Have a laugh!

Check out this hilarious salmon commercial.  It gave me a grin all day.

The Vid:



In Case:  Video Link

Thought that was funny? Here's another commercial by the same company: YouTube Link

Psstt...I'm still alive,
Jenn :)

In the Media: Christians Leaders Reject Yoga

Image via Wikipedia

One of the hot topics in the media today is the very negative opinion of Yoga by certain Christian church figures. Being both a yoga fan and a Southern Baptist, I knew I had a blog post in-the-making.  Before I get into the newest anti-yoga article to surface, let's go back a few years.

In 2007, Pat Robertson voiced his negative view of yoga on the 700 Club TV show.  In short, his belief is that by doing yoga, you are distancing yourself from God and engaging in pantheism. He calls yoga "evil and spooky."  (His entire answer)  It sparked a huge media frenzy.  (Though, I must admit this is actually one of his less radical views.  You could seriously spend years trying to understand this man's view on the world.) 

Fast forward to the present:  Another Christian church leader (Albert Mohler) has written a article with a negative opinion of yoga practice.  To save some time, here are a few quotes from his lengthy article:

"When Christians practice yoga, they must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga."

"Christians are called to look to Christ for all that we need and to obey Christ through obeying his Word. We are not called to escape the consciousness of this world by achieving an elevated state of consciousness, but to follow Christ in the way of faithfulness."

"Christians who practice yoga are embracing, or at minimum flirting with, a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a “post-Christian, spiritually polyglot” reality. Should any Christian willingly risk that?"

Perhaps he has never heard of Catholic monks and their meditations and chants?  (Admittedly, I'm pretty ignorant about Catholicism, but even I know who Friar Tuck is!)   I've always likened prayer to meditation.  Perhaps his method of praying is different than mine? Perhaps, he only prays in extremely loud places while jumping in place to block out his inner thoughts that could lead to an ungodly enlightenment.

Okay, that's all the passive aggressive comments I can muster.

What I do know is that I have never been closer to the Good Lord than when I am doing yoga.  (And I don't just mean when you are in a difficult pose of which you pray you can eventually get out.  Though I do feel very close at those times.)  It gave me a way to organize my thoughts, improve myself physically, and to be open to the Word.

When I first started this blog, my main objectives were to not use any type of vulgar language and to stay away from controversial topics--especially of the religious variety.  I had to break my controversy rule to voice my opinion on this because it is beyond ridiculous.  I mean on the "Satan talks to us through rock records" and "skipping service to watch the Super Bowl is idol worship" levels of ridiculous.  When hearing about these ignorant views, my first thought was "do they think that the Lord is a hateful moron who believes that yoga practice is brainwashing his children?"  Puh-lease.

I would challenge these men to try yoga for just a week, because their loaded opinions sound as if they read a couple books about yoga and made up their minds.  Yoga isn't something that can be found in books.  It's like baseball.  You can watch a game, but you don't really know baseball unless you toss the ball around.  You don't anything about Yoga until you get yourself into it.

I would be curious to see if thoughts of Hindu deities popped into their heads after a few Sun Salutations.

I'm glad to say that the views of these men are not the views of most Christians familiar with yoga.  There are many churches in my area that host yoga and other exercise classes.   

Off to do some yoga twists,

Jenn


References:

• YouTube Video of Pat Robertson's View of Yoga
• Albert Mohler's Article on Yoga

Further Reading and Viewing:

• Southern Baptist Leader on Yoga (Associated Press)
• Video: CNN News on Christians and Yoga (A Debate Between Pastors with Opposing Views)

UPDATE:
An additional article surfaced just minutes after I published this post:

• Albert Mohler's reaction to the massive feedback from his Yoga article

Crafting Just 'Cause: Snazzy Money Jars

While thinking of easy ways to save money, I found myself in favor of the good ol' reliable money jar and its companion the change bucket.

Being a fan of crafts and things overly adorned and sparkly, I knew I couldn't just use any ol' pickle jar.  So, when the opportunity presented itself, two days locked in the house with a stomach bug, I decided to make it into a crafting project that would greatly please my inner kindergartner. 

So, I rounded up a permanent marker and a pile of old nail polish from a decade ago (I still can't believe that I had actually worn those colors!), and I went to work making a couple containers that are not only worthy of my meager savings, but of a place next to my massive pile of knickknacks.

Above: This was actually an old rusted pail that my father found under a pile of clutter in his garage.  After much sanding, priming, and crafting, I am quite happy with the result.  This new change bucket's place in my home office has brought chuckles and the occasional donation.  (It was all part of the master plan.)

Above:  Formally a jar of delicious queso dip (now I want tortilla chips!), it's now a unique bill jar.  (Unfortunately, no donations thus far, but I have received some compliments and eye rolls.)

I don't know if these jars will better motivate me to fill them with massive savings, but at least I got to craft and have fun while doing it.  (Oh, and I exercised my sorely underdeveloped painting skills. HA!) 

Off to add stick-on sparkles to something new,
Just 'cause,

Jenn

Iron Maiden: New Album Released Today!!!

Unless you've been protesting global warming in a cabin somewhere for the past 30 years or your every electronic device has been hijacked by your Bieber-loving tweens, you must know the supreme force of awesome-ness that is Iron Maiden.  They are releasing a new studio album on August 17 in the US.

That's right the new Iron Maiden album The Final Frontier is available today.  Just click on the image below to go to the album's Amazon.com page.

 

The Final Frontier 

 Here's the newest music video featuring Satellite 15...The Final Frontier from the new album:

If the video above didn't work right, CLICK HERE to go to the YouTube page.


