An Ode to my Dad on Father's Day

This scene is from one of my favorite movies of all time: Austin Powers Goldmember! Thanks for being my Dad, Dad. You will forever be my Fazzah ... oh, I mean my F-A-T-H-E-R.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Twitter

Last night I signed up for Twitter in the midst of my sapping around because Brenda and I had Cubs tickets for last night's game (Cubs vs. Cards!) and not only did the game get rained out, but it got rescheduled for a date when I’m speaking out of town. How miserable! And to top it off, today I get to trudge around in the rain on the CTA for meetings all day.

Note to self—praise the Lord that I have a job and am doing what I’m doing…stop complaining!

Now that I’ve gotten that out:

For those who don’t know, Twitter is like a Facebook status except it is its own website. I’m not too sure how I feel about it. Maybe it’s just because I’m a loyal Facebook fan, but I don’t necessarily see the point. I thought I’d give it a try anyway. Just so you know, Twitter is in no way, nor will it ever, replace my beloved Facebook.

My Twitter name is:

lovesmesomeyou

Yes, you read that right. Broken up it says that I “loves me some you”. Which I actually do…

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

Can’t Help Myself

First off, each week I’m getting more and more annoyed by the new judge Kara for the following reasons:

She says the same stuff for every contestant in a monotone, hand-gestured manner as she tries to make her “big idea” become a reality (which it never really does)

She tries too hard to make herself too relevant and important (trying to prove she belongs as a judge on the greatest show ever—which she hasn’t)

She is always telling the contestants: “You should have sung so-and-so instead” (Note to Kara—that is not useful or constructive at all because the song is already done and they can’t do anything else for that week’s style of song besides listen to her babble)

On with my updated rankings:

1. Adam
(He is just flat out crazy good and really strange—yet super entertaining)

2a. Kris
(He has an awesome voice, is awesome on the guitar and now we learned it’s the same on the piano)

2b. Danny
(Although I wish I would see some tears in his emotion, he kills it week after week)

4. Allison
(Just so different and fresh)

5. Matt
(I actually like him much more than America or the judges seem to)

6. Lil
(Although she has some pipes, she’s too predictable)

7. Scott
(His skill and attitude towards criticism amaze me, but I feel the others are just better)

8. Megan
(She’s very cute, but she tends to biff her songs every week)

9. Anoop
(It doesn’t seem he’s ready for this stage)

What is your ranking thus far???

Much love.
http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

Yes, I’m Totally Obsessed with American Idol

When I started this blog I promised myself that during American Idol season I wouldn’t litter it twice a week, every week, with my obsession that is the cultural phenomenon that is American Idol. But I just couldn’t help myself after tonight’s show. I honestly have to say that overall, this show was the greatest display of talent from top to bottom, that I have ever seen in any episode of American Idol’s history.

Since the very first show eight years ago I have been passionately fanatical about everything that is American Idol:

My week is ruined if for some reason I am not able to watch any episode

Every week I vote

[Every week I vote multiple (hundreds of) times!]

Every year I go to the American Idol concert when the tour comes to Chicago

I buy all of the albums when they release

I heart Clay Aiken!!! (no, not just because he’s gay)

What can I say? Well, I think I said enough… Back to this week—I think I am so surprised about tonight because I didn’t see these unreal performances coming at all, especially since I wasn’t necessarily in awe from the Semifinals. I was only disappointed in a few people (Jorge, Anoop and Megan in that order), but overall it was an insane night of outstanding renditions of Michael Jackson’s songs. I’m not even a big fan of the King of Pop (he scares me a great deal), but I have to tell you that the other ten contestants killed it! After one week, here is my order:

1. Allison
2. Danny
3. Adam
4. Alexis
5. Scott
6. Kris
7. Michael
8. Lil
9. Matt
10. Jasmine
11. Megan
12. Anoop
13. Jorge

I’m splitting hairs with my ranking, I could actually take any of the top eight an rearrange them in any other 1-8 order. It’s going to be a great season, and I can’t wait to see what happens. There is no greater show ever created in the history of the world than American Idol!

Rock on! Marin … out.

So who did you love and who do you want to see kicked off Wednesday night?

