November 2008 Archives

Congratulations to world-renowned lingerie designer Niki McMorrough, who has just been honored as Best New Exporter at a prestigious international business award ceremony in the UK.

Some of you may be wondering why the BofG is singing hosannas for Niki's accomplishments, which include styling Victoria Beckham, KT Tunstall and Dita von Teese. To see the connection, just look up for one of Made by Niki's most famous creations--the numbered limited edition Rosary Bra.

As Niki explains, this fusion of devilish design with a Swarovski rosary necklace "is intended to be thought provoking on a number of levels in our modern day society, at work or at play."

“The rosary is an age-old symbol of purity and peace, used for centuries by people seeking instant redemption. I couldn’t think of a better place to put one than on this devilishly decadent bra.”

And if you find the notion of a devilish rosary a tad uncomfortable, no worries--it's also available in a heavenly version!

Via about:blank

Here's something you don't see every day--sex blogger, education and author extraordinaire Violet Blue as the iconic image of a Christian music podcast. The host says that he has never met her, but we shouldn't be completely surprised that he chose her for his show: after all, the New Testament does advise Christians not to be "forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

In happier times.

Gothamist has the rundown on their work at the local Chabad house. The latest news reports indicate that while the couple's 2 year daughter survived a commando raid on the center, they themselves did not.

Why did this atrocity occur? A local resident blames the Jews:

T. K. Bhat, who lives close to the Chabad house, said: “It could be that the attitudes of the Chabad, which gives the sense of an elite club for Jews alone, is part of what provoked the terrorists to target them for the attack.”

Sigh.

The Thanksgiving Conspiracy, originally uploaded by trexfiles23.

The truth about the Vatican and Thanksgiving exposed at St. George's Church in New York.

Coles Phillips: Know all men by these presents, ca. 1910, originally uploaded by trialsanderrors.

An old LIFE cover featuring a woman and gifts from her suitors. One is a book, "The Imitation of Christ," which is a guaranteed lady-killer. 

Via Trendhunter, a gallery + link set on nun imagery in the fetish community:

The subversion of a nun, a paragon of religious virtue, by the latex fetish community is both fantastic and messed up. No wonder this underground cultural icon of a nun in a gas mask is found in art that ranges from street art to sculptures. Chances are good that if you start looking, it won’t be long before you see your first rubber nun.

Available from occult & new-age supplier Abaxion, which provides this explanation:

The symbol of the left handed path, usually portrayed as half human, half goat figure, or a goat head. It is often misinterpreted as a symbol of Witchcraft in general, it is used by those who practice the black arts. The origin of the name Baphomet is unclear. It may be a corruption of Mahomet "Mohammed", or even a combination of two greek words, baphe and metis, meaning 'absorption of knowledge'. Baphomet has also been called the Goat of Mendes, the Black Goat, and the Judas Goat.

Of course, if you want the REAL story, you should read this Jack Chick tract, which explains how the Masons worship Baphomet as part of their secret plan to rule the world as puppets of Allah or the Vatican or rock music or something.

Personally, I don't see why folks think Baphomet is dangerous. Let's face it--anyone who's really serious about annihilating law and decency wouldn't be wearing pants.

Weird Universe does its best to track down the organization behind this ad--the Academy of Mystic Arts in New York City.

A commenter recalls another organization that used to advertise a lot in magazines I read back in the 1970s--the Rosicrucians--and I have to say one of my daily delights is walking past their Grand Lodge every day on the way back home from my office. Good to see it still around, as opposed to being displaced for yet another wine bar.

May Heggy is an Egyptian designer who is seeking to move contemporary Egyptian jewelry beyond Pharoanic and Islamic designs that have been repeated so routinely that they arguably have become visual cliches. But that doesn't mean she is detached from myth and higher meaning--to the contrary, it permeates her work.

May Heggy believes that jewelry making, like any other form of art, reflects the artist's views, beliefs and tastes. Therefore, being interested in psychology and philosophy, she aims at portraying the dualistic nature of life in my jewelry, since it is a strong characteristic of human nature and the self. She does this by mixing precious and non-precious materials, using contrasting colors, shapes and textures as well as unsymmetric patterns. She likes to work with unusual colors and cuts of semi-precious stones.

For more, check out her website and this engaging overview in the Egypt Daily News. Above: her Infinity necklace. Below: May Heggy.

Last week my wireless router crashed, and now my modem is dead & Verizon card evaporated. I got a new modem this afternoon, but in a bid to get me to subscribe to their own !$#!@# modem the cable company says they won't activate mine for three days.

It's all worth it, though, because if it hadn't happened I wouldn't have come up with the search that led me to the totally tubular church sign above.

The Underground meets the Over Soul in this inspired map-kabbalah mashup. Thanks to the eternally vigilant Alex Sandifer for sending the link!

I have fun memories of hanging out with the Jesuits at Fordham back when noted author & fellow Russian class member Andrew Krivak was a Jesuit in training. Tonight, getting back to the BofG after an intense week of social enterprise-related projects, I noticed that we a bunch of jesuitical click-throughs thanks to a Good Jesuit Bad Jesuit post on tattoos.

The subject of the post: this meditation by a student in nonprofit management (!) on tattoos as an expression of Ignatian spiritual principles.

It's a fascinating subject. Marshall McLuhan, a devout Catholic as well as a media theorist, would have seen the direct connection between spiritual tattoos and the Church in an electronic age.

