General Fussing About ~ Vampires

So beautiful. So troubled. So excruciatingly dull.

So, are people always just kind of lingering around waiting to see what the next big thing is, vampires came along, and now whenever and whatever the next big thing is people will be lured away . . . and then (of course) become annoyed with vampires and ridicule anyone who still thinks vampires are cool? Or is there something (besides our fickle compulsion to be 'in' on whatever the media tells us is cool) that the current popular interest in vampires informs about ourselves? What is it about vampires, why are they suddenly so cool to so many?

Now, I realize "suddenly" will cause some to alert me to the fact that stories about vampires have been around for years and years - but, while these stories and characters have been around forever, and I enjoyed Hammer Dracula films at the Saturday matinée and still enjoy them with my grandkids, and while there has for some time been a fascination with vampires in subculture metal/goth circles, at least somewhat 'suddenly' vampires are big in the mainstream popular culture.

Is it their humanity? Teenage girls simply can swoon over a pale but male looking vampire in a way they can't swoon over Godzilla or a space mutant? Is it the brooding - perhaps you are the only girl who can bring peace to his troubled heart? Those things, I imagine, are a big part of it with many - but I'm thinking something else . . .

Remember when Dracula actually was cool . . .

What is endlessly stunning to me is this generations interest, desire, even need to be famous. On the singing competition shows the contestants don't want to make beautiful music, they don't want to inspire and uplift others, they don't even want tons of money - they want everyone to know who they are, they want to be famous, they want people to care about them . . . to care about what they wear, what they eat, what they think, etc. And in their blabbering about being known, so many say the same thing 'I'm so special. If America could just get to know me they would love me - I'm a star'.

Not 'I'm talented', not 'here is the thing I can do', just 'I'm a star, I'm special, I should be famous'. So many today imagine that they should be famous for being themselves - generations ago people were famous for some accomplishment, something they did or could do . . . Lindbergh was famous for flying solo across the Atlantic, Ruth was famous for hitting home runs, Crosby was famous for singing well, etc - Lindbergh wasn't famous for just being Lindbergh, Ruth wasn't famous because everyone just loved him so much, and Crosby wasn't famous just for being famous. These men did something, they were good at something, they were famous because of something accomplished.

. . . but the man who, with a noble determination and selfless heroism, hunted him down to end his brutal reign of tyranny over the souls of others was even cooler.

Today, many seem to want to bypass the whole accomplishment thing and get right to the fame part. So, without an accomplishment to merit attention, they simply assert that they should be famous just for being who they are - they are so 'special'. So, not actually doing something but just being you instead of being everyone else means everyone ought to know and care about who you are . . . again, because you are so 'special'. Which means 'special' has become synonymous with 'particular' or 'individual', or, a particular individual. But that then suggests that everyone is special, because, everyone is the particular individual that they are.

What does all this have to do with vampires? They are special too, not every kid at school is a vampire, not everyone has this deep, dark secret that makes them hurt (in a compellingly poetic and romantic kind of way), not everyone has this ancient thirst, etc. I think 14 year old girls today (and let's face it, there are an abundance of 20 year old boys, 36 year women, 54 year old men, etc, who are essentially 14 year old girls) identify with these teenage, pale, attractive vampires because vampires are special, they are not like all the run-of-the-mill people around them. The teenage girl follows the heartache and relationship upheavals of the vampires, and swoons over them, like she imagines all of us should follow her heartaches and relationship upheavals and swoon over her. She thinks she should be famous just for being who she is, because she's so special, and she genuinely believes she would be famous if we all could just get to know her on a singing competition show, or whatever.

. . . and who's to blame for this ugly mess . . ? . . the evil Tyra Banks and Paris Hilton - famous for being famous.

Regular, Normal Christianity

Preface ~ "The Premise And Definitions"

1. "The Bible"

2. "God"

3. "Jesus of Nazareth"

4. "The Trinity"

5. "Man, Sin, And Spiritual Death"

6. "The Covenant, The Promise, The Covenants, And The Gospel"

7. "The Atonement - Law & Grace" _{(coming soon)}

The Saturday Matinée

"A Previw"

1. "Mysterious Island"

2. "Horror Of Dracula"

3. "This Island Earth" _{(coming soon)}

LOGISMOS

1. "The Seasons"

2. "Why Do We Write?"

General Fussing About ~

1. "Vampires"

2. _{(coming soon)}

Miscellaneous

"The Best Halloween Movie"

"Do I believe in love at first sight? Yes - sort of . . ."

"Leonard - The Best Dog Ever"

"The Most Married Man In America"

Honest, I'm happier and a bit more pleasant than I look or sound