The Madness of Crowds

Crowds are trendy nowadays.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/wisdomofcrowds/

I am skeptical. As I sit at World Cup Cafe on Morris Street, I observe to my left a rowdy group of 12 Christian young adults from a vibrant Fan-area church. They have colonized the entire East side of the cafe to the point that the Men's bathroom is blocked off. Their presence distracts the VCU kids trying to study, and their mass arrival and demand for every sort of fancy beverage and dessert creates a tremendous workload for the barista, which makes her grumpy. Is this a loving witness? It appears that this excursion into public space is also an intrusion, an invasion.

They are sincere in their relationships with each other, and I love them and respect them for it, but they represent a tremendous annoyance to everyone else in the cafe. Sometimes, the only contact some people have with Christians is through being lectured and talked-down-to, and through rude but oblivious groups such as this one. Where is the model of Christian fellowship in the world that gives people exposure to loving Christians without having us be the bull in a china shop?
http://www.litrix.com/madraven/madne001.htm

Scene Insider #1

This guy is basically WeeklyRant.com. While his position gives him the
scoop on RVA events, there may also be a bias to plug his sponsors.
That said, http://weeklyrant.com and its companion blog
http://riverrapids.blogspot.com/
are pretty good views to the RVA Scene.

On Band Names #1

I find myself making up band names and song names all the time. For a while, I started coming up with potential band names for religious rock bands, especially those containing lame puns. My favorite is Jonah and the Whalers, but I also like Noah Way and Allah Y'all. In the spirit of lame puns (that might actually be good bands), I present the following:

Pheer Knot plays Heavenly Grounds Cafe Friday, March 4, 2005. Oxbridge Square 9957 Hull Street. Call 647-9273 for more info.

Jah rules

Hasidic Reggae anyone? I heard Matisyahu on WRIR. It reminded me of the Matrix 3 where the people of Zion (the underground city) had their cathartic rave.
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Matisyahu comes to Alley Katz Wed., March 2nd from 8pm-midnight. $8 advance; $10 door. 18+. 10 Walnut Alley in Shockoe Bottom. 804-643-2816. http://www.hasidicreggae.com/

Matisyahu, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, was raised on a steady diet of Bob Marley and early hip-hop. After several years of soul searching, Matisyahu began to explore his Jewish roots. More than realizing the depth and beauty inherent in his own religion that had remained distant to him until then, Matisyahu noticed the striking similarities Judaism shared with Rasta culture. The result of this is a Reggae sound unmatched in today's pop culture. Matisyahu draws heavily on the spirit of traditional Judaism, and juxtaposes it with the dub-wise sounds of Jamaican Reggae.

Craigslist

This is awesome.

http://richmond.craigslist.org/

Lenten Lunch at St Paul's

Saint Paul's Episcopal is one of Richmond's "historical" churches. Itis near the Capitol grounds (at 9th and Grace), and has been thechurch of hoity toity Richmonders ever since Jefferson Davis. Theyalso have a well respected community Lenten lunch series. Thedistinguished speakers give a sermon weekdays 12:30-1:00, and lunch isserved the 45 min before and the 30 min after the sermon. (If you arein a hurry, they operate a takeout counter from 11:45 to 1:30)Speakers include the pastoral director of Richmond Hill, the pastor ofFirst Baptist Church, the Dean of VUU school of theology, pastor ofSt. Paul's Baptist Church, the "bishop suffragan" of the EpiscopalDiocese of Southern Virginia, "rector emeritus" of Trinity church onWall Street (NYC), and the "consulting theologian" of Fifth AvenuePrez in NYC.http://www.stpauls-episcopal.org/2005Brochure_2004Brochure_1.pdf