't have time to write anything about it now, this is my way of laying down a cornerstone. I fully intend to come back and talk about what is on my mind... and knowing that I'm leaving people hanging is my way of reminding myself I must do it.

So I'm dusting off my keyboard and oiling the gears and cogs in my brain. Expect me when you see me.

N

Christian Blogging Redux

Some time ago, I read an entry on a blog that debated the merits of whether all Christians should blog... or just those who are proficient in theology and/or debating skills.

The conclusion that was reached favoured the latter view.

At the time, I remained silent but it has always niggled me because this is the very antithesis of my position.

I do not believe in elitism. I accept that there are risks with every Tom, Dick and Harry writing about their faith... there are bound to be errors of judgement in theology and composition, because we are all on a journey.

I can't accept or sanction the idea that evangelism and spiritual encouragement are only the remit of a select few (many as the people within that "few" are). The apostle Paul encountered many charlatans, heretics and people who were preaching the Gospel for a mixture of motives. Whilst he fought diligently against deliberate heresy, when his enemies preached the Gospel, he did not oppose them... in fact, he actually recorded his attitude towards such people in his letter to the Philippians:

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."

Philippians 1:15-18

Essentially, Paul didn't care who preached the Gospel... so long as it was preached. In more recent generations, someone coined a famous saying:

"We are not all called to be evangelists, but we are all called to evangelise."

So while many may not be educated strongly in theology or even well rehearsed in scripture, if they have even a basic relationship with God through Christ, they have the knowledge of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection... and why it was necessary for the salvation of mankind. This is central to the gospel message.

Furthermore, Paul (greatly informed apologist that he was), did not regard eloquence and intellect to be of the utmost importance when it came to his own message:

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Some of the greatest preachers and apologists the Christian faith ever had... began their journeys hearing the words of some obscure man or woman of faith and being inspired by them. I think we would be fools to limit the field. People connect on all sorts of levels. A man of great wisdom and intellect... even a spiritual man, might totally miss the mark where gentle words of innocence might succeed. Every one of us is unique, we each bear a personal testimony that is not shared by another... who knows what part of our own individual stories might be used by the power of God, in order to inspire the lives of others. Or have you not read the Parable of the Mustard Seed?

I think people are being way too analytical and are injecting human management styles into what is essentially God's work. We are called to sow... we cannot know where the seed falls in the hearts of the people we speak to, we can only be faithful in sharing what we have. Evangelism is merely one beggar telling another beggar where he may find bread... and living bread at that.

To try and control who speaks for God on the Internet, is to put human rules and regulation in the way of the Gospel. My own personal attitude is to fling wide the gates... let all who know Jesus speak of him... and if I do come across anything that is at odds with the Gospel message in my own meanderings on the web... to gently point this out where necessary.

So for those who have been encouraged to abandon their keyboard, I equally encourage you to take it back up again. Your walk with Jesus is unique to you, and you do not know whose heart you may set on fire, simply by sharing it.

Widget... Widget.... A Widget I Have Got.

Just a brief pause in the proceedings to tell you about a new networking widget I've attached to my blog.

I stumbled upon SezWho purely by accident... although, I actually wander who stumbled upon who... because I honestly don't recall requesting a sign up email.

I think what really impresses me about the SezWho tool, is that it enables you - the discerning reader, to go through all my posts and rate them. It also allows everyone - reader and author alike, to rate comments. So even people who haven't signed up... gradually get rated for their contributions on the web.

It looks like the intention is to allow people who blog on multiple sites... or who have a multi-faceted online presence with profiles on a wide selection of social media, to gradually have their entire input on the Internet evaluated by everyone in their web communities.

I'd certainly like to see this expand to include things like Flixster and Last.fm, if it does not already do so.

So take a gander at the stars at the bottom of my posts and if you like them (or loathe them for that matter), let me know by rating me. As I'm all set up now, you can rate people who have left me comments as well.

I really encourage you to get the widget, It's a really good thing to be able to support/encourage one another's input...and this is one excellent way which it is possible.

Downtime

No I haven't abandoned you.

Curiously I keep thinking of things to blog about... but they always seem to get to about 75% in my brain and then just go off the boil.

I'm going to push for the extra 25% as soon as I can... but for now I thought I ought to mention that I am alive and very well.

I think my night time energy levels may be dropping off as I have lowered my caffeine intake to just cups of tea at work; when I'm at home I stick to Twinings Wellbeing stuff at the moment.

