William "Paul" Young (author of The Shack) will be on SBE tomorrow at noon (Eastern). Don't miss it. If you haven't read the book, you should.

Here are some links that came up in the this show.

- The Tony Jones interview
- The Brian McLaren interview
- The Ordinary Radicals (Jamie Moffett will join us live next Wed.)
- The Blu video Hurk posted

And thanks to Fancy Geoff for providing music for today's show. Where you been brootha?

Jumping off of the discussion regarding homosexuals and evangelicals with Michael Spencer on SBE, we pulled out the list of all the other behaviors of non-inheritors of the kingdom of God. You won't find this as a surprise, but some of my junk is on that list. So we talk about that.

Here are some links that come up in this show…

- Love Hurts - My post on quiting drinking…again.
- The Etcetera Facebook group
- The Steve Brown Etc. Facebook group

Also, thanks to Bill Mallonee and Band Marino for providing music for today's show. Click the links and buy their stuff. Great music and great guys!

Call 1-8-8-8
5-4-7-83-83
to be on the show.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Kevin Kelly is the founding editor of Wired Magazine, author, futurist, and all around cool guy. He wrote Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World which just happened to be required reading for the principal actors in a little movie called The Matrix. Oh yeah, he also happens to be a Christian.

Here are some links that come up in this show…

- The Daniel Radosh debate, "Does Christian Rock Suck?"

- The less Dorsey Dorsey brother's must read tribute to Steve Martin and the Dorsiest Dorsey brother (who turned 45 this week).

And thanks again to Lauris Vidal and Leo Nevillo for providing non-sucky music for today's show.

We talk about the SBE Kevin Max interview, Gene Scott, Facebook, the Pentaverate and some other stuff. It's fun. Use one of the options below to listen, then join us for the live stream today at noon and call in at 1.888.547.8383.

Now, here are some links that come up in this show…

- The Etcetera Facebook group
- The Steve Brown Etc. Facebook group
- The Mini-Me World Tour…Biker Weekend, Seattle and Rome. (Get in touch if you want Mini to visit you.)

And thanks to Lauris Vidal and Leo Nevillo for providing music for today's show.

Join The Comedy Ninja, The Spastic Mystic, The Nino, Hurk, and me, The Merry Monk of Love for a rockin' good time. Take a walk down buffoonery lane, laugh hard, and get the latest big news from all of us. Also, don't miss the announcement about the future of Etcetera.

Thanks to Leo Nevilo for the Beastie Boys remixes we used on the show. And if you're in central Florida, click here for the latest from The Order of the Merry Monk.

You can hear the [ping] podcast with Eric here. Then check out the video for the update.

You may feel sorry for me, but you shouldn’t. I’m happy. My work is meaningful. Millions of people will benefit from the research in which I’m involved. Plus, I get to spend a lot of time just kicking around on the Internet, watching monkey videos, and jumping into the occasional flame war.

However, my sense of purpose and the free high-speed Internet connection aren't the only reasons I'm so happy.

I’ve been reading the Bible lately and I’ve noticed that it usually doesn’t end well for people that are compelled (for whatever reason) to go into the wilderness. If they don’t wander around till they die in the desert, they come back with some revelation, some message that eventually gets them killed. People don’t like you when you’re different. People want you to go with the flow. You know, go along to get along.

I had a cousin once who…let’s just say, wasn’t all there. He was a couple bananas short of a bunch. The other monkeys were relentless. Eventually they sent him away from the troop to fend for himself.

But I’m not talking about we-tall-did monkeys here. I’m talking about people that intentionally go into the wild. You know the type.

If you can help it, don’t go. If you can resist the urge, stay safe at home and don’t go treading off to find holy ground. Things will turn out much better for you if you simply buy into the system. You may be unenlightened, but hey, you'll have cable, running water and fried chicken.

Of course, if you’re one of those restless souls who’s not sure who you are or why you’re here; if you have some deep desire to test yourself against the harshness of nature; if you know there’s more to life than what you’re experiencing in your school, cubical or church and that the answers you need may be found in the wilderness; if that’s you, my warning won’t make a bit of difference. People that can stay probably don't have that peculiar calling. And if you're called, you’re gonna have to go.

