On my book list

To add to my overflowing reading list: "My Jesus Year" by Benyamin Cohen. Cohen writes about how his struggle to keep the oomph in his Jewish faith leads him to spend a year exploring the pull of Christianity. According to descriptions I've read, he takes it to the limit by jumping into the mosh pit in a Christian rock concert, seeing himself on the jumbotron at a megachurch and attending a Christian wrestling match. What does the son of an Orthodox rabbi learn from his Christian excursions? Well, you can ask him yourself when he visits Boulder 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 at the JCC, 3800 Kalmia Ave in Boulder.

Miss his talk but want more one-on-one time with rad Jewish authors? Cohen's talk is just one of the many the JCC will host as part of 2009 Festival of Books and Culture. See the whole schedule here.

My sale-rack bedside table is literally buckling from being piled with books, but I just gotta ask anyway: any suggestions for other books I should be adding to the stack? I'm on a humorous-memoir-about-faith kick, apparently.

Music's bloodline

Photo by Chrissy Piper, via Pitchfork
I was so excited to read Pitchfork's in-depth interview with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. The new album, "The Life of the World to Come," uses Bible verses as the base for Darnielle's part-autobiographical, part-introspective, part-musing lyrics. The result isn't always saintly-- in fact, it's at turns dark, doubting and hopeful.
This isn't the first time Biblical themes have seeped into Darnielle's lyrics, but it's the first interview I've read where Darnielle gets so specific about his faith and how it influences his music. One of my favorite excerpts:

"If you're into music, you're into religion, somehow or another.
Religion, that's the bloodline of music. The whole reason, I'm pretty
sure, we have music on notation is to preserve chant, to transcribe
what was going on, which we're singing in order to describe the
experience the divine."

That got me thinking about music history and the way faith has shaped the types of music we listen to today. What do you think? Do you see the influence of hymns, devotionals or other "religious" music on the stuff you're playing on your iPod?
Here's an impromptu list of some of my recent-and-past-favorite songs that fit that description for me.

-Black Soul Choir-- 16 Horsepower
-Freedom Hangs Like Heaven-- Iron and Wine
-Children of the Lord-- Slim Cessna's Auto Club

Despite heavy Biblical imagery, I wouldn't consider these songs to be "church songs." In fact, I hear a sort of irony, darkness and artisticness to them that I've tried to explain a little better here and here.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Now back to our regularly-scheduled blogging...

So I promised myself I would never post one of those “sorry for not posting” messages here, but it looks like the ole blog has gotten a little dusty since I’ve been gone. I’m back, though, and armed with lots of news to tell you.
First off, I recently got a job as the Faith columnist for the Daily Camera in Boulder. So far, I’ve meditated with Buddhists, chatted about the Bible in a comic book store and listened to Jewish toddlers sing adorable Shabbat songs. That’s right, I actually get paid to write about religion now!
I’ve even been able to address pop culture in my recent column. R. Crumb, the comic book artist responsible for some crazy, weird, sexed-up, drugged-up underground comics in the 1960’s, has taken on a totally different project: the Bible. The Book of Genesis, to be exact. It’s definitely a departure from his past work, but the book—a “straight illustration job” depicting the book word for word—still has R. Crumb’s personality written all over it. Check it out at your local comic book or bookstore!

I’ll still be on Bubblegum and Bibles to talk about the weirdo fringes of religion and pop culture, a topic that seems to get broader and weirder every day. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!

St. Christopher, patron saint of surfers

I am in St. Christopher's waters.
I'm vacationing in Laguna Beach, a paradise of salty air and a ridiculously accessible view of the Pacific Ocean. From my balcony, I can watch skilled surfers navigate huge waves. On a recent shopping trip, I saw an array of Saint Christopher medals for sale on thin chains. When I asked the salesperson why St. Christopher, she didn't know.
A frustrating Internet search ensued. I found out that he is supposedly the patron saint of lots of things--mariners, travelers and surfers-- but I found nothing that explained why. I always knew that St. Christopher was the patron saint of travel (I had two former boyfriends with medallions pinned to the sun visors in their cars), but the surfer/mariner thing was new to me. I'm a tourist here-- anyone know where the St. Christopher thing comes from? Do surfers wear the medallions when surfing? What's St. Christopher's role, and is it a big one for those who pray to him? In the meantime, I think I'll just keep watching the ocean...

www.surferscreed.com

Sizzlin' hot image of the Virgin Mary appears on a griddle

After a cook in Calexico discovered what he thought was a sacred image of the Virgin Mary on a restaurant griddle, people drove in from as far as San Diego (about 125 miles) just to get a glimpse. Visitors included these two lucha libre wrestlers, who said her image was "a true miracle" according to the Imperial Valley Press. (The photographer who took this picture must love me and want me to be happy--this is probably my favorite picture EVER.)
I am a serious dork for supposed "sacred sightings." There's nothing like the mix of fervent excitement, guaranteed national media attention and campy reverence for things like a 15-year-old piece of toast. I personally don't believe that a face on a griddle is a sacred message from God, but hey-- if it is, he's certainly got a sense of humor. There's nothing funnier than seeing people getting worked up over a Cheeto.
Check out this slideshow of "sightings" found on silly objects like melons, paperweights and X-rays.

Pimp My Swine Flu Mask

Fun Mexican pop culture site Guanabee posted this excellent photo essay of some of the most creative ways people are weathering the Swine Flu scare. Even St. Jude's safe from germs!

Lights, camera, churches

Image via NAB Show

Tailored to houses of worship, the audio/visual technology industry has its own niche that focuses on sound systems, projectors and lighting for religious services.
During last weekend's trip to Vegas, I crashed the NAB Show, a National Association of Broadcasters convention for digital media professionals. With the help of a map of the vast convention hall and Matt's spy skills (he was actually registered) I chatted with professionals about technology's role in the "worship experience."
As churches grow, congregations are adding energy to church services with sound systems and video projections, said Michelle Makariak of Technologies for Worship Magazine. TFWM follows the AV industry for upgrades that will work best in churches.
It's not just megachurches who are eyeing projection systems and flashy lighting, she said. Even smaller churches are upgrading so worship bands sound better and pastors can record sermons to post online. At the conference, businesses offered projection systems for worship lyrics, acoustics installation, portable stages and lighting concepts.
Churches are also looking for ways to communicate outside the walls of the church. They're talking about establishing successful blogs and using "virtual churches" to reach congregants around the world.
Streaming Church is a Web portal that allows churches to post videos of services, provides chat rooms for congregants attending from home and keeps track of visitors around the country. President Steve Lacy said Streaming Church is designed to ease people into new churches and keep them connected outside Sunday services.
"Those who are intimidated might be more willing to check it out online before going through the doors not knowing what to expect," he said.
Online, people can watch services, chat, follow the pastors on sites like Twitter and even donate money with the click of a button. If they like what they see, hopefully they will attend the church regularly in person, he said.
"We don't want them spending most of their time online, unless they can't physically be there," he said.
Some of Streaming Church's U.S. clients have used the platform to reach African communities, who set up outdoor churches and follow the streaming services with the help of a projector and computer monitor.
“It’s still about getting people together,” he said.