Anyway I'll sign off for now.

God bless

N

Cleaning Up!

Apologies if you've come here and found loads of old articles.

I've been tidying up some of the tags to my older posts as I have realised they contain a few typographical errors. I know it's a bit anal of me, but I like to have them all filed correctly... I find it useful especially when someone is searching on a particular theme. One thing about blogger that is quite annoying is that it tries to second guess your tags. For example... I naturally (given the blogs overall theme), post a lot about God on this blog, but on one occasion I blogged specifically about "armour of God". Now, whenever I try and tag something with God, the armour tag comes up first; I had about 9 entries misfiled under "armour of God that needed correcting.

I find it very useful to browse other peoples content when it is covered under the same tag. Admittedly there are a lot of "one off" topics/keywords that don't get used again. However, being able to open up a whole selection of a blogger's thoughts on a single topic makes the experience more comfortable/pleasurable and direct.

This is why I try to keep my major tags in good order. I'm sure I'll have something more interesting to say soon but I hope my little explanation clears things up for you. The last time it happened, somebody was so wound up by it that they ranted in their own blog about Technorati playing up... when all the while it was me! :-)

Flirting With Your Fortress

When I started blogging back in 2005 on my (now pretty much deserted) MSN Space, I originally called the blog "Nick's Sanctuary and Fortress of Solitude". It wasn't long before I realised this was actually a bit of a mouthful and dropped the "Fortress of Solitude".

However, that didn't change the original reason I created my blogs - neither this one, nor it's predecessor. They were intended to be a place where I could explore my beliefs in my on head. It's there right before you in the blog description - "A safe haven for sharing my thoughts about my faith, my life and the universe in general". It's still very much a fortress... but I think I need to actually come to terms with what a fortress... a stronghold is actually for.

It occurs to me that maybe sometimes I've sat here and thrown witty remarks or missiles out at my targets from the battlements... but that's little better than the French in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It doesn't deal with the wolf outside the door, it doesn't claim territory for your king... it's just a snug, cosy way of dealing with things. That is not what a sanctuary - a fortress is for... and something I read recently challenged me with regard to this.

Eugene Peterson referred to what he believed a sanctuary exists for... when referring to the time the Old Testament hero David, was a fugitive running from the maniacal King Saul (David went up to a sanctuary in a town called Nob to take refuge, you can read about it here). Peterson writes that:

"A sanctuary is... where I, like David, get bread and a sword, strength for the day and weapons for the fight."

I agree with him. If we stay holed up where it's safe, we make little headway. Every historical stronghold I can think of has at some point fallen to an attacking force... you can only hold out so long. In Lord of the Rings, King Theoden is trapped within his stronghold of Helm's Deep... it is about to fall... when he heeds the advice to gear up and take the battle to the enemy. This seemingly futile gesture is rewarded when Gandalf and the Rohirrim come charging into the fray, ploughing through the orc hordes and smiting all before them:

I'm not saying that we should never remain within the safety of the city walls... clearly in scripture there is wisdom in this also - Hezekiah was commanded by God not to leave Jerusalem... and an angel struck down the armies of the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

What I am saying is that although sanctuaries are places to protect what you value, they are also places to nourish yourself from hidden reserves, equip yourself for battle and muster your forces. They are also a place where you train for combat. The other day I referenced Smallville and it's been established in the series that Clark will have to go to the stronghold built specifically for him - the Fortress of Solitude, in order to complete his training as a superhero and the transition into Superman - the Man of Steel. In the clip below, we see him get a brief taste of this training:

My hope is that as I have continued to voice my concerns and beliefs on this site, that I have also learned to hone the skills and powers I'm going to need for what God calls me to. That is what this blog is for now. It's not just a place for protection... it's a launchpad.

A Sanctuary Century

My blog passed another milestone the other day.

If you look down below at the myriad of gadgets and lists down the right hand side, you will see I have become a multi-national stopping off point. I have finally managed to break into three figures with regard to the number of countries/regions that visit.

I just want to thank everyone who has come here whether that be as a result of regular visiting, random stumbling, or Governmental investigation.

To misquote Elwood Blues:

"I'm so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight. And I would especially like to welcome all the representatives of the world's law enforcement community who have chosen to join me here in Nick's Sanctuary at this time. I do sincerely hope you all enjoy the show, and please remember people that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive there are still some things that make us all the same. Me, you, them, everybody, everybody!"

