the Riddle Blog

My inauguration experience

2009-01-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

The 2000 election was the first election I was able to vote in. Boy was I pissed; I voted for Nader and was obviously disappointed from the beginning. When he wasn’t allowed into the debates at wake forest because of a rules change I went with hundreds of others from across the east coast to protest outside. No one noticed, we got a small rather dismissive write up in the local Winston Salem news paper and that was it.

When George Bush blatantly stole the election I was even more pissed. I rode all night long in a van rented by the young socialists organization at Wake Forest university. We arrived in DC and joined thousands of other protesters from across the country in expressing our extreme frustration and anger at the political shenanigans that had been perpetrated on the American people. The scene was chaotic and we got lost from our group and ended up in the crush of people along the parade route, all yelling, and cursing, and waving signs. I found this on you tube and it pretty well illustrates the scene.

That was 2001

2005 I watched the inauguration from behind the news desk at WSPA in Spartanburg. After 4 years of Bush we were at war, had a growing deficit, had new government organizations designed to limit the rights of Americans in the interest of “security”, and we were no longer on very friendly terms with the rest of the world. As I watched the uninterrupted coverage from the perspective of the news desk, it looked like all the participants were just going through the motions. A soon to be dethroned Dan Rather was hosting the CBS coverage and you could tell he was trying hard to hide his disgust with the whole situation. I actually got a call at the desk from a woman who wanted me to go tell Dan Rather to get off the air. I told her it was my second day on the job and he probably wouldn’t listen to me. Besides, he was in DC and I was in Spartanburg.

So when I watched today’s coverage, and saw how happy all the spectators looked, and heard the excitement in the announcers voices, it made me glad. I saw landmarks that had been covered by heavily armed police in 2001 covered by happy flag waiving citizens today. In 2001 I was angry, but it was because I believed America deserved better than what it got, and today I think we finally got the justice we deserved then. I hope I’m right.

cool 16mm film

2009-01-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Enjoy a trip to the zoo in the early fifties. There's some cool footage of an elephant on a narrow plank.

new years eve in Asheville

2009-01-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

2009-01-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

So, here is one if the things that is wrong with modern religion. A little while ago I was working down at one of those mega churches in South Carolina (seriously, it's huge, it inhabits the shell of an old mall!) because they often let me use their extensive video production facilities. I was in the control room when I looked down on the desk and saw this:

When I figured out what this "minnie-moo" shaped container was I was floored. It's a prepackaged, single serving, easy, convenient, "good to go", communion. Perfect for the modern Christian with a demanding schedule. And, as the web site says, salvation is now as easy as one, two, three.

The best part is that you can order a case of 100 for only $20.00! That's right, the everlasting love, salvation, body, and blood of Christ that is all man kind's for the asking now has a fixed price: about $.2o per serving, what a bargain.

These "celebration cups" are just a visible symptom of what is fundamentally wrong with modern religion. In an effort to reach out to secular members of society, they have lost the sense of holiness and sanctity that the church has to uphold. The fact that the rituals of religion are sacred is what makes them important, and prepackaged communion servings just seem to rob the ritual of its holiness. It was these kinds of attempts to identify with, and emulate the secular world that turned me off to religion when I was a teenager. It sends a message to the world that a faith is nothing more than a social club and security blanket. These little, plastic packages of holiness make the church look like a Wall Mart for the soul.

However, this didn’t stop me from ordering a case for myself. Sam and I thought they would make excellent Christmas party favors, and it never hurts to have some salvation around in case of apocalypse. So I hope you all found this as amusing as I did, there will be multiple projects involving these things coming down the line, including a short film. And if anyone out there works at a packaging factory for these things and is feeling particularly mischievous, then dose a batch with LSD! That could make for a truly religious experience.

-X?