Flying Spaghetti Monster syphilis?
The Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services provides a graphic reason to avoid noodly appendages.
June 27, 2008
June 24, 2008
Devil on High Heels
Call the fire men--Parisian psychobilly burns like hellfire in this impish song from the Washington Dead Cats.
June 12, 2008
Jewelry, Drugs and Religion
In this series of vignettes, the Phoenix Neutrino Project riffs on "terrorist plots, illicit drug use, and religious icons."
May 25, 2008
Baby Jesus Butt Plug and the religious dildo creche
A voice from the ethereal realm has called unto to me to feature Divine Interventions, an inspired example of commercial "religious obscenity." DI's products are primarily from the Christian tradition, tho they also include Moses and the Buddha--but not Muhammad.
May 21, 2008
Jesus & Gravity & Barber Bart
I remember when this was filmed & Bart's wondering whether he'd make the cut. Turns out he did, starting at 2:08-11 and several times afterwards.
Most people wouldn't associate a Dolly Parton song about Jesus with downtown Manhattan, but she works with an excellent avant-garde filmmaker who happens to be based here:
Islam-friendly Follies in Marrakech
In case you ever wondered what Islamic burlesque would look like . . .
You will not see g-strings, revealing leotards, or nudity at Claude Thomas' newly-created cabaret revue in Marrakech. Instead, dancers' bodies are demurely hidden and kisses are only allowed on the cheek.
"Les Folies de Marrakech", launched earlier this month, is an unusual blend of Western decadence and Islam.
May 20, 2008
Christian folk art radio ad
The following signs with a Howard Finster vibe have popped up in my neighborhood, and Animal has the pics.
May 15, 2008
"Jesus Christ is not a weapon"
In case you, like Hurley on Lost, want to whomp intruders with a Jesus statue, here's a gold-plated one so you can do it in style.
Eve's smokey temptation
May 14, 2008
The Joan of Arc car
You're crazy to buy it? It ends up in flames?
Nip Tuck Golden Ratio Facebook app
The divine proportion has been a making a mark in the beauty industry, as plastic surgeons have been using it to persuade people to use their services to express God's ideal of beauty. Now the hit TV show Nip Tuck makes it possible for everyone to fuel their insecurities by analyzing their photos on Facebook.
Of course, not everyone is sure that God approves of plastic surgery . . . well, except for the work that they need done.
May 09, 2008
Alien bald head tattoo
All this and more in No Regrets, featured in Needled.
May 06, 2008
TARDIS coffin
The beer can coffin reminds me of this classic from 2004--the Doctor Who-inspired TARDIS coffin designed for artist Tim Haws, a fan who died of cancer at age 43.
And according to this recent conference in the UK, having more Doctor Who references in church could be a path toward spiritual revival. From the London Telegraph, here's The Church is Ailing--Send for Dr. Who:
The number of under-16s attending Church of England services fell by almost 20 per cent between 2000 and 2006, but the Church believes that improving communication can reverse that trend.
Andrew Wooding, a spokesman for the Church Army, which organised the conference, said that its intention was to give vicars new ideas for conveying their message.
"There are countless examples of Christian symbolism in Doctor Who, which we can use to get across ideas that can otherwise be difficult to explain."
"Clergy shouldn't be afraid to engage with popular culture as for many young people television plays a large role in their thinking," he said.
Beer can coffin and cooler
Via About Colon Blank:
Bill Bramanti is drinking himself to his grave. Bill loves Pabst Blue Ribbon beer so much that he has designed his own coffin to look like a can of his favorite brew.
He doesnt plan on using it anytime soon though so, for the time being, hes going to use it as a cooler to keep his little tin friends chilled at parties.
Street art lost and found in Turkey
By lakormis. Brilliant.
May 05, 2008
Amy Winehouse rosary
Via Oh No They Didn't:
Amy Winehouse has has abandoned her Jewish roots to embrace Catholicism as a show of unity towards her incarcerated husband Blake Fielder-Civil.
