Month: February 2016

Episode 34: Thinking Out Loud 101: Coming Into the Light – Thinking.FM

bebrave

Elisabeth talks about how she might want to hide in the shadows because she’s not ready to be considered a writer but the really amazing things that happen when you do finally step into the light. You have to be who are you without wanting the affirmation of other people or fulfilling contrived notions of beauty standards. Be true to yourself and to the other people living in this cosmos with you.

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Show Notes:

What are Elisabeth and Merianna reading?


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The Gospel of Consumption

consumption

“Rather than realizing the enriched social life that Kellogg’s vision offered us, we have impoverished our human communities with a form of materialism that leaves us in relative isolation from family, friends, and neighbors. We simply don’t have time for them. Unlike our great-grandparents who passed the time, we spend it. An outside observer might conclude that we are in the grip of some strange curse, like a modern-day King Midas whose touch turns everything into a product built around a microchip.

Of course not everybody has been able to take part in the buying spree on equal terms. Millions of Americans work long hours at poverty wages while many others can find no work at all. However, as advertisers well know, poverty does not render one immune to the gospel of consumption.”

Source: Orion Magazine | The Gospel of Consumption

A good read from 2008. We’re in even worse shape with our mobile devices forming our core communication identities.

Sometimes, I don’t know how / why I try to work in marketing.

Episode 33: Thinking Religion 67: A Little Gnod to the Gnostics – Thinking.FM

lifeofbrian

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss Dan’s White Vans, the new Thinking Religion schwag giveaway, Syriac Valentine poems, new pens, Trump as Cyrus the Great, a Trump presidency, evangelical mono cultures, Monty Python’s take on Jesus, and the Last Temptation of Christ.

Show Notes

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An honest thief

Fascinating read…

“The conclusion is inescapable: we must live our lives to promote the most overall good. And that would seem to mean helping those most in want—the world’s poorest people.

Our rule demands one do everything they can to help the poorest—not just spending one’s wealth and selling one’s possessions, but breaking the law if that will help. I have friends who, to save money, break into buildings on the MIT campus to steal food and drink and naps and showers. They use the money they save to promote the public good. It seems like these criminals, not the average workaday law-abiding citizen, should be our moral exemplars.”

Source: An honest thief

Episode 32: Thinking Out Loud 100: You Brought Your Whistle – Thinking.FM

thinkingoutloudheader100

Elisabeth and Merianna celebrate their 100 episode! They relive how it all started and all their best soapbox speeches and conclude if you are adding your voice to the mix, don’t just be a part of the chorus. Stand out!

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Show Notes:

What are Elisabeth and Merianna reading?


The post Thinking Out Loud 100: You Brought Your Whistle appeared first on Thinking.FM.

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Facebook is going to put ads in Messenger

“The document, obtained by TechCrunch but kept private to protect its verified source, says businesses will be able to send ads as messages to people who previously initiated a chat thread with that company. To prepare, the document recommends that businesses get consumers to start message threads with them now so they’ll be able to send them ads when the feature launches.”

Source: Facebook Plans To Put Ads In Messenger | TechCrunch

Gross.

Messaging is the future of social networking. No doubt.

“People who previously initiated a chat” for Facebook is about as nuanced as people who consume oxygen in their lungs (based on their current model). Expect to see a WHOLE LOT of “if you want to know more, MESSAGE US ON FACEBOOK!” posts / ads in your near future.

Dumb mistakes like this will cost Facebook its rather substantial lead in the messaging space here in the U.S.

Harrelson Marketing will be testing out other ways to do authentic marketing that doesn’t involve this type of cheap real estate move.

The Pope Didn’t Say Donald Trump Is Not a Christian

From Dr. Thomas J. Whitley…

“The “only” is a key word in Pope Francis’ response, as is his admission that he is rather uninformed regarding Donald Trump’s immigration policy proposals. The Pope did not say “Donald Trump is not Christian.” Rather, he claimed that if a person only ever thought about building walls and not also about building bridges, that person would not be Christian. Yes, the implication is that Trump is that person and that Trump only thinks about building walls and not bridges, but that is not precisely what Francis said.”

Source: MRBlog | Donald Trump, Pope Francis, and the Death of Nuance – The Marginalia Review of Books

Episode 31: Thinking Out Loud 99: Speaking of Happily Ever Afters – Thinking.FM

happilyeverafter

Elisabeth and Merianna talk about the power of false climaxes to turn a plot and making your characters more interesting. They also cover the importance of soul feeding as you transform from writer to author, and the importance of sticking to your draft while saying all the words (and not taking short cuts).

Next week is the big 100th episode!

Show Notes:

What are Elisabeth and Merianna reading?


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Episode 30: Thinking Religion 66: The Barbeque Equation of Religion and Politics – Thinking.FM

2009-05-22-sc_saucesThomas is now Dr. Whitley, Sam is too old to understand the Grammys, Thomas does an on-air unboxing of This Is Ground’s Mystery Box (use this link for $10 off an order there), Justice Scalia is dead, and South Carolina is changing.

Show Notes

The post Thinking Religion 66: The Barbeque Equation of Religion and Politics appeared first on Thinking.FM.

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