So now this place is truly global... I'm going to have to hold an ambassador's reception and break out the Ferrero Rocher... complete with cheesy audio dubbing! :-)

SIGH!

Had a pleasant surprise when I got home from work tonight....

A signed photograph of Carey Mulligan, the actress who played (hopefully one day we can say plays) Sally Sparrow in Doctor Who.

Heh heh... and my tenuous link to scripture is...?

Ask and you shall receive. :-)

It made my day to receive that in the post, I've been hoping for some time that it would.

On a more serious note I appreciate I've been quiet of late... so has the whole blogosphere it would seem... or at least that is the case with regard to the territory I cover. I find it ironic that the month of August is usually the time when you find a reduced amount of blogging - if only because the name of the month implies increase (Octavian Caesar was given the name by Rome, to acknowledge the increase of his power and the month was named after him).

August seems to be slow all round - but then lots of people are on holiday, or just chilling out... and why not?

I've had a bit of an odd adventure this week and I hope to recount that at some point. I just need to find a way to express it in words.

God bless for now

N.

To Quote Mark Twain:

"The reports of my death, have been greatly exaggerated".

I'm sure that must be a cliche amongst bloggers, especially when used in the context of having been away from your blog for a while. However I wanted people to be sure I wasn't disappearing quietly into the night... I would say reassure, but I would guess that most people who end up reading my blog, do so by accident and regard it as a navigational hazard.

I can only hope there are some that regard stumbling onto this site as a "happy accident".

Recently I read another person's blog that suggested that it is this time of year when blogs tend to die off. I don't know if that is statistically true... but I have to agree, you do get that impression. It's a time of year when people go away on holiday, or have other things to do with the better weather. Things become quiet and the temptation to just forget about writing and just move on is strong indeed.

Watching these things happen is a bit like standing at the end of the universe and watching the stars slowly go out one by one:

Or to take an example from popular culture, I guess I feel a little bit like Frodo and Samwise as they chance upon some Wood Elves leaving Middle Earth.

Sam comments that seeing them leave is "kind of sad" but he doesn't know why. I think it is because he knows deep down, a little bit of the magic is leaving his world.

That is how I feel when I read a dormant blog. It is like walking into a derelict or abandoned church; or maybe it is like looking upon a tombstone, monolith... or a monument commemorating something or someone that has been lost forever to memory and time.

I don't wish for that to ever happen to my blog (unless I pull the plug on it like at MSN Spaces), I feel so strongly about this that I'm considering handing the keys over to this place should anything befall me. Maybe it would be a bit freaky if it still bore my name and picture... but the reason for this blog's existence is more important to me than any sense of it being branded in my image.

So serious about this am I, that I even have a shortlist of potential "heirs", people who I would feel honoured to take the helm in my absence (short term or permanent).

That is enough blogging about blogging. I have things to say about politics in the next few days, so expect business as usual very shortly.

God bless

N

Footprints

I've been thinking a lot about my "online footprint" in recent days.

A proportion of the British press have expressed concern over Google's future plans, most significantly the Independent, which carried this worrying story on it's front page this week. When I think of all the different sites that I am registered with, all the online groups that I am part of... even under a plethora of pseudonyms, I realise that I have a fairly significant presence. I'd argue that among the people I know closely... none of them is as established on the Internet as myself. I'm not boasting... it is not about any delusions of "celebrity", it's just that I have been much more thorough in exploring the cyber neighbourhood than they have. That is the trouble with being an extrovert trapped in an introvert's body.... you grow rather fond of armchair expeditions.

An example of how worryingly accurate Google's algorithms can be arrived in my statistics page this week. Half a world away from Nick's Sanctuary, I regularly visit a bulletin board under a pseudonym of one of the knights of the round table - Galahad. Now another description of a sanctuary can be "safe haven". The other day, Google directed somebody to my blog simply on the search term "Galahad's safe haven". I performed a search on Technorati and a cached Google advanced search, specific to the url for Nick's Sanctuary. Guess what? I don't refer to Galahad at all... Google knows me well enough by association... the same is true of other handles I travel under - scary.

Google's chief executive has revealed the following corporate vision:

"The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?'."

It is bad enough having a "nanny state" without having to worry about a "nanny site". The Independent has also pointed out that Google has bought up a genetic research firm - 23andMe and is also bidding for DoubleClick - a cookie web tracking software company. It does all sound rather worrying.

