The Future’s Made of Virtual Insanity

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Anyway, I had completely forgotten yesterday that I would be going with my relatives to a distant cousin’s bridal shower / costume party last night, then spending the night at my uncle’s. So I came to Washington with only the clothes on my back, and nothing else. Fortunately a quick trip to Hecht’s and a neighboring CVS Pharmacy provided me with pajama pants and 99-cent deodorant, shampoo, and toothpaste packs to keep me decent and fragrant through the night.

A costume for the party, however, was not forthcoming. But on the Metro to Ballston, it occurred to me that I could simply unfold the brim of my Nepalese Hat and wear it so that it loomed above my head like Devil’s Tower. That, combined with ultra-lowered pants, and suddenly I felt like Jamiroquai.

It was fun. I got pictures.

Nepalese Hat

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My Hat Quest ended a few months ago at the Dupont Circle Metro, at the top of the North escalator, where the old Afghan vendor had black Nepalese hats for sale. The wooly, fold-brimmed cap fits snugly around my ears, and has served quite well to warm my head through these wintry days.

I mention this because the Nepalese Hat will figure importantly in my next blog entry.

Ghoulish Gulay

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A bowl of “Ghoulish Gulay,” (GOO-Lie) actually just some good ol’ Filipino pakbet, Halloween-themed, with bagoong, sitaw, okra, and of course, kalabasa. (It really looks like that, even when it’s not Halloween.)

Photo taken with an Aiptek Mini Pencam 1.3MP.

Vintage Lumiere

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Crisis Century class today was spent watching early Lumiere cinematographe films, with amusing voice-over commentary from Bertrand Tavernier. What a strange cultural odyssey, watching those silent, hand-cranked films from a century past.

Stacked Chairs

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I’ve been publishing the fruit of a creative photographic streak from last week, and I’m especially proud of today’s picture, a macro shot down through the circle-grating of stacked metal chairs in the MICA Bunting Center cafe.

Happy Martin Luther Bobblehead Day

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Happy Reformation Day / Halloween to you all. Why not check out some Mac-O-Lanterns? Or if your conscience lashes out against the trappings of Satanic idol feasts, then amuse yourselves with a Martin Luther Bobblehead.

El Caballo Muerto, fresh from a pagan demon frolic, has taken issue with Mark Byron’s reflections on Christians and Halloween.

A verse often quoted in situations like this is Paul’s admonition concerning meat sacrificed to idols:

But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”

Going along those lines of thought, the believer who has put his faith in Jesus is no longer under the sway of sin, and if he enjoys a Halloween party with the full understanding that its old cultural connections do not have power over the victorious life in Christ, then he is not condemned for it. Have a care, however, for: (1) the more tender sensitivities of those who still have problems with the pagan connotations of the holiday, and (2) going beyond costumes to Ouija boards and tarot cards. I think that necromantic paraphernalia are over the edge.

(Personally, I have concerns over whether a passage about food and idols can be so liberally applied to almost any context where Christians meet culture, from Halloween to computer games. More on that some other time.)

Comment Spam, Bagels, and Racist Aunts

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Bad enough that we get email and IM spam; now our blogs have to worry about comment spam. I would no more buy products from a spammer than I would buy food from a grocery aisle sampler who insists on violently stuffing my mouth with truckloads of crackers and cheese against my will.

The eminently linkworthy Dane says that he hails from the Sovereign Nation of Southern California. But according to the United States of Todd Levin’s Racist Aunt, “no one should be that far from a bagel.”