[BIB/ReadersRoom] - Blogging about Blogging*

Today’s writing related question: Bloggers: how do you blog? Toss out a post whenever inspiration strikes, build up a reserve? Or have a set time of day? If so, when?

This is almost a twist on the question “how do you find the time to write?” (okay, it’s not really, I just really like that blog post). Actually, this question gave me all the excuse I needed to answer a different question: just how many words to I blog in a year. I finally got around to doing that math:

2005 – 168,000
2006 – 238,000
2007 – 189,000
2008 – 143,000

In short, I write about two novels worth of words a year in blogs (and now I also see why I fondly remember 2006 as my best blogging year. I went nuts with reviews and thinking A LOT about stuff, mostly my faith. Also that year my family faced A LOT of tragedy so I was

working through a lot of that. I find that a good chunk of the blogs I write today end up linking to blogs I wrote that year. I can also note that my production went down considerably in 2008 as I had more work to do in terms of stories requested by editors).

My blog started off as a weird competition between me and my assistant, Lauren David. It has since evolved (… uh, no, there was no scene involving an “I win! I win” dance) because blogging gave me a way to build an audience for my writing when I didn’t have much published at the time. And it has given me many other writing opportunities to do other writing. So, does blogging take away from my real writing time? No, I consider blogging PART of my real writing time.

I understand that the time I spend blogging is time that I could be working on a novel or a short story or an article. Last year I began being more methodical about my blog that would allow for regular updates, spontaneous blogs, and getting more story/paid writing done (since as of last year, I had a lot more editors asking me for stories).

I try to have a reserve of blogs set up in advance. Since there are times when I have more time to blog (usually between story/novel projects: I have found that it’s hard for me to blog regularly while “creating” new words/universe but I have no problems blogging while editing or revising a story). Unless it's time sensitive, I spread them out over a period of weeks (if I've truly worked ahead). Right now, I have 2 – 3 week's worth of blogs done as I gear up to write a story I promised an editor (more on that later if she likes the end result).

If inspiration (or need) arises, I go with it. But I've found that having a surplus helps because there are times when I have spent a lot of time thinking on one topic, say for example race relations, and end up writing a series of blogs on that topic. Then I spend a lot of time thinking about something else, for example, faith, and produce a lot of blogs on that topic. I’m well aware that I have a cross-pollinated audience who might not be interested in a protracted series on one topic, so by working on them in advance, I can sort them better (so that it's not all blocks of reviews, or theology, or race stuff, or writing).

I also set things to post between 6 and 8 a.m. that way they are there first thing in the morning ... when people arrive at work and are goofing off by cruising the internet (and also why you want you "big" blogs coming out on Mondays). However, I regularly violate another blog rule: the best blog length is about 300 words (500 at the outside). With pictures.

So yes, my blogging is part me being conscious of marketing myself.** However, as much of a bump as my blog traffic gets with regular posting or a particular blog getting a lot of links/exposure, it’s nothing like the marketing that comes with, you know, actual stories being released.



*“That's like jerking off by thinking about masturbating.” –Richard Danksy
** “And wasted if you don't have enough to market.” –Richard Danksy, in the name of tough love, because blogging shouldn’t become a replacement for the other writing I should be doing.


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The Twelve - A Review

I can’t seem to get away from J. Michael Straczynski’s work. After his long tenure on Amazing Spider-Man and his current runaway hit, Thor, he now tackles the high though achingly familiar concept, The Twelve. The story begins in Berlin during the final days of the Nazi regime when twelve heroes independently descend upon the SS headquarters and fall victim to a Nazi trap. The Twelve are Rockman, Black Widow, Blue Blade, Master Mind Excello, Mr. E, Laughing Mask, Dynamic Man, Firery Mask, The Witness, Captain Wonder, and the Phantom Reporter. These were heroes from the Timely Comics era, Marvel Comics’ predecessor. Placed in “freezing tubes” to be defrosted after the Americans leave Berlin, the plan goes awry and the Nazis never come back for them. The US military is called in after the chamber is discovered by a modern day construction crew and they discuss whether or not they’re going to thaw them out. Then again, considering these are the times of Civil War and Secret Invasions, it’s not like trust in super heroes isn’t at a premium. Awakened, the story revolves around how the Twelve react to the future and how the current heroes react to the past.

We have a long time fascination with the World War II era/The Greatest Generation. It was a simpler time we often long for, when good guys and bad guys were clearly delineated. After all, the Nazis were and are the quintessential evil villain. The idea of altruistic relics of the past confronted with the cynical reality of the present/their future has been done since Captain America was frozen in ice and awakened in a time not his own. Told from the point of view of the Phantom Reporter, a “tourist,” or a costumed hero who tags along with major heroes, The Twelve has a reporter’s feel and tone.

Everyone has a secret, something he or she is running toward or from, as they try to figure out where they fit in this new world. Squadron Supreme and even Rising Stars, in retrospect, either look like they were practice runs for this series or Straczynski going back to his familiar themes, putting different heroes through same paces. Since this is a finite series, it can’t be a matter of all set-up and no payoff.

“But there’s something we can give you that’s more important that money or a place to live. Purpose. We can give you purpose again. The world needs people like you, maybe even more than it ever did before.”

In taking 40s era heroes, patriots of a simpler time, and transporting them to now, The Twelve examines what we've gained and what we've lost as a people. It’s easy to view a bygone era through rose tinted glasses. The 50s-era show Mad Men looks like a grand old time, until you ask yourself “where are all the black folks?” (oh yeah, they’re in the back at the bus still). Instead of sexism and racism, our culture wrestles with terrorism, the erosion of civil liberties, and the loss of national optimism.

The Gospel has power to transform individual and society, so traditions and mindsets need to be periodically examined to see if they remain relevant. For example, some commands in Scripture are time bound and culturally limited. It is dangerous to ignore the voice and lessons of tradition. At the same time, we need to recognize when it is time to jettison traditional beliefs. Culture shouldn’t determine theology, but the impact of culture on the biblical writers and all biblical interpreters (us) shouldn’t be ignored. Many cultural issues, from the role of women to the issue of slavery, have had to be re-examined over time through our culturally impacted lens of Scripture.

Yes, this kind of story has been done been done time and again and your gut instinct might assume this to be a generic Watchman retread, but the characters are intriguing and Straczynski manages to balance sophistication and fun. I love the art work, especially the expressiveness of faces. I’m hoping that all of the potential of this book is fully realized.


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The Table Benediction

by Darrell Johnson

Go now in the joy of knowing that you have been included.
Included at this table.
Included as His table.
Included in our common life.
Included in the Life of God;
in the Life of the Triune God;
in the Life shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Go in the joy of knowing that you have been included
in the inner life of the God Who is love.

