B/biblebelt

There’s a line from a song that’s been going through my mind while preparing this post. It’s by Band of Horses.

Born in the Bible Belt/ Nothing gets me hotter than
Yanking on a belt that's undone

When it comes to blogs that are Bible Belt themed, the term “Bible Belt” is often a point of reference the bloggist uses to measure a difference of opinion or identity.

Frank Lockwood’s “spirituality blog” on biblebeltblogger.com brings critical appreciation to religious happenings. While a recent post rips on marketed products of televangelists, elsewhere Lockwood highlights the quest of two Muslim men visiting 30 mosques in 30 days. Should I have been surprised to see this referenced in a blog primarily dedicated to Christian beurocracy?

Lockwood’s news blurbs inform through subtlety. Mike Huckabee’s trip to the Holy Land scheduled for next year is framed with comments about the expense of such an undertaking. It’s as if the bloggist can’t help admitting the absurdity taking place in in the name of something he cares about, Christianity.

I knew better than to look at mainstream news sources to find the pulse of Bible Belt blogging, but two articles from CNN.com’s Belief Blog proved too rich a resource to ignore. Every story viewed traditional perspectives of religion critically. By claiming that many people who quote the Bible are in fact misquoting it, “Actually, that’s not in the Bible” hints strongly that people who find comfort in the existence of a Holy Book aren’t even familiar with what they supposedly revere.

“Documentarians shed light on Pint-sized preachers” covers the attempt of British filmmakers to document a phenomenon. The writer quotes the creators , “I think our audience will be quite jaw-dropped by this phenomenon.” It’s as if Americans have been reveling in too much religious freedom since leaving England in the 17^th century.

CNN’s Belief Blog relies on critiquing majority religion and highlighting the marginalized for the sake of news, and I completely understand that. But if it weren’t for the quirks of the religiously fervent, what flavor would we have in that aspect of culture?

One bloggist documents in bowdenblog.wordpress.com a series titled “Living as a missionary in the Bible Belt.” In a recent post, the writer cites several ways to distinguish true religion amongst the religiosity of the South. What he is looking for are ways a church-goer embodies truth as given by the gospel-writers in the New Testament, as opposed to the “watered down placebo wrapped in fancy packaging” of mainstream religion.

The essay was important because it helped separate those who wish to live outside of common-denominator religion in the Southeast. Many find it difficult to follow a higher road than their neighbors, just as it was for Jesus to do in his day.

One of the notorious trademarks of Bible-belt religion is the lack of concern for the politically correct, such as when this bloggist uses the phrase “false doctrines as well as cults.” What this often implies is that even when people look and talk like us, it might not be the right looking and talking, and therefore their beliefs are doing more damage than good.

How does one accomplish being PC while remaining religious? By depicting yourself as a religious minority. I was lucky to find two cases of this.

A hilarious momblog of colorful happenings, mormongirlinthebiblebelt.blogspot.com says it all in the title. “Mormon” and “Bible Belt,” though both religious terms, often do not make it into the same sentence. Looking what the aforementioned Bible Belt missionary says about cults gives us a picture of why this is the case.

For an even stranger pairing, there is a blog that goes by the name Biblebeltbalabusta, a dedication to teaching Jewishness to children. Thus the blog is filled with pictures of conglomerations of popular culture and Judaism.

Again the title intrigued me, for this balabusta--like the missionary and Mormon bloggists--were using the term “Bible Belt” as a reference point to explain how estranged they were from the cultural norm. Why is that necessary? It seems to me that none of us wish to be associated with mainstream Biblebeltlandia. It is a wasteland where good things die or flee to live in the margins.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the existence of the Bible Belt is damaging in the way CNN might approach it. I think it’s natural for religious majorities to become lax and for free-thinking individuals to label themselves based on how removed they are from the norm. Perhaps the Bible Belt isn’t a reality in the way we depict it, but only a way of pointing the finger at how other people act.

For as long as we’re ahead of someone else, we’re good, right?


Featured Blogs

1) Biblebeltblogger.com
2) CNN Belief Blog
3) Bowdenblog.wordpress.com
4) Mormongirlinthebiblebelt.blogspot.com
5) Biblebeltbalabusta.wordpress.comThis

A/autumn/

The overcast sky and cool, stale atmosphere made this late summer day perfect for researching blogs featuring “Autumn.” Sifting through the pictures and articles about leaves and favorite fall events, it almost felt like fall was already here.

It sure is tough to find sites dedicated to Autumn--the season, that is. It seems there’s a blog dedicated to everyone in the world who shares a name with the season!

