Read this long article and the comments that follow.

JJ

For those who don't have the time to read a long article, I'll try to sum it up:

A "religious studies" professor states that he is completely different from a theology professor because he focuses on how and why religions exist (from a social level) whereas theologians focus on defending a made up set up beliefs (from an errant view). He is thus, naturally, frustrated that the two are so often lumped together. There's also a bit about how theology leads to no knowledge but only lies because god doesn't exist...

The comments tear this article apart (for the most part), though there is a rather interesting comment that seems to agree.

I've not really had an idea of what to say about all this, but it reminded me of a debate recently held at my alma mater. Now, people can disagree that God exists, but I think Craig did a good job of showing that God does exist. And, from the articles linked at the bottom of the announcement, Craig had the better argument.

But, as Doug TenNapel points out:

Hitchens won the debate. It's not the argument of the debaters, it's the condition of the audience that wins the day. While few of Dr. Craig's arguments are dispersed through culture, even religious culture, I've been raised on most of Hitchens' arguments. Dr. Craig's arguments are true and well-reasoned by difficult to comprehend on a first hearing. Hitchens' arguments are what we'll find spoken against God on prime time television, at the water-cooler, I've even heard some of them on Animal Planet. Culture generally makes Hitchens' argument by default. And it's easier to claim the skeptic's nothing than affirm the something of God...

I find this kind of thing fascinating, and important to consider.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. There is a new Box Day Flair at the bottom of the Widgets page.

Organizational skills are essential to get through huge projects like MathTacular or Discover & Do. In editing, you must keep track of hundreds of activities with many little clips and graphics and audio files which all combine to make hours of educational fun.

But sometimes my internal organization and penchant for order gets hijacked by the necessity of getting something done quickly. ...always with the hope that I will never have to go back and sort out the mess again later. Like the timeline I was building just a few hours ago:

Messy Layers on a Timeline

It's always nice to have tools that can help you keep track of everything, especially as need arises to make changes. And in homeschooling, Sonlight's IGs can be a huge help in this area. In media production... I have no such handy tool.

And just a heads up: I'm going to go visit in the in-laws for an extended weekend, so I probably won't see you all until Wednesday. We leave tonight sometime after 9pm, and your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated as we travel.

Have a great weekend, friends!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. Since I am trying not to compare my rather juvenile writing to the brilliance of others, I am happy to refer you to Billy's post about good days. It is excellent. And you'll find that post and lots of other interesting bits from the blogosphere in what I think are Other Posts of Note.

A couple evenings ago one of my friends, Marie, came by and we did a photoshoot. My best friend, Jason, is really good at photography, and we keep trying to find subjects he can practice on… and I tag along because it's fun.

Gambit: an opening remark intended to secure an advantage for the speaker

And now that you are all supremely interested and feel that I know what I'm talking about, I will shatter that myth.

Because the word I was looking for this morning was actually: Gamut-a complete extent or range.

But other than gambit, the only other word I could think of was gauntlet, which also isn't right. Though, when I came in this morning, I felt that the gamut of my experience was a gauntlet because the gambit of an email I sent yesterday was wrong.

Luke turns on his computer and discovers that the email he sent yesterday had the wrong subject line. Luke thinks to himself, 'Self, this is less than ideal. Good thing it only went to 28,000 people...'

Luke proceeds to struggle to focus for the rest of the day while everyone scrambles to figure out how to make it right.

Which is the other possible title for today's post:

D'oh! The Turning of a Big Ship

Sonlight isn't huge as far as corporations go, but we are bigger than when my mom and dad pretty much did everything back in the day. Then, if something like this had happened, my dad would write an apology and send it.

Done.

Today it's a little different. We get a bunch of feedback, have a writer synthesize that down, get it approved, tested, tweaked, coded, and finally sent...

The good part of all this is that we can be methodical, careful, get wise counsel and ultimately help more people. But it's certainly slower than if Sonlight were a one man band.