Go, find joy in telling others that they too are included!

Go, find joy in bringing all God’s people to His table!

“Do not be afraid, little flock,
for your Father has chosen gladly
to give you the kingdom.”

You are included!


from THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE: Visual Media for Mission & Worship


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Ambassadors of Love

Many people call themselves Christian and we often refer to ourselves as a Christian nation. Have you ever wondered how some people can call themselves that? Or rather, how some folks can do some of the things they do and cloak themselves in religion or the Word of God?

On the flip side, there are a lot of folks who cloak themselves in the veil of religion to simply justify their biases. In other words, they have a belief/predisposition then seek to undergird said belief with Bible verses; bringing their vision to their faith and creating dogma around it.

Which is why I don't tend to dump on Christianity when a "Christian" does something kooky or Islam when a "Muslim" does something contrary to their tenets. There are folks who call themselves Christian, Muslim, Wiccan or what have you whose actions clearly run contrary to the beliefs of those faiths.

We’re all eikons, image-bearers of God, created to relate to God, to relate to others, and to govern the world as such. Christians, in particular, ought to be ambassadors of God. Take that seriously, to reflect God, His love, His holiness.

Too often we run around as if we have diplomatic immunity, a get out of hell free card, that places us above everyone else. Instead, we ought to be the first servants. I think that’s what being missional boils down to for me (and how my faith makes sense to me).

If there’s a “fear” to my faith that I keep coming back to it’s that I take very seriously Christ's words when He talks about people doing things in His name and when they finally come to meet Him, He tells them that He never knew them. Cloaking myself in His name and missing the point of my religion … that’s not the kind of Christian I want to be.

What defines how you see yourself in your faith?


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The Non-Committed Generation?

Related to my anti-emo folks angst, I’ve been encountering more and more of what I can only call floaters. Folks who drift from thing to thing, taste-testing opportunities and communities, unable to commit or develop roots in anything. They are transitory figures, here one minute, gone the next and thus are hard to count on or invest in.

I don’t know if it’s a generational thing or a (postmodern) cultural thing, but it seems like these folks are easily distracted and nearly incapable of following through on things. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t throw too many stones. I juggle a lot of balls which gives the illusion of non-flightiness when in actuality should I get bored with something, I turn to the next thing. I just keep cycling through the same few things rather than keep finding something new each time.

I wonder if it’s a symptom of the same consumer mentality which has led to church members drifting off to the next charismatic preacher or bigger program, because they come together not to form a community but to be entertained or serviced. How we tend to seek out churches based on who has the best show, where you don’t have to do anything and you don’t have to reveal anything. And too often we, as the church, enables such narcissistic behavior.

Folks who do the flitting thing tend to be one of two camps (typically defined by how generous I’m feeling toward them). On the negative side of the ledger, they are not committed (to much of anything) and foster little sense of connection. They fly by seat of their pants, living for the moment in the most visceral of ways. A lot of their tendencies smack of selfishness, because if something (or someone) more interesting pops up, they’re gone with that breeze.

When I’m feeling a lot less frustrated, I see that often they are simply looking for the right fit for them, sampling different things in order to find out where you fit. They form discrete communities and stray from them with great difficulty. They are “truth in the moment” kind of folks, simply non-linear thinkers who come at life from a different perspective.

Yeah, it’s tough to plan things around types who rarely follow through. At the same time, they recognize that non-commital trait in themselves and there is some guilt about it. I like to look at it this way: their heart is in service, in wanting to join in with Christ's redemptive mission ... they just haven't found that place, that ministry, that calling which fits them.

We all have that selfish part to us and sometimes working through it means just throwing yourself into something and sticking to it even when you don't want to … for a time. If only to make it through and develop your perseverance muscles. Sometimes it’s just about finding your place, finding what resonates with you, that place where you can best be plugged in. Until you have a relationship with a place or a people, you aren’t committed to it. On the flip side, unless you commit, you can’t develop a relationship. At some point, someone is going to have to take a risk. So continue sampling and when where you land fits, dig in. You may end up surprising yourself.


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Friday Night Date Place - On Jealousy

Jealous thoughts cause trouble
Yapping all the time
You know they're listening for rumours
So that they can drop a dime
--Jealousy, Club Nouveau*

I’m not a jealous person by nature.

It’s not that I don’t value my relationships or don’t get worked up about them, but I’m just not all that jealous a person. I’d like to believe it’s because I’m pretty secure in my relationships. More likely, it’s because I’ve seen the dark side of jealousy a few times too many. It’s a surprisingly short jump to go from following our significant other to their home and through their routine to buying a weapon, strapping on a diaper, and driving cross country to straighten someone out.

We recently had a discussion about jealousy at one of our gatherings. Though jealousy has been called “the dark side of love”, it has at its root zeal and envy that revolves around a sense of passion. Like with many things, it can be good and it can be twisted into something bad. The good side of jealousy is simply a protective reaction in a perceived threat to a valued relationship. It guards against trespassers into the relationship.

When it goes bad, it’s an unchecked passion, love twisted into an unhealthy obsession and irrational possessiveness. Jealous becomes a weapon to guilt, scare, or trap a partner in a relationship. (It’s funny how our jealousy seems perfectly reasonable, but our Significant Other’s jealousy is some kind of character defect.)

God describes Himself as a jealous God (Exodus 34:14), so obviously this can’t be a bad thing, right? We need to remember that we were created in God’s image and while we are quick to anthropomorphize God, He doesn’t have our qualities perfectly, we have divine qualities imperfectly.

So yes, there are times when we are to be jealous in our relationships. We don’t want to run so far away from anything approaching jealous that we develop a pathological tolerance, an emotional disinterest, or the absence of jealousy where we’d expect to see it. We want to guard those relationships that matter to us … just check yourself before you find yourself knee deep in bushes in order to check your man (because, if it gets to that point, you probably have all the answers to any questions you have anyway).


*Probably the most depressing thing about this blog was the fact that I found the lyrics to this song on a site called “Golden Oldies”. Oy.


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Learning as a Christian Lifestyle

Christianity was mean to be a lifestyle, one that was meant to distinguish us from the world. Some of our elite few have figured out how this is supposed to look: protesting Disney, boycotting laundry soap, not going to movies or watching television. Thus we become known for who we are against rather than who we are for. Interestingly, what you focus on tends to be what you become (think about that all you gay protestors).

One aspect of a “Christian” lifestyle is the posture that we are all learners, even those of us who function as teachers. We're all God’s students. Now, information download isn't the point and a lot of our churches have become great for making folks knowledgeable. It leads to dilemmas where you find yourself having conversations solely with other Christians who know as much as you.

