“Red Sex, Blue Sex”

“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)

Published in: on October 30, 2008 at 10:57 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Scott’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

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. 

~~

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!

Published in: on October 23, 2008 at 7:03 pm  Comments (6)  
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Fascinating Finds & Other Time Wasters

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.

Audrey Tatou

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…

~~

Puzzle Apartment

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.

~~

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.

Published in: on June 14, 2008 at 3:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust Debut

Sigur Ros Album Cover                                             -Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust Album Cover

One of my favorite bands of all time, the Icelantic group Sigur Rós, is releasing a new album worldwide on June 23rd. And believe me, the world just said, “YAY!!“

The world may be saying, “YAY!” but I am uncertain. What do you do when someone you really love decides to go A-wall?

I made this post late Saturday night at a café here in Seattle, feeling good about my support, and then Sunday afternoon before church I decided to hop online and check out the music video for the new song…after watching about 30 seconds of it, ”oh shit,” is the first thing that entered my mind.

I had left an objectionable post linger on my site for 24 hours without any disclaimers. If you watched the music video and were offended by the graphic nudity, I offer my sincere apologies. It is another reminder that my life suffers in the details.

And now I am left with a moral dilemma that I pass to you. I will continue with the original post, and leave the band’s newest creative endeavor to your discretion. I still think they are amazing, though I am left with mixed feelings to be sure.

… … …

The Original Post

Click here to get a free download of Gobbledigook, the first track available off the new album. You can also see a Quicktime video of the song at the same site (WARNING! Video contains graphic nudity). 

I was first introduced to Sigur Rós while living in Minneapolis. My roommate got me interested in the band with their album Takk. If you are not familiar with them, I advise that you get familiar, and fast, because you are missing out on one of the best bands of our time, even if we don’t understand what the heck they are saying.

Yes, they sing in Icelantic, and not even my 3 years of studying and living in Norway helps me crack that linguistic puzzlement that is the Icelantic language. But believe me, 10 minutes into the music and you won’t even care. Plus, the lead singer plays the electric guitar with a violin bow.

If you need reasons, here is another: 

You know how I-Tunes keeps track of the Top 25 Most Played songs in your playlist? Care to guess how many of those 25 (out of my 1,768 songs) are Sigur Rós? 

All 25. 

Forgive the album cover nudity, and check out this band!

(by the way, I just read that the lead singer, Jón “Jónsi” Thor Birgisson, will be singing a song in English, which to the best of my knowledge is the first time he has done this on album)

Published in: on June 2, 2008 at 11:36 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Eurovision Champion

Russia nailed its first Eurovision win this year with a song by Dima Bilan. The song is called “Believe,” and was produced by the American artist Timbaland. 

For those of you not familiar with Eurovision, think of it as Europe’s version of American Idol (except that it has been around since 1956). Each country submits one artist, and the other countries vote on their favorites. Countries are not allowed to vote on their own artists, and the votes are generally done via phoned-in text messages.

I saw my first Eurovision in Norway, and it’s, uh, entertaining to be sure. You can check out the Russian’s winning performance and decide for yourself.

Published in: on May 25, 2008 at 6:15 pm  Comments (6)  
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