We're no longer a sailboat that can tack--hmm... turns out it's actually "beating"--its way up a stream, but we can help many, many more people get to where they want to go.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I have a sensitivity to wheat. If I eat something "wheated" then something goes wonky in my body and I suddenly have difficulty responding to negative situations appropriately. But I didn't figure this out until I was in college.

And it took a while for me to believe that wheat did, indeed, throw me off.

In fact, it wasn't until a year of not eating wheat had gone by that I could feel the shift if I had any. And there were enough times when I ate wheat without realizing it--and freaked out; only to discover that, say, Teriyaki sauce contains wheat--that I came to accept the fact that I have a sensitivity.

But before that, I was pretty sure it was just a negative placebo. An excuse. Life was just really horrible when I had an "episode"--the wheat, just a convenient scapegoat.

My distrust of my body's signals was due in large part to the fact that I know placebos work. People really do get better taking sugar tablets they believe are a wonder drug. Which, I guess, further indicates how right my mother-in-law is: We know so little about how our bodies work, there are many things the medical world just doesn't know yet. Like, what's up with wheat sensitivities.

This morning I came across this very short paragraph about educational placebos, and it got me thinking. Give it a read; I'll wait.

...

Much like my wheat sensitivity, I don't think education is a placebo. But there is something to be said for the mystery of how education works. Everything from radical unschooling to the most strict and mass-produced of public educations have lead to some wild successes as well as dismal failures.

How? Why?

<shrug>

What this does mean is that homeschooling is a fantastic option. Perhaps not a panacea, but also not a placebo. And homeschooling with Sonlight could be just what the doctor ordered...

(figuratively speaking, of course)

 ~Luke Holzmann
A Friend, Not A Doctor

Three posts on marketing today: one, two, three.

And me?

Well, I have a few thoughts bumping around, but nothing solid.

Amy Bayliss' post further indicated the need for me--and my best friend, Jason--to get our book out (raise your hand if you knew I was working on writing a book). Dana Hanley's post made me think of my gamer wife (who plays World of Warcraft, Sims, and FreeCol, not Barbie's Disney Musical Dress Up Shopping Pony Show III). And my dad's post contained a very interesting video link that was, well, interesting. And I'd be interested in your thoughts (especially if you have a rebuttal, which I will then ask you to send to Perry <smile>).

But all that has almost nothing to do with the rest of this post.

I'm part of Sonlight's Marketing Team. And that sometimes feels very odd to me because... well, most of the time I really dislike marketing. I've read and listened to many marketing "gurus" who spout off their "surefire ways to make a trillion dollars in your PJs from home in less than six minutes, your money back, guaranteed" with such amazing steps as:

1. Sit at home in your PJs
2. Do a ton of market research to find a product you can sell for a trillion bucks
3. Create said product
4. Find a person to buy it
5. Sell it to them by using things that motivate them to action (be very specific)
6. Reap the rewards 6 minutes later

It could just be me, but I don't resonate with that kind of thing.

I also just don't "get" the idea of getting the word out so more people will buy. I resist "hard sales" and "cold calls" and talking up your product in a "salesy" way. I hate most sales copy I read--it just feels pushy and insincere to me, in the most falsely sincere way. And I think I have very odd views of marketing in general. And even when I wrote good copy for my production company's website, I didn't get any clients. So, what am I doing here?

I'm connecting with people so I can do my best to help them.

And that is something I love doing. And that's something Sonlight is big on: Letting people know how we can help them. Not making money--though that is essential for us to keep doing what we're doing--but helping homeschool families around the world. Helping you educate your children. And I can get behind that.

I love doing it.

And if I have to post videos of an attractive young woman talking about everything Sonlight gives you in an Instructor's Guide... well, I'll do it, even if it is an obvious marketing ploy of using youth and beauty to sell the0 product <smile>. [the videos aren't very clearly marked; click on any of the little links under "Relax and enjoy homeschooling your children"]

By the by, that "attractive young woman" in the videos is Laura Lee, one of our copywriters. She is currently in the hospital giving birth to her first child. Please be praying for her and the baby.

Thanks!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father