Personally, I don't care if Tom Friedman never finishes the book he's currently writing. My beloved New York Times has given him leave until October and replaced him with the knockout combo of Barbara Ehrenreich and Henry Louis Gates Jr. NYT op-ed pieces are some of the finest around and I make sure to read 'em every day. Now I've got two more reasons to do so.
Meanwhile, the fashion section of the NYT has an intriguing article on the evolution of men's underwear. Despite being a man who wears men's underwear, I have to admit that I didn't know that there was such diversity and innovation in this field - I always viewed mens' underwear as being rather utilitarian and in a state of arrested development, stylistically speaking. Well, I was wrong - click here to read about the state of men's drawers, including new brief-technology seemingly inspired by the wonderbra.
On a wholly different note, Meredith pointed me to an online "belief quiz" that one can take to figure out what one believes, spiritually speaking. I normally don't take many quizzes like this, because they're usually oversimplistic, the questions are ambiguous and there's not a lot of room for detailed answers. Regardless, I took the quiz, and to my suprise, I am an "Orthodox Quaker." Must've been the importance I placed on nonviolence/pacifism. Apparently I also have "Seventh Day Adventist" leanings, which is interesting, because I don't even know what they believe. I'm sure that somewhere in the great beyond my Calvinist forefathers are tsk-tsk'ing and shaking their heads. Anyways, here's the link. I'd be curious to see where you folks sit, spiritually.
Meanwhile, the fashion section of the NYT has an intriguing article on the evolution of men's underwear. Despite being a man who wears men's underwear, I have to admit that I didn't know that there was such diversity and innovation in this field - I always viewed mens' underwear as being rather utilitarian and in a state of arrested development, stylistically speaking. Well, I was wrong - click here to read about the state of men's drawers, including new brief-technology seemingly inspired by the wonderbra.
On a wholly different note, Meredith pointed me to an online "belief quiz" that one can take to figure out what one believes, spiritually speaking. I normally don't take many quizzes like this, because they're usually oversimplistic, the questions are ambiguous and there's not a lot of room for detailed answers. Regardless, I took the quiz, and to my suprise, I am an "Orthodox Quaker." Must've been the importance I placed on nonviolence/pacifism. Apparently I also have "Seventh Day Adventist" leanings, which is interesting, because I don't even know what they believe. I'm sure that somewhere in the great beyond my Calvinist forefathers are tsk-tsk'ing and shaking their heads. Anyways, here's the link. I'd be curious to see where you folks sit, spiritually.
Apparently I'm a unitarian universalist. 100%. Tied for 93% is Hinduism and Liberal Quaker. It's good to finally have this figured out.
Posted by
bnjmn |
11:32 AM
Man, that's a screwier combination than my religious affiliation(s). Basically, you're a member of a country-club style church, and have a penchant for pacifism, new age-y waffling and polytheistic beliefs. I think I'll call it "Hoekstraism"
Posted by
Brian |
11:49 PM
1. Orthodox Quaker (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (99%)
3. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (80%)
4. Liberal Quakers (78%)
5. Seventh Day Adventist (76%)
6. Eastern Orthodox (69%)
7. Roman Catholic (69%)
8. Unitarian Universalism (68%)
9. Reform Judaism (61%)
10. Bahá'í Faith (57%)
Um. WTF?
I mean, Quakers are great and all, but I'm waaaay too fuckin' high-church for that. Not too happy to see the UU's in my top ten either; the only thing they're good for is lending out their old church buildings (pristine and unused, because why the hell go to church if you barely believe anything?) for punk shows and activist talks. And Ralph Waldo Emersizzle. That homie could write.
I'd be honored to be counted as a Reformed Jew, if that means I still get to worship Jesus as the incarnation of God and the second person of the Trinity. I don't mean that snottily; Christians (myself included) need to know more of Jewish tradition.
This quiz itself is underlined by some serious presuppositions which themselves contradict my "religious beliefs." For example, that there's a clean split between doctrine of God and ethics; that how we worship and other "thick practices" are not as important as privately-held ideas; that one believes in and practices the faith in order to gain a certain "reward," like some anxious middle manager ... And how the fuck did I turn out more Seventh-Day Adventist than Eastern Orthodox? Dammit, I want someone to just give me permission to join the EOC already.
Shocked at the amount of Gnosticism in the multiple-guess answers, too ("Realize your true being as pure spirit"). The funny part is that I'm sure half the people who click those kinds of answers simultaneously rail against Christianity for being "against the body" and promoting "pie in the sky by and by." Yeesh.
Another tenet of my religion is the absolute demonstrable moral superiority of Barbara E. over Tom F. It makes me so happy that she and Gates (who's at least worth reading) are replacing that overrated free-trader, if only for a month.
Posted by
Phil |
11:20 AM