Kerner.net

Advent Conspiracy 2009

Once upon a time Christmas was about more than endless shopping and wish lists. Christmas was about joy, peace, hope, and love. Most of us could all do with a little bit less stuff crap stress debt hassle in our lives. What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Writer's Block: Writing vs Talking

  37signals has a post today that deals with a topic that I think is really important for those of us who speak regularly as part of our jobs. Especially if we have to write manuscripts of a sermon or a presentation. While they discuss writer's block as typer's block relating to a conversation that generates ideas, I think this really applies to sermon writing as well. I use an adaptation of this technique whenever I hit the wall writing (something I've been struggling with this week in particular).

I usually start writing with an outline and let it sit in my head for a couple of days before I try to get to a manuscript. The process of moving from outline to manuscript sometimes flows really easily, just typing the whole thing right out. I always try to start there and see what I can get on paper. When that doesn't work, or when I leave ginormous holes in a message I move to the talking approach.

I pace a lot when I'm writing/thinking creatively. I also talk out loud, which makes this exercise something that has to be done privately. Although it wouldn't work without actually speaking. Sometimes I'll pace around with a piece of paper and just jot down notes and phrases while I ramble through my outline. Sometimes I'll wander around my desk or a table with the laptop recording the audio of my talking. This week I've been using the Voice Memos app on my iPhone as a recorder and been really happy. It lets me wander anywhere, but not have to write things down. I especially like being able to use a headset, start recording, and drop the phone in my pocket.

Ultimately the recordings have to get transcribed into the manuscript. Usually I'll have run through sections of the sermon several times and can pick the treatments I like best to transcribe. Oftentimes the transcription happens several days after the initial recording session so I've had more time to let ideas process.

I've found that the quality of my writing has gone up dramatically since I started recording my talking to myself. It may make me look a bit crazy, and it certainly limits where I can do this stage of the writing, but I think the tradeoffs are worth it.

What tricks do you have to overcome writer's block?

Reorganizing the arts suite

I'm a fan of how change can impact productivity. Yesterday my assistant Matt, our January intern (Ryan), and I reorganized the arts suite. It was really an excuse for a major cleaning - vacuuming under furniture, throwing lots of crap away, etc. I wish we'd have taken before and in process pictures. It actually occurred to me to turn on a camera and timelapse the entire transition, but also something I didn't do. I could probably dig up some old pictures from when we moved in 18 months ago, but for now there are pictures of the new arrangement.

The main reason for the shift is that a few months ago I replaced a broken monitor with a nice new one from Dell, but ended up with a glossy screen. I used to have my back to the windows and that provided a nice amount of glare. I also wanted to see if there was a way to open up the space while keeping all the furniture. I think we did a fairly good job.

What changed? The conference table moved slightly. My desk and the seating area flipped sides of the room. Originally when we moved in Lori & Jeni insisted that we do things "catty whompus" with very little square to the walls. It was a nice asthetic but felt cluttered. Everything but the conference table now sits squared off with the walls. A bit institutional, but I like it a lot better.

There are three or four people that work out of our office on a fairly regular basis as well as a stream of volunteers that do projects in here. The space also works as a small studio for video and minor audio work. We have a lot of creative meetings both around the conference table and on the couches.

Things I really like about the new layout. It puts the seating area in view of the window in the door. I was always a bit concerned about meeting with people not in view of the window. It provides a much better traffic flow through the room. It lets everybody see the tv from their desk and gives a better viewing angle from most of the room. We're going to be able to start letting stuff play in the background, have news, etc. It also lets us play xbox from our desks. I also like that the workstations are centralized on one side of the room. Conversation between desks is much more comfortable. Most importantly the room feels much more open.

2009 in Three Words

@terrystorch and Shawn Wood tipped me off to a great post by Chris Brogan about goals for 2009. Last year I set very specific goals and did a very poor job of meeting them. I really like the approach of setting broader thematic goals rather than specific action oriented goals. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep these goals more easily. Most of the goals for last year are ongoing. I'm still working to blog more, I go through periods of focusing well on fitness, I'm going to take guitar lessons. So this year I thought I would take the broader approach.

Here's how Brogan describes the process:

If you want to try the process, it works something like this: think of how you want to be successful in 2009. Then, try to think in even broader terms. Extrapolate on the broader terms, and find one word to hang the idea on.

My three words for 2009:

Create - I've been in a rut creatively for the past several months. As a worship team we've been a lot less creative than I'd like. I've not been doing things that feed me creatively as much as I would like. So I'm taking some immediate steps. I'm getting out of my environment and working intentionally surrounded by other creative professionals. I'm taking guitar lessons. I'm starting to write without a real purpose - just to get words on paper - maybe it will develop into something. I'm going to relax, and cook, and take time off to really recharge (see word three).

Pray - Our core emphasis as a church for the next year is prayer. I believe very strongly in the power of prayer, but it currently isn't an integrated part of everything I do. Prayer has been an important part of my life, but it hasn't been as intentional as it should be of late. The staff is spending the first several weeks of the year going through Richard Foster's book Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home together. It's a great book and the first time I read it nearly 10 years ago was really when prayer became real in my life. I'm really excited to see how a focus on prayer for the year impacts both my life and the church.

Relax - I tend to be a ball of stress and a workaholic. I worry about things that aren't all that important. I obsess about quality often times about things out of my control. I neglect taking appropriate time off to recharge. My goal is to be very intentional about taking my day off and taking breaks during the work day. What that means is saying no to doing some things and more effectively delegating to others. It also means that I'm going to try to be a lot less serious. I plan on playing and having fun a lot more this year. 

