tail what?

how many people do you think would be offended if i dissed tailgating? no disrespect to those that love american football and all its rituals. just don't take it personal as i explain why i don't get it.

is there more to tailgating than setting up shop (or a tent) in a parking lot, hooking up a grill, keeping some cold beers in a cooler, and lounging around with some friends, some strangers all day long before watching a football game (or sometimes a big concert)?

personally, i've only ever been to one tailgate party, and it was in northern virginia before a dave matthews band concert. there were acres full of parked cars and people playing drinking games and eating burgers and dogs, blasting music (not all dave matthews i might add). i happened to be in decent company, so it didn't feel like a total waste of time. at the same time, i also thought it was interesting that a bunch of people that were around our part of the parking lot were planning to leave before the concert even happened because they couldn't get tickets. so they couldn't go to the show, so they drove from wherever they live around there (and this place was kinda off in the cut), just to hang out in the parking lot.

i can't help but wonder what, if any, real positive social value is generated by this tradition. some would ask how much of our time can we really dedicate to contributing to positive social change anyway? point taken, i don't think even the most active activists among us can rightly claim that their every moment is dedicated to bettering the world. nevertheless, if we don't ask ourselves these questions then we don't have any hope of determining the proper balance between working towards the common good, and simple relaxation.

i guess, on a certain level, when i saw the tailgate picture in my newsfeed the other day it was just a reminder of the disproportional emphasis on personal fun and self-satisfaction that dominates our culture in this country. i wonder how many hours are spent tailgating, or watching football, or watching summaries of football games, or watching people talk about football games, or watching people talk about what they did wrong (or right) in football games, or watching people pick other people to play in football games, etc. if even a fraction of the human energy that goes into feeding the football culture in this country was redirected towards getting to know our neighbors better, and helping each other, what could be accomplished?

goat yell like a man (i like)

for everyone that needs a little laughter sometimes. please enjoy this video (preferably repeatedly):

flashin'

thanks to youtube and a few friends on facebook, a phenomenon called flash mobs has recently come to my attention. as far as i can tell it's a large group of strangers that descend on some public location and do a choreographed group dance or performance. i love it, i've added to the list of goals for my life to participate (or help organize) at least one of these pranks before i die, but preferably within the next year. here's an example so you can see the amazing-ness for yourself:

ante up

okay. two in one day may seem like a lot, but we can't control inspiration. i suppose it's just coincidence that a good friend just sent me the link to another amazing video of a slightly different persuasion than our favorite UK boy band. i also realize that i may be really late on seeing these clips that everybody has laughed at for years, but it's new to me and i am not ashamed. perhaps some of you will also appreciate sesame street's bert and ernie singing "ante up! get that fool! ante up! kidnap that fool! get em! hit em! get em! hit em!" perhaps not. but here it is either way:

i couldn't help it

aw yeah, check it, check it out, second verse girl!

so a friend of mine introduced me to this diamond of a song that i had never heard before, and i must admit has consistently been able to change my mood and get me laughing. it's by this UK boy band from the 90's called 5ive, who had one hit here in the US (at least as far as my recollection goes) called "when the lights go out". this other song, i feel is infinitely better, for too many reasons to explain. let's content ourselves with saying that everything about it raises many questions worth (or not) pondering at least momentarily.

we'll use the first line as an example: "do you wanna get freakay, when the five of us make one?"

what does that mean? i don't have an answer for that, if anybody else does i'd love to hear your thoughts. don't limit yourself to the lyrics either, the images themselves also provide plenty of absurd moments to enjoy. nuff said. check it:

westside trippin'

i've been out for a minute, it gets hard to keep up when you're on the road for weeks on end. i'll try and be back for now. i'm still in between times, preparing to move out west for grad school. speaking of the west, i just got back from a couple weeks in california, serving, teaching, mobbing hard with good people (more on that later).

i spent a couple days in LA at the end of the trip with my brother. We had the good fortune of a rare Minnie mouse sighting on the street. It must have been about 100 degrees outside when we spotted Minnie mouse packing up her car across the way. We even witnessed the tearful reaction of a toddler after watching Minnie get into her car and take her head off. Poor kid....

God said...

have you ever seen those billboards on the highway, the ones that are all black with white type, and say something like "i am the way, the truth, and the light. - God"? it's pretty common to see signs that say "Jesus saves" in people's front yards where i stay. there's also this one intersection with a long, low to the ground sign that has two arrows on it, one pointing up, the other pointing down. the message reads "turn to Jesus before it's too late" (check the pic).

it doesn't really bother me to see these signs all over the place, but i'm really curious about how other people feel. what do you think when you see these signs on the highway, or in your neighborhood? how different is this to when people put signs in their yard broadcasting who they plan to vote for in an upcoming election? or hanging a flag in front of your house? is it any different from wearing a shirt with a picture of somebody's face, like che guevara for instance? how important are these statements we make about ourselves and our beliefs based on signs we put around our house, stickers on our cars, clothes, or even tattoos and piercings? do these things really reflect something about who we are inside, or should they be regarded as simply superficial things meant to be fashion? personally, i tend to try and stay aware of what my outer trappings might suggest about who i am. what y'all think?