What a Twit

New York's Twitterati are stepping beyond their PDAs to meet up IRL. New York US Twestival 2009 will take place tomorrow at 7:30 at M:2 (530 West 28th Street). Get your tix fast, though: the first 400 were just $20 but now the tix are going up, up, up by Jacksons. They're $40 today and will be $60 tomorrow.

The proceeds go to a good cause though, charity:water.

There's also an open bar from 7:30 to 9. You know, so the socially inept have something to do with their hands other than type.

And in case you have nothing to say to all your social-networking friends F2F, there will be performances by Electric Method and DJ Get Live.

FOUND Magazine's Founder Curates Films about Love

We heart Davy Rothbart. His FOUND Magazine lets us peer into the secret lives of others to discover we're not alone in our tendency to write strange little love notes and to-do lists. Now, he's curated a film series that shows us we're not all that different from say sword swallowers or Captain Sulu when it comes to love.

Tonight is the opening reception for Davy Rothbart-curated film series called "Kick My Heart's Ass: Short Films About Love." The lovefest begins at 6 PM and is presented by Apexart (291 Church Street). The films will run through March 21.

Here's the low-down:

Featuring films by Akay, Kyle Alvarez, damali ayo, Rachel Dengiz, Shaina Feinberg, Chelsea Hodson, Marc Israel, Sarah Locke & Ghostshrimp, Brett Loudermilk, Chris K, David Meiklejohn, Carson Mell, Amber Morris, Kel O'Neill & Eline Jongsma, Scott Patterson, Jessica Sanders, Dan Tice, Nicky Verdoodt, AJ Wilhelm & Jason Orfanon, Lev Yilmaz, Jenny Owen Youngs

If the secrets to finding true love are often elusive, well, so are the secrets to making films about love. How do you inject humor into a film about heartbreak? How do you portray a happy romance without being too saccharine and oversentimental? Author and filmmaker Davy Rothbart, at work on a personal documentary called My Heart Is An Idiot, has asked a collection of talented and eclectic friends to explore these and other challenges by producing short, love-related films of their own.

Academy Award-nominated director Jessica Sanders profiles the relationship between actor George Takei (Star Trek's Captain Sulu) and his husband and lifelong partner by chatting with them in bed on a Sunday morning. Singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs interviews fellow musicians about the practice of injecting stories of their own romances into their songs. Brett Loudermilk, sideshow phenom, discusses love with a pair of death-defying sword swallowers, while legendary photographer AJ Wilhelm investigates the cures for a broken heart. Carson Mell and Lev Yilmaz contribute striking animations, punk rock wanderer Chris K bumps into the newly-in-love at an American Idol audition, and documentary filmmaker David Meiklejohn hits the road in search of tales of love from strangers. These and a dozen other short films will be featured in a peepshow gallery as part of the show Kick My Heart’s Ass.

For more information visit www.apexart.org/exhibitions/rothbart.htm

Women Invited to the Boys' Club for a Talk on Debt

"Ladies are welcome to join this special event," announced the email for the NYC Business & Professional Men's Ministry's event to be held tonight at 7 pm at Harvest Christian Fellowship (3rd Floor Fellowship Hall at 130 W. 56th St.). This so-called "special event" hinges on the topic of "A Biblical View of Debt." In other words, women, listen up: debt pertains to you.

Among the NYC Business & Professional Ministry's vision statements are:

God created every person for a very specific time and a distinct work.

The Business & Professional Ministry equips men to fulfill their God-given calling.

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There is certainly nothing wrong with a men's ministry or a women's ministry, as single-sex ministries allow for focus and honest discussion on topics that pertain mainly to their gender. However, the vision statement of the NYC Business & Professional Ministry seems to imply that men's God-given calling pertains to business, and women have a "distinct work" separate from anything professional.

If one believes that a woman's place is in the home and that a man should be the bread winner, then one must also take into account that a woman will have to spend a man's money, be it her father's when she is single or her husband's when she is married. If a man is truly in charge of the family finances, women will not have the opportunity get into debt because she will not have full, unlimited access to money.

However, many women -- both single and married -- are, in fact, engaged in the business and professional world. And some men, conversly, choose to be the stay-at-home parent. Should a business and professional ministry be geared only toward men, then?

And is there validity to the notion that women are bad with money, as seems to be implied by their invitation to a talk on debt?

Janet Bodnar, Deputy Editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, says:

Within a household, women are more likely than men to pay the bills (60%), balance the checkbook (67%), and maintain the family budget (54%). But only 25% of women -- versus 44% of men -- are responsible for buying and selling stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Matthew Kirdahy reports in the Los Angeles Times that "it’s not a question of better, just different."

Lily Fang, Assistant Professor of Finance at Instead, the Business School of the World, concludes, "Research evidence shows that as a partnership, women and men together make better [financial] decisions."