In the short time that I have been writing on Spake With Twang, most, if not all, of my music posts have been country-themed.  It is kind of a given considering the area in which I live, small town Tennessee. It's not exactly a hub of rock, pop, or any other mainstream melodies.  (The crisp air and the mountain views make up for it.)

I actually love all types of music. (Seriously, my playlist would probably get me sent away. haha)  Metal (hard rock, power rock, or whatever the music genre police call it now) is my number one favorite, and Iron Maiden is one of my favorite bands of all time.  I don't think that I could go more than a month without my Maiden fix.

Off to watch Flight 666 again,

Jenn

Obessed: Korean Dramas

There has been a lot of buzz about Korean dramas as of late. So much that even a couple of my friends out here in small town Tennessee have been going on and on about them.

I really had no interest in them at first. I mean, I know nothing about Korea.  I have no knowledge of the people, the language, or the country.  I can't even point out the country on the map.  (I'm not proud of that, but it's sadly true.)   The only Asian dramas I had any experience with are the few Japanese dramas that I watched to study for my language classes in college, and I remember them being very cutesy.  (I loathe cutesy...heh)

After being nagged and threatened, I finally gave in and watched a few subtitled episodes of a couple dramas.

I am now hooked!  I know what all the buzz is about now; these dramas are awesome!

Take a second and watch this teaser trailer for dramas being offered for free on DramaFever (the leading site for watching Korean dramas for free).  I warn you, this could be that start of a new addiction.




The series I am watching now is called IRIS.  It is being compared to the Borne Trilogy by a lot of people.  (Rightfully so, it rocks!)

I am used to the cutesy, campy Asian dramas, so this one came as a complete surprise.  It is action packed, wonderfully developed, and beautifully shot!  I would put it up against any American action drama.

I would go on more, but pictures are most times better than words.  So...

I bring you the subbed trailer for IRIS:



You can watch IRIS for free on HULU and DramaFever.  If you really love it, you can purchase the box set here.

Seriously, take an hour of your time and watch the first episode.  You will be hooked.  :) 

Don't fear subtitles, embrace them!

Jenn :)

Off to find a map of Asia...

The Tanya Tucker Concert

Before I get into the concert, I want to first tell about how I got into Ms. Tucker's music. (So y'all can know a little more about why this is such a big honkin' deal for me.)

I was first introduced to her music in the early 1990s with Some Kind of Trouble and It's a Little Too Late. My friends and I used to get together and watch her music videos on CMT and TNN after school.  When we'd saved up enough money to buy the tape, we were blasting it out of the boom box on the playground.  (Ah, good times.)

More recently, I've become obsessed with her 70s and 80s music.  (I could listen to Lizzie and the Rainman on repeat all day, I swear.)  I've been crazy over her 90s music for a long time, but I found myself loving the earlier stuff even more.  

I listen to all types of music and music artists, but Tanya Tucker is one of the few whose music I love from the time she started with Delta Dawn to her new My Turn CD.  There really isn't one song to which I don't like to listen!   I even find myself getting excited every time I hear about her working on new projects.

Because, let's face it, none of the new country artists can hold a candle to her.

The Concert:

The concert was better than I could have hoped.  My friend got us great seats (14th row middle!!)  and even though the place was bursting at the seams with people, we could see just fine.  (And get pictures!!)

Let me just say that we were scared that it was gonna to be a low-key show.  (Neither of us had ever seen Tanya live, so we had no idea.)

Now, I can say that we were WAY off.  Ms. Tucker knows how to put on a DANG good show.  That was the first time that I have really seen a country singer really rock it out.  (Since Garth Brooks retired. -moment of silence-) All the other singers I have seen just walk about the stage a bit and raise there hands occasionally. (Oh, and do Whitney Houston, "I'm singing powerfully," stances.)

Not Tanya.

She puts it all into her performance and seems to have great fun with it.  I was in awe.

She sung most of her big hits (there's so many!), and even sung one or two from her newest album.

I have to say, I have been to concerts for a lot of genres (metal, ska, country, pop), but country music artists sound the best live.  Tanya was no exception; she sounded better live than she did on the recordings.

For an hour and a half, I got to hear a legend of country music, and I will never forget it.  With the great crowd, Tanya's energy, and decades worth of wonderfully brilliant music...

It was truly electric.

Hangin' In,

Jenn :)

Travels: Off to See Tanya Tucker!!!

I can't believe that in just a couple days, I will be on my way to the Country Tonite Theater to see Tanya Tucker in concert.

My best friend Shannon invited me to go on this awesome trip.  (Thank you!) She is an absolute genius when it comes to getting country music tickets.  (Quite a difficult feat in the po'dunk corner of the mountain in which we live.)  She has country music super powers!!! (You rock...I mean, you TWANG girl!)

For those of you not familiar with Tanya Tucker's music (for shame!), you can click the picture at the top to hear samples of her greatest hits.  You can also click the picture at the bottom to hear samples from her new album, My Turn. (You can also read a bio of Tanya Tucker here.)

She has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in country.  I really could listen to her sing all day.

I am so excited! I can't wait to come back and blog all about it.

Down to My Last Teardrop,
Having Some Kind of Trouble,
With Two Sparrows in a Hurricane,
And It's a Little Too Late,
To Meet With Delta Dawn,

Jenn ;)

Update: I went to the concert and it was beyond my expectations! Here's the link to the post-concert post. (LINK) You can also find more pictures that I took at the concert HERE on my personal photo gallery. (Note:: If you are using Internet Explorer to access the gallery, you may have to scroll down to see the pics.  For some reason, it places the photos on the bottom of the page under the rest of the layout.)