May 2006 Archives

If you’re like me, the worlds of spiritual reflection and cultural relevance often meet at Starbucks, where I go for anything from solitude and reflection time to business meetings or reunions with friends. So I’m a Starbucks lover, but I’m not sure I’m ready for its latest move.

Several major publications have recently reported on Starbucks’ intention to make a deeper dent into our cultural direction and our personal decisions. “Starbucks is changing what we eat and drink. It's altering where and when we work and play. It's shaping how we spend time and money. That's just for appetizers,” says USA Today. “Starbucks has an even glitzier goal: to help rewrite society's pop culture menu.”

“The company recently announced an alliance with the William Morris Agency, a talent and literary agency that will help Starbucks identify music, film, and book projects to consider for marketing and distribution in its stores,” offers The Washington Times.

And they’re not just floating the idea: They already have licensing agreements “with most of the major record labels that will give it the ability to offer everything from Britney Spears and The Polyphonic Spree to Yo-Yo Ma and Ray Charles,” reports Business Week. “Chairman Howard Schultz, sitting casually in his office near a photo of him arm-in-arm with Mick Jagger (said), ‘Our customers have given us permission to extend the experience.’"

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t given my permission. I find myself unsure of whether I want Starbucks to be a convenient marketplace or a break from it. I can handle, "Would you like a muffin or a bagel today?” or “Would you like to sample our latest coffee?” I’m not sure I’m ready for, “Can I get you a CD or DVD with your coffee today?” I think I want a break from being sold on something.

Says the USA Today article: “Schultz says Starbucks still has to earn its stripes as tastemaker. Much as it would like to become an ‘editor’ of culture, he says, ‘one of the great strengths of Starbucks is our humility.’

That’s a nice branding soundbite, but I think Starbucks is showing more pride than humility. I’m curious to see how it goes.

"American Idol" runner up Katherine McPhee may have thought the controversy surrounding her appearance in the final two instead of hugely popular rocker Chris Daughtry was going to be the most difficult moment of competing on the hit reality show. But that was before the rumors started swirling this past week about Katherine McPhee’s possible involvement in Scientology.

Was there an agenda behind Priscilla Presley's meeting with McPhee at Graceland? Was TomKat possibly responsible for the alleged irregular voting the week Chris Daughtry, the previous "Idol" favorite, went home?

No. During an exclusive interview on "Larry King Live" last weekend, McPhee rather defensively answered some questions about the rumors by saying she dabbled in Scientology only because of an ex-boyfriend. McPhee began her explanation by saying she was "young and I’m still finding my way in the world." She went on to explain that because she started dating someone approximately a year ago who was involved with Scientology, she decided to enroll in a couple of classes (she added vaguely that she did "other things" while experimenting with the religion as well)--only to later decide she no longer wanted to be affiliated with Scientology.

I guess that means the only thing scarier than a critique from Simon Cowell is a "purification rundown" --a common ritual among other celeb Scientologists.

Several Sundays ago I surprised myself: Instead of settling into my Sunday night ritual of watching a new episode of the Sopranos, I kept the TV set to off. I told myself I'd watch it "On Demand" the next day or sometime that next week, but the week passed, another Sunday arrived, and I'd yet to catch up. Again I told myself I would watch both episodes later, but again didn't end up choosing to make the time. And it's not like I felt I was missing something, either. That second Sunday--one of the TV nights I had most looked forward to because of the new episodes of "Sopranos"--I realized that I simply didn't want to be put through another episode.

For me, watching "The Sopranos" had become a stressful and upsetting experience--and not stressful-fun, as is often the case with a show like "24," but all-too-depressing and ever-more disturbing. The character of Tony Soprano, who in past seasons held onto some semblance of a moral character, started this season seeming to show moral promise after his near-death experience, but then he simply launched into a downward spiral from there (though he had one rather heroic moment of resisting yet another adulterous relationship due to his promise to Carmela). Paulie seems to get ever more ruthless, as does the once sympathetic, youthful Christopher. And one plotline seems to forever foreshadow the hunting down and ultimate execution of one mafia head--Vito Spatafore--who was outed as gay. I just can't take it any more.

