Paste Magazine recently released what they think to be the 40 best cartoon characters of all time. I’m not going to argue with the list even though it does provide for some great conversation. I was a little surprised to see a lot of recent cartoon characters make the list and even place above such classics as Goofy and Sylvester J. Pussycat but what really made me happy was to see Larry the Cucumber at #30. As a church worker and someone who has seen all the Veggie Tale cartoons a couple times over I actually got excited to see Larry show up on a list that honored both Ned Flanders and Cartman. This is what Paste had to say about our favorite animated cucumber:
“After all the cultural good that Christianity gave us over the last two Millennia, the second half of the 20th century wasn’t exactly a high-water mark. But in the 1990s, Veggie Tales became the exceptional piece of genius pop culture in the typical Christian bookstore. And Larry the Cucumber was the biggest reason why. Don’t believe me? Watch the video below.”
While “I love my lips” is certainly one of Larry’s greatest hits, these next two are my favorites of the silly songs collection. Enjoy!
In my last post I mentioned that my friend Barry is exploring how we can incorporate spiritual practices through the use of twitter and it got me wondering; where are the best “spiritual places” on twitter? Here are a couple of my favorite twitter users that provoke spiritual thought as well as some of my favorite of their tweets. Enjoy!
@SoulPancake
“List 3 things in our current society that would surprise future anthropologists”
“What experience completely changed your belief system?”
“How do you make sure that you’re constantly ‘growing’?”
@CSLewisDaily
“Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is-C.S.Lewis”
“We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it’s there for emergencies but he hopes he’ll never have to use it.”
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”
@HolyGod
“I love you all”
“Reviewing extinct species.”
“Me: Knock, knock. You: Who’s there? Me: God. Let Me in.”
@joyfrequencies
“The Kingdom of Heaven is not a place, but a state of mind. – John Burroughs ”
“Rest and laughter are the most spiritual and subversive acts of all. -Anne Lamott ”
“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen. Robert Bresson ”
Are there any other spiritual places on twitter that I should know about? Hope this was helpful to you as we continue to find ways at exploring a holistic spiritual life.
I have been the teaching assistant these past two weeks for a class on postmodern theology, film and youth culture which has used movies as a lens into the shifting from a modern to a postmodern mindset (we can get into that later if you are interested). In our class we have watched the movies Fight Club, Josie and the Pussycats, Memento, Spirited Away, Saved and yesterday we watched the film Twilight. If you are not familiar with vampire/romance saga that has swept through our culture feel free to read up on in here, but the entire story of the novels and film were only a stepping stone onto the reality of pluralism and the acknowledgment of the “other” that is facing us.
The conversation after the film didn’t revolve around the cultural relevance of the story or the phenomena of its popularity, but the symbolism of learning how to live with incredibly different people. In the context of the film, vampires (both blood sucking and “vegetarian”), warewolves and human have all figured out a way to live together and even fall in love. While we are not faced with the mythical pluralism of the books/movies, we are faced with how to live along side people who are drastically different than who we are. As Christians, and humans, we live in a world where we try to coexist with people of alternate lifestyles, religious beliefs, political ideology and ethnic backgrounds while trying to hold onto the core of our spirituality. It’s a daunting task to say the least.
What we can learn from Twilight is that the “other” is not as scary as we might think and must not be pre-judged and avoided. As a Christian, it is our calling to love them as a fellow creation of God. All of this is swimming around my head as I put together the subject matter for the fall and I think it is an unavoidable aspect of discipleship. It is because we can no longer live inside our comfortable Christian bubble (if there ever was one) that we are going to be dealing with discipleship and pluralism in the high school group this fall. More to come on the exact teaching points but I am a firm believer that we cannot be a person of faith and avoid this issues. If you are interested in finding out more about spiritual pluralism, please check out beliefnet at pewforum.
In my senior year of college my roommates and I were sitting around talking about things we wanted to do in the next 20 years and the conversation inevitably turned to music. We each made our list of the five bands we wanted to see in concert that were still touring (or had the chance of touring, so no dead people). My list of the top five bands to see back in 2004 were:
U2 (Vertigo tour 2006)
Pearl Jam (The forum 2006)
Prince (Musicology tour 2004)
The Police (Reunion tour 2007)
R.E.M (Accelerate tour 2008)
So now that I have seen all the bands on my top five list, it’s time to make a new one. After lots of thought and scouring my itunes I think I have decided on the next five bands I need to see:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: This is a no brianer. How I have missed Bruce and the band up until this point I have no idea.
The Arcade Fire: Even though they have only released two albums (and one EP), their music is complex, haunting and deep. Their Neon Bible album continually blows my mind.
Sigur Ros: this would be more of a life experience than a concert. Their eclectic orchestration and soaring melodies take me to special places.
The Flaming Lips: Again, this is one of the bands that I want to experience. Their shows are notorious for being a big party and celebration for all the weird parts of life.
Nine Inch Nails: I know it may be weird for a minister to want to go see NIN but they have produced some amazing music. Trent Reznor is one of the deepest and most honest writers out there and I have always appreciated his perspective.
So when Trent announced that NIN was retiring and would not be touring anymore I had to pull out all the stops to try and see them. Luckily they are playing four final shows in LA and I am going to be at the first one! So come September there will be an open spot on my list, time to go back and search my itunes.
High Schoolers, don’t forget that we are going to go see one of my favorite bands, Everest, next Thursday, July 9. Meet at WPC for dinner at 7 and then we will walk over to the Hammer museum to see the show. We should be back at WPC around 10:30. The best part is that it is all FREE!!!! Bring your friends, your cousins, your grandma, your imaginary pets (okay maybe not grandma). If you have any questions or comments leave them as a comment on this post or e-mail me. Hope to see you all on Sunday as well as Thursday.
Super cool show just announced! One of my favorite bands Everest is going to be playing a free, all ages show at the Hammer museum right across from church at 8pm on July 9th. More details to come but I want us all to go. (and if you haven’t heard Everest I HIGHLY suggest you check them out.)
These are from an amazing art exhibit by tattoo artist Scott Campbell called “make it rain.” What do you think? (click on the photo to see the larger picture)