What would your three words be for 2009?

50,000 Shoes in 50 Days

Just took part in the 50,000 Shoes in 50 Days challenge. I would encourage you to do the same. It's pretty amazing that for $5 you can send two pairs of shoes to people who've never had shoes. It just takes a couple of minutes. You never really think about how important shoes are, because we wear them all the time, but over 300 million people around the world don’t have shoes. Walking around barefoot most places on the planet isn't safe like it is in your back yard. Having to walk around without shoes puts people into life-threatening situations.

It only takes 2 minutes to provide shoes for people who really need them. It costs about the same as a trip to Starbucks.
 

Hello TypePad

Just making a new post to TypePad. I've already updated my old site to redirect people here. In just a few days I'll swap the domain over and TypePad will officially be the home of kerner.net

Dr Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog - Is This the Future of Entertainment?

 

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog is what happens when a bunch of talented people who can't work get together to do something to fill the time (and make a point about the last year's writers' strike). During the the strke Joss Whedon teamed up with a group of people and have put together what I'm guessing is a great 44 minutes of entertainment. I guess because I've only seen the first act (which went live today). Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog features Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day.

It's also a musical! Joss Whedon generally gets geek points but he's also very musically talented. One of my favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the musical episode. Having Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day (also a trained singer) doesn't hurt.

Dr. Horrible is so popular that the web site has been down most of the day. I was lucky enough to watch it before beginning a day of writing. I kept going back to the site in hopes of watching it again. There is a scalability issue here but hopefully it will be solved soon. Whedon obviously has relationships/connections that let him pull together the cast/crew for this piece. There is some budget behind it, but I'm guessing the budget is still substantially below that of a standard 44 minute television episode.

So Dr. Horrible is fun, looks great, is full of talent (both on screen and off), why isn't all television this way? I really wonder if the future of entertainment might be this type of production. Each act will be available only until Sunday, released a day apart on Hulu and in iTunes. Felicia Day has been writing and starring in The Guild for the past year and it shows the other end of the web entertainment spectrum. The Guild is entirely fan supported and is distributed on YouTube. I wonder how long it will be before I can get rid of cable. The time is coming soon when services like Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, etc. will eliminate my need for cable/satelite/broadcast television.

Family Reunion Time!

It's technically Sarah's family, but unlike some people I'm going anyway. That's right it's time for the biennial Skelton Family Reunion. The large family reunion is something that I don't quite relate to, but it's a lot of fun. You see I grew up in a family where both of my parents only had one sibling (and we rarely saw aunts/uncles). Sarah on the other hand comes from a big family on both sides. Her mom is one of 10 (that's right, double digits) siblings - she's also one of the youngest, which means Sarah has cousins that have kids almost our age. It's a crowd of people - always an adventure.

A few cycles back the siblings decided they'd trade off coordinating the family reunion in birth order (it's going to be a long time before Sarah's mom is in charge). This year we're headed to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. From everything I've read it will be a nice location, although I fear it may be the Branson of Virginia. I'm looking forward to getting some open water swimming practice before the triathlon in a few weeks. I'm also looking forward to my first four day break from work/school related activities since last October.

I am taking several books with me to help pass the time. I'm planning a sermon series for the fall based on Leonard Sweet's 11 (going to read it again). I'm also taking Lois Kelly's Beyond Buzz. I'm also taking The Shack and a couple of magazines. I've got rips of Labyrinth and Across the Universe to keep me entertained on the plane.

The Flip cam is packed and I'm hoping to get some video that's actually editable. We'll see what happens. Regular updates on Twitter.

Rain Rain Go Away

It's been an incredibly rainy day today. It wasn't raining when I first got up this morning, but started soon after. There have only been a couple of lulls, but the ground here certainly can't keep up. Lucy refused to leave the overhang of the door to go outside, but she'd been heading to the door for about 30 minutes, so I took her out with an umbrella. Right now I'm thankful for huge umbrellas and plastic birki shoes. I managed to stay fairly dry, can't say the same for Lucy. While I was up to my ankles in water I thought taking some pictures would be good. The street in front of our house is under a couple of inches of water, and the river that runs around the back of our house and down the side to the front is certainly contributing. 

You can't really see it in the first picture, but the second shows the lake by our upper patio nicely. There's also a great little waterfall pouring into the river that runs from the side of our house to the street. The standing water is about 4" deep much to the dog's dismay. 

 

Indiana Jones - Bleck

I really wasn't expecting much from the latest installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. After reading Hershey's review I was expecting even less. A group of us from licensing school decided to go see the movie last Friday night to end our week together. A couple of people liked it, several of us seriously considered getting up and leaving.

I knew it was going to be cheesy - heck we wanted it to be cheesy. After about five minutes the cheese quota was pretty well covered. The only part of the movie that really felt like an Indiana Jones movie was the classroom scene at the start of the movie. It had the right look, the right type of editing, the right dialogue. The rest of the movie was just off base.

I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't suffered through it yet, but the entire premise is a but too much for my tastes. I'm a SciFi fan, I'm an action/adventure fan, I'm a historical thriller fan, but they can't all go into one movie. It felt as if the plot was composed of a series of brainstorming sessions thrown together. "I wonder if..." and nothing got left out of the plot.

My friend Lisa joked about it sucking until they blew the world up at the end. That probably would have been an improvement.