Cinematic Sex On The Brew; Hell At The Coffee Chain That. Shall Remain Nameless

To kick off the sex issue of The Brew is Trent Starnes' article "Cinematic Sex: The Build Up And Let Down". It'll help ground your expectations of sex in the real rather than reel world.

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Helplessness, Hopelessness and Hell at The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless

So I’m working at a mall location of The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain for two weeks. I was spared working either the night of July 3rd or at all on the 4th. But today, Saturday, I worked the opening shift, which became a fill-in/afternoon shift.

This particular store is always understaffed, unstable and undesirable. Something about the store stinks and many partners (as this Coffee Chain communistically calls its employees) have sniffed that stench and stay away. The store has burned through three store managers in its less than 12-month run (with one walking out in the middle of a shift) and is currently being run by a guy hired from outside the company, whose resume includes being some sort of manager for Wal-Mart (probably the second-most demonized company in America).

Located in a semi-hidden corner of the mall behind the entrance to an AMC Movie Theater, the store is a place of refuge from the busyness of the mall, states the store’s district manager during his pitch to recruit me for this failing store. There is only one supervisor to run shifts during the day; the store manager, who really is a nice guy, also runs shifts but neither he nor the sole supervisor can cover all the shifts.

Such is the environment that I have to work in for two weeks (the reason why has to do with me working over the aforementioned district manager and the store being at a close, convenient location). Shifts during the week were easier than expected, with much of the normal work getting done. But weekends is where partners can experience Hell on earth.

Friday night was survivable. We had enough people to handle the rushes of people coming and going from the movies. But the store seemed sadly understaffed all day Saturday. From around 2:45 p.m. until I left at 5:15, there was a nearly constant stream of people into the store. All that transpired during these 2.5 hours was the stuff of a barista’s nightmare: people keep coming into the store; all sorts of products run out; the café area is trashed; half of the customers don’t know what they ordered and wanted something different from what you put in front of them, etc.

I stayed an extra hour and 15 minutes because the night crew wouldn’t be able to take lunch breaks if I didn’t. During uncontrolled chaos of those two hours, I became helpless to fix the problems all around me (‘You’re out of napkins and iced coffee’; ‘I ordered a drink before that person…’). The Coffee Chain’s idea of legendary service was trampled to death by the high volume and the five of us working during that rush couldn’t change that.

Anyone getting their drink quickly or made correctly was hopeless. The people working were hopeless to fix anything since no other warm bodies were coming to help. There wasn’t time to step away from the espresso machine to fix any of the problems. There wasn’t any way to make the customers happy or to keep many of them from stepping out of line in frustration and leaving the store.

You just stop caring and trying to rush around so much. It’s hopeless that things will let up and you’re helpless to do anything but continue trotting on, doing what you can to appease whichever customer makes the most immediate fuss (‘I asked for a glass of water ten minutes ago!’).

And then I realized that this kind of resignation is a powerful and accurate description of depression. I won’t make all the connections for ya but give this whole thing another read with that in mind. And if you have no idea what depression is about, this should give you a glimpse.

Sex on The Brew; Kierkegaard Always Amazes

So begins the July issue of The Brew, where we talk about sex. I just posted July's editorial today.
And since most of this month's articles are on the serious side, I wanted to post something that wasn't as serious. So in keeping with July's topic, here's a song to keep things a little lighter. It's 'Business Time' by Flight of the Conchords.

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I'm still working through Provocations by Keirkegaard. The chapter on his collected works on 'Spiritual Trial' is just constantly amazing.

Here's two of the more challenging quotes that I couldn't get out of my head.

"In the case of temptation the right thing to do may be to fight it by avoiding it. In the case of spiritual trial, however, one must go through it. Temptation should be avoided? Temptation is best fought by running away? But this does not work with thoughts that try the spirit, for they pursue you. If it is spiritual trial, go straight toward it, trusting in God and Christ. When you are weak, he is strong."