Learning is a function of discipleship. Think of discipleship as a kind of spiritual apprenticeship. Where teachers share their learning but with a mindset difference: not one of a person above handing down knowledge to those who don't know but rather more like people working alongside others, sharing what they've learned and challenging others to work out meaning in their lives. If nothing else, it would certainly dispel the misperceptions of “positions” in the faith.

Robert Caldwell at BreakDividingWalls.org has challenged me in a few areas, among them being the idea of the lifestyle of discipleship. He puts it this way "This lifestyle, while governed by some common 'essential' characteristics, should be as unique and varied as our respective gifting, affinities and lives. In other words, my lifestyle for cultivating discipleship relationships will most probably be different than yours because my gifts, affinities and life circumstance are different than yours. And your context will most probably be different than that of a person you disciple for the very same reasons. However what should be common is that we have all been intentional about establishing the rhythms and activities of our lives to allow us to easily share life (Koinonia) with other disciples."

So examine the rhythm of your life. See how you can best open your life to share it with other people or if there are areas of your life that you can change to help do this better. We’re all in this together.


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Final Crisis – A Review

A Mess on a Cosmic Scale

As a comic book fan, I just have this sense that Marvel event comics come across as such blockbusters while DC events have such an “also ran” feeling about them. Partly an issue of concepts, take for example, Marvel’s Secret Invasion: the shape-shifting aliens, the Skrulls have been secretly infiltrating all strata of life, government, and the super hero community as a prelude to invasion. Its core cast revolves around the most popular heroes/teams in the Marvel Universe (The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc.).

DC’s Final Crisis has something to do with the New Gods … ties back to Crisis on Infinite Earth (1985), Identity Crisis (2004), and Infinite Crisis (2005) somehow … and the first issue features a lot of characters not immediately familiar except to those of us who have been lifelong fans of DC Comics (we’re talking one page of Green Lantern and one page of the Justice League for the casual fan).

Master of the “big idea” Grant Morrison writes it, so at least the idea is in good hands. Yet by the end of the series I was left with one question: what the hell happened? Somewhere in this mega crossover event the main story got lost. Final Crisis should be the main trunk from which the tie-ins branch.

There is the feeling that so much must’ve happened in the tie-ins that Grant Morrison was basically left stringing together arrows pointing to other books (by issue five, the series had really come off the tracks).

“But what happens in a world where good has lost its perpetual struggle against evil?” –Libra

Darkseid and his forces of Apokolips have essentially conquered earth, turning our technology and our heroes into night-missionaries spreading the gospel of anti-life. Having found the Anti-Life Equation, people are subjected to a message of “loneliness, alienation, fear, despair, self worth mockery, condemnation, misunderstanding, work, consume, die, judge others, condemn the different, exploit the weak.” This corrupting influence brings with it a cycle of destruction, warping man's sense of right and wrong, and spirals into a pattern of fear, violence, and doubt; selfishness, separation, insecurity, and sensuality; causing us to believe lies about ourselves as we become trapped in a cycle of spiritual (and literal) death.


“Sure, life is hard. I fought monsters, gangsters, super-creeps. But I never backed down. I never asked for help. Lord, help me, now. Someone help me. I can’t hold back the storm on my own anymore.” –Dan Turpin

The need to deal with this corruption is one view of how redemption works. Any sense of assurance springs from faith in God as the ultimate protector, that sense that He is the ultimate, faithful judge. It doesn’t mean that He will spare you from every bad thing that could happen to you, but it does mean that we trust in Him ultimately exposing evil for what it is, and avenging us.

[A more cynical me would then make a point similar to this: ****** Died For Final Crisis's Sins (Spoilers)]

Final Crisis, to be generous, is sometimes too clever by half. If I were in a less charitable mood, I would probably do a rant similar to the one I received from a friend of mine …

***SPOILER-LADEN RANT AHEAD ***

“Batman RIP didn't end with him dead. Or even significantly impaired. It was a goofy arc designed to sell books that had a weak-ass ending tacked on to a left-field-if-otherwise-dumb premise. Setting up the battle for the cowl, or whatever they're calling this summer "blockbuster" arc was supposed to be the point of the RIP arc, which sort of petered out. Instead, the wait until the end of Crisis and in a two page spread they shoot up the Bruce-ster with Darkseid's Omega Beams.

“We all know Bruce Wayne has a plan for "In Case of Omega Sanction" - we're talking about a person who has a $30mil asteroid, in case Supes goes rogue. A guy who was so concerned someone might try to drive him mad he created a back-up personality of Batman and sealed it in his subconscious in case he ever lost his wits. He was ready for a known and obvious threat. Bats is as Dead as Supes was. Or Black Canary, Green Arrow, or a half-dozen other DC heroes. Death is about as permanent as a haircut in their universe, which makes it more frustrating that they would do such a cheap ploy to sell magazines.”

***END SPOILER-LADEN RANT***

Yeah, that about covers my sentiments.


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I Believe the Words that You are Looking for is "Excuse Me"

Of Courtesy, it is much less
Than Courage of Heart or Holiness,
Yet in my walks it seems to me
That the Grace of God is in Courtesy
--Belloc, "Courtesy"

Public manners have degenerated in recent decades. It is now routine to hear obscenities shouted in public, and by all sorts of people, not just in traffic but even in Starbucks. I am as fond of colorful language as anyone, but I try not to inflict it upon strangers. I suspect many people sense they should have better manners, and need only a nudge.

Okay, so Roger Ebert and I have disagreed on many of our reviews, but apparently we’ve found the spirit of unity as we were both struck by this idea of the death of common courtesy in modern society.

I’m sure I’m not the first, nor will I be the last, to lament the increase in crassness in our culture (and in our stories: I’ve little patience for the “extreme” side of horror as most of it is extreme for extreme’s sake, with no sense of artistry or purpose. In fact, I think it is another symptom of the demise of the fundamental respect for one another that I’m nostalgic for). It affects us on fundamental levels, including how the sexes relate to one another. Seriously, has wolf whistles and groping women ever worked?

I know I’m old school, but I’m not asking for much. Simple manners. Standing up in the presence of a woman. Opening doors for a lady. Not out of anything chauvinistic or paternalistic, but just simple gestures that say “I respect who you are. You can certainly do for yourself, but allow me the opportunity to serve you out of respect.” Saying "please" and "thank you". When did being polite become a mark of being soft? For that matter, when did being hard become a social necessity?

Courtesy is not strictly distinct from the other virtues, but rather a quality to be found in them all. It has something to do with reverence, humility, and chastity. It is shaped by charity, the form of all the virtues, into the quality of mercy. It is the beauty of a brave and generous life.

Part of recognizing one another as Eikons, as image-bearers of God, the least we can do is act in common courtesy. Courtesy begins with a reverence for one's fellow man, recognizing each individual’s dignity. But in our culture of disrespect, that has becoming increasingly hard to come by.

