Shay Thomason

More and more these days the pressures of joining any of a thousand different social networks is bearing upon me. I could choose from the craziness of MySpace, the security of Facebook, or even find something more specific that matches just perfect with my personality. All in all the point is to stay connected with people you may see regularly or maybe don’t see often at all. The concept is good, it’s just the execution that gets sticky at times.

Lately, I have had the joy of watching my wife join Facebook to keep up with some friends that we don’t see often. She created her profile, accepted a few friend requests, and onward into her networking she went. But that was only like a month or so ago. Now her network has grown significantly and people are pouring in to be her friend, “grow her garden,” “hug”, “tickle”, and even take quizzes to see how their personalities line up. Her email inbox poured in with updates from friends who are posting pictures, “writing on her wall,” and even showing updates of her friends who are becoming “friends” with other people. This might be a normal day for some people, but for my wife who just likes to see pictures and read a few short updates, I think it’s been a bit overwhelming. And that’s when I started doing some more thinking…

I have been following the phenomenon of “social networking” for the past few years now. I watch and read the news to see what people are getting into and what they are getting out of and how the culture has been changing due to this new way of staying in touch. In fact, it’s been interesting to watch and see how things turn out. For instance, I read an article about a year and a half ago from the creator of Facebook saying, “I want people to graduate from MySpace and join my community.” And as it turns out, more and more people are doing this. Facebook has grown in it’s popularity, especially in the past 6 months, and now MySpace will probably continue to try and reinvent itself to keep the flame alive. But there’s more to this then just a bunch of business “mumbo jumbo” and I believe it lies deep within the heart of every human being. That is the need for community.

Community is something every person deals with in their lives. It could be a simple as the community you live in or more personally your community of close friends. It could very well be the community you hang with on Friday nights, or even the community at your workplace. For some it’s the community in the military: Marines with Marines and Air Force with Air Force. For me it lies within my community at my church and the people I fellowship with. But it could be broader in the sense of saying that I am in community with all people who call Jesus Christ their Lord. Needless to say, community lies at the very core of who are. For Christians, like myself, we are called into community with one another by the Scripture. Christians need to meet together, pray together, worship together, and regularly do this because that is what God commands of us. God designed this thing called the Church, which is at it’s heart a community of Believers. And everywhere I go, when I meet a Believer, a fellow brother or sister in Christ, I am encouraged. I’m encouraged and happy to meet them because they share the same faith I do. The same goes for the Marines, who I mentioned earlier. When a Marine walks into a building and meets another Marine, they might be warmly welcomed and given a firm handshake. “Once a Marine, always a Marine” is their motto and it lives on with them wherever they go. As well this could include the local school system. There might be five high schools in an area, but you are proud to be called a “Bulldog” because that’s your school’s mascot and you’re a part of that community. So what’s the point? I’ve pointed out some places you might have community, but maybe no answer to the greater question of “why?” I believe the desire to be in community with others, whether online or in person, or in any way at all, comes from the God of the Bible. We have that desire to be with people and commune with them because that is part of the heart of God. A God who desires that all come to know his Son as their Savior and created a community for faith in Christ to grow. A place where people can get to know Him more and align their lives to His more. A place where the Scripture will be taught and the Church will be edified and continually pursue holiness. Community is where that will happen. No place else. The Church is an eternal community where people will, currently and in the future, live and worship together the God they love.

I wish I could take you back to a conversation Bethany and I were having last week about social networking. One thing we agreed was that people take this stuff way too seriously. Not that you don’t want to be serious in your online ventures, just that this isn’t what community is about. Community isn’t necessarily about how many friends you can have, or how many “walls” you can sign. Community is about people. People that care about the other people. Maybe these social networks are like a game, I don’t know. I just know you won’t find true community in this tangled web.

Music is something I love. I grew up oldies, got stuck in a country phase, played in a few rock bands, and pretty much listen to everything now. I think Madonna said it best when she said, “Music makes the people come together.” Honestly I wouldn’t normally quote Madonna, but I think she’s right. Music does make the people come together. When I got to church on Sunday we sing. When I go to a concert, other people show up. And when I had an idea for a music review website… it brought some people together as well.

For the past 2 years my friend Abe and I have been working on a website dedicated to our love for albums, concerts, bands, and pretty much anything music. I think the idea popped in my brain when I didn’t want to blog on Shaycam about all the music and bands I love because I didn’t feel it was the purpose of Shaycam. But after a few conversations and a lot of thinking and planning our idea started to come to life. I must give Abe the credit for being the hands of this project as I’m not much of a web designer… I dabble. Abe on the other hand rocks the planet and knows lots of talented people and is highly gifted and talented designer.

So it is with great pleasure that I formally announce the launch of our “other” little space on the web. We hope you enjoy it and as well we hope it will be a resource for you when it comes to all things music. It’s called Evade the Noise and I think you’ll like it.

