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"This beautiful animated stereogram of Jesus displays Christ gracefully turning his head to bow while closing his hands to pray." Or clapping. It's not clear which.
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A while back there used to be a Numenist blog called Numenous Thoughts. Among its ruminations: a meditation on religious jewelry and how to respond to critical inquiries from Christians. Excerpts below: From time to time, the question of religious jewelry comes up. Pagans are quite fond of wearing jewelry, and it's not uncommon to see a Pagan wearing multiple rings and necklaces. . . . There are several reactions others have to Pagan jewelry. . . . The hostile person (generally, but not always, a Christian), will ask with clearly faked interest. You can tell they are asking just so they can use it to insult the wearer, coerce them into listening to some religious spiel, or threaten them with dire hints of a dreadful afterlife. I've heard from younger people how they get followed and called names in loud voices, and Christian conversion pamphlets (like this Jack Chick tracts) shoved in their pockets, desks, or under their dorm doors, and even get rocks thrown at them. Not all of these younger people were wearing the common Pagan jewelry: pentagrams and ankhs. Some were wearing less well known jewelry: the scarab, a "medieval princess" ring, a spider ring, a garnet cabuchon ring, a gold aspen leaf skeleton. The problem seems to be (at least here among the more radical young Christian adherents) that any jewelry that isn't a crucifix or cross is automatically Satanic jewelry. And some of these young people are fanatic enough to be pushy and rude about their assumptions. You know, sometimes jewelry is just that - jewelry. And even if it is a symbol of one's religion or religious beliefs, is that really any concern of someone not of that particular religion? Is wearing a scarab any more or less objectionable than wearing a symbol of an implement of ancient torture?
 . . . and more in this new Science Times article on the all too human proclivity for finding patterns, particularly faces, in found objects.
From Overheard in New York: Guy: I've been finding myself becoming more and more of a misanthropist.
Bimbette: I tried that once, but the chains were a bit much.
Guy: [Angry glare.]
--BBQ, 8th & University Pl
PETS IN HEAVEN EXTRA: This recent Overheard is also fun: Mom: So, what kind of animals do you think we will see at the zoo?
Small boy: I think elephants and snakes... Mom? Are there also pretend things there, like dinosaurs and God?
Mom: I think we need to have a talk when we get home.
--N train near Union Square
Aficionados of the Bible's family friendly Book of Judges will no doubt recall the story of the man who cut up his concubine and sent her body parts throughout the tribes of Israel. That's what came to my mind, at any rate, when Jennifer Emick of the always enchanting Alt Religion sent me a link today to this incredible design collection: Margaux Lange's handcrafted jewelry fashioned from cut up Barbie and Ken dolls. cWhether you love her or hate her, there are few who feel neutral about the plastic princess. I am fascinated with who she is as a cultural icon, her distinguished celebrity status, and the enormous impact she has had on our society. Specifically, I’m intrigued with her influence in defining gender roles of women in contemporary American culture. My childhood spent with Barbie cultivated my interest in adornment. Extensive play with the doll and her miniature world strengthened my dexterity. This is a skill imperative to the art of jewelry making. Hence it feels natural for me to make art on a small scale. I enjoy the funny juxtaposition of wearing the body, on the body. Barbie has become the accessory instead of being accessorized. I take pleasure in the contrast and contradiction of something mass-produced being transformed and revealed as a unique, handmade, wearable piece of art.
Above: The Cha Ching necklace from Subversive Jewelry, by CFDA/Vogue FAshion Fund emerging designer nominee Justin Giunta. The necklace consists of "half a dozen oxidized chains strung with old coins, religious medals and tokens from Times Square peep show booths."
 Over the past five years, wearing a turban in New York was almost guaranteed to cause you problems. Even if you weren't beaten or ridiculed, you might find yourself forced to brand your sacred headwear with your employer's company logo. But as this runway photo illustrates, things are beginning to look up . . . perhaps.
Prada, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, H & M--turban chic is everywhere this season, even, thanks to Prince, at the ultimate icon of Americana, the Superbowl. From one angle, the mainstreaming of the turban would seem to be a sign of progress, and yet it is not without its costs. As Susan Scafidi examines in Who Owns Culture?, cultural appropriation such as the Prada turban above raises intriguing questions about creation and community. Is it fair for Western companies to get rich from copying cultural designs with no corresponding economic benefit for the original source community? Should a religious community be able to protect its sacred symbols from copying for materialistic ends, particularly if commercial copying threatens to dilute the object's spiritual significance? In addition, does ubiquitous imitation make the original more accepted, or could the proliferation of more lavish imitations cause the original to seem more alien, thereby widening the cultural divide? None of these questions will be resolved this week, of course. However, as the industry seeks to raise awareness of an array of charitable causes, perhaps the time has come to find ways to give something back to the communities that inspire what we wear. HISTORICAL ROUND-UP EXTRA: The wikipedia entry on the history of the turban actually does a nice of job of outlining to the ebb and flow of Eastern influence of Western headwear style.
What holds the world's record as the largest gathering of people coming together for a common purpose? Well, I answered Wrestlemania, but it looks like I was wrong.
The Maha Kumbh Mela (Great Festival of the Urn) is a spiritual festival held every twelve years near the Indian town of Allahabad.
Pilgrims gather here from all over India and around the world: gurus, spiritual leaders and their devotees, and ascetic sadhus who emerge from their solitary forest retreats and mountain caves.
They come to the sangam - the sacred confluence of three rivers: the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.
On special set days everyone takes a holy dip, a ritual believed to guarantee release from the cycle of rebirth - literally a short cut to the state of purest bliss... nirvana.
Sounds interesting, no? Well, the documentary below isn't the source of the above quote, but it is about the same ritual, and it sports an abundance of interesting religious adornment. So grab some nectar, sit back and relax to watch the Google video that's rocketing up the charts, "Kumbha Mela -- The World's Largest Act of Faith":
Tonight on Wife Swap: a mother who lives through her moto-cross-racing son trades places with a woman who worships Mother Earth and erects shrines for the fairies who live in trees. For some reason my picture uploading is dead, so instead I'll post a bit from the latter's | 
This is an 
O my Queen, said the royal sorcerer to Hapsethsut -- with this amulet you and your descendants are endowed by the goddess Isis. With the powers of animals and the elements you will soar as the falcon soars, run with the speed of gazelles and command the elements of the sky and the earth. 
to rise above the natural. That the Mighty Isis' alter ego was a school teacher is not meaningless happenstance; the value of adornment increases the more we limit our social definition of women to the provision of services to children. 
