Short Stuff

The V-chip, a small computer chip which the US government requires to be in all television sets by 1998, is a device meant to increase parental control by blocking programs which have explicitly violent or sexual content. The inventor of the V-chip is Tim Collins, an engineering professor at Simon Fraser University in B.C. Collins became concerned about TV violence after learning that the 1989 Montreal massacre killer watched a lot of violent videos. Collins says his work has been greatly motivated by his beliefs. He attends an Alliance church in White Rock, B.C. with his wife and their children.--
Christian Info News

"Dead Man Walking", the story of a nun's work with a prisoner on death row, became the first winner of a new Templeton prize for "inspiring movies" Mar. 13. The first award for "inspiring television" went to an episode of "Christy", a short-lived CBS television series about a missionary schoolteacher. John Templeton set up the new prizes to encourage productions that increase people's love or understanding of God.--
Evangelical Press News Service

CompuServe has reopened access to all but five of their 200 sexually explicit internet newsgroups, after a recent across the board shutdown which stemmed from a threat of a child pornography probe in German sites. But CompuServe is making available--at no charge--online controls such as Cyber Patrol to allow parents to block their children's access to certain sites. Parents program information into the computer about their children who surf the net, and any time they try tapping into unapproved areas--or eventually with certain ratings--the program will automatically deny access. Other monitoring programs such as Cybersitter and Net Nanny are also available.--
Youthworker Update

Katie Funk Wiebe's book, Border Crossings, published by Herald Press, won an Award of Merit from Excellence in Media, based in Hollywood, CA. The book explores the process of aging and was praised as a "wonderful book that addresses an important and neglected audience.--
Herald Press

A South African company is dramatizing the entire Bible on film, word for word. Visual International of Cape Town has already released the "books" of Matthew and Acts. Each comes in a package of four one-hour videocassettes costing $100 US. They hope to finish filming the entire Bible by 2010. It is directed by South African filmmaker Reghardt van den Bergh.--
Christian Courier

Jim Dillon, a desktop publisher from Portland, OR has formed the Church of Kurt Cobain, honouring the dead grunge rocker. Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in April 1994. The 12-member church is based on the notion that underneath Cobain's brooding, self-absorbed music is a deeper spiritual message. The congregation plans to meet once or twice a month and hopes to find meaning in the singer's tragic life.--
Associated Press

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