I think I’ve said before that I’m not really one for posting a ton about the news to Shaycam, but I am finding that the more and more I read, the more I want to write about it.

In a recent article about a girl who lost a legal battle over a chasity ring I was actually surprised by the maturity of a statement the girl made. The girl claims to be a Christian and she has been trying to wear a “purity ring” to signify her abstaining from sex before marriage. Besides the fact that court in the UK (where the school is) ruled against her, I thought her statement was interesting. In her response about how she felt about the ruling she said

I believe the ruling will mean that slowly, over time, people such as school governors, employers, political organizations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practicing their faith.

Though we have no way of knowing if this will be true until that time comes, I honestly agree with her. Yeah, this might have happened in the UK where things are a little different then they are here in the U.S., but the point is it’s bound to happen here too. Coming from a teenager I actually thought her foresight was well founded. I’m not going to say whether she is being persecuted or not, but I am going to say that I think this is small but interesting issue and we’ll have to see what the future holds.

Well it’s done. My Flickr photo set, complete with captions, is finished. There’s 101 photos for your viewing pleasure, so please go by my Flickr page and check it. We had a great trip back east and this is really just a taste of what are trip consisted of. There’s way too much to see while you’re in D.C. so taking pictures of everything would’ve been impossible for me.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Be sure and leave me comments and tell me what you think!

If you don’t have have the link you can click here!

It wouldn’t be right of me not share the usual goodness of today’s date: 7-11-07.

As I stated last year on this day, if you go to 7-11 today you can enjoy a Slurpee on the house. I can guarantee you I’ll be there sometime today, maybe even twice! Enjoy.

Just got back from vacation to D.C. I will post some photos and a blog soon.. stay tuned..

You should definitely head over to http://shayandbethany.com right now and see what’s up with us!

Not only am I always online, but my friends are too! Here’s a review of some recent happenings from my frends via twitter (click on any one of their names if you want to see where I took these from):

Zach watched water polo:

“I like water polo. It’s the water version of soccer.”

Jonny asked for a raise:

“Asking for a raise is one of the most awkward things to do… “

Megan made her daughter laugh:

“I got my kid to laugh at me today. There are few things that have brought more joy to my heart.”

Josh Z. was taking care of some business:

“In nashville doing meetings. Top 10 favorites. Sarcasm is hard too portray in just words on paper.”

Josh has too much time on his hands:

“watching a seagull try to land on our skylight and being humored by his inability to stand on a slick surface.”

Steve’s feet hurt:

“my feet hurt.”

Abe lives in L.A. and still likes it:

“Traffic at 10 o’clock at night. Got to love LA.”

Christian was doing ministry:

“At the sixth grade graduation for the kids i started with two years ago, and praying they will still love jesus in jr high and high school.”

Gary was frustrated:

“Nurse at Dr.’s office: “I am sorry Mr. Edwards we cannot remove your stitches today because we don’t have HMO approval.” Seriously, what?!?!”

And I was enjoying my birthday presents:

“Completely amazed by my new Mute Math DVD.”

This is just a sample, a taste if you will, of the great things that can be done with internet gizmos like twitter. Be sure and check out my twitter if you get some time as every now and then life just has some funny things that happen :).

Happy first day of summer everyone.

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (3) over the weekend. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil the ending for you right now. But I left the theater with something on my mind: What would Walt think?

By Walt I hope none of you are thinking about some uncle or grandpa in your family, but none other than Walt Disney: The creator and original “imagineer” of the Disney company. A man with a true vision to enlighten the hearts of children and bring quality family entertainment into the world. His company, the Disney Company, has produced hundreds of great, classic family films. Most of these films have won awards for the music, writing, and even animation and many hold places in all of our hearts as to our own childhood memories. Yet when I left Pirates on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but wonder what he would say if he were around today.

*warning… I’m going to talk a little bit about the film. I’ll won’t spoil it, but I figured I would at least give you the opportunity to quit now if you want :).
Honestly, I was surprised about how dark the film really was. I understand that it’s dealing with pirates and mysticism and whatnot, but even the opening scene was a far cry from something I would bring a family to. Footage of people being hanged to death (even small children) started the film off with a bad vibe. Futhermore, I believe the film to be a lot more suggestive in it’s nature this time around. Jokes about the main female character in the film or just the occasional “suggestion” of something sexual just didn’t seem to fit in with the “Disney magic” that we all know. I guess it really just surprised me to see the Disney name on this film. Disney (the company) has always been known for being pretty conservative with their films. Historically they have chosen not to purchase films or scripts based on the nature of the film and the content. They have grown as a family oriented company by keeping in with this model, but I wonder how this film slipped through the cracks. Even comparing Pirates 1 and 2 to the third, number 3 just simply took everything to the next level, and not always in a good way.

