Inappropriate Conversations

One reason to share this early episode of Inappropriate Conversations is the way the Different Drummer segment relates part of a story I've revisited in multiple ways -- my testimony, so to speak. I intend to "TalkBack" to other episodes in upcoming months that tell the story more directly. Another reason is the topic itself: types and forms of knowledge. Along those lines, new introductory material looks at opposition to vaccination from a perspective that, frankly, presumes hypocrisy. Many of the same people who were enthusiastic about following the ex-president quickly through Operation Warp Speed are the ones who seem more interested in undermining the new administrative branch than saving their own lives. It's almost as if this is more about who is president than about the positive impact of vaccination during a pandemic.  http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/48-four-things-i-know/  

It's always a risk to post a TalkBack episode from almost 9 years ago without reviewing it first. For Pride this year, I'm taking that risk. Since #IC #107 focused on moments in my past I'm not proud of, interacting with gays without recognizing and checking my ingrained homophobia, I figure this one would have embarrassing elements either way. It is a direct follow-up to the previous TalkBack episode. These two Inappropriate Conversations were intentionally released in the same week originally. There is a connection, along with a follow-up to one story in an episode that would follow a month later. http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/107-eulogy-for-homophobia/ http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/112-saying-no-to-myself/

My plan is to observe Pride this year with TalkBack episodes that address homophobia pretty directly. This one is my rejection of someone I've named a Different Drummer in the past. His podcast hesitantly, but I also would say proudly, proclaimed some highly misinformed views about human biology, scripture, and more. I believe the result, if not the intent, could be very harmful to a broad range of LGBTQIA* people. So, as an ally, I spoke up. It wouldn't be the last time, either. http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/106-the-violence-of-denial/  

In 2021 for most American Christians, Christmas will be celebrated on December 25th. No surprise there. For those with good recent memory, Easter was celebrated on April 4th. Not as easy to recall as 12/25, but a simple date to find on any secular calendar. This upcoming Sunday, May 23rd, is Pentecost. I'd bet that very few Americans know that, including politically-active Christians who are outspoken about perceived attacks like "cancel culture" as a form of marginalization. I'd argue that the Holy Spirit is far more marginalized than any church group, often by church groups. http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/walk-the-earth-26/  

There is a certain laziness in summing up an entire decade to a simple phrase, like "the Me Generation" for example. At the same time, we sometimes miss the connections in how one sub-generation reacts to what they see from the group before them, too old to be peers and too young to be elders.  http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/9-overview-of-the-decades/ Don't Discount Evangelicalism as a Factor in the Racist Murder of Asian Spa Workers in Georgia this year

I have a sense that I have maintained a fairly consistent worldview despite knowing that I've continued to grow and evolve. New information, encountering different people, and challenging assumptions will do that. One way to consider the scale of any shifting perspectives is this TalkBack series. What did I have to say on a topic like this in 2010? And if my position has remained fairly consistent, then what does that say about how American Christianity has shifted from where it was a decade ago, or in 1970? http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/8-christian-response-to-the-sexual-revolution-%e2%80%a6-or-not/

Considering whether Easter is the most important day on the church calendar, I lay some groundwork on the difference between a disciple having a Good Friday worldview versus an Easter worldview. Even this comparison feels too narrow, not quite a false dichotomy but insufficiently broad in perspective. The answer to which day on the church calendar I find to be the most significant probably explains why.   http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/walk-the-earth-25/  

It's too easy within the church and among politically-active Christians to find examples of people preaching that children should be "seen and not heard" rather than smiling and saying "let the children come" as Jesus did. Then again, these are many of the same people who want to make it a crime (in Georgia, for one example) to give free water or snacks to anyone stuck in an hours-long line on election day. Make me think they have no idea what Jesus said about feeding hungry people or giving the thirsty something to drink ... or what Jesus warned he would do, as Lord and judge of all, to those who refused to offer such grace.  I wonder what Jesus would do to those who presume to make it a crime to extend his love in tangible forms like food and water?

