In West Philadelphia Born and Raised

My paternal grandparents used to live in New Jersey, close enough to Philadelphia that you could see the city's skyline. I don't remember much about visiting them, but I remember a few things. This includes the pretzels, that root beer was available at every restaurant (unlike in the South, although it's becoming more common) and Friendly's restaurant.

One time we spent the week with them and did the touristy things around Philly. Again, I don't remember a whole lot, other than the buildings were tall and the Liberty Bell was small.

Philadelphia, like many large cities, often has a bad rap. I've heard it called Filthydelphia, among other things. But where they're lacking in some areas, Philly makes up for it in murals.

Graffiti is found in cities large and small. During the last several years, artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey have taken it mainstream and for many it has become a legitimate form of art.

So Philadelphia went about their problem with graffiti differently than most other large cities. In 1984 they established the Mural Arts Program. Rather than try painting over all the graffiti in the city, they embraced the idea of the city being full of blank canvases. Each year they work with communities all over the city and bring together artists that would have normally just created illegal art. Instead, they "provide opportunities for artists with a variety of skills to work together to create murals."

They now have more than 2,800 murals all over the city. And now we come to the reason I began this post.

One of their newest projects is named "A Love Letter for You." Throughout August, artists will paint rooftops and walls along Market Street from 63rd to 45th. The murals will be seen best from the elevated train.

Each of the murals will be words of love: "words of romance, your thoughts of relationships and your ideas of what love truly is. Comforting or troubling, passionate or past tense, even if it's 'hate to love' or 'love to hate'."

Sometimes I look around at what sort of art is being produced or becoming popular, and I wonder how long it will be before all art becomes easy-to-swallow nuggets of sugar-coated drivel. Then I dig a little deeper and look past what's on TV or the radio and realize that real art is still being made. Whether it's from the musician who will never make it to the radio or the photographer who will only ever be seen by their friends. I find art that took thought and comes from an imagination unhindered by what the world will like. Art that is beautiful even if I don't understand what the artist is saying.

For more information about the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, go here. And for info on the love letter project, stop by this blog.

It's All About the Small Things

The following are things that bring small bursts of satisfaction in life, thus making the world better:

1. Finishing a book. Oh sweet mercy. I just love reading and getting to the point where you've read more of the book than you've not read, and then you've read three quarters. And then you can see the end in sight. And I love when I get to the last page and I have to use a sheet of paper to cover up the rest of the text on the page, so I don't accidentally see the last sentence before I get to it. And then, and then, I read the final sentence, close the book one last time, and it's finished.

2. Wearing new shoes. Don't you just feel more confident in a new pair of shoes? You walk taller and even the shirt you're wearing, the one you've owned for five years, feels newer and brighter. It's like on the first day of school, when you're loaded down with a new backpack, notebooks and pencils, and the all-important new outfit. But the outfit would not be complete without the new pair of shoes. Shoes that are so white they hurt your eyes to look directly at them. Or ballet flats that are still a little stiff, but totally worth the blisters.

3. Getting to your destination faster than Mapquest or Google said you would. This one is certainly silly, but don't you feel like you've accomplished something when it takes less time than Google said it would? It's like you've stuck it to The Man in some small way. Ha! You said 90 minutes and it took me 80! Take that computer-generated directions!

4. Super friendly employees. This is another random one, but I just love going to a restaurant or grocery store and the wait staff or cashier is friendly and talkative and seems to enjoy their job. It's just rare to meet people like that and it makes me wish I were super wealthy so I could give them an enormous tip.

5. Remembering a musician you'd forgotten. There's just so much good music out there (and no, the radio is not playing most of it―so turn it off and start scouring the internet. Start with All Songs Considered on NPR.), so I occasionally completely forget about a musician or group until I randomly see something about them. For example, I completely forgot how much I enjoy Elbow's music until I saw they opened for Coldplay a week or so ago. Or I'll put iTunes on shuffle and suddenly be taken back to college and my love for one of the Bens (Ben Harper, Ben Lee and Ben Kweller). Love it.

6. Great weddings photos. I love weddings and everything about them, but especially the photos. My friends own their own photography business and every once in a while I'll go to their site to see what's new. A couple weeks ago my friends got married and their photographers did an absolutely amazing job. I was blown away by their photos. I just love seeing two people completely in love and their friends and family that have come to celebrate with them. With so much unhappiness and restlessness in the world, it's always nice to take a break and look at unbridled love.

7. Unexpected phone calls from friends. I'm kind of forgetful sometimes about how many great friends I have. This usually happens when I've spent too much time by myself and haven't had enough person-to-person interaction. So whenever I'm feeling this way, it's always a pleasant reminder to receive a phone call from a friend who just wants to see how I'm doing. I should be better about calling people just to talk, but I'm as awkward on the phone as a cat at a AKC dog show.

What about you? What are some of your bits of happiness?

Oy Vey

You'd think (You'd think...) that with all the time I have had on my hands lately, I would be blogging up a storm. But I've discovered that I am not one of those writers who works best during hard times. I like happiness. I'm inspired by happy and carefree things. So this economy is stifling me.

