#the dichotomy of 'what could happen there's 37 more books'

[lazylittledragon]

hi i'm unw el l

[bmichael]

You Forget It

It was a real “hmm/oh shit” type of moment when I learned (with the proviso that things like brain research create provisional truths at best) that memory itself is made more malleable, that it can become misshapen or break, through too much handling/recall. Like a low ductility metal snapping under the fatigue of bending too much this way and that way.**

I started to think about accessing memories like the rules of The Game. (You just lost.) I have a handful of very cherished memories that I’d like to keep intact. How can you said to “have” a memory, though, if you don’t access it? Sometimes I think about the circumstances surrounding the memory like the precious metal setting of a jewel. But will the setting wear out and deform? I think about my thoughts and feelings rather than facts, if you can allow a dichotomy between thoughts/feelings and facts. Of course you remember how something made you felt. That seems to be more immediate than what you thought. If other animals and trees and plants and babies can be said to have consciousness, which I think they can, then feeling should be primary over thought. I feel therefore I am.

I remember buying You Forget It In People at the Wal-Mart in New Hartford, NY with my mom. She drove. I don’t remember what kind of car or what the weather was like. At some point I had skimmed the ‘glowing Pitchfork review’ that would go on to power so much of my cultural discourse over the next decade, and, if the dates can be trusted, I must have wanted to go out and buy it during summer break in 2003. I was in college and still, technically, a teenager.

It was only a five/ten minute drive home, but I popped the CD into the player and turned it on. I remember this. I must have been excited. The first track, “Capture the Flag” is basically instrumental. I had not expected this. I remember having a distinct “what the fuck” reaction. This was not a track from an album that

explodes with song after song of endlessly replayable, perfect pop.

The next song, “KC Accidental” more than makes up for it. But then again, it starts with a pretty groovy-emotive hi-hat and cymbal riding instrumental section nearing two minutes. So that’s four minutes of by turns moody and loping instrumental music of dubious provenance, which, if you are actually reading and remembering, was half to the majority of the car ride home’s duration.

I don’t remember anything that happened next. Just that moment in the front seat of my mom’s car, kind of sharing a look and thinking that this was not the album that was promised to me. Over the course of I don’t know how long, more or less since that moment, I’ve loved and adored You Forget it in People and listened to it countless times. 

There’s a new Broken Social Scene album out today and I haven’t heard a single track off it. (BTW, how quaint was it to be genuinely excited about an album (I mean, an album in general now, but) from a band you’ve never heard of, and you go out and buy it (CD or no) sound unheard. Those were the days. (Also, I know in 2003 I probably could have heard it somehow - don’t @ me.)) This morning I wanted to listen to You Forget it In People and then listen to the new one and kind of travel through time 14 or 15 years. Which of course got me thinking about other things.

My wife and I just had a daughter. She’s far too young to have any taste in music (I think???), but that doesn’t stop me from quietly playing things in the background. One song I’ve been listening to on repeat is “XO TOUR Llif3″.

Lil Uzi Vert is around 20 years old I think, so he’s not a teen, but he’s still a kid. Unbelievably dark subject matter aside. I didn’t really get this song at first. I probably stuck with it because I’m a vampire hypebeast old person. (A dad, even.) 

More background: 

So does Lil Uzi Vert suck? I don’t know. It’s almost an irrelevant question, and it has the same answer as it did when I asked it about Lil Yachty last year. I’m a 37-year-old white man with kids and dogs and a mortgage and a minivan. I shouldn’t like Lil Uzi Vert. If I did, something would be wrong. [...] those of us who grumped about Uzi won’t be grumping anymore. We won’t be at the fucking party in the first place. We’ll be at home, fallen asleep, with a good book on our chests. Or we’ll be dead.

I enjoyed reading Tom Breihan’s essay, “Does Lil Uzi Vert Suck?”, even though I don’t think I share the same perspective. Or, that’s to say, I share his measured evaluation quoted above, but not being part of the media or a tastemaker or whatever means my opinion on the matter doesn’t really matter. I just think of Lil Uzi Vert as a kid making cool music.

Trying to tie this all together, I’ve been thinking about the premise that my daughter will grow up thinking all the things -- music, politics, views --  are old and cruddy. Lacking magic. (I actually don’t agree with this premise, but that seems to be the prevailing cultural view.) And the irony is that this song will always be a weird song made by a kid, but my daughter will think it’s a song for old people. But then I wonder.

The drink you spilt all over me 'Lover's Spit' left on repeat My mom and dad let me stay home It drives you crazy, getting old

I think about Lorde, the world’s teenage (well, at the time she wrote the above) darling. If she felt some frisson from a decade-old album, one that I loved at around her age, then maybe my daughter will feel the same way about the decade-old stuff that I like? I don’t know, it’s kind of a morass and I’m sure I’ll see in time.

** Case in point: I’ve always thought the album was called You Forget It In People when it’s You Forgot It In People...

[writersriot]

The Outsiders Queer Subtext ft. Jally - Part 17

Monday, May 1, 2017

Sorry for the long absence! My usual update is stuck in my drafts lol so I’m writing a fairly quick insert to talk about the Greasers and the Socs as portrayed in the book.

Ponyboy is walking with Johnny, Two-Bit, and Cherry and Marcia after the movies. Pony is realizing that the Socs seem to be just like the Greasers.

It seemed funny to my that Socs -- if these girls were any example -- were just like us. They liked the Beatles and thought Elvis Presley was out, and we thought the Beatles were rank and that Elvis was tuff, but that seemed the only difference to me. Of course greasy girls would have acted a lot tougher, but there was a basic sameness. I thought maybe it was money that separated us. (Pg 37-38)

Now I think this is really interesting coming from Ponyboy. He’s fourteen (14!! Not 13! lol) and he still goes to school with Johnny, so he sees the Socs in that environment, away from the neighborhood rumbles. He seems to think that it’s mostly attitude and money that separates Greasers and Socs.

And I think about Darry sometimes, how he played sports and had Soc friends. I think Darry could have easily been a Soc, despite living in a Greaser neighborhood. The Curtis parents were a point of stability for the whole gang, so we know the Curtis boys have been in the gang for quite a while. I wonder what the parents thought of the fighting and everything, if they tried to keep their boys out of trouble or just let it happen because in a way, it was safer to have friends as backup in that neighborhood.

So what if the Curtis’ had more money and lived in a better part of town? Would all the kids have been more likely to be Socs? If their parents hadn’t died, Darry would have been playing sports, maybe going to college. Soda would still be in school, not feeling like the only thing he can do is work to help Darry support them. And Ponyboy wouldn’t be so stressed at such a young age. Money couldn’t have kept their parents alive, but maybe it could have made living without them a little easier. I don’t know.

So is it just money that separates Greasers from Socs? Cherry doesn’t think so.

“No,” Cherry said slowly when I said this. “It’s not just money. Part of it is, but not all. You greasers have a different set of values. You’re more emotional. We’re sophisticated -- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us. You know, sometimes I’ll catch myself talking to a girl-friend, and realize I don’t mean half of what I’m saying. I don’t really think a beer blast on the river bottom is super-cool, but I’ll rave about one to a girl-friend just to be saying something.” She smiled at me. “I never told anyone that. I think you’re the first person I’ve ever really gotten through to.”

She was coming through to me all right, probably because I was a greaser, and younger; she didn’t have to keep her guard up with me. (Pg 38)

I just have to laugh for one second that Ponyboy is not even close to being a threat to Cherry. A fourteen-year-old Dally would have been a very different story. So I just want to say how much I love soft Pony and Johnny, okay? I mean, they’re tough but they’re also Soft and I love them both.

As an important aside, Cherry describes talking to her girl-friends just to talk, pretending she likes something just because that’s what they all do. Now, she means it as an example of how the Socs don’t feel anything and barely care about anything. But I see it as having another level of meaning.

How much of our teenage years do people spend pretending to like something or be a certain way just to impress or be liked by others? I feel like that’s a basic tenant of high school life no matter how much we might try to be ourselves. And if someone like Cherry pretends in her everyday life, how can we say who else is pretending or not?

‘Cause you know who ends up pretending or just trying to be like others more often than not? Queer people. Especially baby queers who may only have an inkling that they’re different and that might scare them. I know I did this, pressured into relationships, as did many queer kids I knew at the time. So many people think they’re straight because it’s the only option they know, especially in this generation growing up in the 60s. Thank you, heteronormativity. I just wanted to point that out, to consider in the whole of the book. Especially when Ponyboy as the narrator is fallible and may not fully understand all the dynamics of the gang.

(I could imagine a shy, quiet Johnny just starting to realize his feelings in how he idolizes Dally, while Dally is like “fuck no” all as he is dying over Johnny’s existence.)

So anyway, according to Cherry, the Socs are cool and emotionless while the Greasers run hot and feel everything. The Socs have money, have privilege, have anything they could want so that means they have a difficult time finding meaning in anything. That’s the basis of why Socs get into trouble, fucking shit up and fighting. The Greasers really have nothing but each other, so that’s what they fight for because no one else will do it. They don’t have money, they barely have family outside their gangs, so all they can do is rail against the world.

That was the truth. Socs were always behind a wall of aloofness, careful not to let their real selves show through. I had seen a social-club rumble once. The Socs even fought coldly and practically and impersonally.

“That’s why we’re separated,” I said. “It’s not money, it’s feeling -- you don’t feel anything and we feel too violently.” (Pg 38)

I want to call a little bit of BS here just because money and the following privilege is a huge part of how the Socs and Greasers live every day. It’s in how they are raised by their socialite parents to have everything except maybe what they really need to care about, like love. It’s in how they might have nothing but a group of friends to watch their back, and how they will throw down everything for love of their chosen families.

It’s a stereotype that money and privilege beget this cool, aloof behavior of not caring about stuff, but here it seems to have some truth to it. And we know people who struggle every day for every little thing they have can be some of the most empathetic and giving people. I see a lot of this in these characters. I want to say Socs fight to maybe feel something while Greasers fight to numb themselves. It’s a fascinating dichotomy that still exists in various ways today.

