George Blanda, RIP

As a kid, I used to LOVE to watch football (still do, but not as much). Even though I didn't care for the Oakland Raiders (I was a Chargers fan and they were in the same division), I admired and enjoyed watching George Blanda. He was one of a kind!

Reverend Fun - That Bishop Thing

Reverend Fun - That Bishop Thing

I should ask Bishop Nelson if he moves diagonally!

Why is John a Lutheran?

Why is John a Lutheran?

Some good stuff from a good friend.

Turkey vulture festival in Kern River Valley

Turkey vulture festival in Kern River Valley

(For those of you in the area looking for something to do.)

Religious Kitsch of the Week

One definition of  "Kitsch" (from the German) is “Sentimentality or vulgar, often pretentious bad taste, especially in the arts.” Vulgar does not always refer to something indecent, here instead refering to something coarse or distasteful.


Of course, in the arts, one man's kitsch is another man's inspiration. Bad taste is subjective. With that caveat, let me introduce the first Kitsch o' the Week:

(This comes courtesy of my friend John Hudson, who posted it on his Facebook page.)

Here we have Sensei Jesus, watching over two karate kids. While I think it pleases the Holy Trinity when we take care of our bodies and engage in physical activity (we are temples of the Holy Spirit), this figurine seems to indicate that Jesus watches over our every chop and kick to the spleen. It reminds me of the football player this weekend who thanked the Lord for helping him not fumble the ball. (If so, the reverse must be true: that God causes fumbles to happen on the field. Usually he doesn't get the blame, though. "I would like to acknowledge the Lord for making us lose this Saturday. I didn't mean to fumble, but Jesus failed to help me grip the ball!")

Anyway, Jesus as Mr. Miyagi is my first pick for Religious Kitsch of the Week. "Be at peace, boys. Wax on. Wax off!"



God Bless David Mitchell

Since the Church is in the job of  communicating, she ought to do it as clearly as possible.

OK. I'm Back: College Mascots

I apologize to all three of my regular readers (!), who have eagerly been awaiting a word from the prophet.

Of course, I'm kidding, but as a new program year approaches in the parish it's time for me to get in the blogging habit again.

I've always been fascinated by college mascots. I remember going to my first Naval Academy football game with my dad (vs. Syracuse) and wondering about the goat on the sidelines. Like the USNA, most schools originally had a real animal for a mascot, but now either include a larger animated one (think of those big Disneyland characters) or they have replaced the live animal altogether. (I guess it can be a little unnerving to have a live cougar on the sidelines.)

For instance, the Army mule has undergone a transformation from this:

to this:

(Army still has the real mule on the sidelines, just as Navy has the goat in both real form and "cuddly' form.)

In any case, there are some fascinating mascots out there in NCAA land. My own Alma Mater (UC Riverside) has a "Highlander" as a mascot (the first Chancelor was Scottish and the campus is sorrounding by the Box Spring Mountains). However, the mascot is a bear wearing Scottish tartans. The reason? The bear has long been a symbol of California and the bear is the mascot of both the main campus of the University of California (Berkeley) and the Los Angeles campus (the Bruins). So, UC Riverside kept the bear theme with a twist:

UC Santa Cruz kept to the blue and gold theme, but jettisoned the bear altogether (what would you expect from folks in Santa Cruz?!) to become the Banana Slugs! As you can see from this next picture, an "animated" slug works much better for games and functions than an actual slug:

One mascot I didn't know existed was the Whittier College "Poets." (Richard Nixon being the most famous alumnus of that small Quaker school.) I'm not sure how they got the name "Poets," but the logo sure is clever.

That's all for now. Go team!