So what wold Walt think? Would he of even allowed the first film to be made? Honestly, I doubt it. I don’t think Walt Disney’s vision for the Pirates of Caribbean included hanging people and nightmares for children. I understand that our culture has changed and kids are seeing more violence and disturbing behavior then ever be fore and be a bit desensitized to it. But let Warner Bros. buy those films or let Universal create that big blockbuster. Call me old fashioned, but is there any morality left in companies any more? Walt Disney created films and themeparks aimed at kids and if adults had a good time too, then that was a bonus. He was a kid at heart. Honestly, I think if Walt was alive he would’ve taken the hit at the box office (if it led to that) to make a movie for the whole family.

So C’mon Disney Co., have you forgotten how you got to where you are today?

(this is open ended discussion for anyone who would want to comment with their own opinions)

Never before today have I had a reason to share this story with my blogging friends. That is until now…

About nine months ago I took a job with a company called Amp’d Mobile. They hired me as a designer for their web department. Though the job was really only 30 miles away, the traffic in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas made it an hour and forty-five minute commute, one way. But the pay was fantastic for a guy my age and with the little experience I had, so I took the plunge as a commuter on the 405 freeway and went to work faithfully every day. My job was very cool. I worked with bands/artists material and created the specific branding for those artists on the Amp’d web pages. The people I worked with were some of the best designers I have met and were all very gifted. Though the hours at work were longer than I expected and the three hour commute wasn’t my idea of a good time, I worked hard because I wanted to provide for my family and honor the Lord.

A few days into my job I was asked to make a few edits on some photos. Of course, my first reaction was to say “sure, no problem,” but my producer followed his question with “oh… it’s just some girls in bikini’s.. you don’t have a problem with that do you?” This new knowledge changed my response rapidly and I replied, “actually, I do.” I think at first he was surprised that I wouldn’t work on that kind of material, but he said “ok, no problem… I’ll take care of it.” There wasn’t another conversation with him about it and so I figured it was no big deal. A few days later that guy was fired for reasons that are still unknown to me, but they had something to do with his previous performance and nothing to do with me. So the web department was joined with the print department and we were all one happy family. That is until about three weeks into my new job.

Quite literally as I was sitting at my desk working hard on a new motocross ad, the art director said “Shay, come in to my office.” At first it kind of scared me because not only was he behind me and I didn’t see him, but he never really said that to anyone before. Yet I was sure I had done nothing wrong, so I went in like he asked, and that’s when things got serious. He told me that he had heard about my unwillingness to work on the “mature content” (as they called it). He continued by adding that if I wouldn’t work on that material that basically I wouldn’t be doing the job they hired me for and therefore could lose my job. (This is kind of like the point where your little “shoulder angels” pop up). My stance was firm. I would not work on their adult material even if it cost me my job, and I made that clear to him right there in his office. He said he understood and followed that by “let’s go,” and we walked straight from his office to the HR office where they were waiting for me to sign paperwork and cut me my last check. HR apologized and said, “we are learning to.” They said as well that they were going to start telling people about this material in the interview process in hopes of thwarting any other “Shay’s” that might work there. Furthermore, HR stated that they were working on some bigger deals with some adult entertainment companies and there would only be more of this kind of thing. They cut me a handwritten check right there, I signed some paperwork, packed my stuff, and I left the office at noon that day for the shortest drive home in history.

I have spared some of the details for sake of your time and mine, but that’s the gist of the story. I left work that day without knowing what the Lord would do with me or where he might lead me next. Yes, it was scary, and yes, it was difficult. I definitely shed some tears on my drive home, but I knew I couldn’t compromise my faith for a paycheck. Now fast forward to today. I’m currently employed full-time at a company I probably couldn’t even dream up. I have a sweet job that’s only 10 minutes from home, they feed me lunch every day, and I will never have to work on anything remotely close to adult material.

Finally, I read this article just yesterday. Amp’d Mobile declared bankruptcy. Apparently if your customers stop paying their bills, it’s a bad thing for business. You might call it poetic justice for wrongfully firing me, but I honestly see it as the sovereignty of God. Now, let me be clear. I don’t want to laugh and scoff at them because of their unfortunate business circumstance. As I stated earlier, the people who worked there were very talented, and I hope they don’t lose their jobs. But it does make me see the Lord’s hand upon my own life. How he can make things happen and grow my faith so I can see more of who He is. I couldn’t be in a better workplace then where I am right now, and had it not been for Amp’d Mobile, I probably would’ve never gotten my new job. Everyday the Lord allows evil to continue on this Earth, but every now and then he has to stop it. I don’t know the future for Amp’d Mobile, maybe they’ll get back on their feet. But what I do know is that God has His hand upon his children, and when they seek to obey him, He will honor them. I hope that you understand that I am not saying this in a prideful way to exalt myself with this story. I am sharing with you some things I am learning about my great God and how much he loves His kids.