And I can’t leave this comparison without talking about Dally. So knowing this is what Pony thinks about Greasers, how they feel too much too violently. . .what I want to know once again is why does this kid think Dallas Winston is a cold, emotionless bad guy? I mean, yes the seventeen-year-old acts like he’s seen and experienced everything, and hell, maybe he has. He fucks shit up and rolls little kids because it’s all he knows. Out of all the gang, he probably causes the most trouble. So by Pony’s reasoning here, that would likely mean Dally feels more than anyone else. He’s been through so much shit from such an early age, and he acts out because he can’t handle it. I just. I’ve said this all before and I’ll say it again, but I can’t with Dally. I love him. He is not Soft like Johnny, but he is Tough in a way that makes me want to protect him. Dally is Tough because inside he is vulnerable and Soft.

Yet Pony seems to think Dally cares about nothing and no one, when time and again Dally proves the opposite to be true just by how he treats everyone in the gang, especially Johnny. Dally cares, but Pony somehow doesn’t see it?? This is why I can’t necessarily take Pony’s narration seriously because he only sees his part of the story, and the text on the page only hints at the stuff Pony doesn’t experience. So a lot of important reading of The Outsiders depends on the subtext, and catching the hints and extrapolating on what is unsaid as much as what is stated outright. SE Hinton might not be aware of what kind of subtext she was setting up when she wrote this as a teenager. . .but I sure as hell see it and it’s queer af.

That’s all for now. I meant this to be short but it still took me a few hours lol oh well.

Until the next part~

[b8horpet]

Bajillion Questions Meme

“Rules: Answer all questions, add one question of your own and tag as many people as there are questions!”

not tagged, but wanted to do it anyway. @pidzson​, here is your useless info dump!

let’s begin, shall we?

1. Coke or Pepsi: mostly neither, if i have to choose coke

2. Disney or DreamWorks: Both’s fine, probably disney’s a bit nicer

3. Coffee or Tea: coffee is the main substance circulating in my veins, the second one is blood

4. Books or Movies: I love reading, but i don’t always have time for a book, so movies are good too (except movies based on books i read)

5. Windows or Mac: Linux is love, linux is life! i use windows for gaming and linux for working

6. DC or Marvel: not a big fan of superhero stuff, marvel is kinda funny sometimes

7. Xbox or Playstation: Glorious PC masterrace. Never owned a console, and i think i won’t buy one for a very long period of time. (mainly using my machine for coding)

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: played both a very little. Dragon age was fun.

9. Night Owl or Early Rise: I live approx 9 timezones away from my sleep schedule, so as much of a night owl as physically possible.

10. Cards or Chess: I’m bad at chess, so this leaves cards for me, i guess.

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: chocolate

12. Vans or Converse: converse looking cheap ripoff

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar (dragon age): what? (Morrigan :P)

14. Fluff or Angst: what?

15: the missing question?

16. Dogs or Cats: cats :3

17. Clear Skies or Rain: either clear skies with sunshine and happiness, or thunderstorm (watched from a safe and warm place)

18. Cooking or Eating Out: eating out, i don’t really like cooking

19. Spicy Food or Mild Food: Both, i really like spicy, but not every day, only if i have a mood for it

20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: Ironic holidays, like Zombie jesus day, or programmers’ day or so

21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: i think i’d be a bit too hot, i can endure warmth better

22. If you could have a superpower, what would it be: no sleep would be fucking awesome, but:

bethesda glitches!

23. Animation or Live Action: probably animation

24. Paragon or Renegade (Mass Effect): usually paragon, with a hint of renegade

25. Baths or Showers: baths that take 2 hours long

26. Team Cap or Team Iron Man: idk

27. Fantasy or Sci-fi: Sci-fi

28. Do you have three or four favorite quotes? If so, what are they?

“There are 2 hard problems in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-1 errors.”

“Why walk, when you can ride?”

“Who are you? How did you get in my house?“

29. YouTube or Netflix: definitely youtube, i watch courses lessons and talks related my work and hobby

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: idk Percy Jackson, so Harry Potter (and the false dichotomy)

31. When Do You Feel Accomplished: when i can do some work on my hobby project and looking back at it i don’t have a sudden urge to vomit

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: Star Trek

33. Paperback Books or Hardback Books: Both?

34. Handwriting or Typing: i genuinely forgot how to write by hand so typing

35. Velvet or Satin: i’d look horrible in both -- neither

36. Video Games or Movies: games, of course

37. Would you rather be the dragon or own the dragon: own

38. Sunrise or Sunset: after an allnighter seeing the sunrise and realizing my day will be fucked

39. What’s your favorite song: Know

40. Horror Movies, yes or no: mostly no

41. Long or Short Hair: long hair

42. Opera or Theatre: i occasionally enjoy theatre

43. Assuming the multiverse theory is true and that every story ever told has really happened somewhere, which one of the movie/book/tv show/game/etc worlds would you pick to travel to first: the one where the multiverse theory is not true -- joking aside, if i could travel to more than one, first some futuristic stuff like westworld or so

44. If you had to eat only one thing for the rest of your life what would it be: pizza?

45. Older guys/girls or younger guys/girls (I guess you can change this to your preference): doesn’t really matter, preferably around the same age

46. If you could erase any show from TV history, what would it be: reality shows

47. Singing or Dancing: i’ve got the moves like jabba, and probably the voice too. neither

48. Instagram or Twitter: i follow a few interesting person on twitter

49. Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit: not a big lotr fan, but probably the one with the ring

50. If you could create either a sequel or bring back any tv show/movie, what would you choose: Firefly, just to end the firefly only has 1 season and everybody is butthurt about it nonsense

51. Who is your movie/tv show character that you are looking up to and why? Charlie Bradbury

52. If you were ever convicted of a crime, what would it be? Developing an advanced enough AI to wipe off all human kind. but who would judge me then, i mean literally, there’s nobody left...

53. Anime- subbed or dubbed? i like the funny translations and translator’s remarks in subs, so sub (not watching animes generally)

54. City or countryside? city

55. What book have you read over and over? Harry Potter (and the Neural Nets and practical applications)

56. What is your personality type? INTP

57. Would you rather change a moment in time or have a glimpse into the future? We really don’t have much future imho, so i would tweak a thing or two in the past

58. Is there a popular series that you just can’t get into? most of it, Game of Thrones especially

59. Dream job? Developing an advanced enough AI to wipe off all human kind.

60. What does your name mean? Stone/rock

61. Have you really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like? Yes! of course

no tagging, feel free to do it if you like

[prodigaldaughteralice]

Learn about Alice?

@elsendor-personal​ tagged me for this! It was really fun to read hers so I figured I’d do it too. Also, trying to answer either/or questions just Does Not Work for me so please forgive all the equivocation that’s definitely about to happen...

1. Coke or Pepsi: Neither! I’m not a fan of cola. I like cream soda, orange soda, ginger beer, and lemon-lime sodas, but only occasionally, and I’ll usually thin them out with water unless it’s part of an ice cream float.

2. Disney or Dreamworks: Both have made great things! It’s very much an era thing to me?

3. Coffee or Tea: Tea! Tea tea tea, tea is the life-giver. I like coffee too, though. I didn’t used to drink it, and then I got a job as a barista, and I learnt to appreciate it, especially lattes and cappuccinos. I’m still our store’s official Tea Expert though~

4. Books or Movies: 

My gf gave me a necklace that says “The Book Was Better”. I love it. (Not that I don’t love a well-crafted movie! It’s just a different art form and as a novelist I gotta stick to my side~

5. Windows or Mac: Mac! My dad’s worked for Apple most of my life, but even before he got that job we’ve been using Macs. I don’t have anything against other computers, but Macs work for me.

6. DC or Marvel: ...classic Marvel, but Marvel is being a dick lately.

7. X-box or Playstation: Playstation. Our first console was a PS2.

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: Neither? Haven’t played either, have no real plans to.

9. Night Owl or Early Riser: Oh lordy. I’m an insomniac, so this is very different day by day and whatever my brain/sleep schedule is doing right then. Back when I was opening at work, I had to get there at 4:15AM, so I was going to bed at 9 every night like an old granny... now I’m closing, so I don’t get home until ten or eleven PM depending on the day.

10. Cards or Chess: I’m not particularly good at chess but I like it... and I tend to forget the rules to card games.

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Vanilla! Chocolate tastes gross. (Also I may be low-key allergic to it.)

12. Vans or Converse: I have a pair of each and idgaf. I like individual designs, not the companies.

13. Lavallan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: ...?

14. Fluff or Angst: A healthy mix of both, please! Also it depends on the mood I’m in. I like stories to get really dark and achy but if you’re acting like there’s no hope in the world at all or like everyone is an asshole I just lose interest immediately.

15. Beach or Forest: Forest for sure. I don’t do well with bright sunlight, but deep forest feels like home.

16. Dogs or Cats: I love cats the best. I like big dogs too (though I’m afraid of small ones) but cats and I just get on better.

17. Clear Skies or Rain:  Rain, rain, come and stay, fill the basins every day! Rain makes the world come alive.

18. Cooking or Eating Out: I’m not a great cook, but whenever I manage to make something decent it’s so satisfying... I love it.

19. Spicy Food or Mild:  I like spicy food but I don’t have much of a tolerance for it anymore. There was a period of about half a year where I was living in the north-east of Canada at a school with a very poor situation food-wise, and I spent a lot of evenings eating hot sauce straight from the bottle instead of going down to the dining hall because the rotting spinach and Tater Tot Casserole were just so depressing. I kind of killed my spice tolerance.

20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: I like the spirit in the air of Hallowe’en best, but I like the celebration of Christmas. We don’t get a lot of trick-or-treaters where I am, and what else do you do for Hallowe’en? I don’t go to parties, so there’s nobody around to appreciate my costume and it feels sad. Christmas, though, I spend with my family and we have a lot of little traditions that I love.

