Category > Your Humble Heretic
January 15th marked the 81st birthday of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This event, along with another seemingly unrelated event — the broadcast of a number of Westerns on the American Movie Channel — gave me an opportunity to reflect on what theologian Walter Wink calls The Myth of Redemptive Violence. I'm not a big fan of Westerns, mainly because they tend to glorify violence. But there is one Western that ranks among my all-time favorite movies: …
I thought at first that I was the only one who could smell it. But the stench of hypocrisy and bad theology of conservative, fundamentalist Christianity is something almost everyone these days can smell, as illustrated last week by the almost universal outrage against Pat Robertson's comments about Haiti. So I'm not going to use up my column space or hold my nose over that particular emanation from Robertson's foul mouth. But that odor is just one of many that …
For those of you who read my column last week ("The way things are goin'..."), you will remember that I discussed some local conservative religious organizations that deemed it necessary to discuss me and this column in their meetings. I ended that column by saying I'd rather be burned at the stake than have my column discussed by a bunch of mindless, bible-thumping, Christian bureaucrats in one of their impotent meetings. Well, I am here to report that I have …
In March of 2008, I wrote an article called "C-U Ministers and Their Mansions" where I used the Champaign County Assessment Office's online database of property records to look up the values of homes owned by pastors in Champaign-Urbana. Shortly after my article appeared, the Champaign County Assessment Office removed the ability to search for records by name from their website and they posted this note: "For privacy reasons the search by name feature has been removed from the property …
The great thing about shopping for almost anything in America is the nearly infinite number of options and choices the consumer has. For example, if you're shopping for a car, you might start with its make (e.g. Chevy, Ford, or perhaps a foreign brand), then you might consider its model (Cavalier, Impala, etc.), then there is the type of engine (Hemi, V6, etc.), and the transmission (manual or automatic). Finally, of course, you choose a color and a wide variety …
A few months ago billboards throughout Champaign-Urbana displayed a giant Krispy Kreme Donut with the text, "Look who's rolling into town." Excellent, I thought, they're going to build a Krispy Kreme here and we'll be able to get hot, fresh Krispy Kreme Donuts. But it was all a sham. They didn't build us a Krispy Kreme. It was just a misleading promotion announcing that Krispy Kremes — not the hot, fresh ones, but half-stale, room-temperature ones — would be sold …
A few billboards around Champaign-Urbana have been telling us for the past couple months that "An Educated Person Knows the Bible." It is a message sponsored by the Bible Literacy Project and is apparently not so much an informational observation as a nationwide promotion of a textbook published in 2005 called The Bible and Its Influences. I don't know all of the politics and agendas behind this campaign; perhaps fertile fodder for another article sometime. But the message at its …
From the informal statistics based simply on my own biased experience, I'd have to estimate that 50% of leaders are terrible. And of that 50%, I'd say that half of those are terrible because they are incompetent and/or ignorant and the other half simply because they are corrupt. Fortunately, in the realm of politics we have at least four peaceful ways of replacing inept political leaders, or at least ensuring, that their negative influence is limited. The first way is …
I have had an affinity for Aikido since the late 1990s when I studied it briefly at a dojo in Champaign. And although my lack of practice and discipline in recent years has made me rusty at the physical moves, the philosophy behind Aikido has stayed with me. Unlike some of the more popular and “hard” martial arts, such as Karate and Tae Kwon Do, Aikido is a “soft” art that involves no punching or kicking. Instead, Aikido utilizes a …
It’s that time of year again for holiday tackiness. It comes in a variety of forms, including (but not limited to) gaudy sweaters and neckties, rotating Christmas trees, dogs barking jingle bells and garish yard decorations as seen on Candlestick Lane in Urbana. But Christmas is only one of the Christian holy days that has devolved into eye-popping commercialism. Easter also has its share of tackiness with its peeps, colored eggs and giant stuffed bunnies. However, Easter, still in the …
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hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
And that, my friend, is love. Bob, I think I still owe you for my wedding cake, served in 1998. But nevermind.
I believe the kiss between Rob and I was documented on low-quality videotape in the mid-ninties porn classic, Dirty Harry…and Sticky.
“Do I have to sign some forms, or am I just considered ‘in.’” You’re in!
Got damn, Coulter. You are the greatest.
I have no specific memory of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d kissed Mike, too—once we’d both drunk ourselves gay. And earlier this week I gave Clarence Shelley a back rub. Do I have to sign some forms, or am I just considered “in.”
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Most Recent Comments
As a liberal conservative, and a person who favors taxes & services ... and also a sense of proportion; I savor the comic potential that still exists in this comments section. I’m pretty sure we can goad more anti-government rhetoric from confirmed progressives and government employees. If…
Did the Crave Truck get a permit to park in city metered spots and city right of way? Or did they just get a permit? The city clerk’s office seems to be a suspect here, but it’s not clear they did anything wrong. Did the Crave Truck…
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
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I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.