Much love.
http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

Toddlers and Tiaras: God is Lost in Sexuality

Due to the shear train-wreck that is the new TLC reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras, my wife loves to watch. I actually think it’s one of those “sad train wrecks” and not the “entertaining train wreck” that I usually enjoy watching; but since my wife and I only have one TV, what we decided to watch we both watch. The show is about the inner-workings of, as the title so eloquently states, toddlers (and their [crazy] parents who try as hard as they can to project normalcy in front of the cameras) that are involved in child beauty pageants.

I have seen two episodes of this show, and both times they have left a tremendous impact on me—socially and theologically. The first show featured the pageant age group of 0-11 months, as well as the 12-23 month age grouping. My favorite part of watching these age groups (and by favorite I mean the part that makes me want to throw up more than anything), is when the parent’s hold up their 0-23 month old kid in the air to show them to the judges like they are an idol of beauty and perfection. Their pose reminds me of another similar picture I seem to remember from my childhood (see below).

No Joke! That is literally what the parent's do...

And it also reminds me of another picture ingrained in my head from childhood—one that was shown in the movie Roots as the slave traders tried their best to make their “cargo” look acceptable so rich white people would give them money. Sound familiar?



Last night’s show just solidified all of this in my mind. It didn’t just show the actions of what these people believe the ideal of what a perfect perception of beauty is; it was also vocalized by the judges. At the end of the show one of the judges was asked,

“Why, and how did you determine the winner?”

The judge’s answer:

“I was looking for the glitz and glamour over natural beauty; it showed me whose parents were willing to go the extra mile and spend the extra money to make their daughter look the best.”

No matter how many times the moms might say "beauty is on the inside" (which one of the girl’s moms reiterated throughout the show), their actions always prove otherwise. And to the girl who won? Her winning response was:

“I’m excited that I won because it makes me feel beautiful.”

That’s coming from a 10-year old girl whose self-identity, worth and sexuality are being indoctrinated into a culture that extols unrealistic ideals that a pageant beauty of big money, fancy clothes and altered features = societal acceptance and love. All I kept thinking about was: Where does this leave the church and how are these kids, and all of the other kids watching this program supposed to know and understand true unconditional love from God?

I believe that these types of pageants are nothing more than child prostitution. And you can quote me on that.

In the first century church the philosophical pagan thought of the day was that the body was inherently evil, and thus the pagans adorned themselves with jewels, fine clothes and loaded themselves with lots and lots of ritual sex that was supposed to bring pleasure in order to cleanse their evil nature (hence Paul’s treatment in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20) that reminds the Corinthians that their body is a temple of the Holy Spirit—countercultural to what modernity (at their time and ours) believes.

The problem is that the Church is not doing anything to reverse the societal trends of what it means to live a distinct, beautiful life in Christ. That type of life is one that is not focused on sexuality (straight or gay) by not having to live in the ideal life that communicates the only acceptable means to existence is to grow up, get married, have kids and reproduce the cycle all over again (whether in a straight life or in a gay life that believes the same).

I believe God’s original intent in creating humans was not for them to exist how we exist today, but rather His creation was to live in relation to the Garden, and live in relationship with Him. Pure. Plain. Simple. The Trinity recreated in real life. And yet overt sexuality has become the dominant trait and characteristic of what is normal and acceptable (Christian, secular and gay communities). Doing my graduate seminary work at Moody Bible Institute—those who attend MBI call it Moody Bridal Institute.

Everyone thinks that is funny. I don’t. It’s sad, and it’s very, very pitiful. That just shows us where the lines have blurred into living with the “ideal mindset of human life” focused on a social and Christian norm that has been reverted back to a first century pagan belief system—not how God originally intended. You can talk to me about the Fall as being the cause of this mess, but with every ounce of my being I believe that we have already won the battle with evil through Christ’s death. And thus, we have an ability today, in 2009, to make countercultural decisions that reclaim God’s goal of an ideal human existence: live in relation to the Garden (or the earth today) while living in relationship with Him. Pure. Plain. Simple. The Trinity recreated in each one of our lives.

Until Churches, parents and leaders start to reorder their, and the younger generation’s priorities of what is to be acceptably mainstream (both mainstream secular as well as mainstream Christian—which has almost been just as deadly), we’ll just keep producing more well intentioned people believing that unconditional love can only be birthed through actions revolving around what is believed (Christian and secular) as an ideal sexuality.

Much love.
http://www.themarinfoundation.org/