Sherry Chandler

World Overcomers?

Here’s a news item that’s been floating around for 24 hours or so. It’s among the NYTimes’s most blogged about articles.

MEMPHIS, July 4 — On Independence Day, Lady Liberty was born again.

As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of the Lady, but with the Ten Commandments under one arm and “Jehovah” inscribed on her crown.

And in place of a torch, she held aloft a large gold cross, as if to ward off the pawnshops, the car dealerships and the discount furniture outlets at the busy corner of Kirby Parkway and Winchester that is her home. A single tear graced her cheek.

…

The Statue of Liberation Through Christ, as she is called, stands 72 feet tall from the base of her pedestal to the tip of her cross. She was the idea of Mr. Williams, a very successful pastor whose church, World Overcomers, qualifies as mega: it has a school, a bowling alley, a roller rink, a bookstore and, he said, 12,000 members.

…

To critics who say there are better ways to spend $260,000, Mr. Williams responds that his church gives millions to the needy and says he views the statue as outreach: “I personally feel that the answer for the poor is Jesus Christ.”

For myself, I’d be inclined to dismiss this as a sort of herd-mentality Kitsch. But I may be foolish to look at this simply as a matter of taste
— though taste is important to a poet. The culture wars have had serious consequences for our country.

I am completely puzzled by this mega-church phenomenon. I suppose in a time when mega-corporations rule the world, mega-churches are an inevitable corollary. My notions of religion involve considerably less bling and aggression, but I’m old and obscure and who cares?

Is it also possible that the Times is looking down its urban nose a bit at the heartland, snickering a little bit?

I picked up this link at Bag News, one of my favorite sites. Considerable discussion there, but I’d like to hear what you all have to say about this. (Images at the Bag and the Times link.)

Catnip and catmints are mainly known for, and named after, the effects they have on cats, particularly domestic cats. Approximately two thirds of cats are susceptible to the effects of catnip, as the phenomenon is hereditary.

Catnip contains nepetalactone, a terpene, that is thought to mimic feline sex pheromones. Cats detect it through their vomeronasal organs. When cats sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip, they will rub in it, roll over it, paw at it, chew it, lick it, leap about and purr. Some cats will also growl and meow. This reaction only lasts for several minutes before the cat loses interest. [citation needed] It takes up to two hours for the cat to “reset” and then it can come back to the catnip and have the same response as before. Young kittens and older cats are less likely to have a reaction to catnip but big cats, such as tigers, seem to be extremely sensitive to it. Cat toys can contain catnip and some cats love to play with them. Others are not interested. Cat owners do not need to worry about allowing their cats access to catnip because there are, for the most part, no negative side effects to doing so. However, some cats become overly excited when exposed to catnip, so aging cats with heart troubles should be kept away from it.

Other plants that also have this effect on cats include valerian and plants that contain actinidine or dihydroactinidiolide (Smith, 2005).

At least three species attract cats: Nepeta cataria, N. grandiflora and N. × faassenii, but most other species have not been tested. Of these, both true catnip and Faassen’s catnip have a sharp, biting taste, while the taste of giant catmint is bland.
— from Wikipedia [verbatim]

Bertie is perhaps a bit hefty for too much leaping about. He tends to buckle the roof of my car when he walks across it. For another, fairly typical, Bertie pose, follow the link to Rabbit’s Hidey-Hole.