And yes, I have managed to find spiritual thoughts in this idiot in front of me flipping me the bird.


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I Understand A-Rod

Give me a break, baseball purists: there’s no need for asterisks. No sport has prided itself more on cheating than baseball: from spit balls to corked bats to gambling scandals (from Shoeless Joe to Pete Rose) to, I don’t know, not letting black people in the game.

I know I took Michael Phelps to task for his brand of apology last week, but I’m almost sympathetic to Alex Rodriguez. Almost. Yes, he’s a cheater and has tainted his legacy and any future work he has in the sport. Yes, this one stung a bit more because so many pinned theirs hopes on the idea that HE was one of the clean ones who would allow for the redemption of the sport. And I’m on board with all of that. I’m up for stamping a big ole asterisk across the entire hall of fame at this point.

But part of me gets where he was coming from.

I know there’s part of me that when I’m about to release a new novella or story, I don’t want to let my audience of readers down. I want to put out the best product I can. I don’t want to disappoint even a single paying customer with less than my best. Ditto my publisher: when I get an advance, no matter how large or small, I feel the subtle pressure to earn out. Yes, I still cash the check if I don’t, but I still want to justify people’s confidence in me. I know what it’s like to look around at my peers and be surrounded by a lot of people who are naturally head and shoulders better than you. Folks who you know you had better work as hard or harder than if you want to keep up. As entertainers and artists, we all face that pressure to succeed, that pressure to be seen as worthy, that pressure to live up to your potential.

It seems like it doesn’t matter how large your salary is or how good your reviews are, many of us wrestle with lots of insecurity: about job, about ability, about what others are doing, how others perceive you. Talk about believing the lie: even when you’re widely regarded as the best, you might not see yourself as good enough, pretty enough (memo to plasticized Hollywood), smart enough, talented enough.

And there is an underlying reality to that fear. This is a “what have you done for me lately” culture, and even as a writer, you’re only as good as your latest story. You’re always one book not selling well enough from your career being flushed away.

We live in a culture of deniability and instant gratification. Where peer pressure and worrying about what other folks are doing gets into your head. Short-sighted though it may be, our desperation and competitive natures can combine into a mix of bad decision making. We could yield to the temptations, the short cuts, of plagiarism or self-publishing, rather than do things the right way, the harder way. Where we have to read more. Practice more. Experiment more. Push yourself more. Where we learn and grow from the failures that it takes to climb up the ranks. Where we learn what works, what doesn’t, what people are looking for as we’re being shaped into the artists and performers we were meant to be.

I understand. It was still a poor decision, but I understand the root of it. We can all rebound from our mistakes (say like an early PublishAmerica mistep). So I’ll cut Alex Rodriguez the tiniest bit of slack and take his remorseful, apologetic, semi-confession for what it was and allow for the possibility of redemption.


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Friday Night Date Place – Sport Dating

I overheard a lady in our church once ask a hapless single caught in her headlights "if you're not going to get married why bother dating?" I know where this is coming from, one of the questions that I get quite often is, believe it or not, is when will I know that I'm ready to date? The answer to that question almost has to begin with the answer to a different question: are you ready to get married?

I know, it sounds like I'm going to advocate the "date to mate" school of thought when it comes to dating. I do and I don’t. I fully believe that dating relationships ought to have at least an eye on the potential of that partner as a mate (and as the relationship continues, more than an eye). I also know full well that people can recreationally date. That’s part of what singles groups (and part of what often makes them go bad) are all about.

Sheesh, do you need someone to give you permission to just go out, have fun, killing time with someone of the opposite sex? Go. Do. Keep in mind, however, that, especially as people get older, they don't have time to waste with the dating game and it becomes unfair to raise someone's emotional expectations. So I will leave the sport dating to the teens and twenty-something crowd, with the caveat that even they, should they find the relationship going on for awhile, should have a distant eye on the idea of "is this someone I would be willing to commit to and spend the rest of my life with?"

Many of us like to plan, have a direction for everything. It’s our inner control freak nature. Going with that mentality, it’s good to have to have a goal, knowing its accompanying motives and attitudes, and openly communicate as you go along. The goal could be relatively simple like nothing more than just killing time with someone. This can be as simple as two (strictly) friends hanging out. Of course, this is rife with the danger of the unspoken interest. Even if you both start from a platonic place, there is always the possibility of something kindling for at least one of you.

Some folks date to have fun. Let me call this what this is: friends with benefits. Your snuggle buddy. Your strictly casual, no strings attached, kiss without commitment partner. Um, ditto on the dangers of kindling.

Sport dating may go against a goal-oriented mindset because it goes against our nature to just enjoy a moment. A person’s company. Have a spot of fun. Without direction or moving toward a specific destination. As long as both parties are on the same page about it and keep in constant communication about it, the situation should be fine. I’d caution you to be fair to the person you are going out with, and figure out what you want to do before you start and let them know. You'd be surprised how much less complicated life gets with effective communication.


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The Amazing Spider-Man: One More Day - A Review

“One Last Stab through the Heart”

I love J. Michael Straczynski. I have to begin by making myself clear on that point. I’ve been a fanboy since his Babylon 5 days and have followed his comic book work from Strange to Squadron Supreme, Book of Lost Souls, Silver Surfer: Requiem, and Thor. And I’ve loved his work though I could see how some might find fault with some of his long-winded stylings. He sometimes takes a long time to get to the point, in the name of character development … I get that.

However, I even I must admit, his Spider-Man run was messed up. I’m talking nearly as bad as that overly drawn out “Am I really the clone?” business from a few years back. Maybe that’s not entirely fair (can you hear my inner fanboy still trying to spin things?). There was a lot of good work, quite a few stories that were excellent. But when I think back on the major developments of Spider-Man under Straczynski’s run, it boils down to three major events: “Sins Past”, “The Other”, and “One More Day”.

“Yours is the rarest love of all. Pure, unconditional and made holy in the eyes of He who I hate most.” –Mephisto

With “Sins Past” we have him revisiting the idea of Peter Parker’s long lost love, Gwen Stacy. The girlfriend whose life was tragically cut short by the Green Goblin, the life Spider-Man was unable to save. The memory of her loss has haunted him almost as badly as the death of his Uncle Ben who pushed him into becoming Spider-Man in the first place. But the idea of their relationship being desecrated, that she had kids via Norman Osborne … I still feel dirty over that entire episode.

Then came “The Other” storyline. Back in the mid-to-late 80s, after Alan Moore revealed the Swamp Thing to be a plant elemental, a lot of DC heroes were suddenly revealed to be elementals of some sort. It was a bit of a mini-fad. The Other felt like a weak, and late, jump on to that. That somehow Spider-Man derived his powers from some sort of spider totem and that he had to fully develop into the rest of his potential … I’d like to forget any of that happened.

