The three-month ‘proposal,’ advanced most principally by major labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, would allow current, free-access, ad-supported (or ‘freemium’) subscribers to continue their plans for 6 months, while new users would be limited to three months only.
The average artist makes less than a cent per stream on Spotify. Demon Hunter has seen a lot of my money, but artists that I’ve only played once or twice has seen next to nothing. I’ve gotten more value than I’ve given to them. When you buy an album in iTunes, the artist sees between 10 and 50% of the money. You’d have to stream a song some 30 times to pay the artist as much as the purchase in iTunes would pay them.
I had gotten more value than I had given. As an artist and developer, that stings. Every once in a while I think of turning back. Cheap access to music (I was a Premium, $9.99/month subscriber) is enticing, but I gotta say that owning music is way better. I’m glad I switched to iTunes. I seldom used Spotify as a radio, but instead for listening to entire albums. I use iTunes the same. iTunes Radio is nice from time to time for discovery, but I own a lot of music and buy a new album every month or so now.
If evangelical Christianity is growing, or at the very least remaining steady, why is Christianity as a whole shrinking and why are those who claim no religious affiliation increasing at such a rapid rate? In short, nominals — people whose religious affiliation is in name only — are becoming nones — people who check "none of the above" box on a survey.
Those who value their faith enough to wake up on Sunday morning and head to their local church are mostly still going. What I have described as "convictional Christianity" will continue. Those who say their faith is very important to their lives are not suddenly jettisoning those beliefs to become atheists.
This makes sense in regards to what Glenn Beck said yesterday:
It’s no surprise people are saying, “Christian, I’m not Christian.” Why would you call yourself Christian? Those numbers continue to dwindle for good reason. You define yourself as a Christian, and you’re going to be defined by society as narrow-minded, hateful, judgmental.
Believing marriage between a man and woman used to be ammunition or still is used as ammunition to say you hate gays.
Saying prayer in school is akin to forcing nonbelievers to conform against their will.
Teaching intelligent design is literally likened to child abuse now, mocked as anti-science.
Virginity is mocked.
Being pro-life is being spun as a war on women
So growing up today as a millennial, that is damn near impossible. Who would intentionally put themselves in a crowd that society has deemed anti-gay, anti-women, anti-science? I mean, sign me up. It’s a harder sell to young people in a culture that bombards them with anti-Christian messaging, but I honestly don’t think that’s the problem. I think that’s part of the problem, but I don’t think that’s the real problem.
Those that in the past have identified as Christians because of a cultural affiliation— grew up going to church and still attend a couple times a year— are seeing what Christians are associated with today and are being forthright and honest: they’re atheists or agnostics. People are not leaving the Church in troves, they are just being honest that they are not Christians and likely never were. That said, evangelical Christianity is on the rise, though marginally. “[W]eekly religious attendance as a percentage of the U.S. population is about where it was in the 1940s.” Nothing to see here except news fodder, people. Nothing to see.
If I had more meetings, this would be fantastic. But I don’t. I love cool, sexy things that I cannot find a use case for. Read more about the new Meet keyboard.
It’s no surprise people are saying, “Christian, I’m not Christian.” Why would you call yourself Christian? Those numbers continue to dwindle for good reason. You define yourself as a Christian, and you’re going to be defined by society as narrow-minded, hateful, judgmental.
Believing marriage between a man and woman used to be ammunition or still is used as ammunition to say you hate gays.
Saying prayer in school is akin to forcing nonbelievers to conform against their will.
Teaching intelligent design is literally likened to child abuse now, mocked as anti-science.
Virginity is mocked.
Being pro-life is being spun as a war on women
So growing up today as a millennial, that is damn near impossible. Who would intentionally put themselves in a crowd that society has deemed anti-gay, anti-women, anti-science? I mean, sign me up. It’s a harder sell to young people in a culture that bombards them with anti-Christian messaging, but I honestly don’t think that’s the problem. I think that’s part of the problem, but I don’t think that’s the real problem.
All great reasons, but then he points out how from the outside we appear to be hypocritical, argumentative, and worse. One might agree or disagree, but this point is solid:
The reason for this is, as every believer knows, we’re all human beings. We’re all flawed. We’re all liars and cheats and thieves to some extent. We’re at church, at least I am, because it’s a hospital. It’s a spiritual hospital, and we don’t recognize it as that.
