They Call Her "God Girl." I, Um, Don't.
Full disclosure: the lovely and talented Dawn Eden is a friend. No, we've not met in person. We've chatted on the phone a couple of times and emailed back and forth occasionally, and she's been everything a friend should be: honest, supportive, generous, and downright fun to talk to. Plus, she's a babe and has a collection of vinyl to die for.
Thing is, Dawn's not only deeply religious but a flat-out nice person. Me? I'm an atheist and a flat-out asshole. Dawn wouldn't want me to write this post, but again, that's because she's nice. I'm not. So that's why I'm writing this despite her wishes. A pissing match? Sign me up for the Olympic Extreme Pissing Team.
Although I've found the Weekend Journal a bit of a waste (hey, it came with my Wall Street Journal subscription), I was thrilled to see another Dawn Eden book review in print, this one of Cathleen Falsani's The God Factor. Score one for Dawn; without the review I would not have known such a book (or writer) existed, and I sure as hell wouldn't have come across it in my many hours lingering in the "Inspirational" section at Borders. Ms. Falsani, rest assured that I was not on hold, credit card in hand, waiting to order a 50 copies of your book when the cold harsh light of Dawn intervened.
Frankly, I thought the review was relatively positive; then again, as an Ain't It Cool News regular, I consider any review positive that doesn't contain the phrase "sucks sour frog ass." What criticism there was in the review was not of the author but of the overall conceit: compiled celebrity interviews about God. And who among us can deny that the one thing the world needs now is more opinions from celebrities? Paris Hilton, what do you think of steel tariffs anyway? The icing on the cake was certainly the illustration accompanying the review: an Enquirer-style magazine with friggin' Saint Paul Bono Vox Hewson Christ on the cover.
You want to hear my personal god factor, for free? Moses H. Schmoses ... I have come down from the mountain with but One Commandment: BONGO, THOU SHALT SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY. Amen.
Poor little Bongo... so much to say and so little opportunity. Please, people, let the man speak! God yields the floor to the humble folk singer from the hills of Ireland.
Back to our story. Dawn emailed me a link to Ms. Falsani's blog, which had already been altered (unannounced, natch). Seems this is how published authors handle criticism these days:
By the time I'd logged on, the "more thoughtful response" turned out to be just that, though highly abbreviated: all of the text below "The Dawn Eden Edition" had been excised.
Offended on Dawn's behalf -- particularly in proportion to the "sour-frog ass"-free softball review I'd read, I sent a comment. Not only was my comment apparently rejected by the moderator; the comment section was closed as well. Fair enough, but odd coming from a "cheerfully charming" interviewer comfortable chatting up Hugh Hefner about his "highest moral values."
As of today, the title remains the same, but the post has changed ... again unannounced ... and now featuring the Dalai Lama, involving yet another ball-less wonder in this mess. Posts come and go so quickly here!
Who knows, I too may have found Jesus, 'cause I'm hearing a voice in my head telling me to spread a new Gospel: Grow the fuck up.
Newsflash: Amazon customer Danusha Goska has written that "I wasn't crazy about this book as a whole." Ms. Goska might wish to consider adding that extra star to her review or perhaps begin hiring someone to start her car and taste her food.
UPDATE: Speaking of Bongo-bashing, this is priceless: The Edge, musing on U2's groundbreaking "ZooTV" tour, in which the band pulls down satellite broadcasts and rebroadcasts them on stage without permission in the name of Art -- in an interview conducted by two guys the band is suing for copyright infringement.
UPDATE 2 - UPDATE BOOGALOO: You want a bad review? YOU CAN'T HANDLE A BAD REVIEW!.
UPDATE 3 - UPDATE WITH A VENGEANCE: I won't be purchasing a copy of The God Factor (review copies gratefully accepted!), but if you're gonna read America's favorite pornographer's views on God, do yourself a favor and read this sobering look at the Hefner "legacy" as well.
Thing is, Dawn's not only deeply religious but a flat-out nice person. Me? I'm an atheist and a flat-out asshole. Dawn wouldn't want me to write this post, but again, that's because she's nice. I'm not. So that's why I'm writing this despite her wishes. A pissing match? Sign me up for the Olympic Extreme Pissing Team.
Although I've found the Weekend Journal a bit of a waste (hey, it came with my Wall Street Journal subscription), I was thrilled to see another Dawn Eden book review in print, this one of Cathleen Falsani's The God Factor. Score one for Dawn; without the review I would not have known such a book (or writer) existed, and I sure as hell wouldn't have come across it in my many hours lingering in the "Inspirational" section at Borders. Ms. Falsani, rest assured that I was not on hold, credit card in hand, waiting to order a 50 copies of your book when the cold harsh light of Dawn intervened.
Frankly, I thought the review was relatively positive; then again, as an Ain't It Cool News regular, I consider any review positive that doesn't contain the phrase "sucks sour frog ass." What criticism there was in the review was not of the author but of the overall conceit: compiled celebrity interviews about God. And who among us can deny that the one thing the world needs now is more opinions from celebrities? Paris Hilton, what do you think of steel tariffs anyway? The icing on the cake was certainly the illustration accompanying the review: an Enquirer-style magazine with friggin' Saint Paul Bono Vox Hewson Christ on the cover.
You want to hear my personal god factor, for free? Moses H. Schmoses ... I have come down from the mountain with but One Commandment: BONGO, THOU SHALT SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY. Amen.
Poor little Bongo... so much to say and so little opportunity. Please, people, let the man speak! God yields the floor to the humble folk singer from the hills of Ireland.
Back to our story. Dawn emailed me a link to Ms. Falsani's blog, which had already been altered (unannounced, natch). Seems this is how published authors handle criticism these days:
By the time I'd logged on, the "more thoughtful response" turned out to be just that, though highly abbreviated: all of the text below "The Dawn Eden Edition" had been excised.
Offended on Dawn's behalf -- particularly in proportion to the "sour-frog ass"-free softball review I'd read, I sent a comment. Not only was my comment apparently rejected by the moderator; the comment section was closed as well. Fair enough, but odd coming from a "cheerfully charming" interviewer comfortable chatting up Hugh Hefner about his "highest moral values."
As of today, the title remains the same, but the post has changed ... again unannounced ... and now featuring the Dalai Lama, involving yet another ball-less wonder in this mess. Posts come and go so quickly here!
Who knows, I too may have found Jesus, 'cause I'm hearing a voice in my head telling me to spread a new Gospel: Grow the fuck up.
Newsflash: Amazon customer Danusha Goska has written that "I wasn't crazy about this book as a whole." Ms. Goska might wish to consider adding that extra star to her review or perhaps begin hiring someone to start her car and taste her food.
UPDATE: Speaking of Bongo-bashing, this is priceless: The Edge, musing on U2's groundbreaking "ZooTV" tour, in which the band pulls down satellite broadcasts and rebroadcasts them on stage without permission in the name of Art -- in an interview conducted by two guys the band is suing for copyright infringement.
UPDATE 2 - UPDATE BOOGALOO: You want a bad review? YOU CAN'T HANDLE A BAD REVIEW!.
UPDATE 3 - UPDATE WITH A VENGEANCE: I won't be purchasing a copy of The God Factor (review copies gratefully accepted!), but if you're gonna read America's favorite pornographer's views on God, do yourself a favor and read this sobering look at the Hefner "legacy" as well.
1 Comments:
I hope you're leading a healthy life, so you can outlive Bono and write an obituary for him.
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