And here's a great prayer for spiritual trial:
"From your hand, oh God, we are willing to receive everything. And even if it seems that your arm is shortened, increase our faith and our trust so that we might still hold on to you. And if at times it seems that you draw your hand away from us, oh, then we know it is only because you close it only to save the more abundant blessing in it, that you close it only to open it again and satisfy with blessing everything that lives."

Chick Fliks on The Brew

I just posted Kennedy Lewis' article, "Are Chick Flicks = To Porn?" on The Brew.

Enjoy.

Oscar Critique Wraps up on The Brew; Depressed Music

I just posted Keith Ever's second part of "And The Winner Is..." on The Brew.

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So I'm in a semi-depressed state after one of those unavoidable times in life. Here's what I've been listening to (though none of the songs accurately reflect that life experience. They just provide the right kind of mood to sail through that kind of time):

Radiohead's OK Computer album
"Hang Me Out To Dry", "Hospital Bed", and "Rubidoux" by The Cold War Kids
"Dekota", "Long Way Around", and "Nothing Compares To You" (Cover) by Stereophonics
"Underground", "Philosophy", "Song For The Dumped", and "Battle Of Who Could Care Less" by Ben Folds Five
The Black Holes and Revelations album by Muse

The Oscars On The Brew

I posted the first part of Keith Ever's "And The Winner Is...", a critique of the Oscars, on The Brew.
Watch for Part 2 on Monday.

Cohen Brothers on The Brew

I posted my short overview of Cohen Brothers' films on The Brew.
Enjoy.

Acting on The Brew; A Christian Will Ferrell; So Many Songs, So Many Issues

I posted Shannon Neffendorf's critique of acting, "Acting To Shatter The Soul" on The Brew.

Watch for more this month. There's still plenty to come.

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I watched Winter Passing last night was amazed. Will Ferrel does another restrained turn (like in Stranger Than Fiction), this time playing a bassist from a Christian rock band, Punching Pilate. His character is so nuanced and subtle, but is the most accurate and sympathetic portrayal of a Christian I've ever seen.

The rest of the movie is a pretty good indie drama. There's some great literary one-liners and great acting. Though, some might be disturbed by a scene where a dying kitten is euthanized (nothing graphic).

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So I bought a subscription to a music service (and am quietly proud to not use I-Tunes) and am obtaining music more legally.

I'm amazed to find the most random tracks ("Super Bon Bon" by the defunct Soul Coughing and a spooky piano and distorted guitar track from the 28 Days Later SDTRK). I also can't believe the wealth of music that is out there. I can get just about anything I can think of (though I'm having some trouble finding some older Christian rock songs: Bleach, Silage, etc.).

I'm also reading through Ecclesiastes with some guys I'm in a Bible study with. I'm digesting the expected "Life if meaningless" and "Only God can provide meaning" ideas. And then I'm seeing those idea apply to my music downloading.

I can download all the music that my laptop can hold, but will it really make me happy? And if I do download all that I can think of, God can add meaning to it all and use it for good.

Oh, the joys of having such a dualistic and complicated faith. But I don't think I would have it be any less complicated.

Hope On The Brew

I posted Lonnie Smith's article on Alphonso Cuaron's film Children of Men on The Brew.

Enjoy.

Christploitation On The Brew; MuteMath and Transformers

Yeah, there's such a word; and such a genre of film. New author Ian North explains it on The Brew.

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I found out MuteMath did the theme song for the new Transformers movie. Don't know what to think of it.

The Brew Goes Across The Pond; Freedom To Fellowship

I posted new author David Wright's "Director Michael Apted's Look At Life, Every 7 Years" on The Brew.
The article explores British director Apted's look at a group of people every 7 years.

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I was journaling the other day (something I’ve started doing less and less).
I wrote a lot about freedom, independence and then on to community and fellowship.