The troubled singer, 24, has started wearing rosary beads and has turned to the Roman Catholic faith in a show of solidarity with Blake — who’s locked up in London’s Pentonville prison accused of assault and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
File-sharing theology
May 04, 2008
Family Circus Saint Santa collectors' plate
A sacred relic preserved for eternity by the Comics Curmudgeon
Pac Man psychosis
A brilliant depiction of the meaning of the game:
May 02, 2008
Kate Moss' White Wedding destroyed by religious group
Avant-garde cinema meets lingerie marketing in this ongoing series from Agent Provocateur. According to the official series' description, the villain of the story is indeed a religious group that appears to have a vendetta against bridal underwear. A new video will be posted each day through May 7th.
Statue of Liberty bindi
April 30, 2008
Garden of Eden lip gloss
April 15, 2008
Sculpta Sutra--the Kama Sutra meets Wallace & Gromit
Taking the culture of personal production one level higher, in this spiritual clay sex kit you create your own instructors.
But if the whole clay thing is too earthy for you, Kama3D provides a comprehensive set of virtual Kama Sutra sexual position sculptures for your spiritual edification.
April 11, 2008
Vice and the meaning of life
Via Journalista, this meditation on meaning from graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi hits on a fundamental truth:
We meet in London. She can’t stand Britain because of the smoking ban. She suggests that we talk in her hotel room because at least she will be able to smoke there. She lives for her cigs, and is quite happy to die for them, she says. “For me smoking is like looking at your soul,” she says in a rasping hybrid accent. “There is something extraordinarily poetic about smoking — from the gesture of holding a cigarette, turning it on, smoking it, the taste of it, the smell of it, I love every-thing about smoking.” She has no truck with the kill-joys who want to stop us doing all the things that we enjoy — simply because it might prolong our life. “Anything that has a relationship with pleasure we reject it. Eating, they talk about cholesterol; making love, they talk about Aids; you talk about smoking, they talk about cancer. It’s a very sick society that rejects pleasure.” She’s working herself up into a climax of disgust. “Why should we live like sick people just to give some fresh meat to the ground? I hope my meat is so rotten no worm in the whole universe will want to come and eat it. I want to be rotten to accept the idea of dying. Every day you live you get one day closer to death. If you are never born you will never die. Giving birth is also giving death.” She smiles, having hit on the solution to combating death.
Video: Cartoon penguins and the Statue of Liberty show kids teach kids how cigarettes are synonymous with freedom in an old advertising cartoon for Kool.
April 10, 2008
Graven Images--Religion in Comic Books & Graphic Novels
If I were in Boston this weekend--the 11th through the 13th--I'd definitely hang out at this conference. Sounds like fun, with engaging topics and interesting speakers.
April 04, 2008
Heavenly signs
Ghost signs make walking in New York City a trip through time. One of the questions I've asked myself: why are so many of these old signs up so high?
This photo on Shorpy shows the reason: the old elevated train lines. View the expansive full-sized picture to see the signs in detail.
My favorite: "Cheap signs." In that one simple ad lies the history of modern communication.
Jeffy's praying skeleton
March 26, 2008
The devil and Doctor Who
Here's a fact about yours truly that might not be obvious from this site: when I was high school & college, I became an uber-strict fundamentalist. As in, not tolerating anything remotely connected to worldliness, which included, well, basically most of my pop culture obsessions. Star Trek espoused evolution. Star Wars--the Force, which was obviously (to the folks I listened to, anyway) satanic. Non-Christian comics likewise were deemed to be pure evil.
Which is why I refused invitations to go see Star Trek III & Return of the Jedi, which in retrospect wasn't as bad a couple of omissions as they felt at the time. Perhaps the most painful thing was getting rid of my rather sizable comic collection and all my 1st edition Complete EC Library sets, a series to which I was an original subscriber.
Y'know, that comic collection had a complete run of Batman and Detective going back into the early 1950s. Sold those for 200 bucks to buy tracts. To see how I feel about that transaction now, watch this video.
This experience came to mind today when I read the story making the rounds re Simon White, the guy in the UK who is selling his extensive Doctor Who collection now that he's a Christian. A few excerpts from the story below--although before he gets rid of everything, he may want to attend the Spirituality and Doctor Who conference in Sheffield on April 19.
By the by, did you note how I said "most of my pop culture obsessions?" That's because even when I was separating from everything that wasn't fundamentalist, the one thing that stayed was Doctor Who.
As a counterpoint to what is clearly my spiritual Achilles Heel, here's the confession of Simon White:
Dr Who and his materialistic obsession with it represents the "greatest lie that Satan ever told" according to Mr White.