I’ve made this point as often as I can, but again we should always make people aware. I am not perfect. I am not righteous, pious, or good. I am the wretch the song refers to. That is why I go to church. That is why I need Jesus Christ. Yes, my faith is a crutch. The difference between the Christian and the sinner is that the Christian recognizes that leaning on Christ is better than hobbling around all day. We are not better than anyone and we don’t want people to follow our lead. We want them to follow our leader, Jesus Christ.
Life here is slower, but the interruptions offered by technology have impacted suburbanites and urbanites just the same. PTA moms and barbecue-grilling dads may see initially see the Apple Watch as yet another tool forcing us to stay connected, but really, the opposite is true.
Like our city-dwelling counterparts, we also spend too much time tapping on small screens, while ignoring the vistas in front of us. We, too, carry around the guilt of having missed moments, while having forgotten the people in front of us. We stress over phones at dinner tables. Over eyes fixated on digital conversations, instead of spoken ones.
The Apple Watch’s promise is the ability to break that cycle. How ironic that is. We once paid Apple time and again for the privilege of using its many devices. And now – oh how clever, Apple! – we must pay again for the privilege of being able to stop.
Growing up in a small town in Southern Illinois, I miss the slowness of life at times. Except at midnight when I’m in the mood for a burger and no McDonald’s within 15 minutes is open late, far less 24/7. Great to hear another perspective on the Apple Watch. Will this gadget move us towards not using our gadgets as much in public?
One of the reasons that I haven’t started building Apple Watch apps yet is because of my lack of an Apple Watch to feel them on. Marco writes on how once he had the device, he understood how he went about things wrongly. This isn’t about technical limitations of the platform, but how people use it. What the expections are. Designing in a simulator is never designing on the device.
The Watch is the first device that’s encouraged me to spend as little time as possible with it, or with any of the other electronic sinkholes around my office, my home, and in my pockets. It’s the first product that lives in this world, offering a small, brief window into the digital one - instead of being a portal that envelopes us, pulling us into another place to be held hostage by our own need for novelty and trivial diversion.
I love that line “first product that lives in this world.” From what we’ve heard, Apple’s intent was just this. Allow you to step away from your phone more. Be more present.
When armed terrorists attacked Charlie Hebdo headquarters over Muhammad cartoons on January 7, unarmed police officers were forced to flee for their lives. When armed men attacked people gathered in Garland, Texas, on May 3 over Prophet Muhammad cartoons, armed police cut them down — and the Daily Mail reported that the body of one was left lying the street while police searched for explosives.
The difference between Garland and Paris can be summed up in one word: guns.
Many— of those that knew this event was going to be held— saw this coming. An art context for illustrations of Muhammad. They were wise to have plenty of security on site. I don’t think I support the event. I’m conflicted. Directly mocking something someone holds sacred is a difficult thing. Shining light on the atrocities committed by and in the name of the figurehead of a major religion? I’m not sure. But I do support their right to do this. And I would gladly stand to protect that right.
Yup, they forced one of their own to apologize for stretching out a hand to those they oppose, looking for middle ground and dialogue.
Ian Reisner, a hotelier whose properties have been subject to boycott calls since news of the meeting broke, wrote on Facebook that he made "a terrible mistake" by agreeing to host Cruz, who is adamantly opposed to gay marriage.
MSNBC makes it look like Reisner had a change of heart. But to quote the article from Bloomberg:
"Hundreds of people are contacting us to organize and help," said the organizer via email. "We will be meeting with a number of local gay rights organizations in the next few days to see how we want to collectively approach this unfortunate situation. We are a very powerful community -- as evidenced by what just occurred in Indiana and last year in Arizona. The thought of one dollar spent at their bars and hotels making its way into the campaign coffers of anti-LGBT elected officials is outrageous. If we have to shut the place down to prevent that from happening, we will."
Shut them down. These threats from the Left are becoming the norm for Christian business owners. But to leveled against a gay business owner, from what I can tell, is a new low. With non-stop threats over the weekend, it makes sense that Reisner would have a change of heart. Lose his business to stand with someone that disagrees? No brainer. No. Brainer.