This early Inappropriate Conversations episode gently suggests that we don't value imagination sufficiently in a world where entertainment is as pre-packaged as it is today. We take our fun seriously, as Jello Biafra once sang for Dead Kennedys. Perhaps the introduction to this TalkBack episode implies that too many adults are waiting for directions, hesitant to hold elected officials accountable or literally following marching orders to "take back your country" by putting up a "fight" at the U.S. Capitol. The fine line here is somewhere between too much misguided imagination and not enough genuine inspiration. http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/66-child%e2%80%99s-play-and-imagination/

Next up on Inappropriate Conversations and Walk The Earth: pandemic lockdown in perspective, and some TalkBack episodes. Some Assembly Required (A Neosurrealist Forsaking a Habit for Lent)

Ten Areas of Agreement about Abortion, Part 2   Or, both parts edited together for SoundCloud

Ten Areas of Agreement about Abortion, Part 1   Or,  both parts edited together for SoundCloud

How to summarize everything related to the 2020 presidential election in the United States? So much happened from before November 3rd until today, January 20th, and yet so little seemed certain along the way. One thing is certain: 11,780 additional votes in Georgia wouldn't have accomplished anything for the former president, and the fraud he was pushing certainly wasn't worth the risk of criminal charges. Reasons should be obvious, but I cover some anyway. Different Drummer: Stacey Abrams ALL IN: The Fight for Democracy

As they were in December 2013, this episode of Inappropriate Conversations and the previous Walk The Earth post are back-to-back within a few days for a reason. The experiment then was looking at ways women have been walled off from leadership in the church from both a religious perspective (#wte) and this more open-ended #IC approach. I had not yet envisioned the long-form Opening The Scriptures episode, but this is clearly a precursor. It's worth noting that the subsequent 3.5-hour podcast looking at the Bible has been broken into six more manageable parts, available on the feed at Spotify and elsewhere from January 2019.   http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/134-gender-segregation/  

Ignoring the spiritual gifts of women is a mistake I do not tolerate. While this wasn't foremost in our minds when my family left one congregation, and denomination, to find a new church home. As this early Walk The Earth episode documents, it quickly became impossible to ignore -- sometimes from first impressions, but often from more lasting ones.    http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/walk-the-earth-6/  

Finding things to be thankful for will be a challenge for many in 2020. It has been a difficult year. An argument can be made that the trend over several years has been challenging. This TalkBack episode returns to the first May of Inappropriate Conversation, including what I am most thankful for. Authorial Intent (A Neosurrealist Revising a Will from His Death Bed)   http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/13-companionship-marriage/  

I never took a class in debate or participated in a club when I was in school. I've also never seen it as some sort of sport. To me, matters worth debating should be taken more seriously than that, and we ought to commit to higher standards than anything we've seen on television in decades. I'm not only referring to the presidential election cycle. No, my complaint covers punditry today in its entirety.  Introductory material includes perspectives on this and the previous presidential election, recorded on the official election day in 2020 with important references to past Inappropriate Conversations podcasts. http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/55-a-better-way-to-debate/   http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/190-dear-family-member/ http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/195-telling-your-stories-before-its-too-late/ http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/24-elections-are-not-horse-races/  

We have become so accustomed to the twist ending that some film critics seem to dismiss films from recommendation for no other reason. I consider this a "sixth sense" effect, referring to M. Night Shyamalan. Done properly, though, stories of this sort can deliver two good movies, even great ones, from different genre within the same film. This Halloween-themed episode from 2014 celebrates one of the best.  Introductory material encourages voting in 2020, even from registered voters who despair for one reason or another.  Vote, perhaps as the ultimate patriotic act of defiance to some who seem obsessed with stopping people from participating in the 2020 election.  Vote, even if you believe you already know how your state will lean in the presidential election. It may matter more than just the tally itself.   http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/152-anticipating-the-bang/  

I grew up in the Central Time Zone in the United States. The late news was at 10 p.m. On Friday nights, one of the local stations would start a movie at 10:30, and it was often quite thrilling to a kid my age. Some themes were supernatural, others science fiction. Endings weren't always as happy as the Disney and Pink Panther movies my parents preferred for a family outing to the cinema. Halloween in particular was peak season for this "late night" Friday movie of the week.  Cases in point: A Cold Night's Death Carnival of Souls Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Sherlock Holmes and The Scarlet Claw The Other (1972) Asylum (Amicus) The House that Dripped Blood Trilogy of Terror  

When Inappropriate Conversations #42 was released in January 2011, I named it "The Morning After for Classic Made-For-TV Movies" and that title still works based on the flow of the show. I wanted this TalkBack episode to also note a relatively recent Facebook venture, a public group called Made For TV Program Direction. The idea is to accumulate what will be a long list of citations, nostalgic memories of past television program -- some seemingly forgotten. Feel free to join in if this podcast memory strikes some other memories.   http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/42-the-morning-after-for-classic-made-for-tv-movies/