Political Pop Culture

Bang Your Head

Yes, friends the reports are true. Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer for 80's hair band Quiet Riot died over the weekend. He was 52. Some of Quiet Riot's hits include "Cum" on feel the noize" and "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)."

In honor of Dubrow, I thought I would list a few of my favorite 80's hair band memories...I had a strange affinity for the Eighties back in high school!!

- Listening to the "Monsters of Rock" mix compilation c.d. featuring, Posion, Ratt, Whitesnake, Great White, Night Ranger, Quiet Riot, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Cinderella, Europe, Living Coulour, and More while riding in Kevo's '87 Blue Mustang Convertible 5.0

- Seeing Poison, Ratt, Great White, and L.A. Guns in concert at Blockbuster Desert Sky (now Cricket) Pavillion on the lawn for 4 Bucks. Highlights from the show included pyrotechnics, and C.C. Deville's nipples covered in electrical tape.

- Going with Nole and Adam to see Warrant play at Rawhide on Halloween. We all dressed up and waited 'til after midnight for them to play "Cherry Pie" much to the chagrin of our parent's (gotta love curfew baby). They also played "heaven" and a strange cover of a Lit song- what was the name of their one hit?

- Singing karaoke (I used to have this awesome pink and black "karaoke star" t-shirt from savers) with friends all throughout high school- and watching Dusty always belt out "Every Rose has its Thorn" by Poison.

- Singing as Billy Idol on "80's Spirit Day" with a cover band- we did White Wedding, I love rock and roll, you spin me, blue monday, whip it, and a few other classics. Tommy, the drummer even played an electronic kit....so good.

Ahhhh...so many memories....I would love to hear your fave 80's hair band memories, post 'em up in the comments!!!

TURKEY BOWL

Hey all!!!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Which means it is time to Turkey Bowl!
Traditionally Turkey Bowl's involve some sort of football game...and this one is only sort of different-

Instead of "football" we will be playing "futbol" or as us Americans call it: soccer.  Come meet at  Juniper Park to play on Wednesday morning (the day before thanksgiving)...at 10am. Dress warm and come ready to play!

Afterwards, everyone is welcome back to our house for some cider and cocoa!!!

Hope to see you all there- call me if you have any questions!

Ron

Breaking and Entering...

Last night while at work, I got a call from a sobbing wife.

I raced home to find that our house had been broken into- and the worst part...

Erin came home while he was still in the house, up in our bedroom. Upon realizing someone was home, the man quickly raced down the stairs and exited the side door. Erin thought it was me...and as she looked over at the man- realized it wasn't.

I came  home to a few police cars patrolling our neighborhood, and an officer taking down a description of the man from Erin. What a strange experience- to say the least.

Our good friends Cole and Amy came over to kick it with us into the late hours which helped take our mind off things and calm us down. But as we went to sleep, we couldn't help but hear things differently- the smallest sounds of a 1947 home became louder than life, and even I (who had been playing it cool...got a little freaked).

All in all, I didn't sleep well last night...waking up every half hour from crazy dreams, fear, and the question...how do I make my wife feel safe in our home?

So...I ask for your prayers, as I jump head first into this question- as Erin wrestles with her thoughts- and as we navigate the Scylla and Charybdis of Fort Knox and Open Doors...

Thanks Friends.   

Halloween

My boss and friend Dave dressed up as me for halloween this year...

Equipped with vans, a track jacket zip up, white sunglasses, and a flat brimmed 59 fifty...it was scary! haha! Oh...and he grew out his beard and colored it brown(because it is predominately gray)...thought you all might find this funny.

I guess they say imitation is the highest form of flattery...haha.

Snippet Glimpses of the Dream

Disclaimer: I suck at this whole blog deal- I wait to post....wait to post....and then explode with like thirty things at once- always leaving me with less coherent, organized thought. I usually end up posting anyways...making the post way too long. Maybe one day I'll get better at this...

Many of you are close friends so you know this already...but, for those of you who I haven't the privilege of getting to know yet- for the last few years I have been trying to live out my values and beliefs- birthed from a theology that is radically inclusive, hopeful, and all about justice. I am trying to follow the alternative way of Jesus, and look and work for the movement, or dream of God for this world in the here and now. Over the course of the last 30 days, I have been encouraged by many many things. I would love to share some of them with you...