It got me thinking in these big-concept kind of words that seemed like they would make a good one-word-a-line poem. So here is my first attempt at poetry in a long, long time.

Freedom
Independence
Individuality
Interaction
Commonality
Community
Submission
Similarities
Sharing
Fellowship

The Brew Goes To the Movies; Murder Mystery Dinner

I posted the first film article "The State Of Film in America" by Keith Evers (new author) on The Brew.

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Murder Mystery Dinner

So I went to a murder mystery dinner at the Cattleman’s Steakhouse in Dallas for my birthday.

It was pretty cool and not too cheesy. A few actors were mixed in with the sixty or so other dinner guests and slowly died off during dinner.

The guests quickly became just as entertaining as the show throughout the night.
There was a drunk dad there with his two teenage boys. The dad would joke around, scream and yell, “He did it!” while pointing at someone at random. And then he got into an argument with an Indian guy and asked him to step outside with him (the emcees stopped anything from happening).

Then my date and I shared a table with a lesbian couple. They were celebrating their 5th anniversary in Dallas. An ex-husband of one of them was best friends with the other and that is apparently how they met.

During a short time where all the dinner guests were instructed to look around the room for clues to a murder that took place during our salads, some thought they might find a clue in my date’s purse (which she had left hanging on the back of her chair at the table).
She realized that she left it there two or three minutes into the search of the room. The purse was open and sitting on the floor when we got back to the table. Talk about truly frightening.

To make the night interactive, regular guests were made to stand up and be interrogated by the actor playing a detective (other actors mixed in with the crowd were the actual victims and murderers in the show). Because it was my birthday, someone gave the people in charge of the show some dirt on me.

Here’s how my interrogation went:

Detective: “So, I hear you used to be a criminal reporter in Chicago.”
Me: “Yes.”
D: “And you moved around a lot. Sounds like you’re a little shifty.”
E: “Uh, yeah.”
D: “So it seems like you might have a good means and background to be able to kill someone.”
E: “Sure (There was a gasp, some chuckles, and a “That’s a confession!” heard among the other dinner guests.).”

I met an older couple in their 50s who were missionaries in Romania with Christ for the Nations (which is headquartered in south Dallas). It was also the husband’s birthday and he was wearing a bow-tie.

So Many Brews: Clean Sopranos; A Real Post

This week was busy at The Brew. I had three articles that I had to squeeze in in three days. The two I hadn't linked to yet are Lonnie Smith's "Space Between Teeth"; and then my own "4 Easy Steps To Putting Space Between Yourself and an Unhealthy Faith".

I also posted June's editorial on Film.

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If the PAX TV network ever aired The Sopranos, it would look something like this.

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I feel like I haven't been putting out any real posts (as in something with a real topic) and just filler. This last week was pretty busy but maybe next week I can put something together.

Another new Brew author...

The first of three upcoming, quickly-posted articles is new author Shannon Neffendorf's "True Freedom Found In Eliminating Space." Check it out.

Specialty Brew; Weird News; Camp Songs and Anglicanism

A new section of The Brew, Specialty Brews, will be featuring more creative pieces. I posted new author Travis Theiszen's poem "The Southern Inquisition" on The Brew.

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Burger wars and name calling: Hardee's upset over Jack In The Box accusation (or misspelling) that their burgers are made from 'anus' (rather than angus) meat.

An ice cream truck that got sold some herbal ice cream. I'm a little upset because I blogged about this years ago while living in Chicago. I'm suing for patent issues.

Massachusetts short, fat people to get more rights. For real.

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I visited Christ Church of Plano last night. I was moved and will probably go back to their Saturday night service again sometime.

The church recently broke away from it's Episcopal connections and runs like an independent Bible church, though they are Anglican (as far as a person who doesn't go there and has only heard secondhand about their history can know).

During the traditional liturgy service, they sang "Shine, Jesus Shine". This was a trip. That song brings back so many adolescent nights spent sitting on dirty logs around a campfire, watching sparks fly up into the air. "Shine" was always sung, sticks were always thrown into the fire in dedication.