But when you go, please do us all a favor and do your homework to prepare to survive in the wilderness. That way you can come back and tell the rest of us ham and eggers what you learned.

I just watched a movie called Into the Wild.

***Spoiler Alert***

Into the Wild is the true story of Christopher McCandless. This guy made great grades in college. He was really smart and read Tolstoy and Thoreau. He loathed the shallow materialism of American society and dreamed of a life of solitude and contemplation. He also had serious issues with his parents which one reviewer of the movie said would have been better worked out with a good therapist rather than in the wilderness.

Alas, Christopher chose the wild. Mix up all the influences, intelligence, dysfunctions (along with pure motivations) and the result is this:

When McCandless graduated from Emory with a degree in history and anthropology, he cut up his driver’s license and burned his Social Security card. He gave away the $24,000 that remained in his college fund to Oxfam International and burned his cash. Then he tramped off to the Alaskan wilderness. He eventually ended up dying of starvation after eating a poisonous plant that shut down his digestive system. (If he’d of packed a map of the area, he would have known that he was walking distance from help. See what I mean about preparation?)

Anyway, the pointlessness of McCandless’ death is overshadowed in the movie by what he learned in his isolation (I’m assuming this was documented in his journals). This is one of those films you'll be haunted by and find yourself thinking through for days. My mom said she was "disturbed." My wife and I were deeply moved and wept like babies at the end.

Christopher and the McCandless family owe a debt of gratitude to Jon Krakauer (he penned the book about Christopher’s life, Into the Wild) and Sean Penn who wrote the screenplay and directed the movie. These men have not only brought back McCandless’ revelation from his journey into the wild, they have redeemed his senseless death (a death that in my opinion resulted from his stubbornness, stupidity, and cruelty/unforgiveness for his family). Krakauer and Penn have made it possible for us to hear Christopher McCandless’ voice echoing to us from the grave.

As with most art, I’m sure people will see what they want (or what they can handle) when watching Into the Wild. Here’s the message I heard.

Happiness is only real when shared. But more than that, you can only share life with people when you forgive. Because when you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you.

Here’s a quote from Tolstoy’s essay Family Happiness that was used in the movie. This excerpt represents much of what McCandless learned (all too late).

“I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness. And then, on the top of all that, you for a mate, and children perhaps — what more can the heart of man desire?”

That brings me back to why I’m so happy here in my cage. True, I have purpose here. I’m also surrounded by loving family members (granted, they’re in cages too). With Tolstoy and McCandless, I agree that those things are vitally important. I would also add to the list…running water and fried chicken. But what's more, the Internet has given me the ability to connect with you.

For many, the Web is simply a channel for distributing information. But for me…for me, the Internet is a vehicle for sharing moments of happiness. Some say these moments are silly and pointless. But if those people would stoop to share them, they would find that our happiness becomes real. And for that moment (alone and together in our cages) we can lose ourselves in the wild love of God and experience radical freedom and infectious joy.

The Merry Monkey is an obscure blogger and fan of [ping] and Etcetera. He’d love to share a bit of laughter with you. Anyone interested can email him at merry.monkey@yahoo.com.

First, get the four words.
Email them to the monkey.
He’ll help you find us.

Until then, farewell.
The podcast is going dark.
But the [ping] blog lives.

Leo Nevilo,
thanks for the B-Boys remix
that we used today.

On this edition of [ping], we're joined by two people who've decided to do something about it. Eric and Stephanie have started something called Biking Against Human Trafficking. The week after Easter they'll be riding their bikes from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon and back (an 8-day, 450-mile trip), with the goal of raising awareness about human trafficking and motivating all us ham and eggers to do something about it.

We talk about all that (and more) and still make time for buffoonery. So if you're in the mood for silliness, I don't think you'll be disappointed. We're like the sweet and sour chicken of podcasting! Will yin ya, then we'll yang ya. Kung pow!

Listen to the program using one of the options below and visit the Biking Against Human Trafficking website for more info.

Well, you won't hear any of that on this week's [ping]. That was the show I had planned for you.

Instead, you'll get me whining about doing the show alone and rambling on about my Lenten raw food diet while Jordo, Mark and Christov graciously hang out and talk me down from the ledge of disassociating myself from Christianity.

Choose one of the options below to listen, and if you don't like the show…blame Jordo. He made me do it.