After all my months of catching up on five seasons of "The Sopranos" in order to be ready for the new one this March, we're now not even halfway through the 12 episodes, and I've given it up. And my Sundays are happier for it.

"Peaceful Warrior"--the movie version of the novel, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior," written by former Olympic gymnast turned bestselling author Dan Millman--hits theaters up and down the West Coast this weekend. (Over the course of June, it will make its way East as well. To watch some clips from the movie, click here.)

As a former serious gymnast myself, I was impressed with the fact that "Peaceful Warrior" faces head on the fears--both real and psychological--that gymnasts struggle with, especially as they move higher up the competition scale. Olympics TV broadcasts often glorify gymnastics, sensationalizing the extreme disappointments and the exciting and unexpected successes (especially of the women), but fail to truly explore the mind games competitive gymnasts face on a regular basis. It is not uncommon for gymnasts to conjure up all sorts of demons regarding especially difficult moves, as is the case in the movie, where viewers are privy to the nightmares Dan (the main character) has about his routines on the rings.

I remember vividly the fears I associated with particular flips on the beam; with the enormous concentration needed for vaults; and with hitting the spring board just right, to get enough height. I remember playing these moves over and over in my mind, imagining myself crashing in all sorts of horrible ways--in a manner similar to the visions Dan has of himself falling from the rings and mangling his body.

In my case, as the mind games got overly intense and the fears grew too enormous to withstand, I eventually quit. Yet the plot of "Peaceful Warrior" turns instead on Dan's chance encounter with a man at a local gas station whom he learns to call Socrates (played by Nick Nolte). Socrates teaches him how to quell the demons with Eastern philosophy and a range of Zen meditation techniques (which sometimes come off rather "Karate Kid"-like).

Through Dan's relationship with this mysterious man who doles out wisdom left and right--such as, "You are not who you think you are"--to a confused and, at first, resistant Dan, Dan learns to master his fears, become the moves of his routines, and overcome a potential identity crisis involving the loss of his Olympic dream and his future as a gymnast. The movie is ultimately of the inspirational genre, yet rather than have it turn on the simple theme of "the comeback," it explores the notion of becoming spiritually centered as foundational to the possibility of a comeback.

Be warned: Viewers may cringe at the inevitable and rather corny allusions to "The Karate Kid," as well as the familiar, cliched philosopher-sage advice continually emerging from the mouth of Socrates. (It gets a bit over the top). But the way the film develops the relationship between becoming spiritually centered and finding success in life--particularly in sports (and most specifically, gymnastics)--is intriguing nonetheless. The story is sure to have athletes, both former and current, reflecting on their own self-conjured mind games and demons, and whether Eastern philosophy and meditative practices might be helpful in conquering these common psychological struggles in the world of competitive sports.

Whether she’s kissing Madonna, marrying a childhood friend in Vegas, or filming her own so-awful-it's-funny reality show, Britney Spears never fails to make for great sound bites and magazine covers. But, for me, the high points of my Britney fascination have been the ones connected to religion.

Britney was raised Southern Baptist, and she talked often in the press about wanting to adhere to its moral tenets, like waiting until marriage to have sex. Next up was Kabbalah, which Brit got interested in thanks to her friend and idol Madonna. More recently, paparazzi snapped photos of Britney taking her newborn son Sean Preston to get a Hindu blessing. There were even rumors of her getting involved with Scientology. Not long afterward, she publicly announced that she was done with Kabbalah because “her son was her religion.”

Like Madonna, Brit seems to know that you can never go wrong with some religious controversy, especially when you need to get the heat off of your personal life. And she’s had a lot of heat in the last few weeks, as she and hubby Kevin Federline have allegedly separated and she has been investigated by the L.A. Department of Child Services. How does a girl cope? If she’s Britney, she posts a poem on her Web site. It’s a free-form “buzz off” to someone (Federline?) peppered with Biblical references like this one:

You come to me now
Why do you bother?
Remember the Bible
The sins of the Father.
What you do
You pass down
No wonder why
I lost my crown.

Illegible rhyme scheme aside, is Britney using Biblical references to give insight into her psyche? Are the “sins of the Father” metaphorical, or is she dissing Federline’s parenting skills?