Which brings us to “One More Day.” Apparently it was decided that we’d like to forget a lot of what had happened with Spider-Man. Aunt May, the woman who had raised Peter Parker, is near death and no one can save her. Desperate to save her, Peter Parker makes a pact with the devil (Mephisto) to trade her life for the love he shares with Mary Jane, his wife. In other words, because Peter Parker, an adult now, is so afraid of losing his parent (which mind you, not only do we all have to face that eventually, but it’s not like Aunt May hasn’t already died before), he’s willing to trade his entire relationship with Mary Jane, effectively erasing everything through their marriage.

“There will be a very small part of your soul that will remember, that will know what you lost.” –Mephisto

There are just some character re-boots that have left bad tastes in my mouth. Some done in the name of a company-wide edict to revamp characters after a reality altering event (think ever DC character after any of their “Crises”). Sometimes you can lay it at the feet of a writer wanting to take the character in a new direction/put his own stamp on the character (think John Byrne on … just about anything. I still haven’t forgiven him for taking over the Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, or Doom Patrol and “fixing” books that didn’t need to be fixed). Straczynski’s run feels like a bit of both (the stench of editorial mandate is all over this). And overall, just as bad. The word that comes to mind is disrespectful.

There. I said it. It’s taken me a long time to be able to finally say it, but it’s done.


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God Supports My Football Team!

Okay, no He doesn’t or else the Colts would have brought home another Super Bowl trophy. He couldn’t even throw me a bone and give me an Eagles/Steelers Bowl. Now, right before the Super Bowl, Mike Pereira, the N.F.L.’s outgoing head of officials , came out with a ruling related to end zone demonstrations:

The whole issue is, you can’t go to the ground on your knees or with your hand or anything. There’s only one time that you’re going to be allowed to go on your knee after you score like this, and that’s when you want to praise the Lord. If you do that, then I’m going to allow that, because I do not want to be struck by lightning, I promise you that. We will allow that.

Santonio Holmes’ use of the football as a prop after his spectacular catch aside, one can’t help but think of how many players point to the sky or drop to their knee after scoring a touchdown or making a spectacular play. For some reason, it always brings to mind hip hop artists who thank God when they win an award. It’s the cynical me: I wonder how much of that praise is more about the praiser rather than the praisee, giving lip service to image-control rather than a profession of faith.

I think part of our natural jadedness with such professions comes from the stench of hypocrisy that usually accompanies them. After all, it’s easy to wear a cross necklass, sport a bumper sticker, of have a catchy T-shirt … none of which matters when you’re caught drunk at a strip club. With Kurt Warner and Tim Tebow, we have the tale of two football players who are professing Christians. Both of whom have come under some fire under the auspices of what’s appropriate for declarations of faith while at work.

Kurt Warner, embraced by Evangelicals, celebrates his faith by helping others through charities. He gives freely of his time, started the Sunshine Foundation which serves the seriously ill and physically challenged and abused children. Interestingly enough, even he’s aware of how he comes across, as he’s been known to say “you know it’s coming” right before he thanks God.
Our other case study is Tim Tebow, the son of Christian missionaries. He drew tons of criticism for putting Bible verse references in his eye black (although, part of me suspects that some people were mad they didn’t think of how to sell that space as advertising first). Proselytizing is part of the faith tradition, the interpretation of what it means to “go forth and make disciples”. Tony Dungy, another man of faith, as been very conscious about using the NFL to build a bigger pulpit from which to spread his message and better do God’s kingdom work.

Sure, we could have the discussion about what constitutes appropriate displays of faith at your workplace. [Sometimes I think people expect some sort of bait and switch out of my stories (sample plot: imperiled teens are cornered by a serial killer. Luckily, one teen stops and prays and leads the killer to salvation.)] I’m more interested in the way they choose to go about their brands of proclaiming the faith. Personally, I’ve always leaned toward the non-intrusive, least-offensive (because, let’s face it, the gospel message alone is offensive to some) and, most importantly, develops from the natural course of the relationship brand of evangelism.

Regardless, I believe the true offense is when folks are being inauthentic and hypocritical about their faith. If it’s an extension of who they are, honestly, I have no problem with it. I just keep in mind this quote from the movie The Big Kahuna:

"It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep. "

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College – A Review

There is a long tradition of college related comedy classics: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, National Lampoon’s Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, even Accepted. College will not be listed among these movies. Kevin (Drake Bell) is a “loser” who doesn’t drink and doesn’t know how to have fun and thus is unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend, Gina (Alona Tal). Along with his nerd pal, Morris (Kevin Covais), and loud lout Carter (Andrew Caldwell), these high school seniors go to visit a local college campus as prospective freshmen.

“Do you think this is what it’s really going to be like when we’re in college?” –Morris

The trio were inspired by this rant from their friend Fletcher (Ryan Pinkston): “Basically this is how it went down, I didn't sleep for three days, ok I don't have any money left in my bank account, I maxed out my parents credit card, which was only supposed to be used in case of an emergency. I lost my cell phone which is actually my dad's phone, so he's pissed about that and the credit card. I tried smoking a tampon which I thought was a big fat joint, still got high. I stole a car, got in a bar fight, ate some goldfish, played naked Frisbee, did some whip-its, wet my brother's bed twice, shit my pants once, but please -- don't tell anyone I'm kind of embarrassed about that. I saw two girls make out -- with tongue. With tongue. Watched my brother's roommates eat as many cheeseburgers as they could until one of them threw up. Found a tattoo on my lower back of a unicorn, don't remember getting that. Figure I'll just tell people it's like a killer unicorn, you know, so it doesn't sound so gay. I laughed, I cried, fell in love. Oh yeah, and did I mention earlier that I got laid? Three times -- different girls. So all in all, I'd say it was the best weekend of my fucking life.”

Actually, that rant pretty much sums up the plot of the movie. With having a great weekend to get back at a girl as their motivation, it’s no wonder things go horribly awry as they fall into the hands of frat boys and their sadistic ideas of hazing.

“You call this having a good time?” –Morris

Craziness, party, sex, and drinking; actually, that pretty much does sound like many of our college experiences. The emptiness of endless (frat) parties mask an effort to figure out who they are away from the shaping of their families shape us, or how their friends have defined them, or the fronts they put up in order to appeal to potential mates (or temporary bed partners). The lie of self-sufficiency, fear, doubt, anxiety, broken relationships; we fill our inner void, this inner dissatisfaction with having fun, empty sex, or whatever idea of being cool we generate. And yet, we can’t escape the ache of emptiness.