The Proverbial Insult

A fool shows his annoyance at once,
but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
~ Proverbs 12:16

Metro NY Synod Gets a Makeover

The Metro NY Synod got a bit of a facelift recently. Now they look just like the everyone else. The synod has taken on the emblem of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The decision to conform to the ELCA was made to create unity:

This change was not made lightly. Our move to a new look reflects the fact that the synod is not a stand-alone organization but part of a wider church. When the ELCA took on the new “God’s work, our hands” tagline, it encouraged all synods, schools, institutions, and agencies of the church to adopt the same brand mark. It is an effort to strengthen the bond we all share as ELCA Lutherans. Instead of having 65 synods each with a different logo and tagline, why not reflect that we are all part of the same church family? We take on this unifying graphic identity as a visual reminder to ourselves and to the outside world that we are one church.

You can read more about the signficance of the "God's work, our hands" tagline here.

Yes We Can Make the CCM Awards Aware of NYC

This year's presidential election was riveting. But now that it's over, are you feeling a bit bummed with the lack of things to vote for? Unsure of what to do with all the free time on your hands? Never fear, CCM's Reader Choice Awards are here! You can vote for your favorite musicians and make history. Now is the time for change! Sure we love Natalie Grant and Chris Tomlin, but isn't it time for someone new to win? Maybe a New Yorker? Vote here but duke it out in the comments section below so we know what the TriState thinks.

Silent Film Series Starts Tonight

New Sound Live’s Silent Film Series kicks off its free three-day event tonight at 7:00 at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden (220 Vesey Street). This evening’s olde timey picture-show event centers around three surrealist shorts: Entr’acte, Ballet Mecanique, and The Cameraman’s Revenge. Gary Lucas will provide the soundtrack to the silent films with his haunting guitar melodies. For more information, visit WNYC.

[scene from The Camera Man's Revenge]

A perfect night for all those hipsters with the vaudeville moustaches that ride the G train and NJ Transit bus 167 to Bergenfield.

The Proverbial Sinful Talker

An evil man is trapped by his sinful talk,
but a righteous man escapes trouble.
~ Proverbs 12:13

Three Treasures Retreat for Women

Harvest Christian Fellowship will be hosting a Women's Retreat the weekend of February 20-22. It offers a chance to escape from New York to the Tuscarora Inn at the foothills of the Poconos. There, guest speaker Gisela Yohannan will teach on "Three Treasures: Hope, Joy, and Peace," based on Romans 15:13. There will be a time of studying the Word, worship, and fellowship. Transporation will be provided if needed. See the website for more information.

The women's ministry of Harvest Christian Fellowship meets weekly on Thursday evenings at 6 PM on the third floor of their church, locatetd at 130 West 56th Street (between 6th and 7th Aves.).

7 Days of Sex? Not Quite

By now, the message of the pastor who urged his congregation to have sex has reached from Texas to New York. But what about if you're single? DustandPearls tackles the single's response to the pastor's sex sermon in an article just in time for Valentine's Day.

[Ed Young]

The Journey's Growth Groups Start Today

The Journey's Growth Groups begin today. There are a hundred groups ranging from worship arts, athletics, professional, college, to over 35 age range. You can sort by group type, location, and day of the week here. The groups run through April. Each group usually has about 15-18 people in it.

The Gospel Music Category of the Grammy Awards

Field 11 of the Grammy Awards is devoted to the category "gospel." The term is a bit of a misnomer today. It's about time the awards show thought about renaming the category.

The term "gospel music" implies to today's listeners music in the tradition of Southern gospel. However, the awards show lists all Christian music under this category, which is misleading since it includes not only traditional gospel music but also Christian rock and rap. Unfortunately, this devalues the rich musical and cultural heritage of gospel music.

It also undermines the complexity and diversity of Christian music. There are 7 categories in Field 4: Rock and 5 categories in Field 7: Rap. However, in field 11: Gospel, one category combines the two as "Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album."

It is no wonder that Christians sometimes have to come up with awards shows of their own, such as the Dove Awards.

[Image: The Blind Boys of Alabama won Best Traditional Gospel Album]

Nomination Season at Riverside Church

The Riverside Church is now accepting applications for nominations to its Church Council. There are 32 opportunities open for leadership.

To be eligible:

Persons nominated as candidates for Church Council must have been full members of the church for at least 2 years prior to the date on which they would begin serving. Persons nominated as candidates for any other elected office must have been full members of the church for at least 1 year prior to the date on which they would begin serving. All persons appointed to any office under these by-laws must be full members of the church.

Nominees for any elective office must have pledged their monetary support to the Church- and must have met those pledges- in each of the 2 years immediately prior to the date of their election or for such shorter period as the nominee has been a member of the Church. The Nominating Committee may grant exceptions from this requirement in cases of unforeseen financial hardship.

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More details and a talent survey are available on the church website.

The Proverbial Gossip Girl

A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.
~ Proverbs 10:13

(Gossip Girl)