But the use of "Shine" in a liturgy is illustrative of the unique character of the church, I hear. The officient made it all connect to Day of Pentecost (which is today, I think, in the church calendar) somehow and it worked into the liturgy pretty well.

Adjustments to Delirious? Interview; New Brew; Progress

I had to take down the last two posts that featured my interview with Delirious? bassist John Thatcher, because the article won't be published until July in Veritasse magazine.
I'm a little used to more of the start-up mentality with it comes to publishing things, where you can publish about anything.
But come July, after I get permission to reprint the interview from the magazine editor, I'll re-post it here. So you can wait till then or go out and buy Veritasse at a Barnes and Noble or Borders.

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On those previous posts (which I had to delete), I linked to Dan Morgan's article. If you missed it, here it is again.

I also just posted Kevin Schwartz's article "Creating Space For Home," which runs a long a similar vein thematically as Dan's.

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Had an encouraging conversation with a friend of mine about progress. We had a common bond of both suffering from depression, either now or in the past. So the idea of progress means a lot.

While talking, I realized that I've made a lot of progress in dealing with depression. I've been able to deal with depression as it comes and still get on with my life. I can say that I have a healthier faith and am probably optimistic when it comes to thinking about faith (probably still not so much about humanity).

Some of the things that help me are: staying busy; not trying to do much when I am depressed; get a good night's sleep when I am depressed and start over the next day. Use films as an outlet of expression or let them be a healthy distraction (Film is the Brew's topic for June, also).

It's funny that I realized this now. Because I could probably say that I'm one of those people I used to look at and think, "Wow. I know that they struggled with depression. And look at them now. They're getting married. They have a good job. They're not holed up in some apartment somewhere, unable to do anything." Those people gave me hope.

New Brew; Crazy News; Christian Music

I just posted new author Dave Fischer's article "Arrival, Departure and Places In-Between" on The Brew.

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More Crazy News:

A Japanese idea to deal with overpopulation.

How a little suburban Dallas town is dealing with illegal immigration.

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During the last week and half I immersed myself in everything Delirious? to get ready to interview them on Wednesday. I haven't been a big fan of worship music, and I usually gravitate toward most anything darker or edgier. But Delirious? grew on me, especially their most recent album The Mission Bell. There's plenty of edgier and darker songs on the album and a good friend of mine describe the album as probing the dark side of worship.

This made me realize that I recently had somehow been more willing to listen to Christian music. I even went to a LifeWay store and bought 4 of the clearance CDs: Glo by Delirious?; Drawing Black Lines by Project 86; the untitled debut album by The Benjamin Gate; and a remix cd of John Ruben hits.

Maybe I'm not outright dismissing Christian music as much as I used to. I'd always give lip service to the 'real' artists out there and how they're not becoming products of the record labels desperately trying to keep up with pop culture. But now I'm actually turning to the Christian rock station more often and keeping my radio there.

Maybe it was seeing MuteMath live. Maybe it was the Delirious? binge. Maybe it was Toby Mac's new over-produced-but-catchier-than-classic-Newsboys song "Boomin." If you haven't heard 'Boomin' yet, you've got to check it out for it's sheer audacity and attitude.

New Brew; Jesus Camp

I posted Lonnie's article on Isaac Asimov's view of space on The Brew.

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I viewed one of the most disturbing and possibly enraging films of all times: Jesus Camp.

I had the college group from church over for a movie and discussion night to watch it. A friend said he felt sick after watching it. I was left perplexed, but for a different reason than you might think.

Now, naturally, people wanting to make a documentary about a fiery, flamboyant, and fundamentalist church camp don’t have to look too far for material. There is plenty of naturally disturbing footage that needs nothing added to shock.

