July 2009 Archives

Madonna's been published in Yediot Ahronot, as their "international correspondent." Is it any good? I love Madonna as much as the next child of the 80s, but let's just say I don't feel like she and I are competing for the same columnist jobs. Forget the Random Acts of Capitalization that make the piece resemble a JDate profile--is what she's saying interesting and relevant to the average person who reads the piece?

All the puzzle pieces started falling into place.

Life no longer seemed like a series of Random events. I started to see patterns in life. I woke up. I began to be conscious of my words and my actions and to really see the results of them.

I also began to see that being Rich and Famous wasn't going to bring me lasting fulfillment and that it was not the end of the journey; that it was the beginning of the journey.

I'm thrilled for Madonna that she's found more meaning to life than being "Rich and Famous." But isn't it easier to delve into one's spirituality when the "Rich and Famous" is already set and reliable?

Spend a little time with Todd Agnew and you spend a little time with everyone in his life. Perhaps it was in those long hours he's clocked alone in his van, over the course 13 years as an indie artist driving from gig to far-flung gig, that Agnew developed the habit of conversing with people who aren't there. In our hour-long interview yesterday, the Christian singer-songwriter turned aside repeatedly to address his wife, his children, bandmates and the producers on his new, much anticipated album, "Need."

Clearly, too, a lot of driving time was spent thinking about God, since nearly every pantomimed conversation ends up with some lesson Agnew has learned about his relationship with Jesus.

Take his marriage, for instance. A bachelor until he was 37, Agnew says by the time he married last year, "the road was more home than home," he says. "By the time you're 37, you're disfunctional." But through his wife's loving eyes, Agnew has discovered parts of his personality someone traveling solo doesn't see for himself. "I'll say something about myself, and later my wife will tell me, "You know, that's not true. You're not like that."

Do you remember what religion George Costanza converted to for a girlfriend in "Seinfeld"?

And do you recall what AJ on "The Sopranos" got caught doing at his Catholic school that got him in trouble?

Many memorable TV characters over the years have expressed a belief in a religion or spiritual practice--often to either hilarious or dramatic results. How much do you know about these fictional faithful? Take our quiz on the Religion of TV Characters and find out!

It's not exactly Dylan going electric, but when Christian singer/songwriter Derek Webb turned techno on his latest album "Stockholm Syndrome," it was reason enough to pay attention.

That's not why "Stockholm Syndrome" is making headlines, however. After hearing the album, Webb's record label, INO, refused to release one of the songs on the album, a scathing critique of how evangelicals approach homosexuality. "I had been working under what was a delusion," Webb told me in an interview, "that although technically you could call me a "Christian artist," it's got nothing to do with how I make art, where I live, what I do." Read on for more on why Webb wrote the song and why the label's move shocked him.

Oh, Madonna. Is there any day that does not bring news of your efforts to adopt children or Kabbalah, news of your concerts' set constructors being injured on the job, photos of your incredibly thin arms that prove you might or might not be anorexic, etc? Today's news is a little less shocking than purported anorexia or on-set injuries or African adoptions: Madonna's taking her writing career--previously manifested in a series of Kabbalah-inspired children's books--andbranching out into journalism.

"How My Life Changed," Madonna's article for Israeli daily Yediot Achronot will premiere Friday (check back with us then for an excerpt/translation) and will focus on her religious awakening 14 years ago, when she "realized fame and fortune were not the end but only the beginning."

Madonna isn't Jewish but during her study of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, she famously changed her name to mine Esther. Now that Madonna's a journalist, are you confused about how to tell me and Madonna apart? Let me break it down: while we are both writers named Esther and have been to Israel before, only one of us has concerts planned there for September and has managed to land a piece in an Israeli newspaper. Oh yeah, and I'm the one without adopted children and a front-row seat at the Kabbalah Center.

Stay tuned for an excerpt from Madonna's essay, coming Friday.