This Seattle band is simply incredible. I first heard them on KEXP (a radio station that is an under-appreciated blessing of living in Seattle). They are quickly rising the charts as one of my favorite bands of all time.
It’s too bad Dave had to throw himself in at the end there..
“The “sexual début” of an evangelical girl typically occurs just after she turns sixteen.”
These words opened up a very intriguing article this week in The New Yorker called, “Red Sex, Blue Sex.“
As an “evangelical” with “conservative” views of sexuality, I found this article very interesting, both for the facts I believe it conveys, but also for the divide it shows between those who view sexual abstinence as unrealistic, and those who mouth vows of abstinency (that do not carry down to the loins).
After the article’s opening shocker, I felt that it was tempered by the following observation:
“Religious belief apparently does make a potent difference in behavior for one group of evangelical teen-agers: those who score highest on measures of religiosity—such as how often they go to church, or how often they pray at home. But many Americans who identify themselves as evangelicals, and who hold socially conservative beliefs, aren’t deeply observant.”
It seemed obvious (to me, at least) that it should take more than a self-proclamation to be called an “evangelical.” Jesus made it clear that we would know a tree by its fruit, and I wonder how many “evangelicals” are involved in church, pray regularly, read their Bibles, talk about their faith, etc. (Matthew 7:16-20)
My pastor, Mark Driscoll, is currently taking our congregation through the Song of Songs, teaching the beauty and pleasure of sex, while reminding us of God’s wisdom in keeping sexual desires for marriage. I would highly recommend watching these sermons, as it is rare to find a balanced perspective between the bodily enjoyment of sex, and God’s expectation that singles abstain from sex until marriage.
Let Him Kiss Me is the first of these sermons.
Finally, I leave you with one final quote from the article, and a discussion challenge..
“Regnerus argues that religion is a good indicator of attitudes toward sex, but a poor one of sexual behavior…”
What do you think of this statement?
(And if you’re like me and want to read statements in context, check out the rest of the New Yorker article here)
It’s been a while since we had a genuine comment-friendly post. So, I was hungry at work and decided we need to figure out who would win in a hot-dog eating contest…
The obvious choice, Takeru Kobayashi, six time winner of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, he held the world record in hot dog eating for nearly six years.
The self-taught glutton even has his own product line.
Everyone’s favorite flesh-eater, Bub the Zombie. What he lacks in speed and finesse, he more than makes up for in a stubborn will to overcome any and all obstacles.
Don’t tell him a zombie can’t enjoy Beethoven!
And our final contestant, F.W. Colqhoun (a.k.a. Colonel Ives, a.k.a. Wendigo), hails from the wintry clime of the Sierra mountains in California. A self-professed cannibal, rumors persist that he might not compete at all, with witnesses stating they have heard him mumbling, “You are who you eat,” over and over again in a men’s bathroom stall.
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Those are your contestants for the 1st annual Scott’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Here’s the rules:
1) An unlimited supply of hot dogs
2) An 8 hour competition
3) The 3 contestants will be locked inside an abandoned warehouse overnight..
And
4) 1 boot and rally allowed
Comment who you think should win. And let the gluttony commence!
I decided to start something new with the site. It’s for those interesting websites that I run across during random Internet researching. Some people call this surfing; what a frivolous term! This is important, life-bettering, information!
Today was especially enjoyable. I stumbled across an interview of one of my favorite actresses.
You can check out the full interview here. I appreciate Miss Tatou’s treatment of interviewers. And did you know that the original Amelie was supposed to be Emily Watson? I tried to imagine that, but no way. After reading the interview, I got the impression that I would have a great time talking literature with her over a cup of coffee. Of course, that will never happen…I guess she’s right, it doesn’t take much…
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The NY Times had an interesting story about a family’s extravagantly funded fun, and the brilliant architect that made it possible. You can read the story here.
My first reaction was, what a waste! THINK OF ALL THE STARVING KIDS!! But after I toned down a bit, I realized that I was mostly jealous that I wasn’t the one who got to solve the puzzle. The amazing part of this story was the line,
“Finally, one day last fall, more than a year after they moved in…”
With the ADD machine that is modern America, I thought patience was as gone as dinosaurs. Kudos to the architect for not spoiling the fun. I guess I could replicate something like this for myself; I just have to buy Riven for my computer and pretend like my apartment really does rock out.
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Anyways, enough research for me today. If you’ve found anything fascinating in your own Internet ramblings, post it as a link in the comments and I’ll make sure to check it out.