However I didn't just want to look at potential corporate Orwellian threats... I wanted to make people think seriously about their blog content, particularly fellow Christians.

Footprints are funny things... you can walk along a shoreline and leave a set of hundreds of personal impressions in the sand, knowing that when the tide comes in... they will all be long gone. Yet there are places on this planet, where footprints endure long beyond the time they were created - in the form of fossils.

The question I wanted to ask is this: when you leave your marks on the web, which ones will remain? Which articles are going to be the ones that people remember and actually have an effect on others... and which ones will simply wash away with time and tide?

You may never know. So I encourage you all to write from the heart, the things that really matter... the more important things you write down... the better chance that your better qualities will be preserved - set in stone.

For Christians this idea carries extra depth. I spoke about former US president Jimmy Carter the other day... in my research I stumbled upon a question that had been a key motivator in his early development:

"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

It has become a cliche... but the truth behind it remains all the same.

Now I want you to think about the famous poem "Footprints" - the story of a man walking with Jesus along the beach who at times of hardship and stress, discovers that one set disappears. Jesus points out at the end of the journey, that in those times... he carried the man on his shoulders.

The question I want to challenge myself and any other Christian reading is... of all the experiences I/we write about... do people see two sets of footprints (those of Jesus as well as our own), in our blogs? Also, do we have the conviction to write about the hard times in such a manner that people can see Jesus carrying us through our difficulties?

I'm not talking necessarily about content here... but attitude. There are many Godcentric blogs that make me wretch - one or two even have the bare faced cheek to claim to be speaking as Jesus in the first person in terms of spirituality and also political endorsement. They seriously need a reality check.... they come across like the "super apostles" who Paul had a problem with.

When I visit a blog, especially a Christian blog... I am less worried about the subject matter and more interested in seeing how the personality of the author comes across - and where applicable, how their relationship with God is conveyed in their style of writing.

When I write, I want people to know I'm totally on the record..., yes I want them to see God... but I also want them to know I'm a genuine human being too... I want to relate to others. I want to walk among them not upon them.

Isn't that what you want?

Visual DNA (Nick jumps on the bandwagon)

I'm afraid I couldn't resist having ago, so I clicked on a few images and do you know what? It was pretty close to the mark. It's a lot of fun and it has a few good ideas, especially when it comes to shopping for gifts. Even if you aren't into that, having your personality represented in a few snapshots is quite a cute thing in itself.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Here endeth another light hearted post by Nick.

Paint it Black?

Man I love that Rolling Stones song.

Truth be told, I was going to switch back to the traditional purple today... but I don't know, I'm kind of getting attached to the darker physical aspect of the blog. I get the impression it might be a little bit easier to read as well.

What are peoples opinions? If you want to compare, the old purple is still to be found down the sidebar in various modules (of course they will have to go black too if this stays permanent).

I value your input.

Blessings

N

I Am, Therefore I Think...

... or something like that anyway.





I have been given the great honour of being nominated for the Thinking Blogger Award by Bunnygirl.

It's great to think that people believe they have benefited from anything written here. I just try to record things as I see them, in an honest way. I believe very strongly in the need, not just to put your views across... but to share an insight as to how you arrived at those views. I try to live by that ideology within the remit of this blog. I can only hope that this nomination is a reflection of that.

In turn, as I have been "tagged", it is my responsibility to name five blogs that give me cause to think about various issues. the blogs I nominate are:

1. A Worshipper's Space. Gerry, the author of this blog, looks intently at matters of faith and addresses many different points in a passionate and informed manner.
   
   
2. New Kid on the Blog. Alastair's blog is relatively new to me... but I have been impressed by a lot of his writings.
   
   
3. Creaseville. I've known the author - Jenni, for a couple of years now and I think in many ways she is years ahead of herself. Some of her posts can be quite random... because at the end of the day, her blog often reflects her daily life. However when she's switched onto something, her views are really worth listening to... and for that reason above all, I have nominated her.
   
   
4. Kathryn Marquis.com. I have known Kathryn via MSN Spaces for some time... and she recently moved over to blogger. However she has recently taken some time out for personal reflection. She writes beautifully though... and my hope is that she will return to blogging, when God says that the time is right.
   
