Are you kidding me?

It's called the Holy Land Experience, a bible theme park in Orlando, Florida. Check out the exhibits. It's going to trip you out, I promise you. I kind of want to go though. It looks rad.

Jesus Christ Superstar

In celebration of Josh's belated birthday and Jesus's upcoming birthday, we went to see Jesus Christ Superstar -- the live musical. I watched the film version like 10 years ago and remember really enjoying it. I mean - the story of the new testament in song and dance... what can you not love? Now that I've seen the musical, however, I am surprised to feel that the movie was better.

I suppose it should be a treat to have Ned Steely perform our show. Ned is the original cast member who played Jesus in the original Broadway musical in 1970. But dude. Just look at the picture above. Grandpa Steely is an octogenarian trying to play a 32 years old Jesus. It was the most awful casting ever. The age difference was even more apparent when 70's electric guitar singer Ned sang in duets with Judas, who was played by a thirty-something African American gay man with a soulful R&B voice.

Speaking of Judas, who is my all-time favorite apostle as you all know, I had no idea that his dissension with Jesus was because his uncompromising dogma. Judas was a fucken ideologue dude. I always knew he was more than just a traitor, that his dissolution from Jesus was from a deeper disappointed place. But goddammit. Ideologues are so annoying. Still, I'm going to overlook what would normally be a fatal flaw. My admiration for Judas remains. He's still the best apostle ever. Judas was the only one who really questioned authority, even if the authority was the son of God. Peter, Paul and the rest... clearly Jesus' bitches.

"Oh yeah, I got a cool black guy to play me."

Quote of the Day

There's no virtue without temptation.
--Marc Emery, self-described, "Prince of Pot" *

*Discovered the Prince of Pot from Super High Me.**

** This important documentary also introduced me to Temple 420.
You know, I have been thinking about more spirtuality in my life... hallelujah, praise the Lord!

Hookers for Jesus

Peeps, check this article out. Next time I'm in Vegas, I'm going to look for these bitches so I can get a HOOKERS FOR JESUS tshirt.

On that note, happy new year everyone!

My theme for this year is:

BALANCE OXIDANTS WITH ANTI-OXIDANTS.

You can interpret that both literally and figuratively.

Check out themes from previous years.

Also, I plan on returning to blogging... yay! And since I neglected blogging for much of 2007, expect me to be like a VHI special and report hightlights of 2007 only a month into the new year!

Friends for Judas

Do you remember my pal, Judas?

For a long while, his only friends (beside me) were:

Buddha

Ganesh

Lady of Guadalupe

They even dated for a while, but she broke up with him because... well, let's just say, she wasn't quite satisfied...

and last but not least,

Pure White, but his dirty ass moved to NYC.

So Judas' social support network has diminished quite a bit. Fortunately, Wal-Mart has come to the rescue. This month, Wal-Mart stores nationwide will begin carrying faith-based toys from One2believe that target parents who would rather that their kids play with a Samson action figure than a Spider-Man action figure.

Hey, maybe Judas and Jesus can make amends now...

Oooh, perhaps a new girlfriend for the Big J?

Can someone please buy me the Moses doll? It's awesome. By the way, is it me or Moses has crossed eyes? Dude, even better.

Why hate St. Jude?

So my sister-in-law kindly emails me... but with very, very bad news.

Remember that giant mural of St. Jude on 26th St? Someone had the audacity to paint over it!!! That Jesus-like image (non-christian/catholic folks like me called him Jesus) was a pseudo cultural landmark of Bridgeport/Chinatown. It's been there since I was born at least. Paint me shocked. I swore you had a blog entry about it, but couldn't find it. Anyway, what used to be the Hungry Hound is now a Mexican place...they painted the logo over St. Jude. It's hideous. We can't find our digital camera, otherwise you'd get a pic.

What a travesty. It's not like the perpetrators even replaced St. Jude with something better, like this:

Let's all smoke in memory of St. Jude.
May he live in our hearts and minds forever.

Speaking of bong hits 4 Jesus...

I'm reminded of how I promised Blu-tooth that I would blog about WITNESS LEE and WATCHMAN NEE, founders of her church and the "Recovery Movement."

I discovered these two gentlemen are very popular (they're even on WIKI!) as I found many websites devoted to analyzing, critiquing, supporting or debunking their teachings of Christ. In fact, I was not prepared to find so much information. My brain totally shut down (I think it's a defense mechanism actually). Like the dork I am, I had wanted to blog about Witness and Watchman only because I thought their names were funny. But everything about them is quite serious and not funny at all... except hymns homeboys wrote on their own!! I am so pleased to find them. Here's a prized example:

All sinners are the slaves of sin,
All poisoned by death's sting;
Christ only can from sin and death
A full deliverance bring.
He is the Everlasting One,
Who longs to set us free;
If we do not believe in Him,
We'll die in misery.