21. Little too cold or little too hot: Little too cold! I do not do well with heat, it drives me nuts.

22. Superpower: Immortality! I’d like to share it, too.

23. Animation or Live Action: Damn, how could I pick between these? There’s high points of each.

24. Paragon or Renegade: I... assume this is a reference to something?

25. Bath or Showers: Showers for sure. I like baths in theory but I always have such a “I’m supposed to be doing something!!!” feeling that I can’t really relax in them.

26. Team Cap or Team Ironman: I like Cap better as a character. If this is a reference to the Civil War arc I never really got into that enough to pick sides there.

27. Fantasy or Sci-Fi: Man, there’s so much overlap here. “Any sufficiently advanced science looks like magic” and all. I’m more of a fantasy gal, but I really love genre-blending stuff. (Also I don’t want these two pitted against each other. We should work together to fight the genre ghetto!)

28. Fav Quotes: ...I am not going to pick a favourite quote. The one that comes to mind right now is “You know if other people did to you what you do to yourself, they could be put in jail?” from Company.

29. Youtube or Netflix: I’m cross with YouTube right now for showing me spoilery thumbnails of SU leaks in my “recommended videos” section.

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: I haven’t read Percy Jackson! I like Harry Potter but I was never as obsessed with it as it seems like the rest of my generation was/is. I think JKR is a good writer on a plot/arc level but line by line she just doesn’t grab me?

31. When I Feel Accomplished: When I get external validation, especially from people I don’t know so it’s harder for my brain to go “she’s just saying that because she wants you to feel better”.

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: Trek! Trek trek trek. I grew up watching Voyager (which lbr is a bit of a hot mess but I love it anyway) and I’ve seen all of it, TOS, and Next Gen at least twice, and I’ve watched parts of Enterprise and DS9. Next Gen is my favourite.

33. Paperback Books or Hardback: Hardback books make me happy. They’re so solid and satisfying. I’ll read things in whatever format I can get, though.

34. A world without literature or music:

35. Who was the last person to make me laugh: My mum. She was reading aloud one of those lists of Wacky Laws.

36. Sour or Sweet Candy:  Both Are Good

37. Believe in aliens?: I think that given the vastness of the universe there’s no way that there isn’t life out there besides us, but also that it’s very unlikely we’ll ever encounter it.

38. Dawn or Dusk: Dusk. Especially in that moment of the gloaming, when the sky is lit up purple or pink and all the trees and buildings are silhouetted against it.

39. Piercings or Tattoos:  They’re both neat, but I only want the piercing in each earlobe that I have. I love good tattoos on other people, it’s just not my thing for myself.

40. Girls? Hot?: YES.

41. Snow or Fog: Snow. Growing up in California, I don’t have a lot of experience with snow, but I adore it when I do get to see it.

42. Sleep facing the wall or room: Turn over fifty times til I get angry with myself for not being able to sleep and scream into a pillow.

43. TRC of AFTG: ...what

44. Horror or Drama: Horror-- but I think you need elements of both together. Anyway I like psychological and environmental horror, not gore and jumpscares.

45. Orcarina of Time or Majora’s Mask: Haven’t played either!

46. Living in nature or city: I live in a small city/suburbs right now... I think the ideal would be somewhere you could get to both with just a bit of a drive. I love to be near the forest, but also I need the stimulation of a city, where I can see theatre and music and stuff.

47. Any addictions: Caffeine, probably, though I don’t get headaches or anything if I go without-- I just get really tired.

48. Languages:  Only language I’m fluent in is English. I studied Japanese for many years and can translate out of it if you give me time and a kanji dictionary, but any time I try to speak it I get really embarrassed and my brain switches back to English. I’d love to go back to classes/get better, but I keep not having the time....

49. What music do I listen to: I listen to a wide variety of stuff. Indie rock, pop, alt-country, synth metal, folk, classic rock.... I don’t care about genre, actually, so long as it speaks to me. I’m always looking for “vaguely creepy dreamy music with eerie lyrics and lady vocalists”, so if you have any recommendations on that score hit me up :)

50. Fav mythical creature: It’s not so much an individual creature, but I’m a little obsessed with animal bride fairytales. Selkies, the Crane Wife, that one arctic one with the tern... I’m also a sucker (hah) for well written vampires.

51. Safe zone: Curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a good book. 

52. First fandom: First thing I got into that had a fandom, either Voyager or Xena. First thing I interacted with the fandom of, Fruits Basket.

53. Cartoons or Adult Shows: ...false dichotomy. There are adult cartoons too.

54. Current music: Well I don’t have anything on right now (I get self conscious when my parents are in the room) but I was listening to the soundtrack from the Lestat musical last night.

55. Favorite starter?: This is a pokemon thing, isn’t it.

56.  What would your witch’s familiar be? I don’t have a familiar right now. Bertie isn’t interested in my (few and infrequent) spells.

Aaaaanyway (56 is a strange number of questions, but I guess that’s the end) I tag @poisonforpigeons, @perhapsthevision, @ravenwitch, and @all-in-the-golden-afternoon96 if you feel like it <3

[hellalambs]

Rules: Answer all questions, add one question of your own and tag as many people as there are questions!

Tagged by @ianallenbird​ and listen, what’s ahead is a very long post in which I become a quintessential gemini, so you have my apologies.

1. Coke or Pepsi: Coke, but I can’t really drink pop anymore anyway 2. Disney or DreamWorks: Both 3. Coffee or Tea: Coffee, except I can’t really drink it anymore either 4. Books or Movies: Both 5. Windows or Mac: I briefly used an... iMac, I think? Back in like 2007, but it wasn’t my computer and I have only ever owned Windows machines 6. DC or Marvel: Marvel, but also fuck Marvel 7. Xbox or Playstation: Playstation, because it’s kinda the only gaming console I’ve ever been familiar with 8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect:  I don’t play video games 9. Night Owl or Early Rise: Night Owl, but I also like to be awake in the mornings, which means I just sort of don’t sleep 10. Cards or Chess: Cards, but also most card games are impossible for me 11. Chocolate or Vanilla: I like both, but I usually choose chocolate 12. Vans or Converse: Never really had a desire to own Vans. Good old Chucks have never let me down 13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar: nah 14. Fluff or Angst: BOTH. PUT ME ON AN EMOTIONAL ROLLARCOASTER, but end it with fluff please 16. Dogs or Cats: Both, but dogs have a special place in my heart 17. Clear Skies or Rain: Both, but I need the rain to live 18. Cooking or Eating Out: Both 19. Spicy Food or Mild Food: Mild. White girl mild. 20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: I mean, solstice and yule are two different things but.... Samhain 21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: Cold, when I’m even the slightest bit warmer than average I feel like I’m dying 22. If you could have a superpower, what would it be: shape shifting or teleportation 23. Animation or Live Action: I don’t have a preference. 24. Paragon or Renegade: nah 25. Baths or Showers: Showers, but only because I can’t fit in a conventional bathtub 26. Team Cap or Team Iron Man: in general I guess I prefer Cap, but also fuck Marvel 27. Fantasy or Sci-fi: What a false dichotomy my pal. Both. 28. Do you have three or four favorite quotes? “I believe in myself, even my most delicate, intangible feelings.” - Marilyn Monroe 29. YouTube or Netflix: Both 30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: HP, but also the canon is a hard shit and I live for fan theories 31. When Do You Feel Accomplished: When I teach someone something or when my random niche knowledge is relevant and interesting to the person I’m talking to 32. Star Wars or Star Trek: Star Wars 33. Paperback Books or Hardback Books: Both, and also electronic ones 34. Handwriting or Typing: Both 35. Velvet or Satin: Velvet, although I like satin, the nap bothers me 36. Video Games or Movies: Well, movies, I guess? Only because I don’t have access to video games and I’ve always been bad at them 37. Would you rather be the dragon or own the dragon: Neither 38. Sunrise or Sunset: Both 39. What’s your favorite song: nah 40. Horror Movies, yes or no: Um, no, because the horror movie tends to rely on jump scares and gore, and neither of those are things I like, because I’m a scared baby. but I like horror novels because they tend to rely more on atmosphere and perception, which is the true-true way to spook me 41. Long or Short Hair: On other people: both, on me: long 42. Opera or Theatre: Both 43. Assuming the multiverse theory is true and that every story ever told has really happened somewhere, which one of the movie/book/tv show/game/etc worlds would you pick to travel to first: None, thanks. I’ve got a vagina, so it’s hard enough for me to manage in this world 44. If you had to eat only one thing for the rest of your life what would it be: ethically sourced food 45. Older guys or young guys: I hate this question 46. If you could erase any show from TV history, what would it be: Fuck man. I want to say Black Sails, but there’s probably something worse out there 47. Singing or Dancing: Singing, I guess 48. Instagram or Twitter: Instagram 49. Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit: Lord of the Rings 50. If you could create either a sequel or bring back any tv show/movie, what would you choose: With some heavy, heavy, revisions, I would say Firefly 51. Who is your movie/tv show character that you are looking up to and why? Nah 52. If you were ever convicted of a crime, what would it be?: Uh, probably theft, or some kind of accidental tax mishap 53. Anime- subbed or dubbed?: Either. Dubbed is easier to crochet to, but I know a lot of anime is better when subbed 54. City or countryside?: Country 55. What book have you read over and over?: The Last Unicorn 56. What is your personality type?: Slow-roasted gay with salt to taste 57. If you were an animal what would you be?: Fuck man, I don’t know, hopefully a cow 58. Why? because, I can

my question: 59: What do you feel when you look at your favorite color?

I’m tagging: @gloomsday, and no one else

[eddycurrents]

Preamble:

The stories collected in the first five volumes of Hellboy, ranging from Seed of Destruction to Conqueror Worm, featured a Hellboy working with the Bureau for Paranormal Research & Defense. Although we were told he had taken breaks from the organization, it was where his family was--in Trevor Bruttenholm--and what he considered home. The main narrative took that away from him, killing his adoptive father and alienating him from a society that once accepted him and his kind. Coupled with questions about his true nature and building his own destiny, he quit the BPRD.

