Via LP Cover Lover--not the cover of Danny Fingeroth's recent book, Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero
October 2008 Archives
Class prep kept me from my web reading, which is why I missed that yesterday was Global Pink Hijab Day, in which "muslim women across the world [wore] a Pink Hijab to raise awareness for breast cancer."
At least for Halloween. Photo by Scott Beale.
Via Animal New York, pictures from an exhibition of Obama action figures re-designed by artists. Click through for more, including an Obama bunny redistributing eggs & candy.
A necessity, really, since neither Luther nor Augustine say anything about Doctor Who.
From Ask the Pastor.
Draw your own conclusions:
- The Gutenberg Bible
- Televangelism
- Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter on Blu-ray
Jewberry.com--for reading daily prayers in Hebrew on your Blackberry.
The empty sky above the ad? That's where the Twin Towers used to be. The rosary towers memorial mural is just off to the left.
Perhaps not the best ad copy for the location . . .
This Jesus thong accompanies a most interesting dream analysis over at Em & Lo, as a woman inquires about the significance of her erotic dreams about Jesus Christ. Does taking Jesus Lover of My Soul too literally make this saintly sleeper a devil in disguise?
Dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg has the answer.
"Day time holding back, night time paying back."
Wonderful--one of the most impressive integrations of religion, marketing and design that I've ever seen. The designers explain:
Hindu pareidolia in NYC:
To most people, the purple flower that sprouted between two concrete slabs in a Queens backyard would be just a hardy vestige of summer.
Sam Lal sees something more.
The Jamaica man is convinced the mysterious blossom is an incarnation of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh - and neighbors and friends are flocking to see it.
The nearly 4-foot-tall flower grew in June and began to resemble an elephant's head and trunk in August. Lal said that the ailments that had plagued him for months disappeared.
"This formation came to heal my illness," the 60-year-old Hindu man said of his relief from pain due to a bone spur near his spine and bulging discs in his neck.
"They say God comes in many forms. I figure this has taken the form of a plant to come into my yard to bless me," said Lal, who immigrated from Guyana three decades ago.
Designer Michael Shea commemorates the demolition of Shea Stadium with a fusion of the logos for the Mets and Grateful Dead:
"It was this great, really ugly, everyman kind of place," Shea says. "Another great thing about Shea Stadium was that the corporate sponsorship was the most no-name brands you have ever heard of. That really made it for me."
I just got the latest Obama campaign email, which solicits contributions--now, needed before the deadline!--in exchange for a "Special Edition" car magnet. It's one of the things I love about this country, the way we blend the ritual surrounding high status positions with the marketing gimmicks of televangelists, infomercials and mail-order spam.
Urgency, participation, exchange, a magic souvenir--they're all here. And that's not a disguised criticism--I really do think it's wonderful!
"Amanda Hammond, author of Illuminate Living with Candles, reminds us that these small incendiary devices may no longer be a practical necessity but remain a 'powerful symbol of inner enlightenment.'"
From The Corner via Counterfeit Chic
And so did a Catholic lawyer in the museum in Argentina where it's being shown.
He's calling for the photo's removal.
I'm not.
Of the businesses that evince an attachment to personal identity, the art of marking the existence of someone who has passed is one of the most profound. Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama offered a powerful reminder of this when he recalled the impact of seeing a photo of a symbol carved on a fallen soldier's grave:
Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards—Purple Heart, Bronze Star—showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life.
Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
Of the many things I've read on the interplay of symbol, community and personal identity, the work of Josiah Royce is particularly relevant to Powell's core point. However much loyalty to distinguishing values may divide groups, it also has the potential to bring groups together through mutual respect. Not because the people shed their differences for the least common denominator, but rather, because their loyalty toward their own values can lead to respect the loyalty evident in those with whom they disagree. This loyalty to loyalty has tremendous unifying potential within a democratic system, as it provides a practical ideal through which the many can become one without having to jettison their personal allegiances.
This Hmong Swirl Backpack is one of many handicrafts sold by Christian Freedom International, which has adopted the rhetoric of social entrepreneurship presumably to target Christian professionals, young people and others who would otherwise shop at places like 10,000 Villages. From a press release touting CFI's new catalog:
The catalog features dozens of handcraft items for sale, including ethnic clothing, pottery, jewelry and bags, all made by Christian artisans in countries such as Pakistan, Laos, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. As part of its microenterprise, or “self-help,” program, CFI provides artisans with training and materials, and then pays them for the crafts that are shipped to and sold in the United States. For poverty-stricken Christians, the program has been a successful way for them to earn an income for themselves and their families.
