http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/8-scrapbooking.html
Good God, scrapbooking. In the town that I spent my teen years in, ever girl and her mother scrapbooked and did so diligently. In fact, one of the senior English sections at my high school had students make a "senior scrapbook" as a major project, though this presumably was more writing-based than the traditional scrapbook. Go to a JoAnn Fabrics or a Hobby Lobby near town on a weekend and you'll see tons of women and girls stocking up on supplies and chatting about what they're going to do next.
I....never really got into it. I went to a scrapbooking party hosted by a classmate early in high school and found it rather dull. I'm not knocking it: it sounds fun for those who have the mindset that would enjoy it. However, I honestly don't know why so many CC (and non-CC) women I knew were into it.
In undergrad, quite a few of the Christian Culture types I knew kept scrapbooks. I don't know many people who do in law school, but that might because we're all so frickin' busy.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
And we start again.
In about twelve hours I'll be back at school...and a few hours after that I should be back on-line.
As always, there are good things and bad things. I'll be back with my friends, but I'll have a shit-ton of work to do. I'll be giving up self-important super speshul idiots for rednecks and being around various restaurants and shops to a far less dense area that is actually safe for me to walk around in. (Well, usually.)
They say the second year they work you to death....whoop-dee-doo. Regardless, I know I'm going to get a ton of work, so it'll be an interesting year.
As always, there are good things and bad things. I'll be back with my friends, but I'll have a shit-ton of work to do. I'll be giving up self-important super speshul idiots for rednecks and being around various restaurants and shops to a far less dense area that is actually safe for me to walk around in. (Well, usually.)
They say the second year they work you to death....whoop-dee-doo. Regardless, I know I'm going to get a ton of work, so it'll be an interesting year.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
SCCL #6-7
The next two commentaries are merged because they have a commonality: as someone from the Midwest, I'm really not familiar with either of these parts of Christian Culture.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/6-ichthus-tattoo-aka-jesus-fish.html
First is the Jesus Fish tattoo. I see these on the back of cars virtually everywhere, but never on tattoos. Where I've been living for the past decade or so, it's still pretty scandalous for a female CC-er/evangelist to get a tattoo. Getting a tattoo might mark you as trashy or, much worse, a liberal. You may start with that innocuous butterfly on your ankle, but soon it'll snowball to you listening to NPR, donating to Planned Parenthood, and *gasp* voting Democrat. I can't think of a single woman in my undergrad's Campus Crusade for Christ (er, I'm sorry, Cru) that has a tattoo. And, most of the women in my current school's Christian Legal Society don't seem to have any either (unless they're hidden in a place you wouldn't normally see).
The rules for men are a little looser. There were a few guys I knew from the worship group that did have tattoos, but these were usually the more "manly" version. Think less Jesus Fish and more large cross, inspiring Bible verse, or something in memorial to a deceased relative. One very devout guy I went to high school with got a massive cross on his forearm after he turned eighteen. The idea of metrosexuality has yet to take hold with Midwestern cultural Christians, so expect any body art to both display their faith and reaffirm their masculinity.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/7-soul-patches.html
I'm also 100% sure I never saw a soul patch at Cru meetings either. When you're a guy, spending too much time on your appearance raises a red flag. While making sure you're presentable in public in one thing, a neatly maintained soul patch begs the question as to what team you're batting for, so to speak. In my experience, young CC men are typically clean-shaven or have perma-stubble, with maybe a few wearing a more traditional form of facial hair.
You may see a soul patch on the worship leader who is leading the meeting. These guys tend to be late-twenties, early-thirties and are likely trying to show that they're not too uncool or stodgy...by styling themselves in a way that many of these young men are avoiding with a ten foot pole.
One major caveat: there are a brand of CC-ers that can be best described as "Alternative" Christians. They're basically being counter-cultural for Jesus, and will likely talk about eschewing anything of the world for Jesus...by looking like your typical secular hipster/counter-cultural/whatever's in vogue this season. I once went to a teen revival that was kind of like this and got a punky cross necklace and beanie...that looked almost exactly like something at a Hot Topic. Probably cost about the same too. My now agnostic younger sister keeps the necklace in her dorm room as a way of keeping potential converters at bay by making them think she's one of them. I still wear the hat because it's actually kind of cool looking.