I would LOVE it if Blu-tooth lulled me to sleep with this hymn. I bet I would sleep like a baby.

If it's not FREE, at least it's AWESOME

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today regarding a First Amendment free speech case that involved the banner above. OMG. These kids are AWESOME!

Here's the skinny:

The case involves Joseph Frederick, a then 18-year-old high school senior in Alaska who was suspended for 10 days after displaying a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner across the street from his high school during the Winter Olympics Torch Relay in 2002. When he and his friends displayed the banner, then-principal Deborah Morse ran across the street and seized it. Morse initially suspended Frederick for five days for violating the school district's anti-drug policy, but increased the suspension to 10 days after he refused to give the names of his fellow participants and quoted Thomas Jefferson on free speech.

Again, this kid is AWESOME.

Appalachian Art

So awesome.
I want one like this but with Judas helping me navigate my veggie car.
Like so many others, wondering where is Appalachia?
Check this to find out.

The Pope Wears Prada

The Queen is looking fierce in those red shoes!

Victims of Scientology

First Isaac Hayes quits the best job he has ever had, now Katie Holmes is going to be muzzled during her labor.

Following the Scientology tradition of a silent birth (because babies are to enter the world in peace), Tom Cruise ordered a special-made pacifier to suppress Katie's screams. And believe me, she will want to scream... since Tom frowns upon pain-killers, and has discouraged Katie from having any on the day of her delivery.

Additionally, six-foot note cards were made and will be strategically placed so that Katie could see them during labor. One reads:“Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable."

Damn. I wonder what Liz's doula would say...

Yes, Katie, don't dare make any sounds during your delivery, or the aliens will come down and take your baby. For real.

The religious right to hate

Ruth Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she's a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation. So she's suing the school for its "infringement" on her right to religious expression.

A growing campaign has begun to force public institutions to eliminate policies protecting gays and lesbians from harassment. The religious right aims to overturn a broad range of common tolerance programs: diversity training that promotes acceptance of gays and lesbians, speech codes that ban harsh words against homosexuality, anti-discrimination policies.

Ruth, what happen to love thy neighbor? You know, you're going to burn in hell for this. You can't avoid judgment day...

All this talk about Hasidics...

reminds me of this Israeli movie I saw late last year:

Ushpizin is a beautiful story about an Orthodox Jewish couple, and how their faiths are tested as a pair of unexpected, and non-religious, guests visit during Passover. The story begins with the couple plagued with financial woes, while the guests arrive as fugitives of the law. There are many twists and turns, and I remember feeling a roller coaster of emotions that include anxiety, joy, sadness, relief and redemption. I love movies that fuck with my emotions. But, more importantly, I felt and trusted their faith, even though I am faithless. It is a really wonderful movie and I recommend seeing it. It's out on DVD this month.

Hasidic Reggae

When BF and I first saw this dude perform for the Chabad Telethon on some public access station, we laughed... for a long time. But after our laughter subsided, and we wiped away the tears, we opened our ears... and discovered that Matisyahu is pretty good. I heard he was featured in the LA Times last month, and now he's a national celebrity.

The 26-year-old has reconciled strict religious demands with a staccato chant pop style that has taken his latest album "Youth" straight into the Billboard charts at number four with 120,000 copies sold in one week. He will be one of the top names at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August.

His rap is hardcore but puts across a positive message:

"Strip away the layers and reveal your soul,

Give yourself up and then you become whole".

That's deep, man. You know, I love Hasidic Jews. I really do. They're so neat. To find one that raps and sings reggae in Yiddish... it touches my heart and expands my love for Jewish orthodoxy.

*Btw, I accompanied Dead Boy to the FISH GRILL today for lunch. The Fish Grill, located in the heart of a Hasidic community in LA, is an absolute must! The prices are good and the fish is so fresh and moist and tasty. Totally casual but clean. Great outdoor patio. Hot men with thick beards. Check them out and support a local Hasidic business: 7226 Beverly Boulevard, a block west of La Brea. (323) 937-7162.

Ash Wednesday rocks on

Since I'm not Catholic, and would never give up meat or my vices, I struggled with how to celebrate Ash Wednesday. Then I read Cardinal Mahony's statement that he would instruct his priests to defy legislation — if approved by Congress — that would require churches and other social organizations to ask immigrants for legal documentation before providing assistance. This provision was included in the immigration bill recently passed by the House of Representatives; a similar proposal is in the version that the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to begin debating this week.

As a regular critic of the Catholic Church for its homophobic and misogynist views, I find Cardinal Mahony's perspective on immigration to be refreshing. DYY rejoices his words on this first day of Lent. Peace be with you.