No, that wasn't a response to people handing out tracts on the subway. It's a reference to the new Alternate Reality Gaming trend in Christian marketing. Above: Rob Bell's new Citizens of Virtue game, in which Christians are working together to rescue believers from a fundamentalist sect--a game that is itself a marketing tool for Rob Bell's latest book.
There's a bigger point to be made here about the relation between social enterprise and religion. Say what one will about how revolutionary it is to blend business and charity, the fact is that religious groups have been doing that in rather sophisticated ways for millennia.
One funny BofG bit: Passionix, a product sold by the sect that ostensibly alters teen hormones to make them chaste. The slogan: "Just Because It Fits, Doesn't Mean It Goes There."
Feminism. Environmentalism. The civil rights movement.
It's the 1960s, and Christian doll Sydney Clair Wilcox is trying to make sense of a world in flux. Expressing the spirit of this revolutionary moment in American history, this Girl 'n Grace finds Jesus, starts a business and buys a dog.
More about Girls 'n Grace at Adult Christianity, which points out the product's secret origin: the discovery that American Girl funds abortion and homosexuality.
Who knew?
I couldn't figure out what this "shirt" actually "meant," but then I "found" the "caption"--
Barack Obama uses the "Christian" title like Jesse Jackson uses the "Reverend" title. Barack Obama's membership in Wright's christian church was only for his political aspirations like John Kerry served in the military. All for political aspirations.
I used to think that the hallmark of humanity was that we're self-aware, but now I'm not so sure.
A century ago, the Episcopal Church was a network hub for the most powerful families in the U.S.
Now, not so much.
Like a T-Rex evolved into a chicken, Episcopal Books is celebrated in the Church's in-house magazine as the place that now represents the Church to many people--a place where they can get jewelry, crosses, and baby bibs emblazoned with the Episcopal logo.
Still, it makes sense--in contrast to far too many church services, the store provides sensory stimulus, substantive interactions and a tangible return for one's investment.
Animal New York has the scoop on this fantastic work from Jason Clay Lewis, a commentary on the "commercialization of religious iconography."
As the original post indicates, the placement of the bar codes is a key feature. While the faithful may be offended by the rat poison, they should think a minute about the deeper message of the piece--especially when selling their own devotional products.
The child of a Hindu mother and Muslim father dies in a car accident. The parents agree to cremate his body, per Hindu tradition, rather than follow the Islamic practice of burial in a shroud.
And as the New York Times reports, members of the Muslim community in Queens object with such vehemence that the father goes to the police.
io9 reports on the burgeoning genre of Christian scifi romance. The possibilities are endless--"The Star My Destination"; "The Moon is a Submissive Mrs."; "So Long, and Thanks for the Jesus Fish."
Sure they're groaners, but Christian titles are basically porno puns with Jesus. Down these clean streets a man must go . . .
This ancient bowl, possibly from the first century C.E., appears to have been used for fortune telling. One suggestive clue is an inscribed reference to "the magician."
No big so far--soothsaying by reading the patterns of oil in water is a familiar ancient practice.
What has scientists and historians excited about this object is the rest of the inscription, seen above--"dia Christou"--"through Christ."
If this a reference to the Christ of the gospels, it's evidence of an admixture of Christianity and white magic dating back to the early years of the Christian church. As one scholar notes, reports of a wonder worker might have spread throughout the region and been incorporated into existing spiritual practices:
Bert Smith, a professor of classical archaeology and art at Oxford University, suggests the engraving might be a dedication, or present, made by a certain "Chrestos" belonging to a possible religious association called Ogoistais.
Klaus Hallof, director of the Institute of Greek inscriptions at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy, added that if Smith's interpretation proves valid, the word "Ogoistais" could then be connected to known religious groups that worshipped early Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses, such as Hermes, Athena and Isis.
Hallof additionally pointed out that historians working at around, or just after, the time of the bowl, such as Strabon and Pausanias, refer to the god "Osogo" or "Ogoa," so a variation of this might be what's on the bowl. It is even possible that the bowl refers to both Jesus Christ and Osogo.
Fabre concluded, "It should be remembered that in Alexandria, paganism, Judaism and Christianity never evolved in isolation. All of these forms of religion (evolved) magical practices that seduced both the humble members of the population and the most well-off classes."
Sex and spirit come together in Tantra Chocolate, one of several erotic food products mentioned in this list from Em & Lo--another way that people transform natural desires into something more.
Biting social satire in Glamour from Asma Hasan:
In honor of today's Muslim holiday, Eid al Fitr (Eid Mubarik to you all!), I wanted to welcome the newest member of the conservative Muslim faith: VP candidate Sarah Palin.
It may sound unlikely, but Ms. Hasan does offer some interesting evidence . . .
Design cultures collide in this stunning religious-themed Sarah Palin protest in Alaska.