With that thought in mind, I've decided to spread the happiness with links to uplifting and fun things:

Check out these mysterious letters.

Quite possibly the best Craigslist ad ever.

"Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes."

The official White House photo stream on Flickr.

Speaking of the White House, this is one of the best photos ever.

Rice paddy crop art. So weird. So fun.

Also a little weird, but so good: Dirty Projectors-Stillness is the Move.

The Miller High Life Innovations. Hilarious.

Flickr set: Getting Dressed Each Day is Hard.

God Help the Girl (Good music--can't wait to see what else they do).

Days With My Father: Beautiful and Heartbreaking

It's been quite a while since I posted anything. I have something in the works, but I wanted to go ahead and share this website.

Days With My Father

Phillip Toledano's mother died in 2006 and just hours after the funeral, his father had forgotten that she'd died. It was then that Phillip realized his father had no short-term memory. Eventually Toledano began telling his father that his mother was in Paris and this would satisfy his father.
On this site Phillip chronicles his time with his father, along with beautiful photographs.

The Funniest Letter of Complaint Ever

A passenger on Virgin airlines was not very happy with his meal, so he wrote what has to be the funniest complaint letter ever. Go here for the full text. Here's a sampling of what's in the letter:

"I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve year old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat their with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

"Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this: [see image 3]."

Maybe if we all took that much time with letters of complaint, companies would make a few changes. Apparently Richard Bronson personally called the passenger to apologize. I think I might write a letter of complaint to Anderson Cooper...

I'm Currently Drooling Over These Things

~This floor

~This graphic tee

~The realization that the website design at church is almost complete and my life will soon be much, much easier and the site will be much, much better looking.

~Daydreaming about a quiet vacation at this lake house.

~Or maybe taking a vacation to this house.

~Riding motorcycles (I'll leave the driving to someone else, thank you). I've only done it once, but for-the-love-of-pete it was fun.

~"Laughing, loving and crying are the secrets angels share when we admit we're only human."

~People who leave comments.

Happy Friday! Someday soon I'll write a real blog entry with substance.

Thoughts on the Laughing Jesus Exhibit

A new exhibit featuring portraits of Jesus is making the rounds and getting press in a few blogs I read. The reason this particular exhibit is getting attention is because the portraits are of a laughing Jesus. In each portrait, Christ is smiling or laughing or just looking anything but disgruntled. The website for the exhibit explains that the idea came from two Australian Christians who traveled around the world and “they found many pictures of Jesus showed him as a miserable, negative individual whilst their own reading of the Gospel suggested he was no such thing.” And so the Laughing Jesus project was born.

Around 60 portraits were painted by artists all over the world who live in poverty-stricken countries. I like the idea, but as I was looking over the portraits (each one is available for download, by the way), many questions and thoughts came to mind. It’s interesting to see how different cultures portray Christ. I think a lot of postmodern Christians like to make snarky remarks about the fact that Jesus was not a white man, with the underlying belief that only arrogant and ignorant white people would ever presume to portray Jesus to look like them. Yet, I look at these portraits and find that many of the artists painted Jesus to look like someone from their own village or town or demographic. One artist actually did paint himself, which is taking it too far (in my opinion), but the point still stands. We like to picture Christ as we are. We take the qualities we like about Jesus and focus on those. The author of one of the blogs that linked to the exhibit pointed out that everyone loves Jesus. He’s a great guy and everyone can find something to identify them with Him. Of course, that obviously doesn’t mean they follow His teachings. And just because someone likes Jesus, doesn’t mean they understand Him. But I digress.

This also reminded me of something I was thinking about a couple weeks ago. For book club we read a ridiculously awful book, The Shack by William P. Young. Not only is it full of dangerous and shaky theology, but the writing was elementary. Although the book as a whole was not very good, one aspect struck me with its truth. In The Shack, the main character (Mack) “meets” God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in a shack and spends the weekend with them. Mack quickly realizes that he is much more comfortable around Jesus than he is around God. And to Mack, the Holy Spirit is the oddball or just a mostly unknown entity—almost like the third wheel that no one fully understands. But this rings true for me. If I’m honest, I’ve always pictured Christ as my friend and God as the stricter father of my friend. These portraits reminded me of this incorrect notion I have. I can picture Jesus laughing and fishing with friends and lovingly caring for friends who are mourning. But it’s easy to see God as the disciplinarian. The bad cop in the good cop/bad cop scenario. Which is crap. They are the one and same. All three are separate but one. Our God is a God of love, even when we don’t understand Him. A hateful or unloving God would not have sent His son.

Although it is good to be reminded of Christ’s love and good humor, I think we should also remember that He is the same man who drove out the moneychangers and those who were buying and selling in the temple. Yes, He is a loving Savior and God, but He is also righteous. Just liking His personality and agreeing with His “love one another” teaching means nothing unless you put your faith in Him.

Now, after all this rambling, go check out the exhibit’s site and the actual portraits and tell me what you think. Some things to ponder:
-Many Americans would see some of the depictions as silly or too feminine. What does that say about our culture or the culture of the artist?
-Despite the flaws of some of the paintings or historical inaccuracies, do they glorify God? Let’s assume the best and say these are believers who are using their God-given talents and showing Christ to the best of their ability, so would these please God?
-What would your painting look like? How do you picture God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit? A white man with a trimmed beard? A lion named Aslan? A corporate executive sitting behind his desk, dictating the affairs of the world?