Later on, she writes,“My crown is back / And it's way too high.” This could be an allusion to Jesus’ Crown of Thorns and an indication of her own personal torment. Or she could be talking about her hair, since the Bible refers to a woman’s hair as her “crowning glory.” If Britney worships her son, perhaps she sees him as Jesus and herself as the Virgin Mary, complete with halo, as if she's in a Renaissance painting. But that's just my own speculation, of course. Maybe it's all just a clever way to compare herself to her idol, Madonna, instead of the actual Madonna.

Regardless of what my BA in English and I might think of Britney’s literary efforts, I appreciate that she’s trying to deal with her feelings in verse. And I’m looking forward to her next religious incarnation. Has she tried Mormonism yet?

Discrimination. Genetic engineering. The Federal government invading private citizens' privacy. What has made the "X-Men" comic books and their recent adaptations on the big screen (“X-Men,” “X-Men United”) better than the average superhero-action-adventure fare is the way the mythology and...

After nearly three decades out of the musical spotlight, Yusuf Islam--formerly known as Cat Stevens--is back with the promise of a new album. Inspired by growing tensions between his beloved religion and the West, the singer-songwriter will be releasing a...

Fans of all things magical and related to Harry Potter will be happy to know scientists are hard at work turning Harry's famous invisibility cloak--the one that allows him to maraud about Hogwarts undetected by the likes of Snape and...

The end of the eight-year run of the WB's "Charmed" also marked the passing of a programming trend that began in the mid-late 90s, Wicca and witches. The proliferation of this particular primetime paganism--or rather, this artistic approximation of paganism--began...

It's a good thing Idol Chatter didn't wait until its long-awaited Solomon Islands vacation to see "The Da Vinci Code." The N.Y. Times reports that the small Pacific nation plans to ban the controversial movie... even though there are no...

As promised in all the hype about the season finale of “Lost,” obsessed viewers learned the following: What happens when the "save the world" counter stops at zero... and the buttons aren't pushed.At the beginning of Season Two, Locke is...

“But what about my friends?” In between all of the revelations about the hatch--I mean, hatches--and the return of Desmond, the guy the island survivors found in the hatch, it was still that line--spoken by roly-poly Hurley--that moved me the...

Once upon a time, the Indianapolis 500 was as American as, well, as NASCAR and Bible Belt Christianity. This weekend's 500 is as loud, fast, and potentially lethal as any stock-car event, but the open-wheel racers of the Indy Racing...

It's happened to me many times—a mind-blowing coincidence will occur, and I'll think, "If this happened in a movie or a book, it would be totally corny and unbelievable." Which is why it takes such great skill to make coincidence...

I heard a sermon on Broadway last night, and it wasn't in the nearby Church of Scientology. It is the opening scene of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Doubt," and it sets the tone for a powerful play that poses the questions:...

It's generally a sign of a rock star's age--and fading relevance--when her fans are called "the faithful," even when the artist in question is the renegade Roman Catholic-turned-Kabbalist Madonna. At 47, the singer kicked off her latest world tour this...

Beliefnet editors receive dozens of books each week, some memorable, some not so much. Every once in a while, however, a book's back cover description is so arresting that it lingers in the mind for days. So it was with...

In order to fit in the two-hour season finale of "Lost" during prime time evening hours this Wednesday, ABC decided to pit the (also two-hour) series finale of "Alias" against the (also two-hour) season finale of Fox's "24" tonight.What were...

On last night's "Simpsons" season finale, Homer had the following astute observation about his marriage to Marge: "We been through more hardships than the Jews and Charlie Brown put together."So who did go through more challenges and troubles: The Chosen...

Thank heaven for little girls, goes the old song. Thank Sonny Sandoval, of the Christian heavy-metal group P.O.D., for the most popular new name for little girls: Nevaeh--or "heaven" written backwards. Since Sandoval revealed his then-new daughter's name during an...

"The Da Vinci Code" is finally here. The P.R. machine that had Tom Hanks and his "Da Vinci" 'do at the Oscars and trailers running for a year has succeeded. The reviews are out. Ministries around the world are spreading...

While Christians from all over the world have been flocking to the Cannes Film Festival to protest the premiere of “The Da Vinci Code,” a totally different kind of film about faith and Christianity is also debuting at Cannes this...

