myopic pilgrim

This American Life has a special episode for Halloween. Normally, you’d have to catch the public radio program when it airs, but thanks to the wonder of the internet you can listen to it online. These are true stories that are scary for one reason or another. A month prior to the show they invited listeners to call an 800 number and share their scary stories; those are the best.

And they’re now offering their radio program for free as a podcast. The latest episode is always free. Then it will be archived and you can purchase previous episodes for $.95. If you’re looking to spending a buck for an hour’s worth of bliss, I would suggest you purchase (through these iTunes links if you so desire) Superpowers or Sinatra.

This may not be the most original idea. Andrew Peterson’s Christmas CD, Behold the Lamb of God tells the Christmas story beginning with Moses and the Passover and carrying through with echoes of Jesus’s ministry as an adult. It only enriches Christmas to recount the birth of Jesus this way because it connects it to everything that happened before and what will come after. This is important because more and more people grow up with no knowledge of the Bible.

The songs have a folksy feel to them (Andrew Peterson is from Caedmon’s Call) with a couple of instrumentals included that can get a bit intricate, but generally the songs are doable by a competent band with maybe a bit of adaption. Otherwise Andrew Peterson sells backing tracks and other resources on his site, including PowerPoint graphics, songbook, strings score, and bulk pricing on the CD. You can also find a DVD of a performance that includes Phil Keaggy, Derek Webb, and Sandra McCracken. Speaking of McCracken, I wish there were more songs for female voices.

There aren’t any dramatic readings or scenes written in, but it wouldn’t be hard to find appropriate Scripture passages to break up the concert feel. At our church we plan some visuals to go along with some of the songs, video and photos or graphics.

[tags]worship ideas, christmas, christmas musical[/tags]

Speaking of Ugly Evangelical. He’s back from a business trip to Washington, DC where he did some sightseeing. He’s posted his many photos on his Flickr account.

But here’s the idea for Veterans’ Day. On his blog he’s posted a couple of reflections at the Lincoln Memorial about idolatry and one at the Supreme Court about Law and Grace. Both of which are appropriate for use during the service or a small group.

[tags]Washington DC, law, grace, worship ideas, idolatry, God and Country[/tags]

I finally changed the photos on this site from the Getty Images samples to something else. I chose some stuff by the Ugly Evangelical. You can find more of his photos at his Morgue File account. Thanks Dave.

[tags]stock photos[/tags]

Someone I know was mildly offended while at her car dealership. I don’t remember all the details clearly. The salesman asked if she wanted to buy a car bra, fabric material that goes over the front of your car to protect it. She indignantly asked him if he treated all his customers that way. He said he didn’t know what else to call the item. She offered front-end protector and to the salesman’s credit. He used that term from then on.

Is it sexist or degrading to women to use the term car bra? She remarked that she wouldn’t refer to something else as car jock strap. This got me thinking. Women’s undergarments are less offensive than men’s. Jock strap sounds vulgar; bra sounds pretty. The reason for this is the female body is less offensive than a man’s. It’s the same reason women kissing is generally more acceptable than men kissing.

Am I right on this? What do you think?

[tags]political correctness, sexism[/tags]