I realized that I hadn't taken a poke at McDonald's in a while, so I went looking around for something interesting. What I found was some fellow in the tiny country of Liechtenstein, Fr. Johannes M Schwarz. He doesn't seem at all disturbed by the mixture of animal-torturing factory farming, food that destroys your health, the production of massive amounts of solid waste, and... the Blessed Virgin Mary. Yep. Says the artist himself, "Not fast food - but fast grace! For your catholic enjoyment!"
Goodness, what a deep voice! Okay, I know what the guy's trying to do, it's just... well, the shirts from a decade or two ago, when some Protestant Christians seemed eager to show that they can be cool and hip too, were one thing. The animation and sound kinda take it to a different place.
Remember seeing "Jesus Christ" in the Coke-logo font across the chest of some young person who, really, is just like anybody else? Here's the video version. Kinda.
"Well it doesn't always have to be a soft drink. And I get to bust that fake Santa. Enjoy - Always ;-)"
What's the connection between Christianity and junk food? During my time on a campus last year, I would consider the food that various religious groups offered when they set up on the lawn. I appreciated the vegan items at Krishna lunch, but the Catholics set out Pringles and chocolate chip cookies for us to enjoy while they strummed guitars and beat bongos. And I've known people brought up in Christian homes who still lived on their childhood diets of candy and soda. Is it in lieu of alcohol and other recreational drugs? I dunno.
Or maybe this guy's trying to tell me something. I know I did a soda one already, but come on, these are well done.
Now please don't get me wrong. I had a "Get Out of Hell Free" shirt myself about ten years ago, done in the style of a well-known card from the Monopoly board game. I like finding unusual t-shirts, and I'm fine with the ideas of many religions. In fact, if I stumbled upon this on a shirt at a thrift store today, I would probably want it.
"This one I made with my students in mind. :-) Ludwig Ott wrote the
popular and widely spread Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. And now he
might be the only author with a movie style intro to his book :-) If you
want a generally solid synthesis of the catholic faith, check out
ignatius press or amazon to get a copy."
Okay, by now you may have guessed that I've become an instant fan of this guy, and that's why I'm putting so many videos into a single post. You just have to make a little space for yourself when approaching something new, y'know? What can I say? I have a complex aesthetic sense. One more and I'll let you go, okay?
"This being a Mary clip it is bound to attract protestant slurs. For all those fundamentalists out there: Stop whining. Start reading up on the early church. Long before any one sacred book was in anyone's hand, there was tradition. Jesus founded a living Church, not a book club! 2 Thess 2:15. This mystical body subsists in the Catholic Church!"
Thank you for bearing with me. As you were!
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
'Tween-Time Motels: Gateway and Murphy's
Before the bustle at the lower end of corporate capitalism begins along US 19 in the Tampa Bay area, fairies go about spreading the sobs of long-dead broken hearts and the sighs shattered dreams. This is a 'tween time, and its beauty can seize a bleary-eyed driver drifting between here and there. Weeds triumphing though pavement cracks and peeling paint seem to signify something more now. I'd like to show you a little of that silent magic.
Look out! I guess that, judging by the name, once you've stayed here a few times, you'll want to move on to seedier and seedier motels. You won't be able to stop yourself. There's a discount liquor store right there, so you'll be able to ease your passage downward a bit.
Hm, if you can't afford to stay with the leprechauns, just turn right.
Do you think St. Patrick would be willing to chase roaches out, too?
Sure and 'tis full this mornin'.
So there we are. More eerie and decadent beauty will be coming your way soon, courtesy of your favorite Monkey. Stay tuned!
Look out! I guess that, judging by the name, once you've stayed here a few times, you'll want to move on to seedier and seedier motels. You won't be able to stop yourself. There's a discount liquor store right there, so you'll be able to ease your passage downward a bit.
Hm, if you can't afford to stay with the leprechauns, just turn right.
Do you think St. Patrick would be willing to chase roaches out, too?
Sure and 'tis full this mornin'.
