Thursday, May 25, 2006
a good column
I thought this was good.........(and yes, I do remember that I have a blog)
The Most Controversial Column Ever Written!Will I Live to Tell?
By Dave Konig
Is The Da Vinci Code anti-Catholic? Is Madonna (the saucy aging pop-song stylist) risking the wrath of God by crucifying herself in concert? Did South Park go too far in their depiction of Christ in the episode parodying the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy? Is God losing any sleep over any of this?Answers: a) Of course it is. b) No, because God hasn’t paid much attention to Madonna’s career since “Vogue.” c) Guilty—but with an explanation. d) Doubtful. Then again, that raises the question: does God ever sleep? Answer: probably not, but He occasionally nods off in church, depending on how long the homily is.The pop culture vs. religion controversies continue, product sells, people get upset, arguments ensue, blood pressure rises…and product sells some more.When The Da Vinci Code was first published, my mother-in-law (Florence, a lovely woman)—and 50 gazillion other people—read it. My mother-in-law is a good Catholic and a voracious reader. Her review? “Oh it’s a terrific read. And it’s the most anti-Catholic book I’ve ever read!” Is it possible to be both? Sure it is. Is the movie anti-Catholic? Well, yeah, of course it is (I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s based on the book, right? Which I read along with 50 gazillion other people, including my mother-in-law). It’s not really a debatable point, is it? A movie about a secret Catholic plot to kill anyone who reveals the secret that the Vatican has spent 2,000 years covering up—that Jesus Christ dated, got married, had kids, moved to the suburbs, ordered the complete cable package with over 200 channels, attended PTA meetings, coached Little League and joined the Knights of Columbus…well, that’s not exactly pro-Catholic, is it? The really offensive part of The DaVinci Code is that apparently, Jesus’ kids grew up to be French. Oy vey.So yeah, it’s anti-Catholic. It’s also, in the words of its star Tom Hanks, “a lot of hooey.” And it’s directed by Ron Howard who is a terrific film maker (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Eat My Dust) and he’s Richie Cunnigham and he’s Opie and he spent a long, hot night right before he went off to college riding around in a car with Cindy Williams and Richard Dreyfuss…so cut him some slack.Now, Madonna. On a big old cross. I’m shocked, shocked! Didn’t she already do this, like 20 years ago? Or was that when she did that video where she was making out with a saint in a church? Oh, that Madonna! With the anti-Catholic imagery! Romping around in her underwear and all. She’s so…what’s the word? Controversial. At this point Madonna’s anti-Catholic shtick is about as daring and unique as the time when in the midst of a big fight with my dad I screamed in a triumph of originality, “Oh yeah? Well, I didn’t ask to be born, man!” My poor dad just rubbed his forehead, embarrassed for me at my hack material. (Sadly, I was 32 at the time, but that’s another story…). Having said that, “I’m Hung Up On You” is awfully catchy and it’s got a great beat.If Madonna really wanted to shock everybody, she’d record a song (with a catchy beat) denouncing the persecution of Christians in Communist China. Or a song celebrating the American liberation of the women of Afghanistan. Now, that’d be a shocker!The king of anti-Christian imagery this season was the recent episode of South Park that deliberately depicted a particularly vile and offensive image of Jesus. Far more offensive than anything in Da Vinci or Madonna’s act. But, of the three, the most defensible. Here’s how it worked: The episode centered around the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy. In the episode, there was a harmless depiction of Mohammed purchasing a snack from a vendor. The image lasted for a couple of seconds and was completely uninteresting. There was also a depiction of Jesus—wildly offensive and awful. Guess which image Comedy Central refused to air? Using diabolical double-backwards-reverse psychology, the South Park creators made the most pro-Christian pop-cultural point of the season by forcing the question: Why is it okay to offend every Christian on the planet earth—but we can’t even mention Mohammed in polite company?Christianity has been around far longer than modern American pop culture (even including Madonna, who’s been around an awfully long time). For Christians, the eternal truths of Christ and his teachings are just that—eternal. The Billboard Top Ten, and the weekend box-office numbers in Variety are very, very important—but next week they’ll change. Madonna, South Park, Da Vinci—it’s all very important. Not quite as important as the fact that the Iranians are about to drop an atomic bomb on Israel and kill all the Jews, but very, very important.Meanwhile, it’s been 820 days and counting since the release of The Passion of the Christ, and the search continues for the one Jewish guy who got beat up because of that movie. If you were in the pack of crazed Catholics who saw The Passion then swarmed out of the mall theater to beat up that Jewish guy, contact me through this website. Somehow I missed that story.
The Most Controversial Column Ever Written!Will I Live to Tell?
