Angry White Man

Have you ever felt like there wasn't a candidate who spoke for people like you? Do you feel like your voice is lost in the crowd? Ever wish someone would say "Enough!"? More than likely you are an Angry White Man. With a few exceptions I'd say that was me. With the election season coming upon us and a whole bunch of people promising change (seriously, I counted at least 30 or 40 times in one day the candidates used the term change) yet I still pay a butt load of property taxes. I can't seem to save enough money to go back to school. And it took me over three years to find regular work. I'm not going to lie. I am very ambivalent about all the choices.

Quizzo!

I took a quiz recommended by my friend Ken. It says I am conservative. I want a recount!

What The...?

It is very rare to find a few noteworthy pieces about Christianity on the NPR website. Not this time. Oh boy, I hit the mother load not with one story, but two stories.

First up is a story about a group of faithful Christians who have taken a step beyond See You At The Flagpole. Believe it or not, I find this a bit encouraging. So many people talk a good talk about getting involved and doing something. These people actually are.

And is there such a thing as a "Sin Free Sex Toy"? One Christian woman thinks so and she has a company to prove it. I am not so bold as to check out her sight. If any of you have the nerve to check it out please e-mail me and let me know what you find at cubicle.reverend@gmail.com.

Art Spiegelman & Returning To A Former World

I have just returned to a world I have not been to in ages. I can't remember the last time I had been there or even peaked over the fence into the yard entering that world. The world I returned to is the literary world of readings and discussions. There was a time in my past where a week didn't go by where I attended an open mic poetry reading, or some local author event or other, sitting with other like minded individuals wanting to draw from the experience of the author hoping someday that would be us standing up there reading from our newest work. With the exception of going to see Michael Palin read, which was purely for entertainment, I can't tell you the last time I've gone to something like this. Man I missed it. At that time it became a bit of an idol for me. I loved being the guy who was ahead of the curve about music, books, art, etc. I loved being the guy people came to for an explanation about the movie Memento. Not anymore. I know longer know what bands are coming out or who has a new novel or whatever. A part of me is glad.

All that to say I stepped back into the world to listen to attend a lecture by Art Spiegelman:

This isn't my first experience with Spiegelman as I went to a showing of the original artwork for the graphic novels Maus. There were a few things that disapointed me:

1) He wasn't giving autographs because of logistical issues. Right, ok fine, I have a feeling like it was more because he didn't want to, but no big deal.

2) He hardly talked about Maus. This disapointment was quickly pushed aside.

He instead talked about the creation of the comic form and how it influenced him. I admit as much as a comic fan as I was during my childhood I didn't know there was a whole world of underground comic books. There is a wonderful streaming video of the event. Enjoy.

Warming about the vid.... there were some naughty pictures in it. not many, but they were there. Watch with caution.

Tony Campolo: Red Letter Christians

As far as Tony Campolo's newest book is concerned:

Think I read this book before...

...I'm really not sure, but it sounds so familiar...

...Why does this book remind me of something I've read before?

Seriously, this is the fourth time I have read this book! He has written very similar books at least 4 times before, not including the other books he wrote that touch on similar topics. My feelings about the red letter christians are simple. Do we really need yet another Christian "movement" in this world? And to base one only off the red letters of Christ's words seems a bit shoddy to me. Sure it seemd to work for Tolstoy and Jefferson to take out the parts of the Bible that made them uncomfortable. Quite frankly, I'd rather be a Full Bible Christian. Or better yet, just Christian. And here is a vid of Campolo talking to Colbert on the subject.

Fear Not The Scroll

I really dropped the ball on this one. I have been having a very bad habit lately of saying I'll blog about something, but not getting to it til several months later. It was so long ago that I planned on blogging about Kerouac's "The Scroll" I had to search like crazy to find the original post. Here it goes:

I expected another Kubla Khan, a dreamy psychotic half-understandable stream of conscience fit that would make James Joyce cry. I was wrong. The book is quite readable and in its way a fascinating story. One question I usually ask when reading anything is whether I can believe it or not. So many books, even ones claiming to be about the authors life, have the tendency to not ring true. I believed every word he wrote. What also suprised me was his strong desire to find God. I didn't realize how much he wanted to love and belief in something bigger than himself. For all the crossing and recrossing the country he could have settled down anywhere. For some reason he could not bring himself to do it. Why? Was it easier for him to run from all the questions and desires he held inside? Perhaps. The trip was unromantic in spite of every persons desire to put it on a romantic pedestal. You cannot ignore the heartache, the alcohol induced numbness, and this persons inability to settle down. One problem, as one reviewer put it, is that the book can be exhausting because there are no paragraph breaks helping to tell you when to stop. If you do decide to read it here's one piece of advice how to get through it. Much like Jack's travells just keep going until something stops you. Anything at all like running out of gas or needing to pick up supplies. You can always start the journey again tomorrow. One more thing, always pick up hitchikers.

Here's a vid of Kerouac discussing "On The Road".

Against Legalism

This past weekend my church hosted the east coast Presbitery. Church representatives for the Evangelical Presbiterian Church from Florida to Maine came to my little church to discuss the future of the denomination. I was fortunate enough to hear Rob Norris from 4th Pres. in Bethesda Maryland preach. His stance is that legalism focusses on the little rules that we are able to accomplish versus the big ones which are harder to live by. There were a few things that pleased me about his preaching:

1) He read from a pretty expansive piece of scripture. Most churches I have been to may read one verse here and another there, if they quote from it at all.

2) He's Welsh. Listening to him read was incredible. He was so poetic and passionate about the word fo God.

Afterwards several pastors and I were able to go out for a pint afterwards. Never in my life have I gone out for a beer and left with homework.