In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors, Christian gives Jason a very special gift (hint: it's small, sings like a little Canadian boy, and you put it in your mouth); we take feedback from a female listener who is frustrated by her former time in the church when all her "sisters in Christ" thought she wanted to steal their husbands; we delve into the issue of language and labels, focusing on whether and when it's OK to use "the N-word" as well as whether jokingly labeling stuff "gay" or "retarded" is a retarded, gay thing to do; Jason bitches about his culinary needs never being met, while we hoist a poignant shot which Christian saved for the very end of the show. … [Read more...]
Podcast #7: Scary Movies, Dead Americans, and Mark Driscoll’s Penis
In our seventh episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors, Jason explains why he doesn't like movies containing red-headed twin children or the Holocaust; Christian reveals some sobering facts about ISIS and their plot to take over America (or just kill us all, we're not sure at this point); we take some listener feedback asking about Mark Driscoll's penis and who it really belongs to; and lastly, Christian complains about the insensitivity of certain drivers' parking habits, while Jason laments all progress in general. … [Read more...]
Boobhack!
As has been reported, a massive security breach has recently led to over 100 celebrities’ cell phones being hacked and their personal photos stolen and uploaded to the web for all the world to see (I believe the celebs were all female). As you can imagine, the majority of the pics shared fall into the category of nude selfies. The victims include Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, two women that I’m sure no one would like to see naked (</sarcasm>). Unsurprisingly, many on the Right are blaming the women themselves for even having these pics on their devices in the first place (basically, it serves them right for being such hussies). Not unlike when the creepier details of the Patriot Act were made known, the response among … [Read more...]
Hot Enough for Acting?
As I explain in episode 4 of Drunk Ex-Pastors below, it is my contention that only around 10% of household-name “actors” are actually talented at acting, while the rest just aren’t (among this other 90% are names like Brad Pitt, Diane Keaton, George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, etc.). Now don’t get me wrong, these people can act, kind of. But they are not more talented at acting than most people are at doing whatever they like doing in their spare time (unlike professional athletes like Kobe Bryant or Lionel Messi, who excel at what they do on a level far beyond 99% of most people do at what they’re passionate about). Put another way, I, Jason Stellman, am about as good at public speaking or writing books as Jason Bateman is at acting. … [Read more...]
Extremism, Flowers, and the Powers that Be
If you take a strong position on some issue, or on cultural/political matters in general, it is easy to label those on the other side as “extremists” or “reactionaries” (while failing to see that they might be passing the exact same judgment on you). For example, I remember when the O.J. Simpson verdict was about to be read, the police in Los Angeles were out in full force, decked out in riot gear, ready for the worst. But when the jury decided to acquit, the cops breathed a sigh of relief, packed up their tear gas and rubber bullets, and went home. Being very evangelical and somewhat racist at the time, I said, “Hey, wait! Why aren’t the police going to stay out and deal with the inevitable white-people riots and looting and … [Read more...]
Podcast #2: Michael Brown, Right vs Left, and the Rapture
In this episode, Jason and Christian discuss the shooting of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teen who was shot in the back and head by a white police in Ferguson, MO, last week; they explore the issue of whether people on the right are more ideologically driven than those on the left, who tend to be more pragmatic; they roll up their religious sleeves and dig into the nuts and bolts of the Rapture and its accompanying apocalyptic doomsday prophecies (during which hilarity cannot but ensue); and Jason complains about Hollywood’s over-sensationalizing of bathroom murders, while Christian moans about pushy salespeople and how they not only make him feel heartless but also cause him to publicly lament his years and years of poor … [Read more...]
Podcast #1: The American Work Ethic, ISIS, and Irrelevant Traffic Laws
In this episode, Jason and Christian discuss the American attitude toward work and compare it to that of other cultures (as in, why do we live to work while people in other cultures work to live?); they talk about the horrific actions of the Islamic group ISIS and attempt to distinguish fact from fiction regarding the worldwide persecution of Christians -- is it fair to call the denial of special treatment for American believers "persecution" while in the Middle East Christians are having their heads chopped off?; Christian vents about how pissed off he gets at the way air travelers conduct themselves at the luggage carousel; Jason bemoans how beholden humans are to machines as well as explains why most traffic laws don’t apply to him. And … [Read more...]