College might aspire to be this generation’s Porky’s. It has plenty of gratuitous nudity, with too few laughs to go along with it. A variety of bodily fluids does not a plot make. I get the feeling this movie would have been funnier if I were as drunk as the characters.


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Coraline – A Review

The Temptation of Coraline

From the opening creepy imagery of a puppet being broken down stitch by stitch and made into a new image, Coraline promised an inventive, slightly macabre ride. Based on the eponymous book by Neil Gaiman (The Eternals, Sandman, Beowulf), the dark fairy tale was brought to life by stop-motion auteur, Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas).

Coraline and her parents move into a 150 year old house. Missing her friends and her old way of life—and with her parents not having time for her, as her father who is always writing (*whistling to myself as I am squirreled away in my office to type this*)—Coraline is lonely. Children are at that age of imagination and magic, and like in Pan’s Labyrinth or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (mysterious door in an old house? Sounds like a familiar set up), she’s transported to a magical land.

“The dreams aren’t dangerous.” –Coraline

In Coraline’s case, hers is an alternate world of Bizarro-parents who are the opposite of the ones she knows. They have time to play with her, be with her, and give her everything she wants. This scenario plays into a common fantasy we have as children, that we don’t belong to our families. That we have different/real parents who are spies, super heroes, or wizards, or are otherwise leading a better or cooler life.

“You probably think this world is a dream come true.” –Cat

This magical place is a world about her. It’s her name spelled out by the mice circus. It’s her portrait as the garden. Her every need or whim is met, included boys “fixed” to be silent and her favorite meals cooked. It is quite the temptation to stay in such a narcissistic world.

“It’s the empty part of this world.” –Cat

The Belle Dame/The Other Mother only wanted something to love in her own twisted way . She didn’t want a relationship, she wanted an altar built to herself. Another person to use up and service her. Sure, she appears as an angel of light, but only to lure unsuspecting little girls into her web of deceit. Her spider-like machinations are a lie.

“Everything’s right in this world, kiddo.” –Other Father

The question you would have to ask yourself is what kind of person would such a world form you into? A spoiled, self-involved, and self-focused creature, and even still that wouldn’t be the end of the cost. Lured away with treasure, treats, and games to tempt you to another life, The Belle Dame sews buttons for your eyes as she eats up their lives, stealing, their soul.

“They say even the proudest spirit can be broken with love.” –Belle Dame

Coraline wants to be real, to be fully human, to find a true way of seeing and break free from her life of unintended consequences of selfishness. But her’s isn’t a harsh sin. She simply wants parents with time to play in the gardens and live in her fanciful world. Like all children, she simply wants parents who take the time to know her.

Ideally, parents aren’t perfect but do the best they can. They aren’t always able to be in the moment, distracted by the pressures and responsibilities of life, and always promising to make it up to their children. But it’s hard to make up for time lost. This speaks to the power of a parent’s presence.

Like most parents, I worry about the men my boys are going to be and how best to train them to be the kind of men they ought to be. It’s easy for children to point to the faults of their parents. We’re human, a smorgasbord of failings, but we try the best we can. The power of presence means being there to listen and talk to our children, because being there is most of the battle.

I could totally envision Coraline directed by Guillermo Del Toro as a live action. A cautionary tale about the perils of getting what you want, it might be too dark for the youngest audience members. In fact, I thought it might be too slow moving and sophisticated for kids, as the book was a deep and rich story that often defies expectations. However, I watched the movie beside my seven year old son, who was totally engrossed in the movie the entire time (3-D helped). His report: “Coraline was scarier than The Nightmare Before Christmas, because it never made me jump. But I liked it, especially the garden scene.”


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Friday Night Date Place - Long Distance Relationships

Long distance relationship present their own brand of issues. I've been in a few (and they were exceptionally short-lived, even by my standards). However, I've had a few friends who have met online, though living in different countries, and have not only made a go of things, but even got married. To my mind, a long distance relationship amounts to one thing: missing that person (aka long distance sucks). So, to provide the voice of eloquence, I turned to a friend of mine to give me his perspective.

A guest blog by "redwinegums"

Long Distance Relationships.

They suck.

Plain and simple. Essentially they do. There's the additional stress and strain of distance in addition to the normal downs in a relationship with very few of the ups. The hazards are plentiful and range from insignificant to major. They can work but there a few things that I feel make the difference. I'm not one to talk really. I've had two long distance interests. Neither worked out if works out means leading to a happy marriage. One ended well. One took a while to do so. The experience in my circle is of long distance relationships. In fact my expectation is for a long distance relationship. I'm not even sure I'd know what to do if I got a girlfriend who lived like in the same city as me. I'd be clueless as a result of shock for the first week or so. She'd find a way to snap me out of it I'm sure.

I don't think long distance relationships are doomed to failure. In fact if you look back on the amount of conventional relationships that fail it's not any big competition. A person might have half a dozen relationships in their life that don't work out. This doesn't mean that conventional relationships are cursed. With any type of relationship it takes work for it to come together. With long distance relationships it just takes a lot more work.

Anyway here are a few thoughts that represent my current views on the whole area. It's just my opinion. Not a set of rules upon which your relationship must abide by in order to succeed. I'm no expert but when talking about life I'm not sure being an expert means all that much anyway.

The necessity of real time together before the break

I'm sorry to say that I don't think starting the long distance thing from scratch seems to work. Not in my experience. The long distance relationships that have worked are those where the people involved spent a period of 6 - 12 months actually living their lives physically in the same location. The distance element happened but was never a permanent feature of the relationship. It was always a hurdle to be overcome; merely a phase that both had to endure. It's very hard for a relationship to work when both people are on two very separate long travelled roads winding further away from each other

Know where life is leading

I think you need to be answer a few questions in an honest and truthful manner. Are we in similar stages in life? Can I move? Can they move? Will either of us actually move when it comes down to it? How does this affect those around me? Does leaving my support circle and starting a new life scare me? It should. If it doesn't you're fooling yourself. This ties into the previous point about distance being a phase and not a permanent state of affairs. If he's planning to live with pygmies in Africa and you are going to become an investment banker in London it's unlikely to work out.

Everything other than real contact is only almost

We're spoiled in this part of the early 21st century. With Skype, email, IM clients and text messaging there are so many ways to keep in touch with loved ones. It's great but it's not real. It's a mini date in a way every time. It's an artificial situation that can seem natural because it happens so often, but it's that regularity that can be so addictive. It can also become soul shattering because when you flick off that computer screen there hasn't even been a simple little embrace to say goodbye. There's just been the same old feeling of I wish you were here and now I have to face my life without you in it again.

You get their version of their life. Not the real version

"How was your day?"