Hollow Earth was born out of a desire of Mike Mignola’s to expand the universe beyond just Hellboy. The first five volumes of Hellboy served largely as a first act for the broader narrative and Hollow Earth kind of began an interlude. Along with the concurrent Hellboy: The Third Wish series, the full direction for the next act didn’t really materialize until Plague of Frogs. From Third Wish to The Island, there was definitely a feel of experimentation going on to find out what worked both in terms of style and narrative.

Which in itself was somewhat interesting, since it fell over Hellboy’s 10th anniversary and the release of the first Guillermo del Toro directed film. This interlude included finding out how BPRD could work on its own, collecting the humour series Hellboy Junior, and presenting a variety of voices telling Hellboy and BPRD stories in the Hellboy: Weird Tales series and a number of BPRD one-shots that were collected in The Soul of Venice & Other Stories. Like when Mignola was starting out with Seed of Destruction, a look and tone wasn’t set fully in stone yet, but at least there was a template from the mother Hellboy series.

In many ways, Hollow Earth was also the sequel and epilogue to Conqueror Worm, still working within Mignola’s own framework of storytelling, and, while bringing in new talent for story and art, still adhered to the bits and pieces of the previous story. It continued on the narrative of Liz Sherman, Kate Corrigan, Abe Sapien, and Roger the Homunculus from directly where Conqueror Worm left off and is kind of unique in that regard of this period. Where Hellboy became a bit more esoteric in The Third Wish and The Island, the BPRD became the torchbearer for the main narrative established in Seed of Destruction.

BPRD: Hollow Earth & Other Stories: “Hollow Earth”

Story: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski | Pencils: Ryan Sook | Inks: Ryan Sook & Curtis Arnold | Colours: Dave Stewart | Letters: Clem Robins

Originally published by Dark Horse in BPRD: Hollow Earth #1-3 | January - June 2002

Collected in BPRD - Volume 1: Hollow Earth & Other Stories | BPRD: Plague of Frogs - Volume 1

Plot Summary:

As the BPRD deal with Hellboy quitting, Abe receives a cry for help from Liz deep in the Ural Mountains. As he and the BPRD go to investigate, they find the remnants of an ancient civilization that have kidnapped Liz’s spirit to power their infernal machines.

Reading Notes:

(Note: Pagination is in reference to the story itself and is not indicative of anything in the issues or collections.)

pg. 1 - I love the establishing shots here for the mountains and the temple atop it.

pg. 2 - Relocating Agartha to the Urals is an interesting choice. Traditionally it’s an underground kingdom, basically being the “hollow earth” of the title. Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophist Society relocated it themselves to the Himalayas, probably conflating it with ideas of Shambala, but it was still an underground mystical place and the home of the Secret Masters. Moving it to Russia kind of combines Blavatsky’s heritage and the use of Russian folklore in prominence in Hellboy. 

pg. 3 - Ryan Sook was definitely a good choice to launch the first BPRD book, maintaining a style similar to Mike Mignola’s own, making this feel visually like an extension from the Hellboy series.

pg. 4 - The mentions of other cases, throwaway events that don’t get followed up on, are an interesting touch. They give a little broader idea of what’s going on in the world. Kind of makes you wonder what the average BPRD agent is doing every day.

pg. 6-7 - Pretty much a word for word flashback of Hellboy’s quitting.

pg. 8 - Great design for Johann Kraus.

Also, I think this is the most amount of character development we’ve seen from Tom Manning. He’s not just an exposition-delivering cipher, we actually get to see a person there.

pg. 9 - These panels remind me more of Kevin Nowlan or P. Craig Russell than specifically Mignola, but it seems to show a similar set of influences on Sook.

Liz Sherman exploring how to control her powers through meditation and practice is a welcome development.

pg. 10/11 - “Heca Emem-Ra. Black Goddess. Neb Ogeroth.” -- I think something is being seeded here as we get a name shift for Hecate and elaboration on Thoth within the Hellboy mythology.

pg. 13 - Love the explanation of Johann Kraus’ situation. The design and colour for the flashback is also very nice.

pg. 15 - I love the character work that Mignola, Golden, and Sniegoski are doing here, pretty much with all of the characters. While there are definitely moments of introspection in Hellboy proper, the mothership tends towards a certain kind of stoicism and silence. The characters discussing how they feel and their motivations give a different, deeper feel unique to BPRD. It also serves as an excellent introduction, or re-introduction, to the characters.

pg. 16 - Great page design and sequence overall. The ghostly appearance of Liz and cry for help is great.

pg. 19 - Great reaction shot.

pg. 21 - There’s an interesting bit of plot reiteration here as the BPRD find Liz in a state not dissimilar to what happened to her in Wake the Devil & Almost Colossus that led to her leaving the BPRD on this excursion in the first place.

pg. 22 - Like the Kirby-esque design to creatures.

pg. 24 - The opening to the underground and its seal is an interesting development, putting the temple high in the mountains more into perspective when it comes to Agartha.

pg. 26 - There’s an interesting concept in this dead creature’s explanation of his society and the divergence of the two working classes. In Western occult traditions and magick there’s the concept of the left-hand and right-hand paths. Some will break it down as simply as black and white magic, respectively, with the former being typified as embracing taboos and the latter embracing some sort of purification, sometimes broken down as “evil” and “good”. Personally, I think that’s bunk. There’s just magick and the will and intent of the magician defining their morality and ethos, but this dichotomy still exists in many practitioners.

pg. 26 - This is probably the funniest sequence in the entire series.

pg. 29-30 - Johann’s fascination with Hellboy is interesting, especially as it allows Abe and Roger the opportunity to explain what they thought of him and how his quitting the BPRD is affecting them.

pg. 30-32 - Like the flashback earlier for Johann’s origin, I love the colour washes Dave Stewart is using to separate this out from the main narrative. It gives it a unique visual flair.

Also, reinforcing Hellboy as this massive force for good, for the best of humanity and understanding, is pretty beautiful. As is Sook’s Hellboy.

pg. 34 - This ambush just looks stunning. Great framing and angle.

pg. 37 - The discovery of this “junkyard” is fascinating in how it reveals the ancient civilization. The designs of the constructs themselves are pretty neat, reminding me a bit of machinery designs from old black and white sci-fi movie serials.

Also, further explanation of what happened to the Hyperboreans.

And of course there’s bloody Nazis down here.

pg. 39 - Love this scene checking back in on Kate and the other BPRD agents on the helicopter. Not really sure why she wouldn’t have made a base camp in or around Agartha itself. I would think it would have been warmer. Maybe a fear of those creatures rising up and attacking again?

pg. 41 - Again just love the composition Sook is delivering here. It also gives a massive scale to just how big this underground civilization’s city happens to be.

pg. 42 - It doesn’t translate as well without chapter breaks, but the character cliffhangers for each issue were very well done.

pg. 43-45 - The central battery in which Liz’s life force is entrapped has a very interesting design. Breaking down its appearance across multiple panels leading to a sign of Liz within builds a very nice amount of tension.

pg. 45-47 - Again love how Sook, Arnold, and Stewart approach these flashbacks visually.

And Hellboy’s reaction to Liz is extremely heartwarming. He treats her just like a scared and frightened little girl, instead of the monster that the rest of the BPRD are even if unintentionally. It also establishes the little sister feel that we get from the comics in regards to the Hellboy/Liz relationship. It’s very sweet.

pg. 48-49 - Short but great action sequence.

pg. 49 - There’s also an interesting character quirk we see hinted at here for Roger. His personality seems malleable. It seems like the man of clay can be moulded by the behaviour of those around him. It kind of makes you wonder, was his altruism in Almost Colossus and Conqueror Worm innate or were they reflections of Hellboy? I’d want to say a little of both, given his rejection of his monstrous brother even without outside stimuli, but it makes you question how impressionable he might be.

pg. 50 - The little things like the slave revolt itself makes you wonder what happened here. It doesn’t necessarily need to be answered, but it gives another avenue for a potential story somewhere down the line to fill in some details.

pg. 51-53 - Finding what happened to Liz nicely steels Abe, Johann, and Roger’s resolve. Also, another impending hero moment for Roger.

pg. 55 - The King of Fear definitely has an interesting design, playing off bits we’ve seen of the Hyperboreans, the monks above in Agartha, and the other slave creatures, but somehow bigger and seemingly more intelligent than them.

pg. 56 - Abe, Roger, and Johann hearing this speech unintelligibly in the creatures’ natural language is a nice touch. Even though we got it translated for sake of character and plot advancement, seeing what the protagonists hear adds the understanding that they don’t know what’s’ ultimately going on with the guy.

Also, it’s neat that it ties back in to whatever the language is that Mignola & Co. have been using throughout the broader Hellboy work.

pg. 57 - This scene is just a perfect storm of visual storytelling. Great work from Sook, Arnold, Stewart, and Brosseau.

pg. 60 - Booty.

pg. 60-63 - Explosive results from Roger enveloping all of the stored energy and driving it into the ground. I love that the King of Fear gets his hopes up when he sees the Hyperboreans’ old war machines start gaining power, only to be sorely disappointed.

pg. 64 - Nice establishing shot, and increase of snow on the helicopter.

pg. 65 - Probably the second funniest scene in this story. Both in regards to the lack of pants and in Roger wanting a sheep.

pg. 66 - Standing around at the end discussing what happened and what’s going to happen is one of the best stylistic links to the rest of the Hellboy series. Also good to see Kate, Abe, Liz, Roger, and Johann together, partially defining what may be the core team as we branch off into this new direction.