Back to my main point, these Alterna-Christians will likely be the ones with the tattoos, the piercings, the styled hair, etc., like a normal hipster, except for Jesus.
8/20/2011- I have now seen a CC soul patch in the wild! My very Christian Culture cousin (say that three times fast) is now rocking the soul patch as of earlier this week...which is a large improvement over the ugly porn-stache he was very unironically sporting for much of the summer.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/6-ichthus-tattoo-aka-jesus-fish.html
First is the Jesus Fish tattoo. I see these on the back of cars virtually everywhere, but never on tattoos. Where I've been living for the past decade or so, it's still pretty scandalous for a female CC-er/evangelist to get a tattoo. Getting a tattoo might mark you as trashy or, much worse, a liberal. You may start with that innocuous butterfly on your ankle, but soon it'll snowball to you listening to NPR, donating to Planned Parenthood, and *gasp* voting Democrat. I can't think of a single woman in my undergrad's Campus Crusade for Christ (er, I'm sorry, Cru) that has a tattoo. And, most of the women in my current school's Christian Legal Society don't seem to have any either (unless they're hidden in a place you wouldn't normally see).
The rules for men are a little looser. There were a few guys I knew from the worship group that did have tattoos, but these were usually the more "manly" version. Think less Jesus Fish and more large cross, inspiring Bible verse, or something in memorial to a deceased relative. One very devout guy I went to high school with got a massive cross on his forearm after he turned eighteen. The idea of metrosexuality has yet to take hold with Midwestern cultural Christians, so expect any body art to both display their faith and reaffirm their masculinity.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/7-soul-patches.html
I'm also 100% sure I never saw a soul patch at Cru meetings either. When you're a guy, spending too much time on your appearance raises a red flag. While making sure you're presentable in public in one thing, a neatly maintained soul patch begs the question as to what team you're batting for, so to speak. In my experience, young CC men are typically clean-shaven or have perma-stubble, with maybe a few wearing a more traditional form of facial hair.
You may see a soul patch on the worship leader who is leading the meeting. These guys tend to be late-twenties, early-thirties and are likely trying to show that they're not too uncool or stodgy...by styling themselves in a way that many of these young men are avoiding with a ten foot pole.
One major caveat: there are a brand of CC-ers that can be best described as "Alternative" Christians. They're basically being counter-cultural for Jesus, and will likely talk about eschewing anything of the world for Jesus...by looking like your typical secular hipster/counter-cultural/whatever's in vogue this season. I once went to a teen revival that was kind of like this and got a punky cross necklace and beanie...that looked almost exactly like something at a Hot Topic. Probably cost about the same too. My now agnostic younger sister keeps the necklace in her dorm room as a way of keeping potential converters at bay by making them think she's one of them. I still wear the hat because it's actually kind of cool looking.
Back to my main point, these Alterna-Christians will likely be the ones with the tattoos, the piercings, the styled hair, etc., like a normal hipster, except for Jesus.
8/20/2011- I have now seen a CC soul patch in the wild! My very Christian Culture cousin (say that three times fast) is now rocking the soul patch as of earlier this week...which is a large improvement over the ugly porn-stache he was very unironically sporting for much of the summer.
SCCL #5
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/5-princess-bride.html
Drive around my hometown during the summer and any church that has summer movie nights will show The Princess Bride at some point. I am dead serious: I could probably watch it almost every week just by visiting area churches alone. Of course, if I did do that, I would either get the eye from parents wondering why a twenty-something is watching a children's movie, or I would get targeted for conversion by one of the pastors.
I'm not knocking Princess Bride: I freaking love that movie, and so do many of my non-evangelical/non-Christian Culture friends. Yet, for some reason, the church crowd gives it its stamp of approval. It might be because it's a love story or a fairy tale or that generally it's not too offensive. I honestly don't know.
Note that I said "generally not too offensive." If you do watch this movie in the presence of a CC/evangelical crowd, expect some parts to be fast forwarded through. Probably not the violence, as many American families tend to be less prudish concerning violence than to...anything else. The scene where Westley briefly comments on Buttercup's breasts and Indigo Montoya says "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!", though? Yeah, I can't see many of my CC neighbors allowing that scene to play without the mute button.
And if you haven't seen this movie yet, please go do so. It's actually very funny and quote-worthy and all around awesome.