He said: "I loved science fiction as a kid. It was the Tardis that did it for me. You could get in that box and go anywhere.
"I started collecting Dr Who stuff starting with the Dalek, which I got from an old exhibition in Brighton.
"Me and a friend spent two years making the Tardis and I became obsessed. I made a model of K-9, then a full size Cyberman with authentic Dr Who parts. I couldn't stop.
"I had to retire early from my job as a nurse at the Royal United Hospital in Bath in 1998 because I was suffering from bipolar disorder.
"I turned to drink and became an alcoholic and the Dr Who obsession was the only thing that kept me going. I wouldn't have given it up if you'd have put a gun to my head."
Having discovered Christianity Mr Smith has renounced his old life and is putting the whole collection up for sale in local trade magazines and on eBay.
He said: "God delivered me from the evil that is Dr Who, materialism and alcoholism.
"Through my relationship with Jesus I saw that none of this was making me happy and I was born again like Lazarus.
"It's a timely tale as we come up to Easter. I wanted to tell others that no matter what trouble you are in God can deliver you from the evil. If you are prepared to have a relationship with him then God can help. I have been resurrected. My old life is dead, my new life is alive."
God kills LOLcats t-shirt
Available here.
Skullphone billboard hack
Pop satire finds a new home when Skullphone hacks Clear Channel's digital billboards in Los Angeles.
March 15, 2008
Venus de hair color
March 14, 2008
42 Earrings
March 13, 2008
Dr. Seuss and religious product endorsements
From Judith Morgan's Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel:
March 11, 2008
My angel put the devil in me
The fall of Eliot Spitzer has been all the buzz here in NYC. While it's got some folks understandably talking about whether prostitution should be illegal, the public outcry is also a potent reminder of the degree to which we associate sex with sin.
It's right there in the Garden of Eden, really--I don't mean literally, but as a moral archetype. On one level it's a children's story about our complex relation to sex. Partaking of the fruit of the tree is a source of transcendence and adult self-awareness, giving us the power to create; having children also binds us to work and inflicts blinding pain.
When someone like Spitzer gets caught, for many people the act signifies a repeat of Adam's folly--the assumption that one can engage in sex free from responsibility, as if it's all play for one's own pleasure. Part of this response is judgment; part of it is envy; neither is particularly favorable to him. Perhaps if there were a sense that he, a la Clinton, felt our pain folks would be a tad more merciful, but Spitzer's own actions as a moral avenger pretty much seal his fate.
On a lighter note, all the hullaballoo brought to mind one of my favorite songs from last year--the old Tin Pan Alley parody "My Angel Put the Devil in Me" by Murray Gold, from "The Daleks in Manhattan" in Doctor Who Series 3. The song captures how the music of the 20s and early 30s could be graphically obscene without using a single nasty word. Listen carefully and you'll hear a musical echo of the biblical Fall as a sexual act, from serpentine seduction to the Tree of Life growing tall to the wistful yet boistrous afterglow.
March 09, 2008
God Hates Barack Obama
GodHatesObama.com reveals all.
March 06, 2008
LOL Cthulhu
March 04, 2008
Lucky leprechaun charm
March 03, 2008
Brooklyn rabbis taking sexy back from MSG
Not so long ago a trip to Penn Station meant seeing ubiquitous promos for Justin Timberlake. I was hoping to see the same thing for Hasidic pop star Lipa Schmeltzer, but alas, it's not to be.
Two Brooklyn community leaders, Asher Friedman and Rabbi Avraham Shor, mobilized opposition to the concert late last month, warning that the concert would promote “ribaldry and lightheadedness… [and] strip the youth of every shred of fear of heaven.” Some Hasidim criticize Friedman for corrupting Jewish youth with secular musical styles, others warn his popularity might eclipse the authority of the rabbis.
Gothamist highlights a telling response from one commenter:
“We have now banned sporting events, concerts, amusement parks, the circus & malls among other things. Of course I don’t argue with the p’sak on these. But what in heavens name do we want people to do realistically for recreation?”
March 02, 2008
Guilty pleasure
Via Postsecret
February 29, 2008
Howard the Duck was a rabbi
When I wrote about the passing of Steve Gerber, prolific comics writer and creator of Howard of Duck, I did so recalling the way the themes of God and fate reverberated through his work. What I didn't know: that he named the character after a high school friend who later became a rabbi.