By Dave Konig
Is The Da Vinci Code anti-Catholic? Is Madonna (the saucy aging pop-song stylist) risking the wrath of God by crucifying herself in concert? Did South Park go too far in their depiction of Christ in the episode parodying the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy? Is God losing any sleep over any of this?Answers: a) Of course it is. b) No, because God hasn’t paid much attention to Madonna’s career since “Vogue.” c) Guilty—but with an explanation. d) Doubtful. Then again, that raises the question: does God ever sleep? Answer: probably not, but He occasionally nods off in church, depending on how long the homily is.The pop culture vs. religion controversies continue, product sells, people get upset, arguments ensue, blood pressure rises…and product sells some more.When The Da Vinci Code was first published, my mother-in-law (Florence, a lovely woman)—and 50 gazillion other people—read it. My mother-in-law is a good Catholic and a voracious reader. Her review? “Oh it’s a terrific read. And it’s the most anti-Catholic book I’ve ever read!” Is it possible to be both? Sure it is. Is the movie anti-Catholic? Well, yeah, of course it is (I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s based on the book, right? Which I read along with 50 gazillion other people, including my mother-in-law). It’s not really a debatable point, is it? A movie about a secret Catholic plot to kill anyone who reveals the secret that the Vatican has spent 2,000 years covering up—that Jesus Christ dated, got married, had kids, moved to the suburbs, ordered the complete cable package with over 200 channels, attended PTA meetings, coached Little League and joined the Knights of Columbus…well, that’s not exactly pro-Catholic, is it? The really offensive part of The DaVinci Code is that apparently, Jesus’ kids grew up to be French. Oy vey.So yeah, it’s anti-Catholic. It’s also, in the words of its star Tom Hanks, “a lot of hooey.” And it’s directed by Ron Howard who is a terrific film maker (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Eat My Dust) and he’s Richie Cunnigham and he’s Opie and he spent a long, hot night right before he went off to college riding around in a car with Cindy Williams and Richard Dreyfuss…so cut him some slack.Now, Madonna. On a big old cross. I’m shocked, shocked! Didn’t she already do this, like 20 years ago? Or was that when she did that video where she was making out with a saint in a church? Oh, that Madonna! With the anti-Catholic imagery! Romping around in her underwear and all. She’s so…what’s the word? Controversial. At this point Madonna’s anti-Catholic shtick is about as daring and unique as the time when in the midst of a big fight with my dad I screamed in a triumph of originality, “Oh yeah? Well, I didn’t ask to be born, man!” My poor dad just rubbed his forehead, embarrassed for me at my hack material. (Sadly, I was 32 at the time, but that’s another story…). Having said that, “I’m Hung Up On You” is awfully catchy and it’s got a great beat.If Madonna really wanted to shock everybody, she’d record a song (with a catchy beat) denouncing the persecution of Christians in Communist China. Or a song celebrating the American liberation of the women of Afghanistan. Now, that’d be a shocker!The king of anti-Christian imagery this season was the recent episode of South Park that deliberately depicted a particularly vile and offensive image of Jesus. Far more offensive than anything in Da Vinci or Madonna’s act. But, of the three, the most defensible. Here’s how it worked: The episode centered around the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy. In the episode, there was a harmless depiction of Mohammed purchasing a snack from a vendor. The image lasted for a couple of seconds and was completely uninteresting. There was also a depiction of Jesus—wildly offensive and awful. Guess which image Comedy Central refused to air? Using diabolical double-backwards-reverse psychology, the South Park creators made the most pro-Christian pop-cultural point of the season by forcing the question: Why is it okay to offend every Christian on the planet earth—but we can’t even mention Mohammed in polite company?Christianity has been around far longer than modern American pop culture (even including Madonna, who’s been around an awfully long time). For Christians, the eternal truths of Christ and his teachings are just that—eternal. The Billboard Top Ten, and the weekend box-office numbers in Variety are very, very important—but next week they’ll change. Madonna, South Park, Da Vinci—it’s all very important. Not quite as important as the fact that the Iranians are about to drop an atomic bomb on Israel and kill all the Jews, but very, very important.Meanwhile, it’s been 820 days and counting since the release of The Passion of the Christ, and the search continues for the one Jewish guy who got beat up because of that movie. If you were in the pack of crazed Catholics who saw The Passion then swarmed out of the mall theater to beat up that Jewish guy, contact me through this website. Somehow I missed that story.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
best quote ever
"He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart."C.S. Lewis
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Give me that old time religion
This makes me sick.
And who ever said it wasn't a peaceful religion? Exhibit 1, 005, 338, 388,734, 345, or something like that.
And who ever said it wasn't a peaceful religion? Exhibit 1, 005, 338, 388,734, 345, or something like that.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
3 attempts at a family photo
It's pretty hard to get a decent spontaneous family photo using the timer on the camera and getting our collective act together in under 10 seconds, and then getting Hiskja to look at the camera. Well, here we are, in all of our unkemptness. Pick your favorite one...
Thursday, March 02, 2006
A Belated Happy Losar
Last month was February. Two Februaries before that, Petra and I were in Dharamsala, India, celebrating Tibetan New Year, or Losar. You can learn a little about losar here. It's a time, for Tibetans, of celebration, family, and feasting. We joined in several feasts of traditional Tibetan food......like mutton, delicious chilli chicken, butter tea, and plenty of Chang, or Tibetan barley beer. Man, we gotta get back. Actually, we have just recieved an invitation from some folks to come stay for free at their place in Manali, another Tibetan community in northern India this summer. Just maybe...
