Catholics, Artists, and Gossip Girl

Today I had a fascinating exchange with a cute twenty-something elementary teacher who was playing with her phone.

"Hey why does your phone look so fancy?"
*SILENCE*
"What kind of phone is it?"
"It's a G1"
"Wow that sorta sounds like a plane"

Most people who know me would attest to my general eloquence, cleverness, and wit. Maybe they would also attest to a supreme confidence bordering on arrogance and conceit but I digress.

The point is that this was not my highest moment.

In fact it was objectively quite stupid.

Which made me realize: talking to a cute girl make you at least 10% more stupid than normal.

I am sure the same thing applies to talking to a cute guy.

Let's call this the 10% cute girl rule. Seriously. Am I alone here?

Also in other news what is up with the catholic church?

Indulgences. How are you going to bring back indulgences!?!?!???

Don't they realize these things caused the protestant reformation. (Yes Luther wasn't upset about the Virgin Mary, he was fed up with the church selling indulgences)

For the 98% of you who have no clue what I am talking about (hooray for 8 years of catholic theology) indulgences are a get out of purgatory free card. Basically you go to church, you take your communion, you go to confession, you get an indulgence and you don't have to waste time in purgatory doing punishment for that particular sin.

A sinner like you and me can get one indulgence a day - maybe two on holidays.

Seriously. I don't even believe in purgatory and I think this is a joke.

The bigger point here is that this marks another move to the re-radicalization of the Catholic Church. If you haven't been following it check out here and here.

We have been blessed to live under a church that has, until recently, been governed by Vatican II. This was a nicer, kinder, more accessible Catholic Church than in centuries past. But all the good works that Pope John Paul II has done is being undone and the church is moving more and more towards the conservative right.

(Someone needs to write a post about how Pope Benedict XVI is the Darth Vader of the Catholic Church. Where is George Lucas. This guy, then by the name of Cardinal Ratzinger (I remember reading essays by the dude back in high school, to this day I refer to him as Cardinal Ratzinger) was all about some Vatican II. Heck, he helped write thing at 35. Might as well have called him Anakin. But somewhere along the way he turned to the dark side, Latin Mass, check, reinstate bishops, check, don't immediately yell at holocaust denier, check, bring back plenary indulgences, check. I am seriously going to keep a lookout for the construction of the Death Star somewhere deep in the catacombs of Rome)

The long term consequences of a reinvigorated radical right Catholic Church are huge. If the church continues its trek towards the right I am making the bold prediction that we will see a religious war involving Catholics and another Christian denomination in the next twenty years.

Although maybe that is just the curse of the Abrahamic religions - we are destined to fight each other until God comes again.

Finally, I walking around the campus of University of Dallas today (the first person to catch the irony and leave a comment will get mailed an official Art Star mix CD) and visited the Haggerty Arts Village. I checked out the gallery show, surprisingly good, and then saw this girl painting in her studio.

Suddenly it hit me - how absolutely absurd it is to try to be an artist. You sit in some small space painting images on a blank rectangle in some obscure part of the world and you think that by doing this every day you are contributing to society, you will get fame and recognition, and that your life has meaning!?

I mean - the balls!

How much faith must it take to believe that the images you create can mean anything and that you couldn't spend your time being more helpful to the world doing something else.

Seriously if you are an artist, take a step back, and objectively look at what you do and please realize how objectively it is patently absurd to decide to take 7 years of your life (assuming you get a mfa) and paint in some room and think that anyone really gives a damn.

It is almost as absurd as blogging.

XOXO Gossip Girl