John Travolta and Tom Cruise aren't the only Scientology fans in Tinsel Town. In an article titled "Why Scientology is Good For Hollywood," design writer Alissa Walker praises the organization for sustaining architectural landmarks in the area's seedy downtown. "With...

Sir Ian McKellen, who plays historian Sir Leigh Teabing in "The Da Vinci Code," is not staying out of the fray that swirls around the film. Unlike director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks, who have publically reiterated the line...

"The Da Vinci Code" movie, like the novel it's based on, is ridiculous, obvious, over-the-top--and yet oddly compelling, a guilty pleasure that wraps interesting pseudohistory and pseudotheology into a shoot-'em-up thriller. In other words, if you liked the book, you'll...

The big, fat extra-special 1,000th issue of Rolling Stone just arrived at the door complete with a psychedelic, 3-D cover featuring just about every rocker imaginable. The theme of this special edition is a cover art retrospective (which could double...

The first reviews of "The Da Vinci Code" are out after its debut at Cannes. And the verdict, seemingly unanimous, is: thumbs down. One critic called it "an unwieldy, bloated puzzle," and another said it is "a stodgy, grim thing."...

Alvin the Chipmunk; Geddy Lee of Rush; Polyphonic Spree; The Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano... Daniel Smith, the leader of the indie-gospel band Danielson Famile (sic), has been compared to any number of musical masters. The Famile's new album, "Ships," shows...

A few months ago I blogged--not-so flatteringly, I might add--about one novel response to the upcoming movie release of “The Da Vinci Code.” Barbara Nicolosi--a former nun who's now the executive director of Act One, a program that trains Christians...

Preparations for this Friday's opening of "The Da Vinci Code" are reaching fever pitch--from eager moviegoers as well as Christians who are angry about the story and its pervasiveness in pop culture. So this begs the question--how should those opposed...

Celebrity gossip site Perezhilton.com reports that Britney Spears has put the kibosh on her study of Kabbalah. Introduced to the belief system by Madonna, it seems that motherhood is trumping mysticism, as Spears explained in the "Love B: Stream of...

"The West Wing" will go down in television history as one of the most wonderfully relevant shows and enduring DVD buys, even if its series finale was, dang it, such a bore.I enjoyed reading Michael Kress’s blog piece about the...

Is the mega-bestseller "The Da Vinci Code," a work of fiction, actually influencing the religious beliefs of its readers? Yes, says a new survey released today by pollster George Barna--but not in the way many traditional Christians fear. The poll...

It seems that "7th Heaven" may have nine lives. CNN reported today that the series, which had its much-touted finale last week, may return for an 11th season on the new CW network this fall.Fans of the show will, no...

Rick Ross--head of the Rick A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements--tracks benign as well as malignant para-religious groups on his site Cult News. Ross reports that the influence of nontraditional religion has been...

We knew this would happen. Every presidency must end. This Sunday, we'll bid adieu to President Josiah Bartlett, his family, and the aides who worked tirelessly for him these past seven years on "The West Wing.""The West Wing" was more...

This week's Boston Legal again took several shots at the George W. Bush administration, especially on the topics of abortion, womens' rights, Bush's random out-of-step-ness with society, and our alleged patriarchal approach to foreign policy.It got me--a Bush-loving Republican--to thinking...

With only a few episodes left, I suppose that now is as good of a time as any to admit to my current TV-viewing guilty pleasure--"American Inventor." It’s not that I think it is an exciting, well-orchestrated reality show in...

It has been evident for a while that John Locke is no longer the only man of faith stranded on the mysterious island that the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 have inhabited for the first two seasons of ABC's "Lost."...

For the group we might call "Graham Green Catholics," the flap generated by the upcoming release of "The Da Vinci Code" is another arrow in the side. The Catholic intellectual of the 20th century saw culture and art as another...

Yes, I have already blogged--and recently--about Fox’s medical drama, House, which week after week seems to find some new, thought-provoking way to tackle spirituality. But I can’t help but rave one more time about this show's smart writing that intertwines...