   
5. I want to do something different for No. 5. I guess I feel like Optimus Prime in the Marvel Comics Transformers continuity (there is an issue where Prime holds a fragment of the missing Matrix in his hand... there is enough power to restore one autobot to life... but there are so many lying inactive and he has a crisis as to who to choose. In the end Prime witnesses a serene forest being destroyed in a fight between autobots and decepticons. Feeling responsibility and compassion for the lives of the innocent creatures caught up in the robots war, he casts the Matrix to Earth and restores the battle scarred woodland.) There have been several blogs that I have found inspirational and thought provoking over the few years I have been doing this. Many of those I regarded with fondness have fallen by the wayside. so instead of naming a final current blog, I wish to remember three that inspired me a great deal. Charlotte's, Naomi's and Rachelle's. I miss their input and look forward to the hope that one or more of them will return to the world of blogging soon.

Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
   
   
2. Link to this post (over at The Thinking Blogger), so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
   
   
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).
   
   

Thank you once more to Bunnygirl for the nomination. I hope that more thought provoking material, flows from this place as the days and months wear on. Thank you everyone who reads this blog and supports me. I pray God blesses you continually and look forward to you all teaching me a trick or two.

Thanks most of all go to God who without any shred of doubt is the source of inspiration of anything good, credible and noteworthy on this site.

I'll shut up now before I start taking myself too seriously, as this is already starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech... still at least I didn't break down like Gwyneth Paltrow or Halle Berry... but I can feel the tears welling now - *sniff* .

Keep blogging and may you all be richly blessed.

Nick.

Codes of Conduct.

Earlier today, I visited a few blogs and observed the tempest that had arisen out of Tim O'Reilly's attempt to formulate a blogging code of conduct.

The task he set himself was Herculean in concept, if only because of the wide scope of definitions that people use to describe blogging. It also turned out to be somewhat of a poisoned chalice. You can analyse his efforts here.

While I appreciate the amount of work he must have put into finding the appropriate wording, I find myself disagreeing with him on various points. My primary objection is the right to anonymity. I can understand in the light of people in similar situations as that of Kathy Sierra, that there is a need to protect authors from vile anonymous attacks... but that does not help someone such as me.

The reason this place is called Nick's Sanctuary and not Nick's Coffee Bar, is so that you - the general public have a forum to voice your opinion on the things I talk about, free from reprisal.

Some of the things I talk about here are deeply personal... and as far as I am concerned, if you are in my territory, on my turf... if what you are saying carries strong emotions that upset you; then I personally feel you have the right to withhold your identity. I'm not Roman Catholic and this isn't exactly a confessional booth, but what is said between you and I here, in my mind carries with it a sacred bond.

I know the risks and I willingly choose to leave myself open nonetheless. That's why I don't require you to enter characters to prove you are human, or require you to belong to Blogger... because if there was even a slight spark in your heart that prompted you to write something, I want you to say it, I want to hear it. Therefore I deliberately minimize the obstacles to you recording your thoughts, despite it offering less security to me.

My other real issue is the matter of trolls... and how you deal with them. Unlike Mr O'Reilly, I do believe in taking on a troll... in the right circumstances. I will ignore and delete repeated profanity that is just a character assault against me... but if the "troll" raises a valid point in the midst of their ravings, I will address that point. It has happened before. In the early days of my blog when it was still on MSN Spaces, I noticed a person being absolutely vile to a 14 year old Christian girl... so I promptly told them to pick on someone with bigger shoulders - namely me. I took the brunt of what this person threw at me. I deleted their posts when they were just swearing and being perverse about my faith... however they let slip a view on one matter of faith once... and I addressed it cordially. From that day on, the trolling stopped. I don't dare imagine they changed as a person... and I can only hope that they did... but they listened. They learned to show respect, not because I traded worthy punches with them but because I turned the other cheek and treated them with seriousness and conviction despite themselves.

Back in 2005 I did come up with a brief set of ideas for my own personal code. I think it may be time for me to restate that in a new way for myself. So I can stand shoulder to shoulder amidst other peoples codes and say "This is who I am and what I do."

Regards and blessings

Nick

Dead Prophets Society

I'm beginning a new venture for Christian bloggers - The Dead Prophets Society . I'll be contacting Christian bloggers I know and inviting them to be co-authors. It's not quite ready to go yet, but I've laid the foundations.

The idea is inspired by the film "Dead Poets Society". In that film, Robin Williams plays a teacher in a 1950's American public school. The pupils are all taught poetry from a text book and taught to value poetry in terms of a formula. Mr. Keating (Williams), teaches the young men to tear that formula out of the poetry book and learn the powerful value of the poetry itself, to seize the day and live life with passion.

