Coffee-Talk

His thick-framed glasses, nose ring, gauged ears, Minnesota Northstars snap-back, peat-coat, scarf, skinny jeans and Converse All-Stars don’t surprise me at all. What surprises me is his voice. I’d seen pictures of him – I knew what to expect in that arena – but I didn’t expect his voice to be so deep, soothing, and, well, learned. I imagine all the things he would teach me, if only I was his student. Would I be so wise, I wonder?
I get over myself and tap him on the shoulder. “Hi, Chris? My name’s Trevor Kelly. I’m a huge fan,” I tell him.
He doesn’t look up immediately. His fingers are tapping furiously. It looks like he’s on Twitter. He’s seriously always on! How does he do it? If I could tweet half as fast as him, I’d go pro. When he finally realizes I was trying to introduce myself, holding my hand out for him to shake for what feels like an eternity, he apologizes fervently and asks me if I’d like to sit with him while we enjoy our coffee.
I don’t know what came over me, but I went absolutely and embarrassingly fan-boy on the guy, from his writings for the Huffington Post to his upcoming book, “(F)a(i)theist,” and how much I appreciated his article for Huffington Post Gay Voices entitled “Growing Up Queer.” My uncle is a Born-Again Christian, and I’ve always had difficulty understanding what made him turn away from Catholicism, I tell him, as if he cares. The thing is… I’m pretty sure he does.
He laughs, thanking me for taking the time to read what he said. I can feel his eyes on me as I mutter apologies under my breath. I’ve probably scared the poor guy away, I think, and I start to scold myself for it. He puts his hands on my shoulders, though, and I look into his eyes for what feels like the first time. The gentleness and compassion beyond his thick, hipster lenses tell me all I need to know.
Immediately, I understood it all. I understood that I haven’t been nearly a good enough Christian, and I’m not ashamed to have learned it from an atheist activist, even if in a Starbucks. The scene likely couldn’t have been more cliché, nor should it have been. I felt like he and I talked for hours, though it was in truth only one or two. He taught me that all of us, as human beings, owed it to each other to stand together in communion and community.
And you know what? I agreed.

Chris Stedman: Interfaith Avenger

My man Chris has been keeping busy this past week, as Harvard's 2012 Interfaith Awareness Week off to a running start. Packed with speakers, panels and everything in-between, the event sounds like a rousing good time. I eagerly await a write-up either from Chris or one of the NPS panelists.

Also, check out these awesome Avengers-inspired LEGO toys. This could be the greatest thing of all time, ever, and when I say "could be," I mean "is definitely."

Five People I Saw Today.

1. A boy studying. I feel like I haven't seen somebody reading from a book in a long time that's not me. I'd be willing to bet he's either a biology major or pre-med - he looks pretty serious about whatever he's reading.

2. A girl eating chips. Not brand name - something health conscious, probably rice or soy based. They look good enough. I'd probably eat them, but that isn't saying much.

3. A girl on her laptop. It's an HP - not school bought, but not terribly expensive. She's been speaking loudly enough that everybody around her knows what she's reading about. I wonder if they're laughing because she's funny or because they want her to shut up.

4. Another girl on a laptop. It's a Mac - more toy than computer. Custom blue case, kind of a silly color. She's been laughing at 3. for as long as she's been speaking, which is nothing to laugh at. She's a trooper.

5. A boy on his phone. Nobody's sitting with him, and nobody's really talking to him. I almost want to sit with him, but Lord knows I won't. He could smell! Besides, he's been texting furiously for a few minutes, and I wouldn't want to interrupt.

Chris Stedman: NonProphet Status

As the name of his blog suggests, Huffington Post panelist, author and blogger Chris Stedman is not, by any means, a prophet, nor does he subscribe to any.

Stedman is a proud atheist and humanist with a focus on interfaith and inter-religious dialogue, contributing to the "Religion" and "Gay Voices" portions of the Huffington Post web-newspaper.

Through his own blog, NonProphet Status, he and several like-minded young men and women form a panel of atheistic interfaith advocates - no small feat, as it turns out.

His contributions to HuffPost, especially, are noteworthy, including (but not limited to) this piece on "atheist activism" problems and this piece on growing up queer and "born-again".

For more on Chris, check out his Huffington Post bio.

Super-Superbowl

While watching the Giants face off against the Patriots yesterday was high priority - after all, how much of a man could I be without enjoying senseless violence and copious amounts of alcohol? - I, admittedly, had one higher priority:

The Avengers Superbowl spot.

When my best friend stepped in front of the projector, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to strike him down, but I saw a vast majority of it and nearly cried (whether or not the beer had anything to do with it is still to be determined).

With only a few short months before the film's release, I can't help but feel more and more excited every time I so much as think about it. With that being said, I feel like I know less and less about the plot of the film every time I see something about it (Were there Skrulls? Hard to tell).

"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk."
Yes, yes you do. And I can't wait to see the whole gang in May!