The WB dramedy “Gilmore Girls,” the one TV show I am truly, freakishly obsessed with, had its season finale last night, and while the episode itself was a bit of a disappointment at the end of a somewhat lackluster season,...

What is it about girls who save the world (or at least their small towns and high schools) and lackluster love lives? High school detective Veronica Mars has never wanted for admirers of the boy variety, but no matter which...

Recently a reader wrote into the Chicagoist asking about an ominous billboard she came across during a commute: "The billboard just east of the Clybourn metra stop," writes Nancy, "says, '6+6+06 the signs are all around you" on a black...

Getting dizzy trying to navigate the myriad Christian websites that make the case against "The Da Vinci Code?" Fear not, I'm here to guide you.Some websites are simple and straightforward Q&As with Bible scholars and experts, like Amy Welborn's online...

The story for last night's "Sopranos" episode, "The Ride" (number eight in a season of only twelve--the countdown until the end begins already) was set against the backdrop of the Feast of St. Elzear--which any New Yorker would recognize as...

One of Beliefnet’s news stories this weekened was about Emily Saliers, a lesbian who is one-half of the singing group The Indigo Girls. She was invited to be a speaker at the United Methodist Women's Assembly this past weekend in...

Just before going to see Mission: Impossible III, I caught glimpses of the teaser trailers for both Superman and Casino Royale (the newest 007 sequel). That turned out to be a good thing, since these trailers gave me something to...

Some of you may recall meeting Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the fierce, wild-eyed henchmen devoted to the resurrected Imhotep in "The Mummy Returns." And though he played a convincing devotee of the evil ancient Egyptian High Priest, it's his most recent...

Just how many movies can Hollywood make about spelling bees as a cinematic metaphor for overcoming the odds? It is easy to dismiss the latest film about the importence of speling wordz corectly, “Akeelah and the Bee,"--expanding to nationwide release...

What would Jesus direct?That was the provocative question debated at a panel discussion I attended as part of the Tribeca Film Festival here in New York. On the panel were four Hollywood insiders who are also Christian: the actor Cuba...

I've decided that Wednesday is ABC's "Must-See-TV" night, with "Alias," "Lost," and "Invasion" taking up a mystery/sci-fi three-hour block, and it's difficult to pick which show to write about. "Invasion" was all about fate, and "Lost" was all about betrayal...

Just the other night my husband and I were discussing some world event in which Muslims came out looking bad, and we agreed on the totally obvious fact that the worldview about Islam had profoundly and irrevocably changed since 9/11....

Picture yourself in one of the trendiest Manhattan restaurants. Fruity cocktails in deep martini glasses rest in many a manicured hand. Fashion is top-notch; this is New York after all. It’s dark, very dark. The lights are so dim that...

I’m a Bruce Springsteen fan who’s had some fine spiritual reflections—and many moments of enjoyment—courtesy of Bruce’s music and writing. Usually it happens when the E-Street band is behind him, so I wasn’t necessarily excited about his new CD, "We...

The Church of England has a surfeit of organs, but the ranks of organists to play them on Sunday morning is thinning. The dilemma has led to the runaway success of the HT 300 Hymnal-Plus, a machine that can play...

Next week, Queen Rania of Jordan puts on her P.R. hat at a Metropolitan Museum of Art dinner (whose roster of attendees includes Barbara Walters and Katie Couric, among other Hollywood and political VIPs). Her goal: to promote better understanding...

In the debate over "United 93," supporters and detractors of the Sept. 11 film tend to agree that Paul Greengrass has made a poweful and sensitive movie; disagreement has centered on whether it's too soon for the country to re-encounter...

No, I can't help myself: This is my third blog posting about HBO's "Big Love," which aired its seventh episode last night. In "For the Wives, "Big Love" Falls Short on Love & Respect" and "HBO's "Big Love"--And Why I'm...

If you didn’t already hate Alex Karev from "Grey's Anatomy" for his womanizing ways and poor treatment of Izzy, last night’s episode gave you plenty of ammo. As regular viewers of the ABC smash hit know, Alex is the painfully...

Most docudramas, miniseries, and movies “inspired by actual events” are too long, too dramatic, and stray too far from the facts. “United 93” isn’t one of them, and I must disagree with my colleague, Michael, who wrote that he didn't...