On Saving Britney

I just finished reading an article about Britney Spears from Rolling Stone: The Tragedy of Britney Spears. I found it by way of the Burnside Writers Collective blog. At the beginning of the year I made a list of 50 things I wanted to do this year. Not so much resolutions, just things to do. Some are 'serious' while others are silly. One of the things on the list was to read less celebrity gossip. I'll admit I have a weakness for that sort of thing. After reading about a 21-year-old British man who has had seven kids by seven different women, or after reading about another bombing in the Middle East, it's a nice reprieve to read about the escapades of the rich and famous.

But Britney is in a whole different category. She's the biggest moneymaker for tabloid magazines and gossip sites. She has around 20 paparazzi who follow here wherever she goes and will do just about anything to get a picture of her. It's sick. Not just that they are following her and taking advantage of her, but that everyone around her seems to be doing this and she seems on the brink of a complete meltdown. It seems like it's only a matter of time until the Associated Press will be using the obituary they've been preparing (this is actually a common practice for older celebrities--older being the key word). I don't know if our culture's obsession with Spears (and other celebrities) is a sign that we like to watch their downfall so we can feel superior (I may not be rich, but at least I'm not like her...). Or is it just the byproduct of our naive, selfish culture that would rather worry about whether Britney is in rehab than if children in Africa have clean water?

It's all just very sad. It's like the person in high school who you could tell had such great potential, but they wasted it in pursuit of popularity and the temporary and often-fleeting approval of their peers. I don't know what's wrong with Britney--if it's mental instability or if she just needs to be taken out of the spotlight--but the bottom line is that it's sad. And I can't help but believe that the way our society has treated her is one of the many things that we'll be held accountable for. The fact that we crave stories about her public breakdown is just a small indication of much greater problems in our society.

On Bringing up Baby

Illustrations on how to take care of your baby.

I only wish the rest of the site were in English. And I'm not so sure that playing chess with your baby is a bad idea--the baby looks pretty intense and ready to take on his dad.

On Glow-in-the-Dark Cats

This might be the most disturbing thing I've seen in a long time:

Cloned cats that glow

Apparently, since scientists in Korea have cured all other diseases, ended poverty and gotten rid of all the potholes in South Korea, they've decided to clone cats and make them glow in the dark.

Okay, I admit, they apparently do have some sort of medical and scientific reason for doing this. But seriously--follow the link and you will be witness to some scary-looking kittens. As if the glowing eyes that cats have naturally isn't scary enough, now their whole face glows.

On Links and Stories

I'm addicted to blogs (personal blogs and just random or 'artsy' blogs) and reading the news. So here are a few things you and everyone you know should read or at least peruse:

Fridgewatcher
What people put on the front of their fridge is a good indication of what they find important or what type of personality they have. On this website, people from all over the world show you what's inside their fridge. You might think it's weird, but it's also pretty flippin' interesting.

American Lawbreaking
This is an article on laws in the U.S. that are on the books but never enforced. It's actually a series of articles, so it's pretty long. Slate (the online magazine where the article is located) has a lot of really great and thought-provoking articles. This article gives you a lot to think about, including the use of prescription drugs. Okay, I admit it. I'm a nerd.

Design*Sponge
This website/blog is for all the creators/imaginators/artists out there. I love it, I love it, I love it. The sight's creator/author finds amazing artists and designers and tells you where to get their goods. It's just been redesigned with some new features. Go there and have ridiculous amounts of fun drooling at the beautiful and well-designed wares.

Burnside Writers Collective
Here is another online magazine started by Donald Miller (of Blue Like Jazz fame) and his friends. Each Monday they have new articles on everything from sports to social justice. The articles are usually well-written and thought-provoking and leave you wishing they published more than just on Mondays. They have an editors blog that is updated on a daily-ish basis as well.

Still Searching
This is Brett McCracken's blog. Who is Brett McCracken, you ask? He's a grad student in L.A. who writes movie reviews for several publications, including Relevant Magazine. His blog showcases his writing prowess and very often has thought-provoking material. I'm a fan. I'd also like to know what he thought of the movie The Squid and the Whale.

Paste Magazine
I love music and I love magazines. So a great magazine dedicated to music? Perfect. This magazine furthers its awesome quotient by not being self-important and acting like they have a stick up their butt, unlike the completely overrated Rolling Stone. There! I said it! Rolling Stone (and Entertainment Weekly and just about every other mainstream media publication) is overrated and so full of themselves, that they've become blinded to quality entertainment/music/film. Paste, however, is breathing fresh, pure, mountain-like air into the industry of music news and reviews. Thank goodness.

McSweeney's
I don't think I even completely understand the point or layout or whatever of this site, which is part of the appeal. But entries like this make me come back wanting more.

One of these days I'll get back to talking about my opinions on current events/world affairs/everything else or maybe I'll even have an interesting story to tell.