Final Thoughts:

Hollow Earth was kind of in a weird place. As I said above a concrete direction wasn’t really set for what BPRD would become, so this serves as a kind of bridge from one act to the next. Christopher Golden was a great choice for the series, not just for his (and Tom Sniegoski’s) storytelling ability, but because he’d already written a pair of Hellboy prose novels and edited a short story collection at this point.

As such, Hollow Earth carries on much of the same tone and style as the earlier Hellboy stories, even as it ushers the characters on to their own possible path. I also love that it brings Liz Sherman back front and centre and begins to flesh out some of the background of our main BPRD protagonists.

d. emerson eddy is actually kind of terrified of caves. While they’re neat to explore in fiction and through the lens of any of the archaeology expedition television shows, he doesn’t really like going to them physically himself.

[drippeddaily]

Album of the Year #25: Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

Album of the Year #25: Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Artist: Open Mike Eagle

Album: Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

Listen:

Youtube

Spotify

Apple Music

Album Background:

Open Mike Eagle, born in the South Side of Chicgao, 37 years old, and member of Project Blowed has become a staple in the underground hip hop scene and started making waves with his poignant and concise projects starting in 2010 with his first full length release Unapologetic Art Rap.

You may have heard of Mike outside of his music by his features in Vice videos such as Why rappers love Grey Poupon or Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time. If not those, maybe you’ve seen him on Eric Andre’s show in Rapper Warrior Ninja. And, again, if not that then maybe you know him as a friend of famous comedian and Bill Cosby exposer Hannibal Buress.

Before becoming a rapper, Michael W. Eagle II went to Whitney M. Young High School which is a selective enrollment public school in the Near West Side of Chicago. After high school, Mike went to Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a psychology major where he met his now good friend Hannibal Buress. He graduated and moved on to do one year of grad school before moving to Los Angeles where he worked a few different jobs such as Americorps, a non-profit halfway home, and as a third and fourth grade special education teacher. At this time, he only rapped as a hobby until he found Project Blowed, where he became affiliated with now long time collaborators Busdriver, Dumbfoundead, and Pyschosiz.

Open Mike Eagle’s 5th full length LP Brick Body Kids Still Daydream was released on September 15, 2017 under one of my favorite labels Mello Music Group. Mike grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago which was a series of project housings that is now demolished. They were erected in the early 1960s, and demolished over the course of nine years from 1998 to 2007. Here is a picture of the last standing building via Wikipedia. These buildings were designed to hold up to 11,000 residents, and in actuality housed up to 27,000 people at its peak. The complex was riddled with gang violence and crime throughout its entire existence.

The source of inspiration for this album is made clear by the title, the album cover, and Mike’s upbringing which leads to this album being a tell all of Mike’s feelings about the Robert Taylor Homes, and subsequently he touches on the problems in America in a way that is very personal to him.

Review:

Mike’s style of rap is soft and inviting, like he is telling a story out of a book by your bedside. With the opening track Legendary Iron Hood, he invites you into his dream world at the Robert Taylor Homes. He sets up with references to a superhero in the X-Men with lines like “I keep my head down, pushing like I’m walking to school, yeah / I hold em tight like Infinity Gems” and “Got a brother named Charles that be on that bullshit / I protect my neck with some magical jewels.” While Mike’s rapping is smooth and harmless, it’s exciting like he really wants you to listen to his story. His childish daydreams tells you just enough to make you interested to hear more about his life growing up, and see how he solves the problems he establishes in this first track.

Mike keeps you on your toes as one emotion that’s being conveyed never lasts very long. This album in the 40 minutes run time takes you from happy and comfortable, to a dark and depressed place, and this can quickly change from track to track. One track that shows this dichotomy is Happy Wasteland Day, where Mike gives us his take on the political landscape of 2017 while never mentioning the name of the largest contributor to the current state of affairs. The beat most prominently features a looped string instrument, backed by simple drums and bass supporting it. Mike’s lyricism in this track varies from on the nose to more abstract questions in simple lines. “When the king is a garbage person / I might wanna lay down and die” he repeats quite often as he wonders what he’s supposed to do. He poses a problem and offers a solution to himself within two lines, “Zombie sheriffs is tryna lynch us / Guess I’ll call up my congressman.” Mike makes a grim joke saying that the police force are like zombies out for their next meal, and what can he do about it but call his congressman? Mike knows it’s ultimately a futile act, and this sort of change is much bigger than one person.

The climax of the album can not go without mention, and that is Brick Body Complex. The rebellious and hyped up track explains the title of the album. Mike’s ultimate comparison is that a black child in the hood is literally a building. That kid, because of a system designed to keep him down, has no upward mobility or anyway to move away from his current situation much like the building that he lives in. However, Mike tries to fight back this notion by saying that he is giant, he’s a superhero, and and that he’ll never fit their descriptions. They, in this case, being those who generalize an entire group of people because of their skin color and living situation. It’s a fantastic concept that Mike fully realizes on this song with his passionate, fast, and angry rapping about this state of affairs. This song truly showcases Mike’s talent as a musician, storyteller, artist, and this track is something that sets him apart from other rappers. It is a fleshed out idea, told in a personal way that makes comments on the truths of America, and delivered in a 4 minute showcase of lyrical wit and storytelling.

The final track that deserves its own paragraph also happens to be the final track of the album. My Auntie’s Building is perhaps the dreariest song on the entire album, and despite the fighting back like Mike showed in Brick Body Complex, this is the beaten down side of him. “I’ll fight you all, I’m willing / Just show me who’s that villain / I don’t see no one, I don’t see no one / I can’t find nobody,” Mike says as he ultimately realizes this battle is one that can’t be one. There is no one single person to fight as this is a systematic problem. “They say America fights fair / But they won’t demolish your timeshare” are two simple bars that summarize the issue of gentrification. The beat is slow, with Mike rapping fast and he is pissed off. The album ends with him repeating “That’s the sound of them tearing my body down to the ground.” Mike one last time before his “death” reiterates that there is no hope or choice for him or kids like him, and that the system is too strong for one hero to beat alone.

While the above tracks are worthy of their own paragraphs the others are just as good and are certainly not wasted space. Every track on this album is just as important as the ones surrounding it, and something that should be mentioned and something that Mike is known for is his humor. Mike still manages to keep his signature wit and humor despite the foreboding message. Like on No Selling (Uncle Butch Pretends It Don’t Hurt) he mentions how he had an asthma attack in the last bar, or on TLDR (Smithing) how he’s been woke for so long he needs a nap. He even seems to call this out on (How Could Anybody) Feel At Home where he says he’s told some goofy shit that sounds like a poem, and reading through Mike’s bars there’s a lot of truth to that statement. Mike often feels like he’s reading to you, and his personality is full of wit and funny bars, and while this album is more serious in tone Mike does not give up what he’s known for to deliver his message.

The beats on this album are also worthy of praise as Mike decided to take in ten producers over the course of twelve tracks. Exile (Legendary Iron Hood & Happy Wasteland Day) and Illingsworth (Daydreaming In The Projects & TLDR (Smithing)) both produced two tracks. Mike’s lengthy list of producers each bring their own flavor to each track, and shows how Mike is unafraid of going up against some experimental or different beats. Legendary Iron Hood features a beautiful and serene piano and guitar which is completely different from No Selling which makes uses of a simple low synth and vocal samples. And both of these tracks are completely different from something like 95 Radios which is the poppiest track on the album, and has a more prominent yet simple drum beat and bells. Every track is distinct and stands on its own, but is all brought together by Mike’s confidence over them. Mike knows exactly what to bring to each track to complement the beat and most importantly deliver his message and see his vision.

Something that I picked up on throughout this record is that Mike mentions some form of motion whether it is him being still or being in perpetual motion, and a reference to this can be found on almost every track on the album. In the beginning of the album he talks about moving a lot like on Legendary Iron Hood he talks about how he can't be stopped and nothing will stop him, or on (How Could Anybody) Feel At Home he “spun around in circles on the globe.” But as the album progresses he is tired and in pain. The entirety of No Selling is about working too hard, and is a direct reference to “selling” in wrestling meaning that a wrestler is selling to the audience how hurt he is. In this case, Mike is “no selling” or trying to pretend like he’s not hurt, but truly all of this work is tiring him out. In the later points of the album there is emphasis on standing still or being in the same place, and this goes hand in hand with Mike making the comparison of a black kid to a building. Buildings are constant. They never move, even when it rains, or in the wind, or in the snow, and they will always be right where they were intended to be. Black kids living in the hood think they will move, get out of the hood, and live better lives, but throughout this album Mike is telling us that this is just a daydream, that it will never happen and that is by design. The final track My Auntie’s Building continues to hammer this point home. “And they hit that shit with a wrecking ball so hard / Thought the whole earth broke / All them people dispersed though / Federal to commercial.” The people of the Robert Taylor Homes were forced out, nowhere to go, and ultimately ended up lining the pockets of the wealthy by having to live in for profit housing.

This record is a fantastic, and beautiful commentary on Mike’s upbringing and the climate of 2017. This record is as much of a commentary on Trump as it is on Mike’s home in Chicago, and has become one of my favorite records of the year and by far my favorite record that feels like it is a response to the election of Donald Trump. I truly loved this album, and as I continued to relisten to write this review I only fell more in love with it. Open Mike Eagle did an incredible job with this record, and I’m excited to see where he goes next, but I’d also be content if he takes his time with the next one because I’ll be playing this for a long time.

Favorite Lyrics:

1.

My big dumb brain’s an electrical ocean

Started walking now my legs in perpetual motion

2.

Don’t call me nigga or rapper

My name is motherfucking Michael Eagle, I’m sovereign

I come from a line of ghetto superheroes

3.

Between shrooms and touring I'm sure to take a bunch of trips

And fuck that one guy who’s screen name was "thunderlips"

Pelt him with a bag full of mesquite flavored Kruncher chips

4. (Bars from feature guest, Sammus)

On my Apple updating my E-Shops

Eat a apple a day, take a brief pause

Take a nap, lie awake in-between sobs

Then I rap and I pray and the grief stops

5.

