Friday Pick of the Week

Happy Friday, friends.  This Friday is particularly bittersweet, as it marks the end of an era, albeit a short one.  Since February I've regularly passed along music that I've been enjoying in the form of the Friday Pick of the Week.  As viva la Re... is going on sabbatical for the coming months, this will be the last regular post until further notice.

I've made efforts to allow the posts to reflect a broad interest in music, from indie local to top 40 and from bluegrass to hip-hop.  This final post is local, at least in a sense.  I had the good fortune to share a neighborhood with Geoff Geis when I was growing up.  In fact, in 7th grade, Geoff and I started a band together.  We didn't go very far as none of us knew how to play an instrument.  Geoff hung onto his musical dream, first by learning to play it, then by moving to Los Angeles to pursue it.  He's doing that still with a couple of acts in the LA scene, and he has just released his solo album Princess that is reviewed here and streamed here.

Today we feature "Cover My Eyes" by Big Whup, a band fronted by Geoff.  Of the naked people, he's the one that's singing.  Enjoy!


Big Whup - Cover My Eyes from Matthew Chevlen on Vimeo.

viva la housekeeping

Greetings friends.  So some changes are imminently in store.  As mentioned before, Rachel and I have each accepted fellowship positions with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ).  The HIVCorps positions are of one year's duration, and we will be back next June so that I can finally get on with my last year of medical school.

Many have asked to how they can keep track of us while we are out of the country.  Given that we are guests of the Zambian government, CIDRZ intends to keep us in good graces, and thus they have a policy that any weblogging shall be done under password protection. In light of this, Rachel and I have created a new blog where you can follow all the happenings.  You can find it here: The Stream Zambezi.  It will require of you a password, which can be obtained from either Rachel or me.  Just send a message.  If you care to follow but don't have our addresses, post below in the comments and I will get the password to you.

This commitment to a new blog means that viva la Re... will be falling fallow this season.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my first attempt at blogging, and I am still amazed when friends and acquaintances tell me they read.  Thank you for your comments and thoughts, and most of all for your willingness to give me voice even when I say things that you don't like.  This Friday's Pick of the Week will be the last post until further notice.

As experimentation has been a theme of late (e.g. Twitter), the new blog will look to branch out a bit from viva la Re...  When I've followed others living overseas, I've noticed tendencies for them to try to relate all of their experiences, which can be a bit daunting for the reader hoping for a three minute diversion.  If you've not noticed, my posts already have a tendency to stretch the limits of a normal attention span (see this post).  Thus, The Stream Zambezi will effort to convey our experience in a sort of digital stream of consciousness through varied media, including photo, video and text.

Additionally, I am going to try to supplement the blog through a Twitter account I have created: StreamZambezi.  Request to follow for updates.  Finally, I am closing the official viva la Re... Twitter account in favor of my personal Twitter account.  You can follow me here.

More evidence for preventative HAART

Two new studies are out affirming recent evidence that medications designed to treat HIV/AIDS can be effectively used as prophylaxis against the disease in high risk populations.  The two African studies both suggest that a two-drug cocktail of highly active anti-retrovirals (HAART), taken as a daily pill, significantly reduced transmission of HIV in sero-discordant couples.  Sero-discordant is a fancy medical term meaning one partner is HIV positive, while the other is not.  The New York Times talks about the findings here.

These findings are the first to affirm protection in heterosexual couples.  One previous study had shown efficacy in gay men.  The research is part of a growing body of evidence that HAART has a role in preventing the spread of HIV that eclipses previous understandings of the drugs.  While the news is certainly a welcomed breakthrough in the global fight against HIV, it also bears it share of challenges.  Just like the findings a couple months ago, this will most likely lead to calls for increased supplies of HAART.  The benefits of such findings will almost certainly benefit Westerners at-risk before those in the developing world.  Can we justify providing prophylactic meds to uninfected individuals while millions who are infected still remain without access to medications?  Regardless of justification, it will almost certainly happen.

Friday Pick of the Week

Happy Friday, friends.  I think it all started with Lisa Loeb crying out "Stay" in those sexy, psuedo-nerdy cat-eye glasses, begging me to come back to live in her VH1 New York City Studio apartment.  As you have probably noticed by now, I have a thing for female pop singers.  When Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" comes on the radio, I will do whatever it takes (save admitting that I like her) to keep it on the radio.  "Oh gosh," I might say, "I can't stand her. But leave it on this station, I want to hear what's next," all the while my foot taps to the beat.

While I don't love every female pop vocalist, I appreciate a range, from Taylor Swift to Norah Jones.  My most recent guilty pleasure is Adele.  She's got an incredible voice, and as a 21 year old, the songwriting talents to match.  Today's pick is certainly one you've heard before, but you know you just want to click play one more time.  Without further ado, I present "Rolling in the Deep."

Evangelical sex

I read it, I admit.  I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris was a big deal when I was in high school.  A girl I'd dated via the telephone for a few weeks dumped me.  Weeks later she was toting the culprit copy of the book around school, compliments of her dateless friends in the youth group.  Not to be out-Christianed, I eventually picked the book up too.  And while I never bought wholeheartedly into what Harris said, the book did affirm an emerging awareness that was developing in me as a young Christian: premarital sex is chief among all sins.  Conversely, martial sex is the chief among all delights.

As I wrestled through adolescence in the midst of a Southern Baptist youth group, I struggled with loneliness, relationships and physical desires like most other kids.  I had crushes, fell into infatuations, made out with girls and struggled with guilt. From early on I remember praying, "God, I know heaven is going to be great and all, but please let me have sex before I die."  It turns out that my experience was not unique, as teens growing up in Evangelical churches are having a particularly hard time with sex.  In a great post, Dr. Anthony Bradley here discusses recent findings that Evangelical teens are more likely to engage in premarital sex than Mormon, Jewish or mainline Protestant teens.

After high school I graduated on to a highly Evangelical college ministry.  There it was clear that singleness and dating were simply harsh sufferings Christians must endure before arriving at the promised land of Christian marriage.  Everyone was terrified that they had the "gift" of singleness.  Strict gender roles were established to explain the differences between men and women.  Crudely, men wanted sex and respect, women wanted someone to help them with the dishes.  Men's discipleship groups obsessed over lust and masturbation, while women were exhorted weekly to guard their hearts.  We were told things like, "If you can't imagine yourself marrying a person, then don't take her out on a date." Relationships were scrutinized for evidence of God's blessings by both staff members and fellow students.  Those deemed to be falling short were challenged.

It was a perfect combination of oppressed urges and glamorized sex.  Because of the ideolization of sex, the pattern drawn by Reitan in the Bradley post wreaked havoc.  Pornography preyed like a rampant plague.  Dating couples who "crossed lines" were flooded with confused guilt.  Yoked together in shame, my girlfriend at the time and I were in constant conflict.  She stayed because I was a man who could afford her to be a "godly wife;" I stayed because I was scared to be alone.  More than that, we hoped beyond hope that God would redeem our indiscretions if we would stay together - terrified He would damn us to eternal singleness if we parted.

