The Naked Pastor calls it quits

After 25 years of pastoral service, the Naked Pastor David Hayward has left the professional ministry. His announcement is here.

This is not good news.

As a atheist who has plenty of friends, family and loved ones who believe, it’s necessary to have people who are strongly leading the faithful into revolutionary directions of thought. I don’t see an end to the faithful in this country. But I can say that people like Hayward do such good in the world.

I took up David’s offers a few weeks ago and sent him some money. It was enough for a couple beers. He asks for donations on his site. I wish I were there to tipple a pint with him and pick his brain.

I wish him the best. I wish everyone the best in their pursuits of “truth.” I’m sure he’s doing what’s best. At least from here, I’m anxious to watch him as he moves forward. He’s going to continue blogging and drawing, which is great.

Here’s his version of moving on from this phase of his life drawing:

Review of Twilight Series that had me giggling

I have readers who love the “Twilight” series. I haven’t read any of the books, yet.

Although, if there were two kinds of people: ones who love the series and those who don’t get it … I fall in the “I don’t get it” slot. There aren’t a lot of Mormons writing hit books these days, so whoever that author is, Mormon god bless her.

That said, I laughed my ass off at this guy’s reviews. It might be the English accent. I wish I knew of more Internet videos like this:

Go listen to all the reviews here:

Southland is amazing TV

I’m a moron. I haven’t talked about “Southland” the TV show yet? Last night was the season finale on TNT.

Last spring (2009), I was turned on to the “Southland” seven episode season that aired on NBC. The pilot episode hooked me, and I only shared my love for it with a few people. By the end of the season, I was so caught up in the show that I spent four days locked in the bathroom weeping after it was over.

And then you know what happened? The fuckers at NBC canceled it. Who knows why? Ratings must have suffered. But the backlash afterward caused TNT to go out and pick it up.

The link above connects to the full episodes.

Why is the show good? It’s got everything. It’s cinematically sound. It’s shot in a cinema verité style, no lighting, no music tracks. I don’t always like this style, but when it’s done right, damn it’s good.

Camera work is solid, but editing is great. There are these moments when even Tina will turn to me and say, “That was a cool edit.”

I wish I could have a conversation with the editors. I would tell them how their segue from the past show clips to the current show is a moment that sends tingly goodness down my back.

The scripts are good. Last night’s finale script was okay. But the scripts are made better by the talent delivering the lines. Remember Regina King? She landed her first TV roll on the show “227″ back in the 80s. She plays a character on “Southland” with such amazing will and determination. I have such a crush on great acting like hers. Shit, I have a crush on her. In the show, King is a homicide detective, and is shown dealing with her family life and cop life with such a persistent feeling of, “That must be the way things really are!”

Then there’s Ben McKenzie from the “OC” craze. He plays a rookie cop named Ben Sherman. Good thing I never watched the “OC”, but just knowing he was on it turned my stomach. Now after two seasons, he’s the cat’s pajamas. He plays his character with so much angst and suffering behind his eyes that I’m waiting for him to burst open in an A-bomb emotional explosion.

The thing is, there are so many characters on the show that it’s hard to keep up with. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just to properly review the show, I’d need much more time. There are cops with drug problems. There are cops cheating on their wives. There are cops who are trying to deal with their lives in a “real” feeling way.

For instance, Shawn Hatosy‘s character Sammy is dealing with the reality of cop life and coming home to his struggling photographer wife. They can’t have kids, that they know, and he shows such immense compassion for children and his fellow cops, that the mind yearns for his success despite his redundant failures.

The best thing about the show are the stand up and scream moments. If you’re looking for a show that you are forced to hold your breath in anticipation during several seconds to minutes … or you’re brought to tears hoping something is okay during emotional overload to bring a criminal to justice … or you like when you’re forced to stand up and say “OH MY GOD!” while pulling on the ends of your hair … this is the show for you.

Watch it!