SoulPancake

“If you were in a burning house and there was a cat and a Rembrandt, what would you save? The cat… you would save the cat, because the cat is alive. The art is dead. It’s just paint on a canvas, ink on a page. To live for art is to deny life. It’s just to destroy life.” —Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, 1992

Do we deny life when we only live for art?

:: cat curator by mark williams

Do we have the right to interfere with other cultures' customs and traditions—even if it seems unjust?

[CHALLENGE: FRUGAL ARTIST]

[SP EXCLUSIVE]

There are the nightmares, or whatever they are: Jump up at night for no reason at all and find yourself sitting upright in bed. Doctor says take 4 or 5 a day; I’m doing 7 or 8. Never sleep. Never eat. Sit at the kitchen table staring at nothing at 5:48 a.m. My mom’s in town, comes out, says, “You up already?” I just nod. Sure.

I don’t manage loud noises well. Arguments, too. Bills are heavy; a roof’s a heavy thing to keep over your head. Our babies in their cribs. Run 3 miles on the treadmill before you realize there’s nothing chasing you. Humbert Humbert. I won’t lie; there’s a part of me that gets him, confused and guilt-ridden. Poor old Madame Bovary, bored out of her wits, taking another trip to the mall, anything to make the numbness go away. All of them hoping someone's gonna swoop them up and solve it (whatever it is).

Sit in dark rooms watching movies we’re not really watching, or posting on Web sites we don’t really like, masturbating (again), kicking bottles and keys every time we walk across our rooms, and going mad on trains and busses. Broken hearts. Unused hearts. Hearts opened wide as eyes searching for a decent hug.

[LIFE'S BIG LISTS]

Admit it: Whether you’re a man or woman, you've had a major crush on someone before. But have you ever had a crush on an entire group of people? A polyamorous crush goes beyond sexuality; it’s about being enthralled with either a couple, a team, a cast, even a mob of people working towards a common goal. You’re not quite sure, but something about them turns you on.

List five polyamorous crushes you’ve harbored in your life.

:: crush list by Todd Steinberg :: i-heart-shirt by CaptainCat, customized by @plasticflora

Super Christ Me. Every Sunday, TV congregations numbering tens of millions tune in to salvation sermons broadcast from mega-churches filled with thousands upon thousands of followers. Sure, televangelism is shallow, manipulative, money-driven. But isn’t everything in pop culture (think Top 40 music, fast food, reality TV) just vacuous drivel designed for material gain? Maybe McJesus televangelism is just as valid a religion as any. But the real question is, can millions of couch-bound American souls survive on it alone? Who are we to point the finger at someone’s spiritual diet and say it’s time for some ecclesiastic exercise?

Is televangelism an acceptable method of ministry to the masses?

:: Todd Steinberg :: couch-church potato by Matt Goold

[SP Exclusive]

Chew on that and these other tasty questions raised by recent headlines.

This week: dopey decisions, in green we trust, faithless in Seattle, and a pre-teen idol.

Would you rather get stoned than extend marriage rights to gays?
Maybe there was something in the lobster, but I’m still scratching my head over the election results coming out of Maine last week, where the good people of the ine Tree State passed by simple majority two propositions: one to expand existing medical marijuana allowances and a second to repeal the state law providing marriage rights to gays and lesbians. Maine’s new pot law increases the number of ailments that qualify patients for weed IDs and allows for doober retail outlets, while the passage of Prop 1—similar to California’s 2008 passage of Prop 8—mandates the state to only recognize marriages between a man and a woman. Legalize it laws in California and Maine have won handily, while marriage equality efforts remain a divisive, polarizing issue. C’mon people, what exactly is it that we’re smoking here? Is the weed really so good that we’re ready to embrace our inner stoner but paranoid as hell about letting our loved ones, friends, and neighbors who happen to be gay embrace each other in matrimonial harmony?

:: signage spied by paul nicholson

“In terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.” —Bill Gates

Sunday School students of the world unite! Or de-unite! We get dressed up every weekend and burn gas to drive over to church and sit in those uncomfortable wooden seats. Why? Can’t I find deliverance watching Patrick Crayton haul in a Tony Romo pass with 105,120 other Cowboys fans? What if I just sat in solitude and read chapters out of Genesis or the Koran? What if I meditated? Or called my mom? Or took a walk in nature?

What's the point of going to church when there are so many other spiritual things you could be doing?

:: Todd Steinberg

[CHALLENGE: QUICK, WRITE]

Step 1. Pull out your old junk drawer. The one full of pocketknives and cold medicine and concert ticket stubs and matches from places you’ve already forgotten about.
Step 2. Use your stash to inspire a decastich—a 10-line poem with no restrictions on meter or rhyme.
Step 3. Post your poem below. (Bonus points for rhyming anyway.)

[SP EXCLUSIVE]

“My friends say I’m different since my mother died,” reported Greg while we rallied.

An experienced player who seemed to be blocking a much better player within, Greg had little expression on his face—his eyes rarely moved off the tennis ball; his body was stiff. Was he sabotaging with indifference or had he been on auto-pilot for years? Either way, there was another tale being told here.

“When did she die?”

“Six months ago.”

“So you’re here because… ?”

“I need help grieving.” He hit the shot solidly on the strings. Was this “ho-hum” response his way to deal with the loss of a mother?

I urged him forward. “What’s changed since her death?”

Greg ignored the question. “I didn’t speak at the funeral.”