It is no secret that America's (and Christianity's) relationship with Islam is troubled. In effort of reconciliation and the call to be active peacemakers (and not just peacelovers), the community that I am a part of at Nativity Lutheran Church (where I serve as youth minister) had a Muslim Imam (the kind-of equivalent of a pastor) deliver the sermon at two services and offer a community lecture in the afternoon  on Islam, peace, and holiness. The whole entire thing was absolutely beautiful- and really surpassed my expectations (and nervousness to be honest, as there were a few "haters"). Imam Toure was a wonderfully kind man, and risks a lot as he works for reconciliation actively in Portland. A few days ago, Dave (my boss and friend) shared with me e-mail conversations he had been having with Imam Toure about taking spiritual pilgrimage trip to the Holy Land with his Muslim community, our Christian community, and the Jewish community we are friends with here in Bend- needless to say I was pumped!
I hope to share much more about this experience in the future.

On Halloween I took the day off with some friends and traveled to Portland to go see MeWithoutYou, Thrice, and Brand New in concert. We left early in the morning so as to soak up the city. Highlights include:
    -visiting a boutique Rise Up clothing is in and talking with their manager and owner about the tension between consumerism and social justice, hope for change, and grassroots organizing.
     - visiting Albina Press (opened by the national champion barista) and sharing great conversation with with Nole.
    - listening to Cole talk about environmental architecture and design (his passion), visiting a building supply re-store with him, and discussing locally grown food, coffee, and hearing more about his work community (Cole works at a local bakery/ coffee shop called Sparrow- their owners and employees are committed to locally grown food, the environment, community, and the arts...they are all great people).
     - watching Aaron (the singer) of MeWithoutYou perform two songs from a cardboard box huddled with a blanket for warmth- the collision of his lyricism and the imagery of homelessness left me open-jawed.
    - getting to introduce Nole, Cole, and Tom to the best Happy Hour ever at Henry Weinhard's Original Brewery...a place that I have had the privilege of introducing Kevo, Trevor, Aisea, and Neil to. They have some 125 beers on tap...and $2.75 Bbq Chicken Pizzas...
    - Watching Thrice remind me that my first love is Rock and Roll...
It was a great, much needed excursion...

And finally, I have gotten to watch my wife Erin kick ass in life. She is currently getting her master's degree in English with an ESL endorsement, and started student-teaching full -time this last week. Few highlights from her:
    - Reading aloud Barbara Kingsolver's  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle together. I highly recommend this true story of her family's journey to eat locally grown food, and much much more. It has inspired Erin and I to eat better, support local business, and fight the instant-gratification/fast food culture that America has contributed the world of Food.
    - listening to her describe different ways she will incorporate justice issues into the classroom, and her new found love for Mark Twain quotes- including one this morning about a shared disdain for Jane Austen novels...who gives a shit about the love lives of the upper-class anyway? haha...i love it!
    - watching her commitment to volunteering with the Latino Community Association in town- and running into people from that community in town.
Marriage is harder than I thought- mainly because we are both very independent and sometimes selfish...but, I am glad to be on the journey with her- constantly challenging the status quo, living the questions, and wrestling with our failure to live out ideals.

There are many days filled with hope for me...and many days I don't want to get out of bed...
I am learning that it is both good and helpful to share the stories filled with hope- for they are the ones that help you get out of bed. Thanks for listening.

Flip-Flopping Faves: A "Kerryian" approach to music.

I am really good at writing off bands before I get to know them. Eventually, I end up listening to some of those bands...and really like them. I am the musical John Kerry.

Years ago I prejudged radiohead off of their single "creep." Last year I heard Kid A and thought it was phenomenal (of course when I heard it I didn't know it was radiohead). Whoopsy-daisies.

I have since been gifted with most of their albums (thanks Kevo)- and this morning read this. Needless to say, I am incredibly excited...2007 has been a weak musical year in my opinion and could use a post. Not to mention the creative usurping of the industry is brilliant.

Feel free to leave a comment about your fave musical flip-flops....

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Enjoy the two following links- they address separate events that took place last week...and how "laughter" should be the appropriate response.

The first from Author/activist Jim Wallis discusses the need to laugh at and not bomb Iran's president after his talk at Columbia. You can find it here.

The second is from Irish author/activist Gareth Higgins and discusses the latest comments from comedian Kathy Griffin (made during her Emmy speech)- he discusses the social commentary within it regarding superficiality/celebrity/spirituality culture and how her acceptance was just plain funny. You can find it here.

Looking forward...

Looking forward to this:

"Hell has frozen over ... and Zack de la Rocha has finally put the finishing touches on his forever-in-the-works solo LP, Billboard reports. According to the news outlet, sources say de la Rocha plays keyboards on the yet-untitled effort — which has been in the works since the singer initially left Rage Against the Machine in 2000 — and that it sounds like a cross between Led Zeppelin and Dr. Dre. Ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore also collaborated heavily on the album, according to Billboard, and some of it was recently recorded at Jack Johnson's Los Angeles studio. De la Rocha is reportedly unsigned and considering offers for how to distribute the LP. ..."