For too long, people have treated the Bible in the same way. They have conspired to chop it up into little segments and read it parrot fashion. A lot of churches read the scriptures but do not provide opportunity for their congregations to engage with those scriptures. They have removed the passion.

It is a sad development. Jesus said that he had come that we might have life... and have it to the full. The Bible also said of God:

"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

Imagine that. We have a God that does not wish to withhold life from us... but wishes to feed us with manna, nectar, ambrosia... call it what you will, it is the same thing: the food of God. When you eat a delicacy, you should savour it... when you are a hungry man and you find bread, you should eagerly devour it.

Do we do this with the Bible? Or do we just read it and set it to one side like some mediocre fact sheet?

The Dead Prophets now exist for people who wish suck the marrow from the Word of God. To recite from scripture and to explain to one another why it is so moving. When I was a kid, we never looked at anything other than the "big" stories in the Bible. We never looked at the prophets, or the psalms or the epistles. I think that a lot of people grow up and leave church because all they see in the bible is stories, they don't loom further because they've never been taught to expect anything else. I'd like to redress that balance.

Mahatma Gandhi said of the Bible:

"You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down, and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of literature."

He wasn't a Christian, but he understood the true power that lay within the bible. It's a power we have denied and that is something the Dead Prophets Society is designed to undo.

If you'd like to sign up, drop me a line in my comments or an email. I'll probably check people's own blogs out before adding them as authors.

If you have recommendations from a design point of view, I'd be interested to hear.... especially if you have the talent to carry it out. I think I'd like a banner picture with the closing shot of Dead Poets Society on it - students standing on desks in defiance.

Blog Snobbery

I've been noting with interest the rise, fall and apparent demise of the experiment that was 2000 Bloggers.

The short story version of it was that a bloke called Tino decided to take a snapshot of the blogosphere, a sort of first come, first serve scrapbook. The fundamental idea of his project was to showcase 2,000 blogs - warts and all. The more established great and the good, alongside the humble offerings of novices... the interesting eye catching blogs, alongside the mundane everyday ones.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, this began to throw the link valuing system into a little bit of chaos, causing less established blogs to gain ground on the big guns.

I can understand how this can sometimes be a bad thing, the people who would be most likely to look for these sort of projects and exploit them, would be entrepreneurs, viral marketeers and corporate bloggers... and we all know how tedious and annoying those blogs often are (when I use traffic exchange programmes I always filter out business and marketing blogs).

However, I've noticed in the comments of some of the detractors, an air of snobbery and ego. They fear that an increase in ranking terms for the lowest common denominator will damage their readership and will dilute the purity of the blogosphere. In effect what they are saying is "You can't come up here! You aren't good enough, aren't professional enough, aren't intelligent, humorous or insightful enough to join us in the ranks of the elite!"

It's hokum. Worse than that it's a form of electronic fascism. This is not the Roman Empire, we are not divided into patricians and plebeians. We are together, an online example of global diversity.

Don't misunderstand me, there are some wonderful blogs out there... important ones too. Blogs that expose the political machinations of corrupt governments, blogs that seek to expand human understanding between different cultures... and many of these are wonderfully researched.

When it comes to my blog, I have no delusions of global takeover. My hope is that over time, people will be touched by the things that I write about. I don't care if I'm of the moment or on message with the topics of the day, that's nice... but it's just a bonus. What really matters to me is if somebody finds my blog on a search engine in a decade and is touched by something I wrote say... last year, then as far as I'm concerned I've done my job. All I seek to do is pass on what I have learned, or share joy and pain in equal measure... in the hope that future readers may know that they are not alone.

I believe that blogs should be allowed to stand and fall by the quality of their content and not by their reputation or press. If that means that a new kid on the block starts making inroads into the readership of the heavy hitters, simply because they get lucky with a few links and establish themselves, so be it. This happens all the time in nature, the dominant male of many species community groups eventually gets toppled by some upstart, it is the way of things. Similarly how can the saplings in a rain forest grow, if the big trees don't fall down every now and then, leaving a gap in the canopy?

I'm not completely against protectionism with regard to the blogosphere, I just feel it should be like the Galapagos Islands. We protect it from the outside interference of those who are intent on changing it's nature... but when it comes to the natural development of what people blog about and who sets the agenda, let the people decide. If they see something of note, then they will comment on it, link to it and spread the word.

Have faith in the fellowship of bloggers.