Becky Garrison
Becky Garrison is a satirist/storyteller whose most recent book is Roger Williams’s Little Book of Virtues (Wipf & Stock, March 2020). Also, she edited Love, Always: Partners of Trans People on Intimacy, Challenge and Resilience (Transgress Press, 2015). Her six books include 2006’s Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church (PW, starred review).
Recent Posts by Becky
A Secular Grief Observed
His classroom became his chapel.
Cannabis Jesus
Recently I had the opportunity to venture up to Vancouver, WA for a media preview tour of Farmer Tom’s Organic Cannabis Farm (Vancouver, WA), conducted in partnership with Kush Tourism. During my visit, Farmer Tom introduced me to the work of cannabis artist Cliff Maynard, who makes mosaics entirely from spent rolling papers. Since Cliff…
The Opposite of Portlandia
If you fantasize about moving to a Portlandia utopia, a quick trek over Memorial Day Weekend to the Oaks Amusement Park will quickly bring you back to reality. Here one will find the Multnomah County Fair, an annual event shows the town depicted on IFC hardly represents the totality of the Portland experience.
Seattle Suds Sampling
Upon first glance, Pike’s Pub looks like a typical brewpub situated in the touristy part of Seattle. But step inside their beer museum and soon one uncovers the little-known of history of hops and holiness. Herewith, my findings:
Beer n Hymns: the real story
NPR seems to have tuned out when it came to reporting accurately on the evolution of the Beers ‘n’ Hymns phenomenon, which has grown nationwide but began in Portland, Oregon. A quick Google search will show that the actual U.S. origins of this craft-beer-fueled sing-a-long lie with the Rev. Karen Ward, who was not mentioned…
Songs for a Mystical Supper
Those who tire of the holiday clatter and need rest might want to download some selections from Church of the Beloved’s latest digital album, Songs for a Mystical Supper. This Edmonds, Washington, church may be Lutheran in origin but their music will dance with the spirits of anyone post-Solstice, Hijra, Advent, Hanukkah, or even Festivus….
Bridegroom
When Shane Bitney Crone’s boyfriend of six years, Tom Bridegroom, died from a tragic accident, Bridegroom’s family prevented Shane from visiting his dying boyfriend in the hospital or even attending his funeral. On the first anniversary of Bridegroom’s death, Crone posted a video to You Tube titled, “It Could Happen to You.” In this video,…
Gary Austin: Making Surprising Sense
A Conversation with Gary Austin
Southern Baptist Sissies
For those like me who hail from the Bible bet, Southern Baptist Sissies serves as a painful reminder of a legacy that still lingers despite the passing of Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, and others of their ilk. This is a film of the GLAAD Award-winning theatrical production from Del Shores that follows four childhood boys…
The Atheist Churches Are Coming!
The Sunday Assembly, an atheist church service dreamed up by British comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans as a “godless congregation that celebrates life” hits U.S. shores today with an appearance in Manhattan. And there’s more to come: their Indigogo campaign plans to raise £500,000 to bring about a global godless revolution. While the media…
The Myth of the Ground Zero Cross
When I first heard that a 17-foot cross-like structure was discovered by a construction worker in the wreckage of the World Trade Center, I was too busy feeding first responders to pay any attention. (I recounted my experiences as a 9/11 volunteer in Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church), I viewed the news…
Godless Goodies
As a religion reporter since 1994, I’ve covered ample religious themed events including some localized humanist gatherings. But the Atheist Alliance of America’s 2013 Conference marked my first foray into a national gathering of the godless. As a trained Buddha-killer, I found myself drawn to the godless displays. While atheists have yet to come close…
Our Nixon?
As I recounted in Jesus Died for This?, “I joined in my parent’s artistic anarchy by writing a one act play that pretty much crucified Tricky Dick while setting up Ted Kennedy as the next Messiah. (This was before I taught myself how to spell Chapaquidick.) Whenever Richard Milhous Nixon’s mug would appear on the…
My Pilgrim Past
After trekking through Rhode Island to capture what tidbits of history I could glean regarding my 11th and 12th great-grandfather, I decided to visit my pilgrim heritage in Plymouth. According to my admittedly crooked family tree, I am a direct descendent of John Alden/Priscilla Mullins and John Howland/Elizabeth Tilley. Unlike in Rhode Island, where I…
Warhol’s Grave Sight
“I always thought I’d like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph and no name. Well, actually, I’d like it to say ‘figment” —Andy Warhol To pay homage to Andy Warhol’s message and honor the anniversary of his birthday on August 6, The Warhol Museum and EarthCam launched a collaborative project titled Figment. This…
The Act of Killing
In The Act of Killing, coming to theaters July 19th, documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer adopts a novel approach to documenting death squad atrocities. He challenges Anwar Congo and other leaders of Indonesia’s Pancasila Youth paramilitary movement, who were behind the 1965-66 mass murders, to reenact the mass killings in the style of the American movies they…
SxSW: Bitter Buddha
My quest to connect with comic Eddie Pepitone, aka the Bitter Buddha, in person at the 2013 South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival proved to be quite the challenge. First off, the North Door, where he performed on two nights, wasn’t exactly situated in a “desirable” location. Catching Pepitone in the act required missing a sizable chunk…
SxSW: I Am Divine
Post SXSW, I downloaded a selection of films that I could not catch during the actual festival. Following are a two flicks worth tracking. I Am Divine I AM DIVINE – Teaser from Jeffrey Schwarz on Vimeo. As I was never cool enough to turn into any underground scene, I never caught on to John…