Earlier Jesuits, though, might have been more puzzled:

Numerous brief references to tattooing are found in writings of 17th century Jesuit missionaries whose reports were forwarded to Paris each year and compiled in volumes titled Jesuit Relations . Jesuit missions were scattered throughout eastern Canada, and missionaries reported that tattooing was practiced by almost all of the native tribes they encountered. In 1653 the Jesuit missionary Francois-J. Bressani reported:

In order to paint permanent marks on themselves they undergo intense pain. To do this they use needles, sharpened awls, or thorns. With these instruments they pierce the skin and trace images of animals or monsters, for example an eagle, a serpent, a dragon, or any other figure they like, which they engrave on their faces, their necks, their chests, or other parts of their bodies. Then, while the punctures which form the designs are fresh and bleeding, they rub in charcoal or some other black color which mixes with the blood and penetrates the wound. The image is then indelibly imprinted on the skin. This custom is so widespread that I believe that in many of these native tribes it would be impossible to find a single individual who is not marked in this way. When this operation is performed over the entire body it is dangerous, especially in cold weather. Many have died after the operation, either as the result of a kind of spasm which it produces, or for other reasons. The natives thus die as martyrs to vanity because of this bizarre custom.

Beyonce's hit song advises commitment-phobic men that if they like it they shoulda put a ring on it.

However, there's a much older song that advises women they shouldn't be so quick to accept that ring. Here, back from the early nineteenth century, are the God-infused lyrics to "Wish I was a single girl again."

When I was single, Lord I dressed so fine
Now that I'm married, Lord, I go ragged all the time
Lord, don't I wish I was a single girl again

Got the dishes to wash and the spring to do to
When you are married, Lord you've got it all to do
Lord, don't I wish I was a single girl again

I got three little babies lying in the bed
One of them's so weary Lord, he can't raise up his head
Lord, don't I wish I was a single girl again

Along comes that drunkard and he call them all a bunch of fools
So I wash their little feet and I send them off to school
Lord, don't I wish I was a single girl again

When I was single, I ate biscuits and pie
Now that I'm married, it's eat cornbread or die
Lord, don't I wish I was a single girl again

When I was single, marrying was all I craved
Now that I'm married, Lord, I'll go troubled to my grave
Lord, don't I wish I was a single girl again

I'm generally a holiday-card agnostic, but this Subway Hanukkah card set by Cheryl Berkowitz could make me a believer.

OK, so maybe there isn't a direct causal connection, but at one of several recent charity & eco-fashion happenings here in NYC Secretary Rice did note that a childhood church habit still has a direct impact on her daily life. As WWD reports from the Glamour Women of the Year benefit:

It's Greek Orthodox vs. Armenian in a battle royal at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia--the fear of 666, the number of the Beast--isn't limited to math-obsessed Christians. A Youtube commenter posted what should have been comment #666 on a video for Reminiscing by the Little River Band.

However, when Youtube tallied the comment numbers, it skipped from 665 to 667.

I wonder if Godtube has the same policy . . .

Why is this chocolate, celebrating Calvin's 500th birthday, featured in this Weird Universe post on religious chocolate?

It was predestined before the foundation of the world.

A potent satire of pop Christian design.

Voting Lines in Harlem, originally uploaded by abiolatv.

A voting line in Harlem earlier today.

Now that he has won the election, Obama souvenirs are sure to be campaign collectors items for a long time to come. Here's a personal favorite: my very own Obamica!

Head over to Vanity Kippah for yours. Or if you're more Republican-minded, pick up a McCippah & its counterpart, the Vippah--the Sarah Palin Lipstick Kippah, which includes an apt Hebrew quote from Proverbs.

If you enjoy this site, you will must read this book!

The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie -- The most outrageous and exuberant lingerie in the world comes from a place you’d probably never expect: Syria. Adorned with everything from faux fur, artificial flowers, and feathered birds to plastic toy cell phones, these intimates flash lights, play music, even vibrate. Well known across the Middle East—in Syria the lingerie forms an important part of the folk tradition around trousseaus and weddings—it is openly displayed in the markets and souks.

As Sadie Stein aptly observes, the thesis is even more interesting:

The authors find that the more religious the area — and correspondingly, conservative women's outerwear — "the more risqué the underwear."

Sigh:

On Saturday, August 15th, 2008 at 6:00 PM, the Gen Con Live Game Auction hosted their traditional charity auction. This year, the event was in honor of Gary Gygax. Originally the charity chosen for GenCon was Gary's favorite charity, the Christian Children's Fund. Unfortunately, when they found out that the money they would get came partially from sales of Dungeons and Dragons they decided not to be the sponsored charity.

Below: as part of the auction, GenCon sold a memorial 20-sided die.

That's part of Paul's famous armor of God metaphor in the Book of Ephesians. The irony of the photo below: by wearing the New Testament to spite her fundamentalist mother, this woman mirrored her mother in adopting a literal interpretation.

If she really wanted to spite her mom, she should have worn something by Aleister Crowley.

Alex Woinski wore a Jesus costume to his school for Halloween, but the school sent him home because his appearance was allegedly too much of a distraction.

Which would, I guess, make him the Prince of Disturbing the Peace.

The family explains Alex's costume choice:

[His mother, Kim] Woinski is Catholic while her husband is Jewish. Their son, who had recently celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and has been studying Bible scripture, is interested in Jesus as an historical and religious figure, according to his mother.

He wanted to translate that interest into a Halloween costume.

Alex's older brother, Jason Riggio, said due to long hair and darker skin, Alex's friends already say his brother bears a resemblance to the famous figure, which gave Alex the idea for the costume.

“We have both religions in our house, and he's learning about both. He wasn't poking fun at anybody,” said Woinski.

Via Gothamist