Howard the Duck was reading the newspaper at a coffee shop in Dayton, Ohio, when he saw a wire service item that Steve had died. "I was shocked," Howard told me in a phone interview on Monday.
Howard — Howard Tockman, another U. City classmate — probably was Steve's closest friend through high school and college. "I used to do a Donald Duck voice," he recalled, "so when Steve came up with the character, kind of a combination of Donald Duck and Groucho Marx, he named him Howard the Duck."
In high school, "we were all kind of carefree and joked around," said Tock, as he was known. We put out a comedy magazine called 'Nerve' from Steve's basement. Some of what was in 'Nerve' was political and social, and some of it was just silly. Steve had a very sharp wit. He could reflect humorously about something in a very dark way."
Tock, now the rabbi at Congregation Sh'ma Yisrael in Dayton, knew Steve had had some health problems, but he, too, had lost touch with his old friend. "I know that at one time, he had hopes of writing more than comics," Tock told me. "I got the sense that he would have liked to write something of greater significance. He had a lot of talent, and he was sort of pigeonholed in the comic book field."As Steve's friend, Tock said it saddened him to learn that Steve had been so unhappy. As Rabbi Tockman, he said he understood how it can feel "when you are by yourself a lot and creating fictional characters and you don't have a grounding in relationships and no real permanent base for yourself. When we were young, I didn't have a sense that he would have a lonely life, and I'm sorry to hear that."
The gospel according to Diablo Cody
From Oscar-winning Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody's blog response to the supposed scandal of (partially) nude photos from her past. You can buy a variation of this and other "Twisted Religious Shirts" at FoulMouthShirts.com
February 22, 2008
Lost and Found
One of the fun things about Lost is thinking about all the philosophical, religious and literary references.
Not so much fun--discovering they come from Wikipedia searches:
EW: How about Matthew Abbaddon?
[Lost producer] LINDELOF: ''Abaddon,'' we dug that one out of Wikipedia. When we name people, we often do Web searches on certain verbiage or if we want to pull something out of Greek mythology or Native American mythology, like, ''Who was the god of wheat?''
February 18, 2008
Should Christian sex toys be free?
NPR's Bryant Park Project is running a discussion thread prompted by its feature story on Book22.com, a Christian online shop of "Intimacy Products for Married Couples." Among the various interesting comments this one in particular caught my eye:
Now I've heard everything. You need to go on to the website listed and see what this is really all about: as usual, making money. What about those moneychangers in the temple?
February 17, 2008
The Price is Right as sacred quest
Orpheus went down to Hades in a doomed attempt to rescue his beloved Eurydice. Now we come on down to challenge fate at Plinko. Quoth new Price is Right host Drew Carey in today's New York Times:
"[F]or every single person that makes it onstage, it’s like a Joseph Campbell journey, an everyman plucked from obscurity to attempt a journey, with obstacles placed in their way. And I just want to be a good guy for them, so they can win money. I’m there to help them on their journey."
Of course, the show hasn't always had such a benign view of its mythic significance. When I went there back in the Bob Barker days, Rod Roddy tried to cut off my hand.
Anyway, as the Times article explains, Carey's spiritual reference isn't facetious:
Mr. Carey, 49, said that in the past two years he has undergone a “huge spurt of spiritual growth,” having immersed himself in texts from the Bible to books by Wayne Dyer and Marianne Williamson. The result is a changed attitude about comedy, show business and himself.
“I’ve thought about changing my name, I’ve changed so much,” he said, “If Drew Carey now met Drew Carey from 5 or 10 years ago, I wouldn’t recognize him.”
February 15, 2008
Guilt-free Divine Chocolate
It's fair-trade, which means the more Divine Chocolate you eat, the more you help save the world.
February 08, 2008
Tom Jones wears cross, insures chest hair
February 06, 2008
Fad science pendant
Sellers call this a "Fibonacci Fractal Chaos Math Pewter Pendant". But wait--isn't it tied by a string? So it really should be the Fibonacci Fractal Chaos Math String Theory Pewter Pendant. And the big circles turn into little ones . . . hmmm . . . maybe it's the Evodevo Fibonacci Fractal Chaos Math String Theory Pewter Pendant.
I'm all for the integration of science and design, but ya gotta be careful to do more than just follow fads.