The old me would drink a 40

And eat bologna, shinobi

On NBA Live, I play with Kobe

Discussion Questions:

I’ve seen a lot of debate on whether or not this is better than Dark Comedy? Thoughts?

As far as “reactions to Trump” go, how do you feel about this album compared to others who did the same?

Do you find any validity in my claims about Mike’s use of motion in this album?

Do you think Open Mike Eagle’s use of several different producers was a benefit, or would you have preferred he stuck with only a few. Would you like to see other rappers take this sort of approach?

Merry Christmas, y'all!Artist: Open Mike EagleAlbum: Brick Body Kids Still DaydreamListen:YoutubeSpotifyApple MusicAlbum Background:Open Mike Eagle, born in the South Side of Chicgao, 37 years old, and member of Project Blowed has become a staple in the underground hip hop scene and started making waves with his poignant and concise projects starting in 2010 with his first full length release Unapologetic Art Rap.You may have heard of Mike outside of his music by his features in Vice videos such as Why rappers love Grey Poupon or Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time. If not those, maybe you’ve seen him on Eric Andre’s show in Rapper Warrior Ninja. And, again, if not that then maybe you know him as a friend of famous comedian and Bill Cosby exposer Hannibal Buress.Before becoming a rapper, Michael W. Eagle II went to Whitney M. Young High School which is a selective enrollment public school in the Near West Side of Chicago. After high school, Mike went to Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a psychology major where he met his now good friend Hannibal Buress. He graduated and moved on to do one year of grad school before moving to Los Angeles where he worked a few different jobs such as Americorps, a non-profit halfway home, and as a third and fourth grade special education teacher. At this time, he only rapped as a hobby until he found Project Blowed, where he became affiliated with now long time collaborators Busdriver, Dumbfoundead, and Pyschosiz.Open Mike Eagle’s 5th full length LP Brick Body Kids Still Daydream was released on September 15, 2017 under one of my favorite labels Mello Music Group. Mike grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago which was a series of project housings that is now demolished. They were erected in the early 1960s, and demolished over the course of nine years from 1998 to 2007. Here is a picture of the last standing building via Wikipedia. These buildings were designed to hold up to 11,000 residents, and in actuality housed up to 27,000 people at its peak. The complex was riddled with gang violence and crime throughout its entire existence.The source of inspiration for this album is made clear by the title, the album cover, and Mike’s upbringing which leads to this album being a tell all of Mike’s feelings about the Robert Taylor Homes, and subsequently he touches on the problems in America in a way that is very personal to him.Review:Mike’s style of rap is soft and inviting, like he is telling a story out of a book by your bedside. With the opening track Legendary Iron Hood, he invites you into his dream world at the Robert Taylor Homes. He sets up with references to a superhero in the X-Men with lines like “I keep my head down, pushing like I’m walking to school, yeah / I hold em tight like Infinity Gems” and “Got a brother named Charles that be on that bullshit / I protect my neck with some magical jewels.” While Mike’s rapping is smooth and harmless, it’s exciting like he really wants you to listen to his story. His childish daydreams tells you just enough to make you interested to hear more about his life growing up, and see how he solves the problems he establishes in this first track.Mike keeps you on your toes as one emotion that’s being conveyed never lasts very long. This album in the 40 minutes run time takes you from happy and comfortable, to a dark and depressed place, and this can quickly change from track to track. One track that shows this dichotomy is Happy Wasteland Day, where Mike gives us his take on the political landscape of 2017 while never mentioning the name of the largest contributor to the current state of affairs. The beat most prominently features a looped string instrument, backed by simple drums and bass supporting it. Mike’s lyricism in this track varies from on the nose to more abstract questions in simple lines. “When the king is a garbage person / I might wanna lay down and die” he repeats quite often as he wonders what he’s supposed to do. He poses a problem and offers a solution to himself within two lines, “Zombie sheriffs is tryna lynch us / Guess I’ll call up my congressman.” Mike makes a grim joke saying that the police force are like zombies out for their next meal, and what can he do about it but call his congressman? Mike knows it’s ultimately a futile act, and this sort of change is much bigger than one person.The climax of the album can not go without mention, and that is Brick Body Complex. The rebellious and hyped up track explains the title of the album. Mike’s ultimate comparison is that a black child in the hood is literally a building. That kid, because of a system designed to keep him down, has no upward mobility or anyway to move away from his current situation much like the building that he lives in. However, Mike tries to fight back this notion by saying that he is giant, he’s a superhero, and and that he’ll never fit their descriptions. They, in this case, being those who generalize an entire group of people because of their skin color and living situation. It’s a fantastic concept that Mike fully realizes on this song with his passionate, fast, and angry rapping about this state of affairs. This song truly showcases Mike’s talent as a musician, storyteller, artist, and this track is something that sets him apart from other rappers. It is a fleshed out idea, told in a personal way that makes comments on the truths of America, and delivered in a 4 minute showcase of lyrical wit and storytelling.The final track that deserves its own paragraph also happens to be the final track of the album. My Auntie’s Building is perhaps the dreariest song on the entire album, and despite the fighting back like Mike showed in Brick Body Complex, this is the beaten down side of him. “I’ll fight you all, I’m willing / Just show me who’s that villain / I don’t see no one, I don’t see no one / I can’t find nobody,” Mike says as he ultimately realizes this battle is one that can’t be one. There is no one single person to fight as this is a systematic problem. “They say America fights fair / But they won’t demolish your timeshare” are two simple bars that summarize the issue of gentrification. The beat is slow, with Mike rapping fast and he is pissed off. The album ends with him repeating “That’s the sound of them tearing my body down to the ground.” Mike one last time before his “death” reiterates that there is no hope or choice for him or kids like him, and that the system is too strong for one hero to beat alone.While the above tracks are worthy of their own paragraphs the others are just as good and are certainly not wasted space. Every track on this album is just as important as the ones surrounding it, and something that should be mentioned and something that Mike is known for is his humor. Mike still manages to keep his signature wit and humor despite the foreboding message. Like on No Selling (Uncle Butch Pretends It Don’t Hurt) he mentions how he had an asthma attack in the last bar, or on TLDR (Smithing) how he’s been woke for so long he needs a nap. He even seems to call this out on (How Could Anybody) Feel At Home where he says he’s told some goofy shit that sounds like a poem, and reading through Mike’s bars there’s a lot of truth to that statement. Mike often feels like he’s reading to you, and his personality is full of wit and funny bars, and while this album is more serious in tone Mike does not give up what he’s known for to deliver his message.The beats on this album are also worthy of praise as Mike decided to take in ten producers over the course of twelve tracks. Exile (Legendary Iron Hood & Happy Wasteland Day) and Illingsworth (Daydreaming In The Projects & TLDR (Smithing)) both produced two tracks. Mike’s lengthy list of producers each bring their own flavor to each track, and shows how Mike is unafraid of going up against some experimental or different beats. Legendary Iron Hood features a beautiful and serene piano and guitar which is completely different from No Selling which makes uses of a simple low synth and vocal samples. And both of these tracks are completely different from something like 95 Radios which is the poppiest track on the album, and has a more prominent yet simple drum beat and bells. Every track is distinct and stands on its own, but is all brought together by Mike’s confidence over them. Mike knows exactly what to bring to each track to complement the beat and most importantly deliver his message and see his vision.Something that I picked up on throughout this record is that Mike mentions some form of motion whether it is him being still or being in perpetual motion, and a reference to this can be found on almost every track on the album. In the beginning of the album he talks about moving a lot like on Legendary Iron Hood he talks about how he can't be stopped and nothing will stop him, or on (How Could Anybody) Feel At Home he “spun around in circles on the globe.” But as the album progresses he is tired and in pain. The entirety of No Selling is about working too hard, and is a direct reference to “selling” in wrestling meaning that a wrestler is selling to the audience how hurt he is. In this case, Mike is “no selling” or trying to pretend like he’s not hurt, but truly all of this work is tiring him out. In the later points of the album there is emphasis on standing still or being in the same place, and this goes hand in hand with Mike making the comparison of a black kid to a building. Buildings are constant. They never move, even when it rains, or in the wind, or in the snow, and they will always be right where they were intended to be. Black kids living in the hood think they will move, get out of the hood, and live better lives, but throughout this album Mike is telling us that this is just a daydream, that it will never happen and that is by design. The final track My Auntie’s Building continues to hammer this point home. “And they hit that shit with a wrecking ball so hard / Thought the whole earth broke / All them people dispersed though / Federal to commercial.” The people of the Robert Taylor Homes were forced out, nowhere to go, and ultimately ended up lining the pockets of the wealthy by having to live in for profit housing.This record is a fantastic, and beautiful commentary on Mike’s upbringing and the climate of 2017. This record is as much of a commentary on Trump as it is on Mike’s home in Chicago, and has become one of my favorite records of the year and by far my favorite record that feels like it is a response to the election of Donald Trump. I truly loved this album, and as I continued to relisten to write this review I only fell more in love with it. Open Mike Eagle did an incredible job with this record, and I’m excited to see where he goes next, but I’d also be content if he takes his time with the next one because I’ll be playing this for a long time.Favorite Lyrics:1.My big dumb brain’s an electrical oceanStarted walking now my legs in perpetual motion2.Don’t call me nigga or rapperMy name is motherfucking Michael Eagle, I’m sovereignI come from a line of ghetto superheroes3.Between shrooms and touring I'm sure to take a bunch of tripsAnd fuck that one guy who’s screen name was "thunderlips"Pelt him with a bag full of mesquite flavored Kruncher chips4. (Bars from feature guest, Sammus)On my Apple updating my E-ShopsEat a apple a day, take a brief pauseTake a nap, lie awake in-between sobsThen I rap and I pray and the grief stops5.The old me would drink a 40And eat bologna, shinobiOn NBA Live, I play with KobeDiscussion Questions:I’ve seen a lot of debate on whether or not this is better than Dark Comedy? Thoughts?As far as “reactions to Trump” go, how do you feel about this album compared to others who did the same?Do you find any validity in my claims about Mike’s use of motion in this album?Do you think Open Mike Eagle’s use of several different producers was a benefit, or would you have preferred he stuck with only a few. Would you like to see other rappers take this sort of approach?