Drive around my hometown during the summer and any church that has summer movie nights will show The Princess Bride at some point. I am dead serious: I could probably watch it almost every week just by visiting area churches alone. Of course, if I did do that, I would either get the eye from parents wondering why a twenty-something is watching a children's movie, or I would get targeted for conversion by one of the pastors.
I'm not knocking Princess Bride: I freaking love that movie, and so do many of my non-evangelical/non-Christian Culture friends. Yet, for some reason, the church crowd gives it its stamp of approval. It might be because it's a love story or a fairy tale or that generally it's not too offensive. I honestly don't know.
Note that I said "generally not too offensive." If you do watch this movie in the presence of a CC/evangelical crowd, expect some parts to be fast forwarded through. Probably not the violence, as many American families tend to be less prudish concerning violence than to...anything else. The scene where Westley briefly comments on Buttercup's breasts and Indigo Montoya says "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!", though? Yeah, I can't see many of my CC neighbors allowing that scene to play without the mute button.
And if you haven't seen this movie yet, please go do so. It's actually very funny and quote-worthy and all around awesome.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Staff Editor baby!
I actually found this out last week, but it needs to be said:
I'm staff editor for my school's law review!!!
Which means I'll have, and currently have, a shit ton of work BUT this is what I've wanted to do since I first heard about law review (aka YEARS). So, yeah, I'm happy.
I'm staff editor for my school's law review!!!
Which means I'll have, and currently have, a shit ton of work BUT this is what I've wanted to do since I first heard about law review (aka YEARS). So, yeah, I'm happy.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Things that make me happy 8/2/2011
Matt Damon vs. Stupid Interviewer
And Matt Damon wins and shows why you can't apply a purely business approach to everything in life.
Hipster Zelda
Yeah, someone went there.
Rep. Giffords on the House Floor
Literally the only good thing to come out of the debt ceiling crisis (well, other than the fact we're not going into default despite the spoiled brat behavior of certain politicians). This woman is awesome!
And Matt Damon wins and shows why you can't apply a purely business approach to everything in life.
Hipster Zelda
Yeah, someone went there.
Rep. Giffords on the House Floor
Literally the only good thing to come out of the debt ceiling crisis (well, other than the fact we're not going into default despite the spoiled brat behavior of certain politicians). This woman is awesome!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
SCCL #4
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/4-homeschooling.html
I've never been homeschooled...at least in the traditional sense. I went to public schools, but outside of school my parents designed supplementary projects for my younger sister and I to do so we weren't stuck in front of the tv all the time.
I graduated from high school in 2006 and homeschooling wasn't really that common in my hometown despite it being a bastion of Christian Culture-ites. Rather than homeschool their kids, CC parents sent their kids to public school and tried to influence the schools to what they wanted. As a result, I didn't learn about evolution until college and had to learn about sex via medical sites and from experienced friends, for example.
There were a few families that homeschooled, but rarely for religious reasons. If a kid was at least partly homeschooled, it was often because he or she had a learning problem that the school wasn't addressing or the kid was intentionally slacking off and Mom and Dad homeschooled them for a semester to make them focus.
Given that, at least when I was in school, at least a few families seemed to use the public schools as essentially a baby-sitting service and the CC-ites had great sway on what is taught, I highly doubt homeschooling will really catch on around here.
I've never been homeschooled...at least in the traditional sense. I went to public schools, but outside of school my parents designed supplementary projects for my younger sister and I to do so we weren't stuck in front of the tv all the time.
I graduated from high school in 2006 and homeschooling wasn't really that common in my hometown despite it being a bastion of Christian Culture-ites. Rather than homeschool their kids, CC parents sent their kids to public school and tried to influence the schools to what they wanted. As a result, I didn't learn about evolution until college and had to learn about sex via medical sites and from experienced friends, for example.
There were a few families that homeschooled, but rarely for religious reasons. If a kid was at least partly homeschooled, it was often because he or she had a learning problem that the school wasn't addressing or the kid was intentionally slacking off and Mom and Dad homeschooled them for a semester to make them focus.
Given that, at least when I was in school, at least a few families seemed to use the public schools as essentially a baby-sitting service and the CC-ites had great sway on what is taught, I highly doubt homeschooling will really catch on around here.
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