Such an easy question but so difficult to answer. In fact most people never do. They gloss over it. The fine, fine, fine refrain a mother gets when she asks her children about their day is one that is heard in stereo in every town and city. Even if the other tells you they've had a bad day you don't see how it affects them. She might comfort eat or be bitchy to her house mates in a way she isn't to you. He might completely over react when a small little thing goes wrong on the computer and bang the table and start cursing. You don't see it unless they tell you. You don't seem them being mean to that barista or that waiter. Distance isn't normal even though it can feel like it when you're in the midst of it. What happens is you get used to living a life without someone it. It can be a tough change to handle when what you've wished for all this time actually happens.

Personal Caveat

I'm not sure how much of my experience is of use to anyone. I approach a romantic relationship in the conventional sense with marriage as a very realistic consideration. There's been no sex and thus far not much kissing either in my life. I've never been on a date. Probably why I'm irrationally so good at crafting one for public consumption. In a very real way I've never properly had a girlfriend. The last interest was a total of four days physically in the same location in a total of five months. And two of those days were the days when we first met without anything in the picture. It's easier if you have money and the ability to travel. With me it's never been a case of hopping on a plane and visiting. In actual fact it's normally been a minimum of two planes to even get to the other. It's something to be acutely aware of. How far away does he or she live?

My brother is currently in a long distance relationship with an altogether wonderful woman. She is studying in the USA and he is studying here. Right now she is doing an internship in Australia. When he leaves Australia, having worked the entire summer to pay for traveling 20,000 miles to see her for a mere 15 days, it will bring the amount of time they have physically spent in the same location to a total of two months in two years.

In summary, they suck. More than you know. You might think you're ready and able to handle it but you're not. You don't know how bad it will be until you are lying down wishing he was there and realizing that in a very real sense you are still alone. I've had two. Neither worked. Been honest I'm not sure I could handle another long distance relationship. Knowing someone would cuddle or kiss me but can't due to distance is soul destroying in a situation like that.

I've traveled the world for love before and would do so again. Sometimes you don't care about the odds you just know you have to take that chance. But you can't be sure until you see the other and decide whether the risk is worth taking


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No Apologies

Michael Phelps has apologized for his latest act of youthful “behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment" and ducks as the furor created by it subsides fairly quickly. After all, the story came to light (and was almost lost) during the gala of the Super Bowl. He’s apologized quickly and the repercussions will probably be fairly mild for the Olympic (and advertising) golden boy.

Yes, he hit that bong. No, it wasn’t the end of the world.

Sure, some parents may still be up in arms. Is he to be hailed as a role model to our youth? Well, I’d at the very least question his bong technique. Look, heroes sometimes have feet of clay. For everyone who asks, when these sort of pop cultural transgressions occur, “what will I tell my children,” -sometimes you have to explain to your kids that your hero made a mistake. Just like sometimes you have to explain that you don’t have to do everything any person does. In other words, you tell them the truth and you help them learn to discern.

Here’s the issue on my brain: Michael Phelps had a DUI four years earlier. He came out then, in front of the story, took ownership of what he did, sounded just as sincere, and promised it would never happen again. He took responsibility and he didn’t dodge the issue behind a scripted wall of lawyer-speak. He was slick, he was polished, he did all the things we want people to do. And let’s face it, America is a pretty forgiving place for the truly contrite. So what’s my beef?

We all have friends like this. Those who can’t get out of their own way, cycle into some self-destructive spiral or at least continue to make bad choices that you can’t save them from. You have to question their judgment, their ability to step back and make good decisions. It helps no one to continue to enable such poor behavior, much less kowtow to it. At what point do we start to question someone’s character? At what point do apologies become meaningless?

Because, seriously, you are a high profile figure, paid to endorse products, yet you place yourself in situations where you can have your picture taken hitting a bong?

Let me go at this another way. My two boys, Malcolm and Reese often fight. In an effort at good parenting (read: to get them to be quiet so I can continue watching television in peace), I make them apologize to one another. Of course it is done through gritted teeth, but we go through the motions of reconciliation in the hope that it takes. We can have the language of sorry, but we have to learn the practice of sorry. We need to see it lived out for it to mean anything.

Yes, the famous, the rich, the talented tend to get a pass. He may get a slap on the wrist, a stern talking to of some sort, but for the most part, Michael Phelps is going to get a pass. What we have is a great swimmer practiced at the art of apology. I hope, for his sake, that he means it this time.


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Interview with Scott A. Shuford

I'm a big fan of comics even though the cost of collecting them has kept me from enjoying them as much as I would like. Still, I love to stay in touch with creators, fans, and all manner of interested parties. I recently had a chance to chat with Scott Shuford of the Christian Comics Art Society to pick his brain about the group.




What drew you to comics?

God really called me to support Christians involved in comics. It's kind of a funny story. A few years ago, over time while I was seeking God about a few new places to serve, I felt a draw to two areas: comics and film/tv. I continued to pray about both areas, and started looking for opportunities to understand what He was doing in those areas. Over a period of time, one of the places I found for comics was the Christian Comic Arts Society, and one for film/tv was the Biola Media Conference. I met a lot of people and companies along the way. For the first year, I just attended to learn and understand about those organizations. In the second year, I volunteered to serve with my gifts in connecting people and ideas through marketing in various ways. Now I'm serving on the Advisory Boards for both organizations. It has been a huge blessing for me to see what God is doing and to be involved.

What titles do you (still) collect?

As shocking as this might be, I don't collect. I've had several friends who collected various series, and I was a fan of a few series that I can't even remember the names of now. I'm more interested in helping to connect creators and consumers, to see ministry happen through evangelistic comics, and to see culture influenced by story-driven comics and characters.

Are there any publishers folks should keep an eye on?

Christian comics is still in its infancy. The Christians involved in comics are where Christians involved in film/tv were about 10 years ago. There are a lot of creators looking to increase the quality of their work. Distribution is a major challenge. Two of the major Christian publishers, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, are experimenting with comics distribution. This is a time of growth. I think that God wants to do something with comics. There are some great pioneers out there looking for ways to blaze a trail, people like Nate Butler, Brett Burner, Patrick Scott, Eric Jansen, Doug TenNapel, Buzz Dixon, Scott Wong, Mark Carpenter, Robert Luedke, Ben Avery, Bud Rogers... That's not an exhaustive list certainly.

With changes in technology, what impact to you foresee for the medium? What does it mean for the creators? And what impact do you see it having on distribution and the artist's ability to get their name/work out there?

