Me? Not a big opera fan. I mean, Porgy and Bess, sure. But that’s about as far down that path as I’ve ever cared to go. But Heather and her fiance Jeff were appearing this weekend in the Greensboro Opera Company’s production of Madama Butterfly at the War Memorial Auditorium. How could I say "no" to that? It was pretty … Read More
Evangelicals In Crisis
What John says: And it’s a very welcome crisis, I think – not in the "I hate the religious right, let them suffer" kind of way, but rather, in the "the religious right has gotten away from Jesus" kind of way. They no longer represent Jesus’ teachings, they now represent Ceasar’s. The religious right has "gone too far," says Hamilton. … Read More
Haggard Fesses Up; So Does Doogie
CNN: Less than 24 hours after being fired from the mega-church he founded, evangelical Pastor Ted Haggard confessed to a "lifelong" sexual problem. In a letter read to members of his New Life Church Sunday, Haggard said he is "a deceiver and a liar." Haggard apologized to his congregation in the letter and asked for their forgiveness. You like irony? … Read More
Dude Is Clearly Tweaking
So Pastor Haggard says he bought meth once — and only once "out of curiosity" — from the gay prostitute named Mike Jones. [Interestingly, the audio tapes have Haggard saying that he "we" wanted "more" crystal meth]. And he admits he got a massages from the gay prostitute named Mike Jones. But he claims he never used the meth that … Read More
Haggard Shadenfreude
UPDATE: By the way, many think this scandal will impact the election, as it is likely to lessen the evangelical vote. Among those who think that is Stephen Bennett, a top spokesman of the religious right. According to AmericaBlog, Bennett sent out an email: Stephen ended, "Will this affect the elections next Tuesday? Are Republicans disenfranchised with the hypocrisy within … Read More
Eleven Things You Didn’t Know About Bob Barker
He attended Drury College in Missouri on a basketball scholarship. He served in the Navy as a fighter pilot. He graduated summa cum laude in economics. As an animal rights activist, he stopped The Price is Right from giving out fur coats as prizes (and has forbidden the airing of past shows that included them). But despite his animal rights … Read More
Another Dirty Gay Evangelical?
Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, an organization that represents millions of people. Ted Haggard, founder and senior leader of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, a megachurch with 14,000 members. Ted Haggard, who appeared in Time‘s list of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. Reverand Ted Haggard, married with five children and an outspoken … Read More
Where It Has No Business Being
Arguably — arguably — the federal government might have an interest in getting teenagers not to have sex. But why do they now have federal programs urging adult single 29 year olds to abstain from pre-marital sex? Is this really a good use of tax dollars?
Good Christians Hate Halloween
An actual excerpt from the Christian-published children’s book, "Mommy, Why Don’t We Celebrate Halloween?" ‘October 31st again and all the kids are trick-or-treating,’ said Jerry as he looked out the window in front of his house. ‘Mom, why can’t we go trick-or-treating like all the other kids? Are you afraid we’ll eat too much candy and our teeth will rot?’ … Read More
What “Waiting For Godot” Would Be Like If The Characters Had Cell Phones
ESTRAGON: You’re sure it was this evening? VLADIMIR: What? ESTRAGON: That we were to wait. VLADIMIR: He said Saturday. (Pause.) I think. ESTRAGON: You think. VLADIMIR: I must have made a note of it. (He fumbles in his pockets, which are bursting with miscellaneous rubbish.) What’ll we do? (Beeping sound as ESTRAGON dials number.) VOICE OF RECORDING ON PHONE: You’ve … Read More
At Last — A Reason To See A Movie Soon
Christopher Guest — who brought us Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, and A Mighty Wind — has assembled his usual crew of actors (Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Catherine O’Hara, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard), and a few new ones (Ricky Gervais) for another film. This one lacks the "mockumentary" style, but it could be good. It’s called "For … Read More
Your One-Stop All-Purpose Zombie Post
Zombie Prom I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Theatre Alliance’s Zombie Prom on Thursday. It was fantastic. For those not familar with the muscial, the plot is simple. Girl meets boy. Boy kills himself in nuclear suicide. Boy comes back as zombie. Boy and girl get back together again. School authorities ban zombie from the prom. Boy and girl … Read More
The 100 Scariest Movie Scenes Of All Time
As determined by the folks at the popculture site, retroCRUSH (my comments are in italics): 100. The Wicker Man – "It’s YOU!" – never saw it 99. Return of The Living Dead – "BRAAAAINNNNS!" – not sure if I saw it or not 98. To Kill A Mockingbird- "Jem is truly outrageous" – scary, if you’re five years old I … Read More
You’re Thinking About It Right Now, Right?
Not so surprising research: Researchers at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University say most men are always thinking of sex. A study released Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists found 54 percent of men and 19 percent of women admit they think about sex every day — or … Read More