[inthefellclutch-blog]

Resurrection Considered

Image Credit: Corinth, Temple of Apollo [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

My previous series considered Evidence for God: 50 Arguments from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science, and found the evidence severely wanting. In fact, by my reckoning, 37 arguments were not arguments at all (generally defensive or just irrelevant), 6 argued for deism, 5 for a nonspecific theism that could have applied equally to any religion and only 2 argued for Christianity. These two were the related questions of Jesus’s miracles and his resurrection. I wanted now to focus in on a book referenced there: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona.

Lee Strobel (Author of The Case for Christ) tells us: “This compelling book is the most comprehensive defense of Jesus’ resurrection anywhere. If you’re interested in knowing the evidence for the resurrection and sharing it with others, then you must read this book!” It is currently rated at 4.5 stars on Amazon.

The preface begins: “At some point in their Christian walk, many believers ask some difficult questions: Is Christianity really true? Are there any good reasons to known which religion is true? Could it be that God does not really exist? These are important questions, and we have an intense interest in their answers. After all, if atheism is true, then why should we subject ourselves to the teachings of Jesus? Why should we insist on views that alienate others, especially the claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven? … Not many Christians ask such questions. Some never question their faith, perhaps because they are afraid of the answers they might receive. If life is comfortable, let’s not shake it to the point that radical change is required. Besides, how can anyone really find definite answers to these ultimate questions?”

The authors apparently “did ask these questions as young men. … After several years, we arrived at a strong conclusion: The evidence suggests that God exists and has actually revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ. The evidence attests that Christians have the most accurate view of reality.”

The book has four parts:

A Life to Die For: Sharing Your Faith. An introduction including history 101

“Just the Facts, Ma’am”: The Minimal Facts Approach in which they share a quintet of facts

“Yes, But…”: Encountering Opposing Theories

Wait! There’s More!: Other Issues

I will go through the book in order once again, and consider the evidence that they provide. We start with chapter 1, which is broken up into a number of sections.

They define Gospel “by a minimum of three essential facts … : (1) the deity of Jesus; (2) the death of Jesus in our place; and (3) the resurrection of Jesus.” The good news according to the apostle Paul is that “if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is a message in stark contrast with today’s pluralistic society, a fact that they lament.

But I have to ask: is this good news? Let us look at it more closely and let us suppose that we are constrained by the truth. Then confession and believing in your heart will be involuntary to some extent: either you are persuaded or you are not. I have looked at the information available and I do not believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. In fact, I am not persuaded that God exists at all. So this is not good news for me. I am not going to pretend to believe something that I do not, and in any event, you have to believe it in your heart, so pretense is no good.

Now, if I want to be pedantic, their quotation they provided does not cover what happens if you do not believe. But there are plenty of other verses that fill in that gap for us. 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9: “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”.

So this glib talk of “you will be saved” brushes over the fact that it is salvation from God himself. He is offering us salvation from himself if we will only believe. Suppose he had linked it to belief in a pink unicorn? How are we supposed to do this? The “good news” is that if we can somehow force ourselves to really believe something happened then God will not punish us.

As an aside, this is the most common understanding of the so-called gospel of grace, but many of the hell verses in the Bible are linked to various forms of wickedness. In many cases, wickedness seems to be defined by belief, which brings it back to the grace doctrine. This allows Christians to write off people who do not believe as wicked. The word “godless” is essentially synonymous with debauched and evil in common usage. But it is not atheists who are brainwashing children by telling them that they have to believe something unlikely or they will burn in hell for ever, rejected by God.

But this is the gospel that will be defended in this book.

Jesus’ resurrection is a crucial issue

The authors next make the point that Jesus’s resurrection is the key test of Christian claims. They note that “Paul was so adamant about the importance of Jesus’ resurrection that he wrote, ‘And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished!’ For Paul, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity is false, we will be judged for our sins by the true God, and Christians who have died are lost.”

It is interesting that Paul essentially assumes that there is a God who will judge us regardless of whether Christ really died and rose again. In other words, from Paul’s perspective, he already presupposes the existence of God and judgement after death - the very thing that Christ’s death and resurrection is meant to establish for modern readers who are not persuaded of this point.

They note that other religions (they give Islam and Mormonism as examples) essentially say that if you read their texts with an open mind God will reveal the truth of them. This leaves us with a problem: “Both provide different ways to God. Yet both cannot be the only true way to God. This leaves us with the conclusion that the exclusivity claims of one or both of these religions are incorrect, as are their truth tests.”

They continue: “Jesus’ test is different in that it leaves no room for ambiguity. Either Jesus rose from the dead confirming his claims to divinity or he was a fraud. This external test does not negate the inward assurance that Christians believe comes from God, rather it substantiates it. The Christian is not wrong to advise the seeker of religious truth to pray that God will speak through Scripture and to approach God’s Word with sincere openness. Romans 8:16 informs us that assurance from God’s Spirit comes to the Christian. What Jesus’ resurrection does is to confirm that the assurance we experience is really from God’s Spirit. The external evidence of Jesus’ resurrection confirms the truth we have received via God’s written revelation” (emphasis in the original).

…if it did not happen then we can safely reject Christianity even if we have felt a personal assurance from God’s spirit that it is all true

The essential point here, which they have wrapped up in nice sounding words, and perhaps would not put so baldly, is that a spiritual experience of any kind from any religion cannot be trusted. If we come to the conclusion that Jesus’s resurrection actually happened, we may need to go back and reframe everything we know; but if it did not happen then we can safely reject Christianity even if we have felt a personal assurance from God’s spirit that it is all true.

Now I have argued that this is not necessarily the right way to look at things. They are essentially saying that if Christ rose from the dead then we are forced to find a way to reconcile the various contradictions and problems that are in the Bible. I would say that the various contradictions and problems in the Bible demonstrate that Christ did not rise from the dead. But I will put this position on ice for the purpose of this book and consider the evidence for the resurrection that they provide; I will also hold them to the position discussed above that if the evidence is insufficient then rejection is required.

Incidentally, they say that either “Jesus rose from the dead confirming his claims to divinity or he was a fraud.” This is a false dichotomy based on a chain of reasoning. To be true, we would need also to believe that (1) Jesus of Nazareth is fairly reflected by the Jesus of the Bible; (2) the Jesus of the Bible said he was divine; (3) Jesus was competent to make this claim; and (4) the people around him understood him clearly. None of these has been established. So I will not be aiming to establish that Jesus was a fraud. The more common version of this claim is the so-called “Lord, Lunatic, Liar or Legend” apologetic. But this also is too simplistic - the truth is perhaps a complex mixture of them all. My primary focus will simply be to consider the evidence for the resurrection and determine whether there is enough to accept it. Alternative explanations for the Bible are a secondary issue.

Did Jesus Predict His Resurrection?

The authors include a box which poses the question of Jesus’s prediction of his own resurrection: “Contrary to New Testament teachings, some scholars doubt that Jesus actually predicted his resurrection. However, there are at least four reasons for holding that the claims are authentic”. I will discuss each of their four reasons in turn (I discussed this in a previous post here).

Firstly, they say, “Jesus’ predictions concerning his resurrection are usually denied because the resurrection itself is denied as a historical event. However, if the resurrection event is historical, then the reason for rejecting Jesus’ predictions concerning it is ineffective.” This is not a reason to accept the predictions, but rather a defense of a reason to reject it. For example, Jesus could have predicted his resurrection and then been wrong. However, note the use of the word “denied”. This is an inaccurate portrayal of the skeptic’s position. The resurrection is not accepted because there is insufficient reason to accept it; it is not a principled denial that is unmoved by evidence. If the resurrection did not happen, then any predictions that Jesus did or did not make are irrelevant. The important point is that we cannot use his predictions as evidence of the resurrection.

Secondly, they appeal to the “principle of embarrassment”, in which they say that Jesus’s predictions would not have been included because “we are told that the disciples did not seem to have a clue what he was talking about or simply did not believe”. Similarly, “Thomas refused to believe (John 20:24-25). Now it seems quite unlikely that the disciples or early Christians who highly respected them would invent sayings of Jesus that would place them in such a bad light.” They will use this principle to argue for the resurrection later. In the case of Thomas, it seems very clear that the story is incorporated with the very specific didactic purpose of telling people not to be skeptical, and to be willing to believe without evidence. 

Consider another verse that the authors adduce, Mark 9:31-32: “He [Jesus] said to them ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” Here the authors claims that this must be authentic, because they would be too embarrassed to include a verse that made the disciples seem foolish. Is that really the only possibility? Here Mark is walking a fine line (or, more accurately, Mark is reporting a story that evolved in a community that needed to walk a fine line): Jesus needs to know that he was going to die and rise again, or else he would not appear to be sovereign; but the disciples need an excuse for abandoning him. The solution is that Jesus is made to say something and the disciples made to not understand. That this is plausible causes the “principle of embarrassment” to evaporate into nothing immediately, especially since this solution requires no supernatural events. This solution would also be an example of a phenomenon that is observed frequently in religious evolution, whereby new facts are created to explain away a contradiction (”surely Jesus would have prepared the disciples so that they would not have fled?”). But the important point is that the mere plausibility of this explanation means that we cannot use the principle of embarrassment to affirm that Jesus made this prediction.

