As God is my witness…
I'm surprised that all the discussion and'or controversy associated with the show is about the Mormons—when the whole evangelistic project in Africa—and especially Uganda—is such a hot topic. From the The Family's influence on Ugandan anti-homosexuality legislation on through charismatic suicide…

If you're looking for dirt on the Mormons, you might want to look up their history vis a vis Race:

There's always a gap between theory and practice, Geddy, and I make no excuses for those who mistake the surface of a thing for what is (or is not) inside. Nevertheless, Christianity, at least the way it was devised by Paul (as I understand it, a very different thing from what it had been) has evangelism as a main…

It really is a great doc. My favorite part is when that teamster/longshoreman guy talks about how Harvey Milk made him rethink his attitude toward homosexuals.

Clearly the best is 'The Importance of Being Ernest'. Advertised in some markets as 'Vern Gone Wilde'.

If you're looking for sexy on NPR—listen to the way Doualy Xaykaothao pronounces her name. First of all, that is one of the sexiest string of letters and phonemes ever assembled (even more than Zooey Deschanel? I think so), but she pronounces it (in what I assume is the correct Hmong manner) with a slightly hesitant…

I am a Buddhist, and Buddhism has traditionally had a very hands off attitude toward evangelism—Very live and let live. Some of that comes originally from its monastic roots—You used to kind of get born into it (by virtue of Karma or being orphaned or abandoned), or you choose it for yourself. At any rate, as a…

She's not my type when I describe my type but I suspect we'd be totally, even scarily compatible.

I think it depends on what you already are into. As a fan of Vowell's type of creative nonfiction and someone with a similar fascination with the Puritans and their insane influence on American history and culture—I found 'The Wordy Shipmates' to be endlessly interesting. 'Assassination Vacation' somewhat less so.

It's not so much that I'm above repeating myself, but I'm so tired of always countering the same rote criticism of the same damn things whenever certain titles come up. It's just easier to repeat how ridiculous the talking dog is than to assess what else works in that movie—or even what an audacious risk it was at…

The real new Jersey—I think you may be misunderstanding how the word "nubian" was being used in that film. At that time it was kind of an insider Hip Hop term of Black pride—and John Turturro's using it in place of the "N" word is a spiteful inversion of that.

It was 'New Jack City' and the fear was always greater than the reality. 'Boyz N the Hood' though, is one of my alltime favorites.

Oh, I know that the whole title is ironic—and that ability to get inside all the characters and all the different points of view and still be honest is miraculous. There's another sequence where the cops drive by the guys on the corner and he shows it from both sides—and you totally understand why the cops shake their…

I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who make obscene amounts of money from work that makes them famous getting camera shy when they go out. I'm no fan of TMZ, but that's part of what you sign on for when you do the kind of work Harrison Ford does. The public eye becomes your burden and your responsibility.…

Yeah, yeah—liberty spikes, The Who, Spike don't know Punk Rock, talking dogs are funny, blah blah blah. I still think 'Summer of Sam' has some great moments in it—a couple of great set-pieces I've described elsewhere— and what movie ever did get that CBGB's Punk era right (or American Punk at all for that matter—The…

He should be graded like an olympic diver—with difficulty factored in. He's never afraid to take risks. The one thing Spike Lee never does is whatever you expect him to do—and on balance I'd say he was one of the best living American directors. 'Do the Right Thing' is a faultless masterpiece—even in its frustrating…

And this:

I understand your point Politest Unregistered Commentor, but that would allow a heteronormative fear of association dictate your behavior. I'm reminded of Charlie Chaplin, a Christian who was attacked by Hitler in the European press as a Jew but who never denied it publicly because he knew that to do so would be both…

I do not think we should get rid of unregistered posters—despite the abuse I've taken from them at times—and I definitely do not think that we as commentors (registered or otherwise) should be given any kind of power to delete or remove the contributions of others. This is a supremely democratic forum in that we all…

It was a poetry MFA—so slinging bullshit (but beautiful bullshit) was basically all it was.