Country singer Randy Travis was arrested yesterday in Texas for public intoxication. And where was he publicly intoxicating? In his car, which was parked in front of a Baptist church. That’s all we really know right now, but I would just like to say that I did this like a thousand times when I was in high school and am so lucky that I a) didn’t get caught and b) wasn’t famous. Small towns in the South, people. It’s that... Read more
Apparently I’m on some kind of music kick or something this week? I don’t know. Either way, Eleanor Friedberger (she’s one half of The Fiery Furnaces and the heroine of Franz Ferdinand‘s “Eleanor Put Your Boots On”) has a new single out called “Heaven,” and it’s good. And the video features some illustrations that look exactly like Chick Tracts. For those of you who didn’t grow up in the Bible Belt, Chick Tracts are these little flip book comics about... Read more
Hey, remember that time like five minutes ago when I said I had zero to contribute about the Superbowl/sports in general? Yeah, anyway. Katy Perry played a pre-Superbowl concert in Indianapolis last night. Because she has never met a theme she didn’t like matching to a skanky costume, Katy donned a sexy football-inspired outfit. Then, she dedicated her song “Peacock” to Tim Tebow. Here’s what is interesting about that: 1. “Peacock” is a not-at-all-subtle song about seeing a dude’s penis.... Read more
I’m not really into the whole sports thing, but I did manage to keep this blog “on trend” with some celebrity-spirituality content. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen recently sent an email to close friends and family asking them to pray for her husband, QB Tom Brady, and his team, the New England Patriots, to win the Superbowl. We only know about this because one of those close relatives or friends leaked the email to the New York Post. She wrote: My sweet... Read more
Real Time host Bill Maher makes no secret of his atheism, even making a documentary (Religulous) on the topic. But when he recently learned that Republican presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney had had his atheist father-in-law posthumously baptized into the Mormon church, Bill couldn’t let that act go unchallenged. It’s normal for LDS members to perform “baptisms” for people who have died, including Shoah victims, so the fact that Mitt tried to make sure his father-in-law ended up in Mormon... Read more
Action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently in India for a conference, and while there he decided to check out the Taj Mahal, the country’s most famous tourist destination and one of the Wonders of the World. However, when he showed up, he was denied entrance to the site – not because the guy at the door thought the last Terminator movie was totally egregious but because there was a Muslim prayer session going on then. Schwarzenegger... Read more
This morning, after watching the new Madonna video that features MIA, I decided to watch MIA’s new video for “Bad Girls.” Full disclosure: I am a pretty big MIA fan, and I like the way that she manages to meld pop music and political statements without going too far into cloying/preachy territory. But, that said, I did have a few eyebrow-raising moments during “Bad Girls,” which is set in the Middle East. At the beginning of the video, MIA is... Read more
Madonna is performing at the Super Bowl this weekend (I only know the date of this event because I keep tabs on the Puppy Bowl), so it seemed like a perfect time to release her new single, “Gimme All Your Luvin.'” The video includes lots of football imagery and includes backup vocals/cameos from two much more relevant musicians, Nicki Minaj and MIA. (more…) Read more
TLC, which stopped being The Learning Channel quite some time ago, has announced some of its new shows for 2012. One is Preacher Wives, which is described thusly: Discovery Communications’ TLC has picked up Preacher Wives, a new series about outspoken female preachers in Atlanta, which chronicles the lives of these larger-than-life women as they manage day-to-day politics, help troubled or needy congregants, hire and fire staff while balancing between being a parent and a respected public figure. So, while... Read more
Rumors about celebrities’ potential religious conversions seem to be all the rage these days. There were rumors that Paul McCartney might convert for his new wife Nancy Shevell, but so far those haven’t panned out, so now it’s time for a new target: Drew Barrymore, who got engaged to art consultant Will Kopelman last month. In Touch magazine claims that Drew is planning to convert before marrying her fiance and that her friend Adam “The Zohan” Sandler has been instrumental... Read more
Faith Goes Pop
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