Vegan Chili and Christian Rock

I'm a paradox.  Most vegans are not disciples of Christ and most disciples of Christ are not vegan but full blown carnivores bent on filling their arteries with saturated fats and cholesterol.  I happen to be both (and to top it off, I'm a libertarian!).  Okay, I guess I'm really not a vegan (as I've said before) but I do follow a plant-strong diet, I don't eat meat, dairy, fish, eggs or any animal products.  I'm closer to vegan than not vegan...anyway I digress.

When I first began following Christ I was "not in the choir" if you know what I mean.  One of my favorite past times was listening to music and going to concerts.  My musical tastes evolved (or I guess devolved depending on who is judging) but I never listened to gospel type music prior to following Christ.  Now I listen to and enjoy both. I was just never exposed to good gospel music.  (I'm looking at you Israel Houghton, Jesus Culture, Rock and Roll Worship Circus, Chris Falson, and Third Day, thanks for the tons of good tunes!)

My first concert was Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. I've seen dozens of bands including Black Sabbath, Metallica, Dio, Ozzy, Motley Crue, Queensryche...well you get the picture.  Music was a big part of my life and still is.  Music written and performed by Christians has improved DRAMATICALLY over the years.  In the early 90's it was TERRIBLE.  When a good band came around such as Tourniquet inevitably this type of conversation would ensure:

"Man, this song rocks! Who is it?"

"It's Tourniquet.  The song is Vanishing Lessons."

"Wow, it's great.  I wonder why haven't I ever heard this before?"

"You really like it?

"Yea, dude is phenomonal!" 

Then the hammer would drop in kind of a self-righteous, pharisaical way, "It's Christian."

WAH, WAH, WAH

Now as I've turned into a (ahem) vegan I see the same kind of thing happening. 

"Do you like those cupcakes?"

"Yea, they're great!" (just like Tony the Tiger)

Cue smirk and self-righteous tone...."They're vegan."

When can we get over this?  Skillet is music.  Switichfoot is music.  U2 is music.  The Black Keys - music.  My chili, paella, jambalaya, gumbo, fajitas, gnocchi, minestrone, burritos, enchilada, cream of any type of soup, stir fry, and anything else I cook is F.O.O.D.

Please stop saying "pass the vegetarian nachos" or "mmm could I have some more of your vegan tomato bisque soup?" Pass the nachos or could I have more soup is just fine. 

If you have dietary restrictions and you're asking for clarification that is different.  Can we stop sounding self-righteous and pretentious and just enjoy some food?

Before you go would you please crank up that aweome Christian screamo death metal and top off my vegan chai tea though?

Peace Out!

Yes, I Need a Crutch

In my craziness I've committed to completing a sprint triathlon in 2013.  The actual day is July 20, 2013.  I'm still in the prerequisite stage and full blown training begins April 1st.  Why am I doing this?  I don't have a clue!

Seriously, the discipline and structure is good for me.  Running has never been one of my favorite things to do (neither has swimming and biking!).  I figure the only time I should run if someone is chasing me! To make things more interesting for me I like to listen to music as I run.  I know many people frown on that but I think it's better to run with music then to not run without it. Call it a crutch if you want. 

The mix is ecelectic.  Some songs are fun and upbeat. Some songs are not.  They all help me to pick 'em up and put 'em down, however.

1. Murders in the Rue Morgue - Iron Maiden
2. Dani California  - RHCP
3. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant
4. Holiday - Green Day
5. Pretty Fly for a White Guy - The Offspring
6. Shamrocks and Shenanigans - House of Pain
7. Dear X - Disciple
8. Mess of Me - Switchfoot

So there is my first playlist.  For some reason the upload video feature was not working today so I had to link them instead. 

Enjoy.