But I was a little more distracted by the style and other technical details. The documentary follows three kids who attend camp leader Becky Fischer’s “Kids on Fire Summer Camp.” Though one of the three, a little girl who likes to dance to Christian hardcore music, disappears more as the film progresses. I wondered if she wasn’t vibrant or dramatic enough to merit further inclusion.

The last half of the film follows the other two kids as they listen to a sermon by Ted Haggard at New Life Church in Colorado Springs and then later protest in Washington, D.C. (The filmmakers surely had no idea how damning or ironic their footage of Haggard would become. There is a very interesting response here by the filmmakers to Haggard’s accusation that they had an agenda). At this point, the film seemed to be more about the fundamentalist movement rather than about the camp or Becky Fischer. The praying, singing and protesting in our capital seemed to be the climax rather than kids returning home from camp.

Other segments in the film also rubbed me the wrong way for how they seemed staged. (For an example of documentary staging, watch anything by Michael Moore). A radio talk show featured throughout the film seemed ultra-staged, especially when Fischer called in to try to defend herself.

The first half-hour of the film is sufficient to disturb everyone and also accomplishes what the filmmakers wanted to communicate. The remaining 50 minutes seems to take on a different purpose, or, dare I say, agenda.

I wondered more after watching Camp if any kind of documentary could truly be unbiased. Conceptually, a documentary’s aim is usually just to tape reality as it is, with no agenda. But then, you can’t show an entire fundamentalist church service and would have to do some editing. And it seems that in the editing, the temptation to stage some great shots that would so compliment the service would creep in. And then you get to thinking how you could add in some voice-overs from a different interview or some other clip that might realistically fit in with the original church service. And then you could re-shoot some altar call and tell some little girl to hold out letting go of those tears just a little longer.
Hmmmmmmmm. Stuff to think about.

New Brew; Movie Quickies; Disturbing 70s Evangelical Video

I just posted part 2 of Kevin Davis' "The Truth in Words and Spaces" on The Brew.

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Here's some quick reviews on some movies I saw recently.

Spiderman 3 (as can be expected): Good effects. Nutin' else.

Zodiac: Great movie that's more about obsessive people following the case than about the serial killer.

Breach: The most thrilling movie with the least amount of action.

Hot Fuzz: Genius send-up of action movies by the Brits who made Shaun Of The Dead. A must see if only to see Timothy Dalton ( a former Bond) as a grocery store owner.

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Scary evangelical video from some 70s fundamentalist preacher. Be warned: It is disturbing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1paYhEDFQIw

New Brew; MuteMath

I posted two articles on The Brew today. The first is the newest article for May's Space issue: "The Truth in Words and Spaces" by new author Kevin Davis. The second is an article submitted for the April Issue which I somehow completely missed. But with the magic of the Internet and a time machine, I posted the article as it should be: classified under the April Issue with the rest of the 2 x 4 articles. (Or if you want the easy route, it's right here.) It's Lonnie's "Leadership At Work," perfect for anyone who has worked in a cubicle.

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I went to go see MuteMath on Friday so this is the post where I tell you how awesome they are (because they were). The energy the 4-person band han was indescribable.

Frenetic would be an understatement. The lead singer jumped, clapped, and mosched all over the stage. At one point, he did handstands on the piano he was pounding, and then began climbing on the wall of lights at the back of the stage.

The drummer was so animated that he had to duct-tap his headphones onto his head.

Here's a clip that was pretty equivalent to the show I saw (including the breaking of the light wall).

New Brew; E-news (without the celeberties)

I just posted "The MySpace-ination of Community" on The Brew by new author Jon Reisinger.

Also posted was the May editorial, which I forgot to link to earlier. The Brew's new look will feature each month's editorial at the top of the page, making it (and the the month's theme) more easily accessible.

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I found some very interesting news on how crazy the new online world can be and how even the military is trying to keep up with it.

A Wired story about the military previewing all kinds of electronic transmissions from soldiers on the field.

The Obama campaign conquers a MySpace page originally designed to support the candidate.