The internet and social networking systems have allowed any creator to connect to as large an audience as they can build. For the first time in history, a creator can reach out beyond his local area without leaving his house! This has been great as a new distribution channel, but difficult for many because it takes a tremendous amount of consistent effort to reach out and build a loyal following. It would be a lot easier for the creator to be able to sell 5,000 or 50,000 copies of something through retail stores including comic stores, Christian stores, or even mass market stores like Wal-Mart, but that's not really an option for many at this point. There's a shift happening with the move to online digital comics and to digital readers, just like the music shift that occurred to MP3 players and the iPod. It will be interesting to see how consumers adapt to and adopt these new technology options. Distribution cost drops considerably with these new options, so there can be a whole new audience ready for comics, or they may decide they don't like the technology and prefer to hold their comics in their hands. Really, some of both will happen.

What is the CCAS?

The Christian Comic Arts Society has existed for over 20 years through print publications, conventions, and local meetings. In the last 3 or so years, the Society has really seen a lot of growth, and with the recent debut of the CCAS Social Network at http://christiancomicart.ning.com, there are amazing things beginning to happen as God connects industry people and comics fans together. In just a short time, we've gather almost 500 comics pros, amateurs and fans together in one place, and we're increasing our presence at the various Cons in 2009.

Is there a specific message/platform that the CCAS stands on?

Our goal is to provide opportunities for networking, mentoring and fellowship among Christian comic book enthusiasts and professionals. We are strongly committed to living out the Gospel through both evangelistic comics and through our personal lives as living examples of Christianity as we work in our professions. God calls us all to be different parts of one body. Some of those parts work professionally in the comics industry, some work in full or part time ministry, others are fans who spread the word through their passion for comics. The sum of all the parts is greater glory to God than the individual parts are alone.

How can it benefit creators?

Creators will find fellowship with other creators and fans: collaborators and constructive critics, information and inspiration, and encouragement in their comics passion to be faithful to their calling(s) for what God has for them to do through their lives.

What is on the horizon for you? What can we be on the look out for from you?

We have a few irons in the fire as they say. I am very excited about the growth for CCAS. I'll be traveling to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in February, the CIA Summit in March, Gospel Music Week in April, and then at the The Biola Media Conference on April 25th at CBS Studios. At FrontGate Media (www.frontgatemedia.com), we were recently featured in Adweek. As the largest pop-culture media group reaching the Christian audience, we recently expanded our promotions and advertising services to include Social Networking and Public Relations. In first quarter of 2009, we're making our official announcement about Extra Mile Merch (www.extramilemerch.com), my latest venture in partnership with Scott Brinson, co-founder of Truth Soul Armor. We've already created truly fashion-forward merch lines for The Groovaloos who are featured on NBC's Superstars of Dance, for the tween brand and movement iShine and its affiliated artists The Rubyz, Robert Pierre and Paige Armstrong, for B. Reith (Gotee) and for Matt Brouwer (Indie Extreme), and I'm looking forward to several new projects there as we coach brands and bands, church ministries and companies on how to create and execute a strategic merchandising line to generate revenue and for promotional purposes. For me, all these things are a fit with my calling to help connect companies with consumers in the overall Christian movement.

If you could pick one, what would your super power be?

That's a tough question! A bunch of things came to mind, but the very first thing was that I would be invisible. I'd love to be able to watch all that is going on and influence it without anyone knowing or caring that I was there.

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Open Memo to Emo Types

I’m not good with teenagers.

I’m especially not good with twenty and thirty something teenagers, people who are emotionally in their teens but in big people’s bodies. Who carry their high school attitudes and personas long into adulthood. Who wait longer to grow up, get through school, move out, become independent. Who drift through life, unfocused, going from job to job, without a care or responsibility in the world.

Don’t get me wrong, I recently let a friend see my journal/collection of poems which I wrote in my early twenties called “A Descent into the Abyss” (*vomits a little in my mouth*), so I was emo before emo was cool. Now emo’s a way of life:



Maybe it’s a matter of us being culturally soft, having no defining event to sweep us up and make us grow up. Our generation has had no Depression (yet), no World War, no Viet Nam. In fact, from my generation on, we’ve encountered little we couldn’t largely avoid.

But life still happens. I'm a grown ass man with grown up responsibilities to my family, my job, and my community. And I have better things to do than wade through what amounts to third grade antics with big people body parts or Twitter/Facebook/Myspace self-created drama.


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President Oreo?

“People think they dis my person by stating I’m darkly packed/I know this so I point at Q-Tip and he states ‘black is black’.” –De La Soul, Me, Myself, and I

I was surfing the Internet when I ran across a LiveJournal community for “oreos”. Made up of black folks insecure in their “blackness.” Their stories start to sound alike after a while. Some variation on “I grew up in the suburbs and ‘lost my way’”: My whole life I grew up in "white" settings–school, church, neighborhood. So I don’t sound or act black. What’s ironic is that white and Asian people who act black or ghetto give me just as much grief. (OR) I never seemed to fit in with anyone. In high school, I read a lot and listened to whatever music interested me. I had friends, but I wasn’t hung up on color. The black kids teased me a lot.

So here’s what’s been bugging me: this rising/steady chorus of people who insist that "the first black president" is actually not black. This is exactly one of the reasons I spend so much time thinking about various ideas like ontological blackness. We inherited this screwed up idea we call race, we suffered through things like the “one drop rule”—that one drop of black blood in you was enough to declare you black—and played by those rules (btw, try explaining those rules to a six year old). You can’t just up and change them simply because you suddenly want to define someone’s blackness down so that you can suddenly stake a claim.

Obama has said, "I identify as African-American — that's how I'm treated and that's how I'm viewed. I'm proud of it." That’s the end of the discussion. Period. Just like Tiger Woods can call himself a “Cablinasian" and be as “We are the World” a Negro as he wants to be. We all have to balance how we choose to define ourselves vs. how society defines and treats us.

Maybe I’ve been spending too much time on the Racial Slur Database, but I’ve never liked the idea of calling oneself or anyone else an “oreo”, to denote that one is black on the outside and white on the inside. It’s one of those epithets like “sell out” or “house Negro” or “Oreo” whenever someone breaks with our accepted group think, be it via philosophy, idea, or political agenda. And like “nigger”, I don’t believe anything is reclaimed by using it yourself to describe yourself.

People always find themselves having to define blackness (I know I’m about sick of being asked “what exactly is “being black”?”), but it’s another symptom of how the idea of race has us twisted up. What does “being white on the inside” amount to? “You talk like us. You look like us. You act like us.”

Like being called bougie, it’s an attempt to pigeonhole a group, people who don’t fit perfectly into some predetermined cultural box, and not allow for (even the biracial among us to) split cultures and interests. As if no one is allowed to like things not seen as “black”. It points to a level of assimilation, having grown up in the dominant culture. It points to how large our class problem is, often trumping our race problem as we assume that only one group can have middle class values or any kind of middle class culture … as opposed to redefining the boundaries of that culture.

Ok, Obama is half white. The next racial draft should be interesting, white people: just how many picks are you willing to give up to get him?


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