A friend of mine who lives in Dharamsala sent me these recent photos from Losar.
Tibetan buddhist monks blowing sea-shell trumpets at the residence of the Dalai Lama
Losar is when all of the old prayer flags are taken down, and new ones are put up.
The ceremonial throwing of Tsampa, a mixture of rice and barleyWednesday, March 01, 2006
The Cross of San Damiano
St. Francis of Assisi played an important role in my ultimate acceptance of Christ. I was living on about 180 acres of prime real estate outside of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, round-about the spring of 1999. I had watched the Franco Zeffarelli(sp?) film Brother Sun, Sister Moon, which is about the conversion and early ministry of St. Francis. Although the movie is a definite throw-back to the seventies, featuring several of the same actors from Zeffarelli's classic rendition of Romeo and Juliet, and Alec Guiness playing the role of a strangely ObiWan Kenobi-esque Pope Innocent III, it had a profound effect on me. It does a great job in capturing the passion and abandon of a young Francis.
Also, around that same time, while living in those old Ozarks, I would occasionally drive deep into the woods outside of Eureka Springs, to the Little Portion Hermitage of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, founded by John Michael Talbot, a Fraciscan monk/musician. (I would later read Talbot's books The Lessons of St. Francis, and Come to the Quiet: The Principles of Christian Meditation, both of which are well worth the read). The times that I spent in quiet contemplation at Little Portion, which began as a Franciscan hermitage, but is now open to Benedictine and other Christian expressions, were perhaps the most refreshing times of my life spiritually.
Back to the Cross of San Damiano. I was browsing the internet and for no real reason was looking up some stuff on St. Francis. Well, I came across this book, called The Crucifix That Spoke to St. Francis. When I saw the picture on the cover of the book, I immediately recognized it as the same small piece of art that I have hanging in my living room! Now, our flat here in Ljubljana came furnished, right down to the linens, silverware, and little things to hang on the walls (some of which, like the tacky still-life painting of a lobster, are now stuck away in drawers), including a really cool little replica of what I now know to be the Cross of San Damiano. Of course, having seen Brother Sun, Sister Moon a thousand times, I know that San Damiano is the little church, the ruins of which Francis and his first followers undertook to re-build, and it was THIS crucifix that Francis was praying before when he received the commission from the Lord to re-build it! I always have had a certain attraction to this little icon hanging on my living room wall, and now that I know it's connection to St. Francis, combined with the significance of St. Francis in my own life just makes it that much more special. I feel a bit foolish that I didn't realise it before.
In case you're interested, some more recommended reading:
The Little Flowers of St. Francis
St. Francis and the Foolishness of God
Diversity, George Orwell, Cultural Marxism, and South Dakota U.
I came across this article discussing a bill introduced in the South Dakota state legislature that "very simply requires the six South Dakota State universities which receive State funding to annually report what steps are being taken to insure "intellectual diversity." Lets hear it for somebody finally standing up and calling for the liberating of our universities from the iron grip of totalitarian leftism, South Dakota state congresswoman Phyllis Heineman (R., Sioux Falls) .
The author of the article begins his piece by referring to the issue of political correctness as "cultural Marxism". Accurate? Well, as AWG's favorite author, George Orwell, so brilliantly put it in his novel Animal Farm, "all animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others." Affirmative action?
The article goes on to explain that the legislation is "simply asking for a report. We are saying to universities ‘tell us your story.'"
And of course, enter "The usual suspects - such as the ACLU, the South Dakota Education Association and the State Board of Regents (who) all vehemently oppose the bill. ...
This is a very small step and yet academia is behaving as if this bill were a complete threat to academic freedom."
I like how the article ends...
"What is attractive about the bill is that it turns the code word "diversity" against the very people who have used it to shove their version of political correctness down the throats of unsuspecting students and even some faculty. "Diversity? They want diversity?" one supporter of the bill said. "Fine. Let's have at it." To bad Harvard isn't a state funded school in S. Dakota. Proof of the totalitarian leftism in question can be seen here.
Beyond liberal, to "hardline Stalinists?" It's not hard to believe at all.
Maybe this will take, and in about 18 years I'll have saved enough money to send Hiskja to the University of South Dakota! Anyone wanna pitch in?
Saturday, February 25, 2006
RIP Don Knotts
Don Knotts, who played the wannabe swinger landlord on the classic late 70's and 80's sitcom Three's Company has passed away at the age of 81.
Growing up in the 80's and having a television with cable put in my bedroom round about 3rd grade or so, I was reared on MASH and Three's Company. I always like Mr. Furley more than the Roper's. His wardrobe was cool.
Of course, Knotts was best known for playing the bumbling deputy on the Andy Griffith Show, but as a child of the 80's, it was Three's Company for me. John Ritter, who played Jack Tripper on the show unexpectedly passed away a couple years back. Perhaps he and Mr. Knotts are together again on that big sitcom stage in the sky.
Rest well, Mr. Furley, and thanks. A tear...
