Here’s an exciting event taking place in Brooklyn next week. Sadly, I’ll be traveling on the Left Coast (speaking at IIR Youth Marketing Mega Event) and will miss this panel discussion sponsored by The Change You Wan to See. If you are around, I strongly suggest you join this conversation.

We Can’t Believe, We Must Believe*
Monday, March 3, 7:30pm, free
The Change You Want To See Gallery
http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org
84 Havemeyer St, at Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

It has been said that the contemporary age is one of irony, where Truth and the meta-narrative have been shot through with holes. The collateral damage could be characterized as a crisis of meaning – one that is filled by the rise of fundamentalism and the creed of consumerism. We see the polarization of our population – the red state, blue state divide is decreed by pundits and pollsters to be more accurately a divide between those who believe and those who do not.

Where the Right makes universal claims, the Left takes a critical position, aiming to reveal an irrational or intolerant opponent. Faith, advertising and political spectacle are treated as mythologies to dismantle. While the dogma of fundamentalism and the Right’s fictionalizing are legitimately problematic, the implications of this reactionary focus are as well…

What are the casualties of the Left’s critiques? Is there a redemptive value to fundamentalism? Is there a way beyond this deadlock that addresses the pitfalls of dogma and those of distanced irony? What could a religion for disbelievers look like, and why could this be important? The Change You Want To See Gallery hosts a panel discussion exploring these themes with guests:

Stephen Duncombe (http://www.nyu.edu/classes/duncombe/)
Savitri Durkee (http://www.revbilly.com)
Zack Exley (http://revolutioninjesusland.com)
Simon Critchley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Critchley)

*The title for this panel is borrowed from a forthcoming essay by Andrew Boyd and Stephen Duncombe.

In case you live in a cave, the NY Giants won the Superbowl last Sunday. I was not in town to see the pandomonium that night, but instead watched the game from Florida with my almost ninety-year old grandparents. And sure to put me to shame, my grandpa Arkie knew more about the Giants team than I did!

This morning, the Giants returned to NYC amid fanfare celebration for a ticker tape parade up Broadway. While I’m more of a baseball fan than footballer, I jumped at the chance to be a part of history.

Apparently the history of the Ticker Tape parade originated here in New York City back in 1886 as a spontaneous celebration during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. There have been over a hundred of these parades since, probably the most famous being V-day at the conclusion of World World II, and various World Championships won by local sports teams.

I thought you might appreciate a couple snapshots I grabbed from the corner of Broadway and Coartland Streets. The news reported that over 1 million people choose to brave the crowds and hang out on the corner with me. And yes, that’s Eli Manning in the photo below - Mr MVP chumming it up with the crowd, and his ‘onor Mayor Bloomberg.