Third, they reference “Jesus’ use of the title ‘Son of Man’ in reference to his resurrection predictions.” I have discussed this here. The phrase translated ‘Son of Man’ simply means human being. Jesus may have used it in reference to himself, but that does not in itself validate any attached predictions that are ascribed to Jesus. They note that Jesus is not called this in the New Testament epistles and say “the principle of dissimilarity points to authenticity here.” Bart Ehrman points out that Jesus appears to be referring to a third person in many of the Son of Man verses (Matthew 16:28: "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Or Mark 8:38: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words..., the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”). Since early Christians had begun to believe that Jesus was himself the Son of Man, the principle of dissimilarity suggests that these sayings are the authentic sayings of Jesus. The Son of Man was an apocalyptic figure, and there is evidence that Jesus was an apocalypticist, so it is likely that Jesus believed and said that a heavenly figure known as the Son of Man would soon descend in the clouds in power and restore God's kingdom. Early Christians began to believe that Jesus was himself the Son of Man and some of the sayings evolved that way.

Fourthly, we are told that “Jesus’ predictions concerning his resurrection are multiply attested”. But these predictions all occur in books that also relate the resurrection and are concerned to demonstrate that this was part of a divine plan. They are also not independent, since Matthew and Luke have a copy of Mark. It is also striking that Paul, the earliest Christian writer, does not relate this prediction.

In summary, scholars doubt that Jesus predicted his resurrection because there is insufficient evidence to accept it. If it turns out that the resurrection is true, we may be forced to reconsider this point, but the prediction is not itself evidence for the resurrection, and cannot be accepted based on the reasons that the authors have presented.

Proof does not aim at “absolute historical certainty”

The authors next address the question about what can reasonably be known. “Can Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead be proven? The answer may vary depending on one’s definition of what constitutes proof.” They tell us that “[l]ack of attestation does not mean that the event did not occur, only that we may have difficulty verifying it from an objective historical perspective.” In a footnote they quote Graham Twelftree as saying: “It must be stressed: We cannot move from ’unproven’ to ’disproven.’”

I would stress that we do not have to. If something has not been established you would be unwise indeed to accept it. It is much harder to know for sure what happened so many years ago, but this should make us less certain not more. We should be less willing to accept outrageous historical claims, not more.

They give an example: “Suppose that Bob claims that he was state champion in high school wrestling competition (sic). We did not know Bob in high school and are not in a position to verify this claim, nor do we know any of Bob’s old schoolmates. His high school burned down a few years ago, destroying trophies and official records of the event. Any year-book or newspaper account from the period could be inaccurate. Should we believe Bob? If our experience with Bob has revealed that he is a trustworthy person who has never lied to us before, then we may have reason to believe him, especially if there is no evidence to the contrary. Likewise, we might argue that we have assurance that many of the events described in the Bible occurred, even though historical inquiry has not yet produced confirming evidence through the spade of the archaeologist or the pen of the secular historian.”

A more apt analogy would be as follows: Suppose that Bob claims that he could fly when he was in high school. Suppose that he furthermore claimed that because of this we had to change every aspect of our lives. Even if our experience with Bob has revealed that he is a trustworthy person who has never lied to us before, then we would do well to be skeptical of his claim, especially if there is no independent supporting evidence.

The authors also subtly throw into their analogy the sentence: “Any year-book or newspaper account from the period could be inaccurate.” What they are doing is creating a false equivalence: skeptics cannot trust anything, which is ridiculous, so you should not be like them. Later on they say: “Can we know with 100 percent certainty that all of us were not created just five minutes ago, complete with our memories and the food in our stomachs? Of course not. … Can we know with 100 percent certainty that George Washington was the first President of the United States of America rather than a mythical figure?”

This way of thinking confuses and conflates a number of issues. Firstly, we tend to accept the word of a friend in a social setting. Perhaps we are a little skeptical, but it does not really matter in the grand scheme of things. It is the equivalent of a little white lie, where we accept a friend’s word in situations where it does not matter. Imagine if you were asked to testify in a court of law. Suppose you were asked: “Was Bob the state champion in high school wrestling?” We would say: “that’s what he told me.” If there were a newspaper article affirming it, that would be a completely different matter, but that would not be our evidence to give. Secondly, skepticism is healthy, but it should not be debilitating. The skeptical view is open to evidence. Obviously we cannot know that the world was not created five minutes ago, but where is the evidence for that claim? By definition there is none, so we do not accept it. This is consistent with not accepting Bob’s claim that he can fly based on his say so, and with tentatively accepting that he won a wrestling competition. I say “tentatively” because we have a single data point, but if it became important to know for sure we would look for corroborating evidence.

Clearly, the authors are leading us to the point where the evidence need not be watertight to accept it. The example of Bob’s claim to be able to fly shows us that this is not so. To accept an extraordinary claim will require an extraordinary quality and quantity of evidence, even if Bob is otherwise trustworthy in our experience. They quote Graham Twelftree: “A position is demonstrated, when the reasons for accepting it ‘significantly’ outweigh the reasons for not accepting it. … This leaves a large gray area where positions are held to be ‘likely’ or ‘probable.’ … A finding of historicity is essentially a default position, meaning that we have no other reasonable way to account for the presence of a story in the text.”

This is false. When searching for truth we should be skeptical of everything. When considering historicity we should consider whether the source of the information is disinterested, whether it may have been tampered with, whether there is corroborating evidence and so forth before being persuaded. We should not accept anything important uncritically, and in the case of the Bible none of those criteria is met. They essentially affirm this with their discussion of historical criteria in the next chapter.

They tell us that “[s]urprisingly, Jesus’ resurrection has quite a bit going for it in terms of data, which makes it an interesting topic for historical investigation.” As to this, we shall just have to wait and see.

They “point out that for the Christian, there is difference between knowing that Jesus rose from the dead with reasonable historical certainty and living on the personal assurance that Christianity is true. Paul wrote is Romans 8:16 that ‘the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.’ … The historical certainty we have of Jesus’ resurrection only reinforces that God’s Spirit has indeed spoken to us.”

This is somewhat carefully phrased, but as discussed above, and as they themselves acknowledged, the corollary of this is that without the historical certainty of the resurrection we are forced to conclude that God’s Spirit did not talk to us, and that Christianity is on no firmer footing than Mormonism, Islam or any other religion which claims to grant a feeling of assurance from God.

Evidence is part of sharing the gospel

To close this chapter, the authors argue that presenting this evidence in order to persuade someone is a legitimate method of evangelism, while accepting that you cannot “'reason’ someone into becoming a Christian.” This is because “God alone draws people to himself for salvation.” Learning the evidence then is just for those people who are interested in evidence. Others may be interested in your experiences.

This is a confusing point. What is your experience other than a different form of evidence? Of course, they are separating the historical evidence from experiential evidence, but either one is evidence that a person will evaluate using their brain in the usual way. But, the authors tell us, none of that matters because either God will make you believe or he won’t. So then does the quality of evidence not really matter after all? The authors seem to imply that it does not.

This brings us to the question of faith. According to the authors, faith is belief in action. They give the example of a high wire expert who walks over the Niagara Falls with a wheelbarrow filled with 150 pounds of potatoes. He asks the crowd whether they believe that he could do it with a person in the wheelbarrow. They do. He then asks for a volunteer. “Believing the facts is one thing. Acting upon them is faith.”

I will accept this definition of faith for the purpose of this discussion after the following two comments:

Comment 1: This is not the standard definition of faith. Even the Bible’s definition in Hebrews 11:1 is “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” This is more in accord with typical definitions, where it is a choice to believe something despite the (lack of) evidence. Faith does have a second meaning of confidence, and it is perhaps to that meaning that the authors are latching.

Comment 2: This ability to redefine words and phrases is a powerful adaptive mechanism, enabling the survival of Christianity through the ages. Modern Christianity would probably be unrecognizable to ancient Christians. If you find that point too controversial, then suppose that your flavor of Christianity is authentic: then you would probably admit that other forms of Christianity have diverged so much over time as to be barely recognizable as the same religion, so some form of change over time must exist. In this instance, the concept of faith has evolved so that Christianity can adapt to the modern need to have evidence.

In any event, we take as our working definition of faith that it is acting on your beliefs. Now we see that this is a contradiction, or at least a muddle. In the previous section, the authors do not see an experience of God as an allowable form of evidence. But in this one, people come to God only if he draws them to Himself. And faith is just an action that stems from our sincere beliefs. How can we make sense of this?

The resolution is as follows: be as skeptical as you like, and examine the evidence for the resurrection as objectively as you can. If you find it convincing, it will be because God made you find it convincing, and so you should act on it. If you do not find it convincing then you should drop your faith, even if you can feel God’s presence in some way.

They close the chapter: “People offer all sorts of reasons for not accepting Christ. Many times they reject Christianity just because they don’t like it for some emotional reason. They may be offended by Jesus’ claim to be the only way to heaven or the Bible’s prohibition of homosexual behavior. Others excuse themselves with intellectual objections, such as the impossibility of Jesus’ resurrection or the problem of evil. Whatever the superficial objection, it may be a smoke screen for a deeper reason that the person simply does not want to believe. For someone with a hidden agenda, neither a personal testimony nor any evidence will make a difference. … The Holy Spirit’s work is essential in order for a person to come to Christ. Who you are and your personal testimony are also very important. Evidence is a tool in your pocket. If you are sharing your faith actively, you will find yourself reaching for it frequently.”

Here we see the slippery eel so prevalent in such conversations. The authors have been at pains to point out that adherents of other religions claim religious experiences, so we cannot trust that as evidence. So we must focus on the validating claim of the resurrection. If you believe this, and act accordingly it will be faith. If you do not believe it, that will be a superficial objection: you just do not want to believe it for some reason (note the “emotional reason” they refer to above is actually a moral reason). If you become a Christian it is because God called you. If you do not it is because of your own hidden agenda. The authors want to present the evidence for the resurrection, but must also be humble servants of God. So if their evidence convinces you, it is all Him. But if it does not, we must exonerate God since He is perfect, so it must be your fault. You must not want to believe.

These contradictions are enough to see the whole thing as a man made construct. But no! I shall consider their evidence as objectively as I can. If I am not convinced by it, I shall act accordingly (“faith” by their definition). I will not presume that God failed to move me to belief. I will presume that there is simply no God to begin with.