Thankfully, after college, I had some time to grow and mature, to rethink relationships outside of the bubble in which I had operated.  I moved to a new city, broke up with my girlfriend and acted on years of pent-up sexual frustration by dating broadly outside of evangelical circles.  Still possessed of incredible sexual willpower, I didn't necessarily sow my proverbial wild oats.  I still struggled with my desires, but after a few months of mistakes followed by deep shame, I settled down.  Stepping away from rigid boundaries, boundaries once broken that had very little recourse, I stepped into a new way of seeing relationships.  I began to establish values of how I wanted to treat women and myself - with kindness, respect and dignity.  I didn't need each new relationship with a woman to be "the one."  It was only then that I began to know for what I was actually looking.

I am now a year into my marriage, and [spoiler alert for evangelical singles] sex is not what it was made out to be.  Wait before you jump from the building, single evangelical man.  I believed for so long that sex was the answer to everything that was missing inside of me.  If I could just hold out until marriage, all my troubles would disappear.  My lusts would be satisfied, my loneliness would go away.  I was successful in holding out, I guess, depending on the grey area definitions, to my virginity by the skin of my teeth.  But marital sex didn't fix anything.

Don't get me wrong, sex is great.  Though the promised fireworks have never gone off, sometimes everything works out just right and it is wonderful.  But sex is hard, especially if you don't have the advantage of all those repressed emotions gearing you up for it.  Sex in marriage takes work, trying to deal with your relating styles and hopes and expectations.  The marriage bed is a place where you are naked, not simply physically but also emotionally.  You can't really hide anything.  As is true in the rest of life, the hard work is extremely rewarding but requires continual diligence.  I don't feel any more complete, and I still at times am really lonely. It hasn't made lust go away, and it certainly hasn't made me okay.

If I was honest, I would tell you that for years I often saw marriage as a means to an end.  It was the key to the door of eternal sexual satisfaction.  It isn't.  In fact, that door doesn't even exist.  Anyone who says differently is selling something - most likely pornography or Christian morality.

I am no more okay today than I was 12 months ago.  No sex or marriage or drug or mission trip will do that.  But I can take solace, Christian, in that this is not my home.  And I am confident, on this side of Christian marriage and morally permissible sex, that sex is not worth delaying heaven.

Friday Pick of the Week

Happy Friday, friends.  A theme for Fridays past has been keeping it local, and again this week we choose another act Alabama born and bred.  Fire Mountain is a band based out of south Alabama, incorporating folk and rock styles to create rich sound reminiscent of some of Ray LaMontagne's work.  They are relatively new to the music scene, though are taking full advantage of the rapidly changing music business to try to get their music into your ears.  You can find most of their recordings here on Soundcloud, and they are active on Twitter, Facebook and Myspace.  Their recently released album, Live at Standard Deluxe, is available via bandcamp.com for whatever price you choose (even if that price is zero dollars).  They've also been burning up the pavement on their most recent tour, which included a stop at The Bottletree here in Birmingham.  I feel like a cover song is typically a good test of a band's potential (see Alien Ant Farm), and what better genre for a folk rock band to cover than R&B?  Without further ado, I present Fire Mountain's rendition of "DJ's Got Us Falling in Love."


DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (Usher cover) by firemountainmusic

Are growing income disparities real?

For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. - Jesus

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. - Benjamin Disraeli by way of Mark Twain

Economics are a hard thing.  Utterly dependent on statistics, economists defend theories ranging from laissez faire free markets to strictly regulated communist programs.  Entire think tanks and institutes are dedicated to advocating libertarian and socialist economic policies alike.  The truth is that, not unlike theology, once someone believes that they've gotten their mind completely around economics, they become dangerous.  Enter the politicians.

Americans in the 21st century, even in the throws of a major recession, enjoy the benefits of one of the richest economies in history.  As that economy has grown, the rich indeed have gotten richer, with the top 20% of wage earners significantly improving their lot while the bottom fifth have actually seen a decrease in their already dismal earnings.  However, Steve Horwitz argues below that such disparities are in fact deceiving, arguing that economic mobility actually discredits such disparities.

Horwitz's argument is convincing.  He shows a critical component of understanding poverty - that not all poverty is created equal.  Many who live below the poverty line are only temporarily poor, either just having entered the workforce in a low-paying job, or in-between jobs.  These poor are, as Horwitz argues, remarkably economically mobile - accounting for the lego man's movement all the way to the top earning strata by the end of the presentation.  Horwitz makes an excellent case for maintaining the US's free-market system, based on a utilitarian ethic of the greatest good for the greatest number.

Unfortunately, a Christian's call is not to utilitarian ethics.  We instead are called to care for the least of these, even at the cost of ourselves and our economic peers.  In his example, Horwitz neglects the long-term, permanently poor.  There is in this country a class of people who will never, despite their efforts to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, climb into an upper income bracket.

So many of the homeless men that Rachel works with are African Americans with crack-cocaine addictions.  Interestingly, the majority of these men don't try crack until they are well into mid-life, in their late 30s and 40s.  Most of them had manual or unskilled labor positions, and many of them were "productive members of society" until they decided to take their first hit.  They did what they were supposed to do - find a job and do it (it is funny how college-educated white folks like to remind us that "college isn't for everyone").  Many of them earned decent livings until the reality of their fate set in.  Regardless of their efforts, they would never move out of the lowest income bracket.  Economics are not completely to blame for their decisions - serious trauma is a common theme, and every recovering addict will confess his or her ownership in addiction.  But it is interesting how many of her clients are former members of the lowest 20% of earners.

It would be compelling to see how Horwitz's model would play out if he divided the income brackets into twentieths instead of fifths.  I trust we would see far fewer from the lowest five percent climb into the upper five percent - or even out of the bottom 20%.  Few of the permanent, generational poor have either the education or resources to escape that low bracket.  Add in structural discrimination and a touch of fatalism and you have yourself an economically immobile population.

If Horwitz broke down the statistics even further, he would show that the top 1% of earners in the US earned upwards of a quarter of the nation's income - far more than the bottom 50% of earners combined.  That percentage has increased significantly from the 8% that top percentile took in back in the 1970s.  I question whether even the most driven of the temporarily poor would ever enjoy a slice of that pie.

Treatment instead of punishment

Ten years ago, Portugal shifted its drug policy away from a punishment-based system to one of drug treatment.  The results have been encouraging, as users of both hard and intravenous drugs have dropped to half of what they were, as Molly McDonough of ABA Journal reports here.  This adds to the mounting evidence that US drug policy is in dire need of redirection in the face of overflowing prisons and a multi-billion dollar drug war being held on our southern border.  Props to Michael Stewart for passing along the link.

Independence Day

Gone, gone, gone

Not gone for long

When you're taught to be proud

Of where you come from

- Trevor Garrod

Speaking of revolutions, it is the fourth of July.  You may have noticed here at viva la re, we're prone to take a critical perspective towards a number of things: the Church, politicians, Alabama and the USA.  The tones of frustration can come across as condescending and hopeless.

Here's something that might not come across: I love America.  My homeland has afforded me privileges that I could not have enjoyed if born in most other places and times.  I have been provided with means and education at the sacrifices of countless others, both voluntary and involuntary.  Dissent is an essential component of democracy, and my hope is that as I criticize, I do so with hope and conviction. But even the right to dissent exercised frequently here is constitutionally protected.   I pray that my position of power and privilege will be poured out in pursuit of the virtues of liberty and justice.

The times I find it easy to be critical of America are abounding, for instance a tone-deaf woman in a karaoke bar shouting, "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way!"  But there are also moments when I take immense delight in my nationality.  In few times do I find more pride than Fourth of July fireworks.  One of my earliest memories is standing out of Eck Stadium watching the display with my parents.

And so as Rachel and I prepare to depart the Union at the end of the month, I hope tonight's fireworks over the Vulcan will again stir pride and thankfulness.  Happy Independence Day, friends.  Celebrate well the revolution.

Friday Pick of the Week

Happy Friday, friends.  As you all know, I hope for a somewhat broad range in taste when it comes to popular music.  A few years ago I got on a bluegrass kick for a few months, enjoying music all the way from Bill Monroe and Del McCoury to Cherryholmes and Nickle Creek.  While I appreciate the old, pure stuff, I am partial to "newgrass."  One of my favorite bands of the folk/bluegrass/porch music revival has been Old Crow Medicine Show.  Their self-titled album remains a go to for me when I am in the right mood.

Recently, I was introduced to The Devil Makes Three, a band that reminds me of OCMS.  The group from Santa Cruz, California describes their music as folk-punk.  As you can tell in today's pick (as well as with the Avett Brothers), the strange sounding combination works beautifully - not unlike french fries dipped in a Wendy's Frosty.  For your enjoyment, I present to you The Devil Makes Three performing "Old Number 7."

Technology wins again

Well, technology wins again, folks.

In a course I took this past semester, a lecturer discussed with us patterns of adoption in regards to trends and technology.  In general, the adoption of innovations among a population follows a bell curve: innovators are the first to use the new technology, followed by a few early adopters, then the majority picks up and finally the laggards figure it out.  The innovators and early adopters run the risk of grabbing onto trends that turn into busts (see laserdisc), while the laggards still get angry when they receive text messages.  My father typically will reply to a text accidentally, thumbing a jumbled mass of letters.  He is not an early adopter.

Pirated from allinio.com

Nor, typically, am I.   I have always attempted to hang somewhere around the early majority, steering clear of myspace but jumping on the facebook bandwagon pretty early.  I didn't get an mp3 player until the ipod came out.  Occasionally I hold off even longer.  As you can tell from the archives, viva la re didn't start until last September, once I was pretty sure most people had given up reading blogs altogether.

I first learned about Twitter a couple years ago, and I couldn't really figure out why it was becoming a big deal (such a question shows why I am not a early adopter).  People explained to me that the whole deal was just like facebook statuses - which are perhaps my least favorite part of facebook.  I do not care that the girl who sat in front of me in 11th grade homeroom is headed to the beach, nor am I concerned with pictures of casual acquaintances' childeren.  However, an influential friend (though not one I consider an early adopter) named Justin Rigoloso joined a few weeks back, and I have been voyeuristically following him without an account since.  Today Twitter is making an honest man of me

Thus have I ventured deeper into the world of social media.  That's right - just look at the sidebar.  You can now follow my tweets here at viva la re.  If you are part of the early (okay, lets be honest - late) majority and you care to follow on Twitter, the handle is @vivalare_.  For those interested in following my person, Will Williams, you may send a followers request to @fbwwilliams.

(As a side note, check out the Rigolosos' blog linked in my sidebar.  It is the blog I started reading before I decided to start one of my own.  They may not be early adopters, but they are certainly influencers.)

Tax cut rhetoric and government revenues

And so the 24 hour election cycle continues.  Even though we are still a year and a half out of the 2012 presidential elections, Republican hopefuls are kickstarting their campaigns with intentions on limiting Barack Obama to a single term as president.  Several candidates are hoping to harness the populist power of the Tea Party, looking to maximize on frustrations over a struggling economy and government spending.  Issues such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and spending cuts are fueling the conservative fire, while others have been nearly altogether forgotten (the word education was not mentioned once during the first Republican candidates debate).  Most candidates (ABC news provides a list of contenders here) are lobbying to champion themselves as the Tea-Party-Friendliest, including upstart Michele Bachmann and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

While many shifts and surprises will change the direction of the campaign trail in the coming months, a safe bet for most candidates is to wield boldly Reagan-esque economic ideology, one that energized economically conservative bases last fall and remains promising in the midst of a poor job market.  Tim Pawlenty has done so, calling for an $8 trillion tax cut.  Citing Ronald Reagan's trickle-down economic policy, he claims that history has shown that tax cuts will actually result in no decrease in revenues.  According to Bruce Bartlett of Capital Gains and Games, Pawlenty is totally wrong.  Bartlett should know - he worked as an economic adviser for Reagan and G.H.W. Bush.  Here he shows how Reagan's cuts did not pay for themselves.  Nor, economists agree (an uncommon occurrence), have the Bush cuts.

Pawlenty is at best misinformed, at worst he is manipulating the truth as he jockeys for position in the coming year.  This brings me back to my frustrations with the current conservative deification of Reagan.  My libertarian friend Thomas Pearson will point out that the federal government grew more under Reagan than any president since Roosevelt.  And while his early tax cuts are the legend that fuels Glenn Beck, everyone seems to have forgotten that Reagan raised taxes eleven times.

Friday Pick of the Week

Neo Jazz Collective performing at WE Garden

This past weekend Rachel and I attended West End Community Gardens' Summer Solstice Celebration.  The afternoon was filled with interesting people, delicious food and good entertainment.  Talent was everywhere, from the spoken word performed by Real Life Poets to the musical offerings of three different groups. Particularly impressive was the abundance of young talent at the celebration, including local acts In Her Image and Neo Jazz Collective.  The latter is particularly cool, as it is a music school for teens located in the economically disadvantaged area of Fairfield on Birmingham's west side.  The performers are mature beyond their years, already composing much of the music they perform.  Their track "Travelers" is the choice for today.  Happy Friday.

Find more artists like Neo Jazz Collective at Myspace Music

Kathryn Tucker Windham

Kathryn Tucker Windham, stolen from NPR
and Alvin Binn of AP.

As a kid growing up in Alabama, you couldn't make it through autumn without coming across Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.  Typically, sometime around mid-October, the school librarian would sit us down and read a story or two of Southern hauntings.  Other years a friend would write her name amid the turned edges of the well-used library index card and bring the worn copy of the book to reading time in class.  Kids would retell the tales, often affirming their truth by personally attesting to experiences with the spirits.  "My grandma lives in Carrollton, and we went to see the courthouse at night and we saw the ghost!" they would claim.  Others would attest to strange happenings in old homes, or family legends of visitors from beyond the grave.

Kathryn Tucker Windham could tell a story.  Her Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey has kept many Alabama children awake through the night since its publication in 1964.  Her storytelling has continued through the years, as she conveyed weekly stories for Alabama Public Radio's Morning Edition.  Like all good storytellers, she transported listeners somewhere else.  Through her words, we traveled with her by train to her first day at the University of Alabama, or watched as she vividly described the burning house, and with it that damned piano, of her childhood music teacher.  Her stories of growing up in rural south Alabama were a window into the small towns where my grandparents grew up, her style reminiscent of the stories told by my grandmother.

Mrs. Windham passed away last week, after telling her stories for a full 93 years.  She will be missed, though her tales will certainly live on in elementary school libraries throughout the state.


Credit to Birmingham News for the video.

Summer solstice

An Incan Emperor Re-inactor.
Shamelessly stolen from realsouthamerica.com.au.

It is the summer solstice, friends - the northern hemisphere's longest day of light in the year.  On the seasonal calendar, it is the official beginning of summer, though here in Birmingham I think it arrived a few sweltering weeks early.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to experience June 21 in Cuzco, Peru.  Cuzco was the capital of the Incan empire, and the native religion remains deeply ingrained in the Peruvian culture.  For the Peruvians, as with all residents of the southern hemisphere, June 21 is the shortest day of sun - and thus darkness's final encroachment on daylight.  That day marks the beginning of Inti Raymi, the festival of the sun celebrating the god Inti.  Animal sacrifices are made, looking to appease the god and ensure a good spring.

Such a celebration makes me mourn the lost connection between our culture and the earth.  Myron the Soil Man, head composter at West End Community Gardens, describes agriculture and eating as entering into relationship with the earth: we give our toil and sweat to nurture the earth, and to us she returns nutritious food.  Relationships takes time, and in a culture where time and productivity are the most precious commodities, food often gets the short end of the stick.  Sadly we often choose the pornography and prostitution of processed foods and wasteful materialism over real relationship with the earth.  We perceive the earth as a resource to be allocated instead of the foundation of life to be dealt with respectfully.

The first fruits of our potted garden.

A few years ago I read through The Art of the Commonplace, collection of Wendell Berry essays.  The book was transformative.  At the end, Berry works to answer the question of what an average person is to do to begin to enter into relationship with the earth.  He simply says that we are to eat well.  We need to understand from where our food comes, and in that we will begin to understand our world.  Gradually, I have begun to take time to prepare fresh foods, not viewing cooking as a chore to complete but an opportunity to engage the earth.  One of the best things that Rachel and I have had during our first year of marriage is the opportunity to cook and eat together multiple times each week.

As food has become a priority, we have begun making choices to be in intentional relationship with the earth.  Not too long ago, we began collecting our compost to give to friends who have a garden.  This spring, we planted a potted garden on our front patio, and this morning we collected our first two vine-ripened tomatoes.  We have additionally enjoyed cilantro, mint and lavender from our efforts.

And so this year I take a moment to remember the solstice.  Happy Inti Raymi.  Celebrate by eating well.

The complexity of Christianity in immigration politics

I know, I know, you are tired of reading my rants about Alabama's HB 56, but today I encourage you to read someone else's thoughts on the law - the North Alabama Bishop of the United Methodist Church.  Bishop Willimon enlisted our pastor, R.G. Lyons to compose an open letter to Governor Bentley, Senator Scott Beason and Representative Mickey Hammon.  The letter addresses the shortcomings of the law, according to the tenets of the Methodist faith.  As interesting as the letter are the comments posted below, revealing how troubling politics can be for members of a faith that must consider not only theology but also the machinations of their day to day life.  While the tone remains mostly courteous, the passions of the parishioners and pastors bleed through in between the lines.

Friday Pick of the Week

This week's choice comes from a band whose debut album has been one of my consistent music choices over the past few months.  If you only know Mumford & Sons from their radio releases, I highly recommend the entire album, Sigh No More.  The rest of the album has a bit of a different tone, and it is laced with great lyrics.  What's more, it tells a story, an attribute that I think adds to any album.  Today's pick is a short tour documentary set to unreleased music called "Gentlemen of the Road."  Enjoy.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Apparently I am on a president kick.  For the second time in a few months, I picked up a biography of an American president that challenged the depictions offered in mainstream history.  For the second time, I was not disappointed.

Image Credit: amazon.com

Growing up in the Deep South, the circumstances and saga of the American Civil war presented to me were occasionally in conflict with the "official" record.  In Alabama, those imparting the story like to emphasize the infringement of government on states' rights, and the travesty that is a federal government taking up arms against those who choose liberty over federal control.  In contrast, most textbooks (which we were taught to read with much skepticism) contest that the war was over the moral issue of slavery.  Monuments have been erected to Abraham Lincoln for preserving the Union and freeing the slaves.  I had thus found a skeptic's middle ground: the South hid the detestable practice of chattel slavery behind cries against federal infringement (a tried and true argument used to defend almost any morally repugnant practice we choose to employ; see segregation and, most recently, immigration), while Lincoln was an opportunist that seized on "freeing the slaves" to justify the violence of a war aimed at preserving the southern agricultural engine essential for sustaining the industrializing North.

According to Seth Grahame-Smith, I am way off.  In fact, the Civil War was contested for one purpose: the eradication of vampires from North America.  In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Grahame-Smith presents a detailed account of Lincoln's life, based upon Abraham's never-before published journals.


As a child, Lincoln watched his mother succumb to a rapidly-progressing illness, only later to learn that what had been diagnosed as typhoid was actually the workings of a vampire to whom his father had defaulted on a loan.   "Henceforth," declared Abe, "my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..."
Possessed of legendary strength, stature and ax skills, Lincoln engaged in a lifelong pursuit of eradicating vampires from the burgeoning country.  Grahame-Smith relates the story with consistency and detail, exposing the very real presence of death throughout Lincoln's life, as he lost mother, sister, fiance and children to untimely ends.  He depicts Lincoln as a complex character, filled with the wisdom and drive commonly attributed him, as well as an undying disdain for vampires.  This unique look at American history, and the role played by vampires in that history, provides a fun read.  Should you not have time to pick it up, a movie based on the book is set to release next summer.  If you are not convinced by this review, take a moment to watch the book trailer below.  Recommended.

Alabama's immigration bill's impact on its citizens' daily lives

Here's a great post from The Atlantic associate editor Conor Friedersdorf on the implications the recently passed immigration bill on Alabama citizens' daily lives.  The bill is a great example of conservatives talking out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to the role of government.  It is in times like these I wish the libertarian elements of the Republican party would speak up.

Friday Pick of the Week

For the past ten years, I have had the distinct honor to know one Christopher Barefield.  Bare, as so many know him, is, in short, one of the best friends I have known.  I am endebted to him for a wide range of hobbies, and together we have put thousands of miles on vehicles in chase of various pursuits.  Whether camped out in the Kephart Shelter of the Smoky Mountains, fly fishing Wyoming's Green River, leading a climbing route in Kentucky's Red River Gorge or summiting Washington's Mount Rainier, I have been privileged to his company and thoughtful insights.  More than the adventures, though, I have enjoyed the abounding conversations we have shared.  Whether subjects deep or light, together we have laughed and struggled through life.



Chris and I upon Rainier's Summit


In addition to hobbies, Chris and I have also shared abundant music.  Thus, in honoring him, I have selected a song for the Friday Pick.  We've listened to a lot of music together, so today's choice was difficult.  Should I choose a track by My Morning Jacket?  What about Fleet Foxes?  Perhaps Yonder Mountain String Band's immaculate cover of "Girlfriend is Better?"  How many times has Colby Callait come on the radio and one of us asked to leave it in the name of "waiting for the next song?"

Today, Chris and I will climb into the car for one last road trip, at least for the next little while.  In honor of him, here's a song that has accompanied us many times.  For my money, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is one of the best albums I have owned.  In a moment of transition, I present to you "Time."  Happy Friday.

Alabama takes on a familiar role in civil rights

Image Credit: Colorlines

It has been nearly 50 years since George Wallace's stand in the schoolhouse door, where the Alabama governor stood at the doorstep of the state's flagship university, "seeking to preserve and maintain the peace and dignity of this State, and the individual freedoms of the citizens thereof," and denied entry to African American students admitted to the school.  Alabama, at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, often found itself standing on the wrong side of history, not to mention morality, in the name of protecting state's rights, amid a plethora of other excuses.  As we know, the students were ultimately permitted to attend classes, and the segregationist governor ultimately lost his battle to prevent desegregation in Alabama.


The state government, now controlled by the party of Lincoln for the first time since Reconstruction, has again reasserted it's position as the nation's leading opponent to civil rights.  This morning, Robert Bentley signed into law House Bill 56, described as the harshest and most comprehensive state legislation against illegal immigration in the nation.  As reported by Julianne Hing of Colorlines, the law will attack immigrants at almost every level of their existence.  Following Arizona's lead, law enforcement will be required to screen all who are under "reasonable suspicion" of being undocumented.  Hispanic children will require documentation to attend schools, those requiring medical care will be required to present papers and those entering into contracts will not be able to enforce them if they cannot confirm their immigration status.


Alabama lawmakers have chosen to ignore both common sense and real reform in order to send a message to Latinos: don't come to our door.  The draconian provisions will almost certainly never go into effect, as civil rights activists have successfully relied on the federal courts to prevent such measures in other states.  Lawmakers will almost certainly echo Wallace's appeal to state's rights (though none decried the federal government's interventions during tornado recoveries in the state) as we re-live the battles of the 1960s.


And while the vote will certainly appeal to the lawmakers' bases, it will ultimately prove a long-term setback for the state in the face of the changing population.  Republicans across the US are choosing to maximize on the current climate of recession-induced populism at the expense of building relations with the fastest growing ethnic group in the nation.  Instead of choosing to take Utah's lead of a balanced, reasonable law, Alabama has elected to chase out a critical component of the current workforce in the name of promoting jobs for Alabamians.  The promise is false, as the immigrants that will leave are not vacating spots for which other Alabamians are applying.  In the words of Bart Wallace, "(I) hope the state of Alabama lawyers up because they (are) fixing to have a multitude of lawsuits on their hand over this immigration bill."  I wonder where the legal fees will come from in Bentley's spendthrift budget.  Something tells me that even in the face of financial woes, funding will be found.   In the end, Alabama takes another step back, again to the place of leader against civil rights.

Friday Pick of the Week

I first came across Brooke Fraser when I was in her homeland of New Zealand with Rachel this past Christmas. I particularly like this one.

Autism screening

In 1998, The Lancet published a study by Andrew Wakefield that associated the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine with increasing incidents of autism.  Autism awareness and advocacy groups everywhere began crying out against vaccinations, with voices such as Jenny McCarthy (the mother of an autistic child) declaring that a few kids getting the measles is better any kids having autism.  Wakefield's science has not been replicable, and several of his co-authors have distanced themselves from the article after evidenced emerged that Wakefield was receiving funds from a lawyer suing vaccine companies.

Despite a wealth of science refuting Wakefield's study, and despite The Lancet retracting Wakefield's article in 2010, many parents remain wary of vaccines, maintaining that a link exists.  The figure below, compliments of The Lancet, shows a compelling correlation between rising MMR rates and rising rates of autism diagnoses.  Making matters more complicated is that autism doesn't typically manifest until after the first round of MMR is given at 12 to 15 months of age. The debate is fueled by passionate parents of autistic children, and it can be paralyzing for middle class parents with enough knowledge to be dangerous.  As we have moved into an age of democratic information, a quick search of the internet can provide a wealth of information, and mis-information, on autism and its causes.  Despite strong recommendations for vaccinations by providers, the decision is still hard for well-meaning parents.

A critical blow to the MMR-autism link may have finally come thanks to an article in press by the Journal of Pediatrics.  Researchers in San Diego have developed a 5 minute autism screening tool that can be administered at one year of age.  The assessment has shown a positive predictive value of 75%, meaning three-quarters of the kids that failed the test ultimately showed some type of developmental delay.  Until now, the subtle clues of autism have rarely been detectable early in childhood.  Children with autism do much better with earlier interventions, and this tool will enable clinicians and therapists to begin treatment at a much earlier age.

The study has not yet determined how sensitive the screening assessment is, that being how many cases of autism it misses.  If the screen, administered before the first series of MMR is given, shows a strong negative-predictive value, it could be the final blow to Jenny McCarthy's crusade against MMR vaccinations, not to mention a critical tool in reducing the effects of autism.

Friday Pick of the Week

As Rachel and I traveled to the beach this past weekend (what did you do in anticipation of the Apocalypse?), today's pick became an unofficial theme song for the weekend.  Florence + The Machine's debut album Lungs came out in 2009 with much celebration, first in the UK and then in the US.  While this selection has been around for  a while, the tune and beat made it an outstanding beach song.  As I listened several times, I began hearing the words, trying to figure out what Florence is singing about.  I'm not exactly sure, but with the celebratory but violent imagery, I think she may be telling the story of a victim of domestic violence fleeing from her abuser.  In a related post, you can read what I expect to be a great new series on women here.  Anyway, here is your pick.  Happy Friday.

A final word on the Apocalypse?

By the fact that you are reading this, I gather that you have not been raptured.  By the fact that I am typing this, you may gather the same about me.  And thus ends the debacle that was May 21 Doomsday.  Or does it?
Harold Camping is not the first, in the name of scripture, to predict a specific date for Judgement Day.  And despite Jesus's warning's against such predictions (and predictors), Camping's followers are not the first group to wholeheartedly sell out their possessions and lives in preparation for the second coming.  The Apocalypse has been incorrectly predicted time and again, by prognosticators both scientific and religious.  The founders of both the Methodist and the Seventh-Day Adventist churches predicted dates for the end of the world.  So despite Camping's failed prophecy, don't expect his followers to abandon ship just yet.

In fact, Camping has not abandoned his own ship.  In an interview with BBC, he maintains that the world has indeed entered into Judgement, though not with the kind of flare he'd expected.  The actual date for the end of the world, he maintains, is October 21, 2011.  So we will have to wait until then to see if he is truly correct.  The benefit for us here is that we get to continue Apocalypse Watch 2011 until that day.  The bad news is that, just as before, people craving escape from this broken world will continue to follow Brother Harold into deceit.

Props to Camping for hedging his bets.  While some of his followers have literally given everything they owned in expectation of the end, he awoke on May 22 still owning a private, for-profit business capable of sustaining him.  Family Radio is worth over $100 million, and I am guessing that won't be much different on the morning of October 22.

I have taken three observations  from this debacle.  First, the bible is an incredibly challenging book to understand.  Debates have raged since before canonization about what Christianity actually means.  I am thankful for the redemption brought through the Church, but I am saddened at the manipulation and confusion that has diverted millions from the goodness of the gospel.  I pray that we would be protected from those who use the scripture to promise health and wealth, to promote violence and to swindle the masses.

Second,  if you want to see how invested a prophet is in his own predictions, check his bank account.  Like Camping, both of the Wesley brothers, the founders of Methodism, individually predicted different dates for the end of the world.  Like Camping, their dates were wrong.  However, John challenged his followers that poverty was a call of the gospel, proclaiming that dying with anything to one's name was shameful.  Unlike Camping, John Wesley lived in poverty, and died with less than $20 to his name.  So long as your prophet projects the end of the world while maintaining a healthy pocketbook, you should look at him with mistrust.

Finally, people are incredibly forgiving.  As I noted before, failed end of the world prophecies have sprouted before into huge, international denominations.  Remember, despite Brother Harold's previous incorrect predictions in 1994, he still maintained a large following, not to mention a lucrative radio network run exclusively by donations.  Even if the world fails to end in October, don't count on all his followers to jump ship.

So keep coming back as Apocalypse Watch 2011 progresses.  And remember, even if the world doesn't end, we still have the end of the Mayan calendar, scheduled for December 2012.  Happy watching.

JFK and the Unspeakable

I've never been big on conspiracy theories.  In college, I picked up Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the book on which Dan Brown based The Da Vinci Code, and knocked it out in a matter of days.  However, after a brief enchantment, I began to note the wide gaps and assumptions made by the authors and easily dismissed them, just as the scholarly community had decades before.  I don't believe in aliens and I think Bin Laden is dead.  So the grassy knoll JFK stuff was not really up my ally.  However, given that I had gotten to know the author's wife, and given that he'd spent 12 years on the book, and given that Jim is a Ph.D. and former university professor, I thought I would give the book a try.  It didn't hurt that names like Oliver Stone had given strong reviews.

JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass quickly drew me in.  However, in contrast to the medieval lore and mystery of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Douglass captured my attention with thoughtful reflections on Christianity and the military-industrial complex.  The book is told through the lens of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk from Kentucky, who as a poet and writer championed peace and faith.  In 1962, not long before the Cuban Missile Crisis and only a year and half before Kennedy's assassination, Merton wrote these haunting lines regarding nuclear war:

"What is needed is really not shrewdness or craft, but what the politicians don't have; depth, humanity and a certain totality of self-forgetfulness and compassion, not just for individuals but for man as a whole; a deeper kind of dedication. Maybe Kennedy will break through into that some day by miracle. But such people are before long marked out for assassination..."

Douglass writes with tireless consistency, and provides a feasible rationale as to how Kennedy would have beeen marked for death.  Using the resources that have been made available in the last decades, Douglass also provides a coherent and detailed narrative for how the event occurred.  Striking contradictions are neglected by the Warren Report, the government's official investigation of the case, which involved Allen Dulles, the former CIA director who was fired by Kennedy.  From Lee Harvey Oswald's intelligence connections to the remarkably similar plot uncovered by Chicago investigators only a few weeks before the assassination, Douglass brings to light numerous loose ends worth considering.


More than the how of the story, the why of the narrative is where Douglass invests most of his time.  He chronicles Kennedy's conversion from a hawkish presidential candidate running on the platform of "closing the missile gap with the Soviets" to, at times, the lone voice against preemption in his cabinet.  In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, perhaps the moment nearest to apocalypse in the history of the world, Kennedy turned from his cold-warrior mentality in pursuit of lasting peace.  He engaged in secret correspondence with his chief "enemy," Nikita Khrushchev.  He stood against leaders in his government advocating for deceit and violence as a means of winning the Cold War.  He championed Third World liberation, and was ultimately marked as a traitor by those who could not see peace as a viable option.

Can I say for sure that Douglass's postulate is the absolute truth?  No.  But the theory he unfolds is remarkably thorough and consistent.  Even with the critical eye that quickly dismissed previous theories, I have a tough time refuting much of his information.  It has re-shaped the way I comprehend national defense, intelligence and the workings of the military-industrial complex.  The book is certainly worth your consideration.  Highly recommended.

By the way, if you have some time, check out this interview.

The point is moot, neither Rachel nor I have been raptured. #ApocalypseWatch2011

I think that means I've got the better shot at going. #ApocalypseWatch2011

Rachel, full of ridicule: 'I can't believe this conversation is happening.' #ApocalypseWatch2011

Me: 'If I get raptured tomorrow and you are left behind, would you remarry? It would be hard for me to remarry if you got raptured' #ApocalypseWatch2011

Friday Pick of the Week

Well friends, it saddens me to say that this might be the last ever Friday pick of the week, as some are predicting Judgement Day tomorrow evening around 6 pm EDT.  If that is the case, it well could spell the end of Friday picks for a number of possible reasons:

1. I've been raptured.  For those left behind, may I recommend the blueprint laid out by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins.

2. The Apocalypse is upon us and I won't have time for weekly musical selections to pass along.  You will understand as you are being tormented by the ravages of a graceless world.  Feel free to join me in my pursuit of blueprint laid out by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins.
3. The aforementioned shit went down and my training proved insufficient.

What better choice for the Friday before the end of the world than Sufjan Stevens?  His most recent album, The Age of Adz, celebrates the life and artwork of the prophet Royal Robertson, ranging in themes from aliens to schizophrenia to the Apocalypse.  The title track is particularly appropriate as, so far as I can tell, it is about Judgement Day.

The end is near

If you are yet unaware, the world is coming to an end.  When is that end? May 21, 2011.  That's Saturday around 5 pm CDT.  Better get your ducks in a row.


At least, that's according to Harold Camping of Family Radio Worldwide.  Harold claims to have examined the scriptures and done the math, and proclaims that Judgement day is upon us.  He's not the only one.  The message has gotten out, and numerous followers are preparing themselves for the rapture by spreading the news all over.  Some have even quit their jobs and budgeted their funds in such a way as to run out on the 21st.

In response to all this, I have two questions: 1. Even if I don't actually believe that the rapture is coming on Saturday (I have some serious misgivings about the rapture anyway), do I get to go? 2. What does all this say about the God we believe in?

Firstly, if this is all true, I hope I get to go.  I read Left Behind in high school, and it is bad news for those who don't get the call.  As I said, I have some misgivings about the theology of the rapture, like when Jesus prayed that God wouldn't take believers out of the world but that He would protect them from the evil one.  But maybe these folks are right.  Maybe God has chosen to make the timing (with which He wouldn't share with Jesus) known to an 89 year old white preacher with a $100 million radio network.  Reading some interviews, like here at NPR, folks have literally given their lives over to what this guy is selling.  NPR also notes, importantly, that Brother Camping has incorrectly predicted the world's end before as September 6, 1994.  (In his defense, he had yet to complete his research.)

If all this isn't true, what does it say about our perceptions of God?  Why is He poised in anger to torture and destroy most of the world?  And why do Christians work so hard to escape the world around us?

Three things strike me about the interviews in the NPR story linked above.  First, there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty among the believers interviewed.  They are not uncertain about Brother Camping's predictions, but they are uncertain about their salvation.  It is as though our God is one who sits in heaven measuring our good deeds, and He's not taking many with Him.  In fact, despite one-fifth of the world claiming Christianity, only 3% will supposedly be rescued.  The need for an in and out group, even within the church, is disheartening.  The same Jesus whose compassion extended to the weak and heavy laden, the orphan and widow, the outcast and the harassed is now going to massacre 97% of the world's population, most of whom used to be within His range of compassion?

A second point I noticed is that all of them are fearful of one thing: the suffering to come.  What could be more American than a gospel that assures avoidance of suffering?  Why are we, as Christians, so committed to a faith that allows us escape from suffering when it is one of the few things that Jesus promised?  Jesus assures few things, and suffering is on the list.  Thankfully, we also get a Helper, and the comfort of knowing that He is coming back.  I don't think Brother Camping would get much of a following if he promised his followers that they get tortured and killed, but somehow Jesus sold the promise of a cross and it worked.  (If that isn't divine intervention, I don't know what is.)

Finally, these folks are wholeheartedly committed to this cause - enduring rejection, forsaking their loved ones and selling all they have.  What if these folks were doing these things not to escape Judgement but to bring Justice?  In some ways, I am jealous of them.  They have found the proverbial pearl of great price, something so valuable that it is worth forsaking all else.  Though Brother Camping may be distorting the gospel and truth of scripture, he has managed to convince these folks that he has something worth value.  What if I believed in something so much that I forsook finances and relationships and social standing?  I am afraid that might actually be the call of the gospel.

Jon Stewart vs. Bill O'Reilly

I found this link thoroughly enjoyable because I think O'Reilly and Stewart actually like each other.  O'Reilly's criticism is a bit ridiculous as we have so many other things to criticize (both right and left), but I like him more after watching this.

Advances in HIV

Thanks, web-books.com

Big news came out this past week in the fight against the spread of HIV.  For years, initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been determined by the sufficiency of a patient's immune system.  HAART initiation occurs after either CD4 counts (which is an indication of how well one's immune system is stocked) reach a low threshold or after an AIDS-related event, such as developing a strange disease that does not typically afflict folks with functioning immune systems.
The development of HAART was a game-changer in the AIDS epidemic, shifting the infection from a sure-fire killer to a chronic, manageable disease.  HAART involves some combination of daily medications, not without cost and side-effects, but its increasing availability has provided hope in the fight against AIDS worldwide.


An international study of HIV transmission has shown that those who are infected with HIV who take HAART before reaching that low threshold are 96% less likely to transmit HIV to their sexual partners.  The study, HPTN052, was a randomized control trial (in the realm of clinical science, that's about as good as they get) of over 1600 heterosexual couples from Brazil, sub-Saharan Africa, Thailand and the US scheduled to run through 2015.  However, results were so convincing that the researchers stopped the trial early on so they could get the information out.

This will likely alter treatment plans for those at risk of spreading HIV, and will almost certainly require an even higher ramping up of medication production and distribution worldwide.  But this brings us to the issue of HIV prevention: we already have effective, proven means of preventing its spread.  Condoms and needle-exchange programs (not to mention sexual abstinence) are actually sufficient to prevent the spread of HIV.  The crux of the matter lies in health behavior.  Why are those infected, as well as those at risk of infection, not partaking in the effective means of preventing disease spread?

Another issue is adherence to medication regimens.  As mentioned above, HAART is not without costs, both in terms of finances and side-effects.  Particularly in the US, even those at greatest risk of death by AIDS can be negligent of their medication regimens.  Even missing a few doses can lead to patients rapidly developing resistant strains of the virus.  What happens when we dramatically expand the treated population, particularly to patients who are taking their medications for ostensibly altruistic purposes?  This strategy will require not only an increased production of current medications, but also a wave of research into new medications capable of battling new resistant strains.

Regardless of the drawbacks, this is good news for the global fight against HIV.  Future research will be needed to determine the efficacy of this treatment for men who have sex with men, which were not targeted in this study, as well as in the realm of interventions to promote medication adherence in this broad population.

A new church

For several years, I have talked a big game about wanting to address issues of race and poverty.  I have read articles and books on racism, sociology, theology and health.  I have engaged people in conversation and watched films on the issues.  But James tells me that my beliefs are manifested by my deeds, not my words.

Rachel and I started looking for churches together when she moved to town last winter.  We visited congregations across the denominational spectrum, looking for a home that prioritized our values of racial reconciliation, social justice and the redeeming gospel of Jesus.  And what we found is that these are really hard things.  Most churches do some things well, but almost every church seemed to fall either to one side or the other.  Some where committed to the importance of the gospel while only including issues of race and greed as an addendum, while others delivered soft-serve Jesus while advocating for social issues.  The struggle is real in my life, and when you multiply it to a church-wide level, things get messy fast.  Through our search, as well as a range of conversations with smart people, we began to recognize that if we wanted to participate in racial reconciliation, we would have to step out of our position of majority and into a place where church was not done the way that best fit our preferences.

A few months ago I came across Community Church Without Walls while researching a class project on West End Community Gardens.  Though we didn't know much about the congregation, we decided to visit.  What we found was certainly out of the realm of our preferences.  Our friends Mikey and Lindsay joined us that first night, and I was thankful they came with us as we looked for a house church on Tuscaloosa Avenue in Birmingham's notoriously poor (and thus, in my mind, dangerous) West End.  The first word that came to my mind that night was chaos.  Aside from the four visitors, the only other white person there was the young, soft-spoken pastor, R.G.  I have always attended churches with rich music; here the songs were a capella versions of "This Little Light of Mine" and "Sanctuary."  The service was regularly interrupted by irrelevant questions.  But in the chaos, there was something good.

We have been attending now for a few months, and for the first time in years I feel settled at a church.  CCWW certainly has its issues, and sometimes the chaos is a bit maddening.  But the people in that community know God in different way than I have known Him.  I think the honesty has been most refreshing. One evening during the message and discussion about "turning the other cheek," a woman provided a real-life example of smacking her daughter.  Teen pregnancies are regular announcements.  Last week, during prayer requests, someone said he had recently learned that there was a hit out on his life.  I don't know how to react in those situations, mostly because I've never seen them in church before.  Who are we kidding?  I've never seen them anywhere before.  I don't know what will come of our experience at our new church, but I know this - I'm seeing God in a whole new way.  So maybe I will remain a big talker when it comes to race and poverty.  But at CCWW, I am hoping to see my words sprout into actions.

Friday Pick of the Week

This Friday heralds Secret Stages, a brand new walking music festival situated in Birmingham's downtown district.  Secret Stages is unique in that its primary focus is providing a venue for new music, with a rangy line-up of over 60 up-and-coming artists, both local and national.  Weekend passes are $25.  I encourage you to check it out.

An act featured in the festival is The Green Seed, a local hip-hop trio.  They had the good fortune to play SXSW this year.  "Crack Kills" is a well produced, an appropriate choice for a Birmingham festival.  Enjoy.


The Green Seed - Crack Kills from sugartooth on Vimeo.

It's Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day.  This is for all the mothers out there, especially Rita.

Friday Pick of the Week

Happy Friday, friends.  Today's pick is chosen for a little different reason.  Last Friday, I was offered a one year HIVCorps fellowship with the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ).  CIDRZ is a non-governmental organization based in Lusaka, Zambia that partners with UAB to do cutting-edge research in HIV/AIDS.  After days of prayer, deliberation and seeking advice, Rachel and I accepted the position on Wednesday.  While this throws a kink in some of our short-term plans, we are unanimous in that this is an opportunity that holds tremendous benefits for us.  Rachel will interview next week for a position with CIDRZ, and if she is offered a position, it will be another answer to prayers.


Anyway, enough about that; you are here for the Friday Pick of the Week.  Given the circumstances, I couldn't imagine a better selection than Toto's "Africa."  If you'll take the time to watch the video, you will basically experience the entirety of our next year. Gonna take some time to do the things we never had...

'We come crying into the world and we celebrate when we leave.' - Ms. Ernestine

Redemptive Violence

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." - John 12:24


We must be careful to celebrate "redemptive violence."  Murdering an enemy of the state was not the best way to crush Jesus's movement.  I fear the repercussions...

Friday Pick of the Week

Today's pick is from a few years ago, back when I had the time and schedule that afforded regular viewings of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.  The song's intro immediately captured my attention.  I watched with building anticipation as the barefoot, unkempt band from Louisville drew me into the screen.  Even years after the performance, My Morning Jacket's "One Big Holiday" remains one of my best television memories.  I've followed them through the subsequent years, and I am pumped about their upcoming album Circuital, which will be out May 31.  Without further ado, I present the Friday Pick of the Week.

Easter

Happy Resurrection, friends.  So here's something you may not have known about me: there is music perpetually playing in the background of my mind.  I think that places me somewhere on the spectrum of schizophrenia.  Thankfully, the music doesn't tell me to hurt myself or others.  Anyway, this morning's selection of the subconscious was appropriate for Easter.  Enjoy:

Good Friday

"I'll tell you this, and I bet you never had anyone tell you this before, Jesus is gangster."

Protesters at Five Points. Photo borrowed from Gordon Bell.

Over the past few months, Rachel and I have gotten to know a group of people that are different from anyone I've known before.  These folks love Jesus, and they talk about Him like he actually matters.  Shelly Douglass, who I've mentioned before, lives out one of the most consistent theologies I've come across.  I've learned a lot from our new friends, but I've yet to develop the conviction (or is it the courage?) to stand with them as they cry out for justice, at least at a protest rally.

A group of them that regularly stages protests at Five Points South in Birmingham's Southside, typically holding signs against war or nuclear weapons.  Commemorating Good Friday, they've staged a Station of the Cross today as an objection to the death penalty and state-sponsored killing.  One of the protesters is dressed in the white jumpsuit of an Alabama death row inmate, and he is strapped to a cross with an IV running into his arm.  They hold signs that say things like, "Execute Justice, not People," "Let Him Who is Without Sin Start the Injection," and "Blessed are the Merciful..."  Though their numbers may be few, the scene is a powerful statement against capital punishment on a day remembering the execution of Roman criminal.

While I am terrified of protesting, I did stop by and say hello to my friends who were there.  And in dropping by, I had the good fortune to meet Johnny, a conspicuously intoxicated but remarkably congenial man who introduced himself as "a street-person."  Johnny is 5 days removed from a 25-year prison term, and is celebrating his release by partaking generously in libations.  Given his state of mind, I unsuccessfully tried to dismiss him.  His persistence was unshakable.  And then something interesting happened: Johnny started to preach.

Rachel works at a homeless shelter, and I am familiar with the ways in which addicts and panhandlers can manipulate religious "heart-strings" to get something out of us.  But I decided to hear Johnny out, and I shortly realized he knows Jesus in a way I don't.  In spite of the alcohol slurring his speech and giving Johnny a slight attention-deficit, he rattled off in colorful language what he'd done, ranging from theft to homicide, with a wide swath in between.  "And I know God was with me the whole time," he continued, "because that's who Jesus was with.  He was with the whores and the homeless and the criminals - the people like me.  I'll tell you this, and I bet you never had anyone tell you this before, Jesus is gangster.  He didn't play.  I'm telling you, he didn't play the radio.  Jesus is f*cking gangster."

Amen.