So there we are. More eerie and decadent beauty will be coming your way soon, courtesy of your favorite Monkey. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
'Tween-Time Motels: La Mark Charles
US 19 in the Tampa Bay area is something of a horror during the day, an endless stretch of... eh... unique driving styles, nonstop traffic, and strip malls. Starbuck's, Subway, McDonald's... it's a litany of humanity buried in its own works. New monoliths arise amid crumbling relics of Space-Age exuberance. Beeping, growling, carbon-monoxide-wheezing construction vehicles perpetually perform surgery on this great, calcified artery.
But in the early morning, when only a few straggling headlights meet yours, there's something a bit haunting about it.
Dawn and dusk are 'tween times, liminal moments when fairies are said to roam. These particular specimens may be spreading mildew and dry rot rather than dewdrops, but the beauty of their work is apparent nonetheless. And I'd like to start sharing some of that beauty with you.
The enigmatically-named La Mark Charles... a reference to a famous place I've never heard of, or was some optimistic entrepreneur sure that adding a touch of French to his own name would create a mystique about the place? I'm afraid I don't know enough to say. There's a gothic air about it now though.
Does it seem to you that the glowing word "vacancy" is telling you about something more than the simple availability of rooms? Maybe it's just me.
But in the early morning, when only a few straggling headlights meet yours, there's something a bit haunting about it.
Dawn and dusk are 'tween times, liminal moments when fairies are said to roam. These particular specimens may be spreading mildew and dry rot rather than dewdrops, but the beauty of their work is apparent nonetheless. And I'd like to start sharing some of that beauty with you.
The enigmatically-named La Mark Charles... a reference to a famous place I've never heard of, or was some optimistic entrepreneur sure that adding a touch of French to his own name would create a mystique about the place? I'm afraid I don't know enough to say. There's a gothic air about it now though.
Does it seem to you that the glowing word "vacancy" is telling you about something more than the simple availability of rooms? Maybe it's just me.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Moving at the Speed of... Slow. But C'mon, Dr. Jesus is Awfully Swell!
Malaria kills.
Just.... So... Horribly... Wrong...
So... economic imperialism is a crime, but cultural imperialism is all righteous and stuff. Let's claim that they have some WMDs squirreled away somewhere and start bombing right now.
Our own family is in desperate trouble, so let's start peering though the blinds and criticizing the neighbors. That'll make us feel better! And let's destroy the environment a little more while we're at it, all in the name of what's good and right.
Have you seen the nonstop flow of ads in our country convincing women that they're somehow fundamentally flawed unless they buy a heap of poisonous, animal-torturing cosmetics, have surgeons carve their bodies up like roasts and rearrange them so that they're in line with fleeting cultural standards, and pay for the latest, trendy weight-loss regimens? Ladies, you're nothing unless you're perpetually in your early twenties.
Some guy long ago said something about he who is without sin casting the first stone. Remember Him? His name is not just a magic word for drawing attention to your political campaign.
Pardon me, but such crass moral posturing deserves no tolerance. As the Buddha would have it, I appreciate the suffering of the perpetrators. That doesn't justify the crime though.
Our own family is in desperate trouble, so let's start peering though the blinds and criticizing the neighbors. That'll make us feel better! And let's destroy the environment a little more while we're at it, all in the name of what's good and right.
Have you seen the nonstop flow of ads in our country convincing women that they're somehow fundamentally flawed unless they buy a heap of poisonous, animal-torturing cosmetics, have surgeons carve their bodies up like roasts and rearrange them so that they're in line with fleeting cultural standards, and pay for the latest, trendy weight-loss regimens? Ladies, you're nothing unless you're perpetually in your early twenties.
Some guy long ago said something about he who is without sin casting the first stone. Remember Him? His name is not just a magic word for drawing attention to your political campaign.
Pardon me, but such crass moral posturing deserves no tolerance. As the Buddha would have it, I appreciate the suffering of the perpetrators. That doesn't justify the crime though.
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