Monkeys, Guns and Lesbians

Y: The Last Man, began as one the most fascinating and addictive graphic novels I have ever read, but ended in lethargy and preachy-ness.  Published and told over five years, Y is a unique post-apocalyptic story of manchild Yorick, the only living male to survive a catastrophe that kills every male creature on earth.

Yorick is a pop-culture junkie a la Kevin Smith, aspiring escape artist, and woefully immature.  He is accompanied by a fem fatale from a secret organization, a shy genius biologist on the verge perfecting human cloning, and a monkey.  As they travel across the U.S. and eventually the world, they are faced with the worst that both mankind, and womankind have to offer.  Yorick is seduced by desperate women, attacked by violent anti-misogynists, and hunted by foreign governments.  With half its population suddenly gone, most societies delve into violence and rampant sexuality, while the remaining institutions, such as women’s prisons and orders of nuns, struggle to redefine themselves.

I hesitantly recommend The Last Man.  Stephen King called it the best graphic novels he’d ever read. It’s compared to Lost in it’s depth and addicting nature.  It is also surprisingly fair, condemning both feminism and misogyny.  However, the only overarching theme is that of Yorick’s own disjointed and disappointing descent into adulthood.  As the book progresses it’s theme gets lost in the graphic portrayal of widespread homosexuality.  The authors try to wrap it all in a touching love story, however even this is lost, along with a clear answer as to what caused the catastrophe in the first place.

Y: The Last Man is a lot of fun, raises some good questions, but is too graphic and looses its way.  In other words, it’s not for everybody.

Tags: 40 Books in 2010, Comics, Graphic Novels, LOST, Stephen King, Y: The Last Man

More Thoughts on Running

My roommate Daniel was kind enough to give me a shout on his Facebook blog.  Daniel’s a good writer, friend, and not too bad on the dance floor.  Check out his journey through the New Testament on his Facebook Notes.  Here’s his reflections on my marathon training:

For the past few months, my roommate has been training to run marathons. He ran the San Antonio half-marathon, now he is training to run the full Austin marathon in February. I started the training for a half about this time last year, but I sprained my ankle with not enough time to recover and prepare for the race.

It seems to me that training for a marathon brings with it a whole host of difficulty. It is not just the difficulty of completing the training (which can be complicated by weather, especially this time of year), it is also dealing with the pains and injuries that accompany such a task. Although he has not encountered a significant injury like a sprain, he has had sore feet, chins, back, and legs. We went to 3 stores before we could find a strap that is supposed to hold his knee in place during long runs.

Overall, it just seems like the body is not made for such abuse. Although it is made for a significant amount of physical exercise, it seems like marathon-type distances are in excess to it’s normal functions. I guess that is why comparatively few people run marathons. It takes a lot of determination. I still want to do it someday, may be next year.

In I Corinthians, Paul compares spiritual striving to physical training. He says that he runs in such a way to win the prize. He works his body into doing that which is not natural, ignoring it’s aches and pains. He has an all-encompassing purpose, to live as Christ lived. 

I often wonder, what it would look like if Christian people started to treat our spirituality in such a way? What if we broke a sweat trying to force our weak flesh into better service to God? It seems that many of us are like me, once sidelined by a sprain and unwilling to return to action. What would it look like for you to beat your spiritually weak flesh into submission? How would life be different?

Austin Church Search: EV Free

Austin’s First Evangelical Free Church meets in a beautiful campus on the southwestern edge of town.  We visited the “contemporary” service and the singles/young marrieds group.

Worship took place in a bright room with high ceilings and pew-like chair rows.  The music was tasteful Christian pop fare, punctuated with lots of prayer.

Pastor Rob Harrell spoke on the concept of Brotherly Love.  His teaching was a great combination of linear points with heart felt confession and stories.  Most impressive was his “commercial” for Austin Stone, another church in town, which was his example of Christians working together in brotherly love.  When was the last time you visited a church where the Pastor told you to go visit a different church?

I felt very welcomed at Impact, the young adults Sunday School class.  People were engaging, intelligent and curious.  People went out of their way to seek me out and engage me in conversation.  They also made the “next step” very clear, explaining when and where the next social event and small groups meeting.

On a side note, EV Free seems very concerned with Prison Ministry, which got three separate shout outs in their bulletin.

I really enjoyed making new friends at EV Free, and especially having a moment to pray with the pastor.  I would recommend it  for Christians looking for a place to worship and hit the ground running in service.

Say a lil prayer for me!

As you guys may or may not know, I moved to Austin a few months ago with hopes to join God in what he’s doing here.  This morning my roommate Daniel and I have a big interview that could shape our next step in ministry.

We’re hoping to work with Apartment Life as a Cares Team.  Our job will be to throw parties, help people move in, and a million little things that will make the Apartment Community feel like home.  I am excited about the possibility of making new friends and serving our neighbors.

A number of places have opened up over the past few months, but we’ve held out until now. Tomorrow we’re interviewing with a place in Downtown Austin.  It’s an amazing location for reaching hipsters, politicians, marathoners and indie types.

Pray that God will open the door for us, and that he’ll lead us in how to love our neighbors.

From the States

We left the Managua Airport about 6am this morning and returned to the US around 2.  At the airport, we had a sweet reunion with friends and family.  From there, we went to Alamo Cafe, where I gorged on chips and salsa-the thing I miss most about Texas.

We’ll spend the next few days debriefing with Steve and Marti Levitt and then…

Well, that’s the question isn’t it?

I’ve got a few Global Journey review posts in me.  Then the blog will return to it’s previous format focusing on issues of Life, Church, Culture and God.

For those of you who have prayed for us along the way and our safe return, THANK YOU.  God listened.  Please continue to pray as I seek to find God’s will for my next step and carve out a new life in ATX.