February 05, 2008
Wal-Mart Golgotha
Via Consumerist
February 04, 2008
John McCain--satanist?
On Slate, Jeff Greenfield observes that tomorrow's Super Tuesday primary vote will make for "a nutty night." Yet one thing is certain:
Now, barring a McCain appearance at a Black Mass (and given New York's approach to matters spiritual, maybe not even then), McCain appears certain to win New York—and its neighbors.
It's a great line, but what Greenfield might not realize is that McCain is a Satanist.
No, really: it's on YouTube:
February 03, 2008
Hail Supergirl, full of grace
January 24, 2008
Jesus and the Bear by Jim Woodring
For an exegesis and (print!) of this painting, read the artist's post and comments.
January 22, 2008
Darkness into light
Gawker has footage of the scene outside Heath Ledger's apartment as his body is being wheeled out to an ambulance, an iconic dance of darkness, light, death and immortality.
Another photographer was struck with the import of it all. He crossed his chest. "You heard about this already? Jesus. This is tragic." He looked down mournfully. "I should have brought my cross."
January 15, 2008
Hindu Super Mario tattoo
A wonderful creative mashup by Jason Lambert of Eye Candy Tattoos. It may seem like an odd combination, but the commonalities between Hinduism and Super Mario have actually been a topic of discussion for some time.
January 13, 2008
Atheist LOLParrot
Via Retrospectacle
January 11, 2008
"Hello Kitty is My Jesus" Tattoo Hell
Some blogs are a labor of love. Others, not so much:
Sent in by tattoo artist Brian from Youngstown, Ohio who deserves the worst of the worst that Hello Kitty can offer for not only thinking for a second that it was a good idea to send this photo to me, but for also giving notice of what 2008 is going to be like in Hello Kitty Hell…
Via Neatorama
January 09, 2008
Opiate of the people
This is the featured album (disc?) cover on Sleevage today, and as the prophet Ezekiel would say, it's got wheels within wheels. Beyond the implicit message in the group's ostensibly trademarked name, the package itself is designed to emulate a blister pack of pills. Click through for more pictures.
January 01, 2008
Believe in God Breath Spray
From Miss Poppy:
December 18, 2007
Unholy secret KISS
The latest PostSecret has the following true confession:
Ahhh, a riddle!
Assuming the daughter's name isn't God of Thunder, there were two possibilities that came to mind.
The first is the Kiss classic Beth, a derivative of the Hebrew Elisheva, or Elizabeth, popularly translated as consecrated to God.
Another candidate is Shandi (from Shanti?), which doesn't refer to a biblical concept per se but whose folk etymology claims an origin in an unspecified foreign term for God is gracious.
I probably missed one, so if you have a better idea feel free to shout it out loud.
December 13, 2007
Tay Zonday is God
No, really. In this filmed performance of a recent Electric Arc Radio show, Chocolate Rain's Tay Zonday plays God. TZ also sings "Say No to Nightmares," which is only appropriate, given the recurring "Fear Not" theme in sacred texts.
December 09, 2007
Naked pagan Krishna hippies build a pyramid near Stonehenge and dance for Prem Nawat
Here's a blast for the past via WFMU. Watch it without the sound off and you can feel how alien the styles in this 1971 video now appear. Listen to the sound for for a fascinating spiritual syncretism: magnetic fields, Stonehenge, dowsing, pagan ritual, laser-beam visions and Hare Krishna.
Judging from the switch from robes to suit and tie, spiritual speaker Prem Nawat doesn't do all the much speaking nowadays in front of naked hippies chanting in a field.
November 24, 2007
Christian Wrestling Federation merchandise
"Our model for presentation of ministry is Dr. Billy Graham."
Or, more accurately, Superstar Billy Graham!
Legends of Christian Wrestling Bonus:
There are actually more links between Christian mission and pro wrestling than one might think. For example, check out the ministries of wrestling greats Ivan Koloff and Ted DiBiase.
November 16, 2007
Homemade guardian angel receptor
Apparently based on a true story, this home-made sitcom portrays the star's ability to see and hear her guardian angel.
How did she acquire this ability?
Apparently it's all about the headgear:
Homemade guardian angel receptor
Apparently based on a true story, this home-made sitcom portrays the star's ability to see and hear her guardian angel.
How did she acquire this ability?
Apparently it's all about the headgear: