Fear of a Mormon Planet
Another obscure evangelical pastor has made a controversial pronouncement which has been picked up by the mass media. Fortunately, there’s no Qu’ran-burning this time around… instead, one hitherto unknown Pastor Robert Jeffress has been quoted as saying that Christians should not vote for potential Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney because he is a member... Read More
Burning Cars and the Creative Impulse
After the Vancouver Canucks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals last week, the city of Vancouver turned into a full-fledged riot zone. Cars were flipped over and set on fire, windows were broken, and police with shields and batons descended into the crowd to restore order. The... Read More
You are the man!
Despite this phrase’s usual congratulatory significance for outstanding performance, it is also the phrase uttered by the prophet Nathan when he confronted David for his murder of Uriah so he could take his wife. Shortly thereafter in the midst of the accusation, Nathan utters “You did it in secret but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.” ... Read More
The Revelation will not be Televised
I may have to add a proviso or two to my earlier, Baudrillard-heavy reading of the Royal Wedding. Watching it on PVR the next day (having opted not to get up at 3 am for the talking heads) the whole production turned out to be – as one might perhaps reasonably expect from a wedding – less of a Hollywood spectacle than a lengthy televised church service. When else would... Read More
Al Jazeera and American Self-Censorship
Several weeks ago, as the protests in Egypt were boiling over and radical change was about to take place the American media was caught off guard and didn’t have people on the ground covering the story. The omni-presence of 24/7 cable news looked a bit stifled and out of touch with the world outside American borders. Luckily, we own a Roku box, a little black box that works... Read More
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