My reason for featuring Autumn is simple. As a season, Autumn makes me feel quiet and serene. Enjoying the intense fragrances and dazzling sights of Autumn are some of my favorites experiences as a human. So I wondered if there was anyone passionate enough about the season to dedicate an entire blog to it. And how would they package it? I assumed an Autumn bloggist would take full advantage of stunning pictures.

My first encounter with an Autumn blog reminded me of the poetic nature of the season. autumnhaiku.blogspot.com featured two beautiful poems, both maternally themed.

The first is accompanied by a picture of a cut-out moon:

Autumn equinox--
My half empty glass
Half full in mom’s eyes

The second features the favorite fall topic of many, pumpkins:

Passing the pumpkin patch
My daughter rubs
Her pregnant belly

I really enjoyed the associative action depicted in the second poem. Sadly, autumnkaiku hasn’t been updated since 2006! A true shame, I thought, since they really nailed it with a good theme.

I began to search for sites focused on foliage, and eventually came accross one which focuses entirely on tracking “the best and brightest colors throughout the state.” Oregonfallfoliage.wordpress.com covers the season “from Labor Day through November.” Fittingly, the blog’s last update was November of last year. Although I don’t plan on making it out to Oregon this fall, there is something about defining the season of foliage’s beginning as Labor Day that has my appetite wet.

There is a similar site dedicated to the exotic seasonal foliage of New England, Yankeefoliage.com. In his Autumn 2010 recap, bloggist Jeff “Foliage” Folger presents stunning photography of Groton State Park in Vermont. Folger asks the reader in his article to evaluate his or her measure of intentionality regarding their fall drive, a journey he expects to be a priority for every lover of Autumn. Did you focus too much on details? “Or were you flying by the seat of your pants and the reservations be damned?” (November 2010)

I came away from Folger’s post thinking that perhaps I have been prone to pigeonholing my favorite season as the celebration of the death of leaves: watching them turn to miniature flames before they fall, then smelling them in the fire after they do. But Folger presents a different perspective by depicting Fall as a time of journeying. Those who wait the entire year in anticipation for the flame of foliage are waiting to be ignited to live themselves, not to watch something around them die.

An obstacle faced by every bloggist, writer, or artist is the question, “what makes what I have to say special?” This has a lot to do with Voice and Perspective. Can the writer/bloggist/artist present himself or herself in a way that is unique? If they are successful in this, the reader will be drawn in more to the message. There is a trust, a familiarity formed. The reader has a grasp of where the writer is coming from.

I was reminded of the importance of Voice when I came across Rolling Lens (I‘ll call the bloggist RWH, short for “Rolling with Husky“). RWH is a photographer who takes her camera and husky with her. From her vantage point in a wheelchair, RWH catches the personality of nature. Her specialty is finding beautiful fallen leaves, as well as capturing the seasonal character of trees. RWH also has posted beautiful collections on the other seasons, but none are as extensive or expressive as her snapshots of Autumn.

RWH reminded me how important characterization is. Are there people or pets that make a regular appearance on your blog? When RWH rolls and shoots, she brings her dog Kodi with her. As she tells it, strolling about one day, Kodi found a caterpillar on the very edge of the path. Kodi sniffed, nuzzled, and altogether invaded the space of the little bugger. RWH takes a picture of the two creatures encountering each other and reflects, “How many times do we really pay attention to such things” (Rollinglens.wordpress.com July 23, 2011)? Be sure and check out her album “Scattered.”

One thing I have loved about this project so far is the vast array of content I’ve found. I learned about the carbon cycle from Kathy L Kirk in her article on blog.cleveleand.com, “Leave the Leaves.” I never knew that clearing leaves from the ground can be destructive to the earth in some cases. Maybe not all leaves were meant to be raked up and jumped on!

Then there is the blog “Falling Leaf” by K.E., a hilariously written stream-of-thought log about what happens during her day (found on synchronizedaxels.blogspot.com). Most of her stories are snippets featuring her daughter’s journey to figure out the world. Thus I was reminded how great the everyday things of life are once we take time to enjoy them! And that momblogs are indeed an accredited genre (let‘s face it--mom‘s notice some things the rest of us don‘t). I am happy to take blogs in all their forms: focused, vague, artistic, journalistic, hilarious, pensive; and there are even more to discover.

In conclusion, I am impressed with how well these writers have done in expressing their love for this wonderful season in their various ways. When something is so much more dear than colors and a chunk of the calendar, how you convey your appreciation is very important.

So here’s a shout-out to everyone who blogs about Autumn! You’re the best.

Featured blogs:
Autumnhaiku.blogspot.com
Oregonfallfoliagewordpress.com
Yankeefoliage.com
Rollinglens.wordpress.com
Synchronizedaxels.blogspot.com