I am still unsure if this will be the album we were all once hoping for- my hope in rage/zach has floundered recently...but...I will still buy it...

I would love to know your early predictions...

Will you buy the album? Download it? Or, ignore it?
Will it be poor, okay, good, or classic?
And furthermore....have our musical tastes changed in the last 7 years since rage left us?

Day Off?

What does it mean to take a day off?

On Fridays I take the day off from my job at nativity. It is difficult for me to fully understand what a "day off" should look like- not because I have this urge to "work" or "go into the office," but because a lot of my job has overlap with how I value living my life. For example- I value living out the change I wish to see in the world, I value activism, relationships, and constant conversation with the purpose of figuring out life's questions. These values are also values shared with my occupation, my vocation as a youth minister- to be an example for the youth I work with and live out these values alongside others from my community (including my church community).

Many times I feel that when I take my day off- I subconsciously take the day off from some of those values as well...

For example, today I opted to sleep to 11:30am instead of joining my wife Erin at a protest for the war in Iraq. Erin joined me for lunch and the conclusion of Malcom X (which we started late last night), and we discussed her experience at the protest- she said that it was a really awesome time (which isn't always the case for "protests." This one was organized by the Central Oregon peace Network and Code Pink- two legit organizations more concerned with active peacemaking than anti-war/gov't/bush rhetoric. As part of the protest, 40 people form the community gathered to read a nine point plan over a podium/mic  for peace in the Middle east/troop reduction/statistics from the war. Erin was asked to read one of the nine points aloud while four people took the document to our representative in congress. The protest concluded with an arrest after a "street theater" piece that shut down traffic near downtown outside of the congressional building- the piece had protesters laying down in the street to symbolize the cost of war. 

It was really well organized and I really enjoyed the event- oh wait, I wasn't actually there...I chose to suspend my voice on the way in Iraq and sleep in. Rather than support my fellow peace activists, I opted for pillow...

Now I understand some of you maybe thinking, I am being too hard on myself- after all I may have "needed the sleep." To answer you bluntly- no, I didn't "need" it. I feel like this kind of thing happens to me all of the time- whether on vacation or on my day off. Somehow, over and over again I subconsiously or consciously choose to take the day off from my values as a Christ follower, peace maker, and American citizen. Ugggh..it is frustrating.

It is becoming more and more clear to me that vacation/day off- is not an excuse to suspend the values we hold. I hope that this public statement to you my friends in digital blogmmunity land- will help me to remember this day and thrust me forward to full time action (a representation of the values I hold).

Thanks for listening...tomorrow I will be posting on a similar topic- vacation..particularly my experience with the world of all-inclusive resorts and the American bubble of Cancun.

Peaces

      

Summer 003: Old Friends

I love Anne Lamott- each time I read one of her books (Grace (eventually) is now my third), it is like catching up with an old friend. Even though I have never met her personally, I feel as though I have had had the opportunity to experience milestones and revelations with her. I have watched her son grow from childhood into adolescense, helped pray for her friends battling cancer, and commisserated with her- as we both navigate through the frustrations of this current administration.

This morning I had the opporunity to catch up with an old friend- Nole. We have been friends for a while now, and after 5 years of living in different states we now live 10 minutes from each other. Even though we live close, finding time to catch up is always difficult for both of us- the unfortunate result of busy lives.

Busi(y)ness sucks. This last summer I was busy a lot- the peril of too much travel, and constantly playing "catch-up" when in town. I am, I guess, a representation of most people in our American society- constantly trying to impress, move a step up, and "pull off" something while sacrificing quality sleep and quality time for relationships.

I missed the beautiful Bend summer- while doing and experiencing "great things." But...really...they were great things (unquote). I enjoy running around, traveling, and most times...feel I am more effective in the things I do and am involved in when life is a little bit crazy.

With that to say, I am trying to find a balance- or at least some semblence of a balance.

Nole and I are now going to be meeting once a week at the ungodly hour of 6am, but I can't tell you enough how excited I am for this. Anne (my pseudo-author friend) and I will be hopefully catching up more too...or at least for another hundred pages or so. Post that- I will be catching up again with my pseudo friends: reading Charlie's letters about being a wallflower, hearing about Dave's heartbreaking work, and laughing with my lispy friend David.

Today I am excited about what lies ahead...even the busi(y)ness. Tomorrow I may be terrified. Somewhere in between I found my need for God- I can't go at it alone, for I am human.