Hello!
I saw the Barbie movie. Maybe I will write about it. It’s funny. It has some things to say. There are many people who are taking it far too seriously. And lastly, here is the best scene in the movie, which was almost cut until director Greta Gerwig said it wouldn’t go:
You will have to watch the movie to see what these two say to each other. It’s brilliant.
The Part Where There’s an Essay: Tech Month 2/Recommended Reading
Before I delve any more into the methods we use around technology in our lives, I wanted to start with principles.
As with any area of Christian liberty, principles are wise counsel and Biblical ideas on which we can agree. Methods are the way in which we honor the principles — and they will almost always look different. Mastering the difference between these two categories is extremely helpful in living at peace with one another.
What follows is a list of books and resources that we have found beneficial. These titles and authors have shaped our thinking when it comes to technology and its role in our lives. Some of these are my husband’s recommendations; some are mine; many are from both of us.
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman: Most agree that Postman was clairvoyant when he wrote this book back in 1985. He was concerned about the role of entertainment in our lives; he didn’t even grasp the role of the internet (yet).
12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke: I quoted the introduction of this book last week. Tony does a nice job of examining the role of the smartphone in a Christian’s everyday life, exploring how these tiny computers are changing our minds and our hearts.
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (and its little brother, Strange New World): Carl Trueman unfolds the trouble with the buffered self and expressive individualism, brought to its height perhaps by the role of the internet and social media.
Terms of Service: Some of you might know Chris Martin’s newsletter by the same name. Here’s his book, specific to the effects of social media.
You Are What You Love by James KA Smith. Only remotely about technology, but more about habits and how they shape us.
Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble. How does our Christian witness change in the age of such distraction?
The Wisdom Pyramid by Brett McCracken. Drawing on the metaphor of the food pyramid, McCracken discusses what our sources of wisdom — note: wisdom, not information — ought to be.
Honorable mention for Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke, Deep Work by Cal Newport, and Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Next week I’ll be back with my favorite tools for managing tech for grownups.
For the Anglophiles
Reads & Listens of the Week
“Ruthlessly ambitious and unusually persuasive.” Those are the descriptors given for Aaron Burr in this episode of Conspiracy Theories. In spite of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s quest to make him a sympathetic character, the truth remains that Burr was not a good guy—the Crimes of Aaron Burr.
The reign of the US Women’s National Team is over, as the team crashed out of the knockout round of the Women’s World Cup last weekend. Listen to Rebecca Lowe (of NBC’s soccer coverage team) and Brendan Hunt (maybe better known to you as Coach Beard) lament the loss.
Born Into War: A Ukrainian Family’s Birth and Survival Story. “That’s what this kind of war does. It reminds you that every instant could be your last, and that every decision you make, no matter how minor, could determine your fate. You go grocery shopping and wonder if you've made a lethal mistake. You double back to give her another kiss, and then ask yourself — Did I just bend my path to intersect the next missile?”
I loved Tsh’s recap of her group’s trip through Ireland. What It’s Like to Walk Through Ireland.
Don’t study and grind away too much, for that makes one sterile. Enjoy yourself too much rather than too little, and don’t take art and love too seriously. -Vincent VanGogh
Re: Barbie - yes. You are correct, that is the best scene. I cried.