Fresh Loaf

Using the same logic that brought Poochie the Dog into the world, Ralph Reed — the man with more attempted resurrections than Jesus Christ Himself — vows to rejuvenate the now-moribund and heavily tarnished Christian Coalition, using a handy checklist of things that he’s been told are trendy:

“This is not going to be your daddy’s Christian Coalition. It has to be younger, hipper, less strident, more inclusive and it has to harness the 21st century that will enable us to win in the future. … It’s the political analog to the iPod and the iPhone. It would be cool. It would be transformative. It would transform our politics and bring younger people to our ranks. All of those are critical imperatives.”

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The people have spoken!

Local blogger Rusty Tanton — a Decatur resident who mounted a one-man write-in campaign to be elected Cobb County Tax Commissioner — received more votes on Nov. 4 than the Son of God.

This was quite the coup, if I may say. Tanton was able to trump such notable candidates as “Keith Richards,” “Obi Wan Kenobi,” “Zombie Reagan” and perennial officeseeker “The Hell With IRS :].” “No More Evil Nazis” and “Paris Hilton” polled favorably, but alas, their respective public foibles — silly moustaches and sex tapes, respectively — ruined their chances.

State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, received one vote. Really.

(Photo courtesy of GodGear)

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Billed as “a childhood memoir,” the complete title of Wilson’s novel is Holy Roller: Growing up in the Church of Knock Down, Drag Out; or, How I Quit Loving a Blue-Eyed Jesus. Phew. That’s almost as tricky to say/type as it is for a 9-year-old to sit still in church while the preacher hollers fire and brimstone.

Or so I gather from Wilson’s story. She was raised a Rapture-fearin’ Pentecostal, while I grew up in the Cult of Mary (aka Catholicism). Wilson’s 9- to 10-year-old self chatterboxes through her childhood narrative, sometimes meandering into stream-of-conscious monologues, but always capturing the guilt-inducing push and pull between curiosity and indoctrination.

But being an author is more of a side project for Wilson, a fourth-generation Texas fisher(wo)man and co-founder of Code Pink who’s made headlines as an environmental activist keen on hunger strikes and nonviolent disobedience (she’s been arrested around 29 times). She also inspired the award-winning documentary Texas Gold, which screens periodically on the Sundance channel.

Wilson appears tonight, Tues., Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta, 470 Candler Park Drive. 404-378-5570. www.acappellabooks.com. Georgia for Democracy, the Atlanta chapter of WAND and A Cappella Books are sponsoring the event.

(Photo courtesy Chelsea Green)

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The highlight of the new comedy Hamlet 2 also appears to be its biggest selling point: the climactic musical number “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.”Rather than keep the movie’s big finish underwraps, Focus Features is letting its savior hang out, as it were, by making it a central part of the film’s ads and trailers, especially on-line. Perhaps Focus Features is deliberately courting religious controversy as a marketing tool, but the emphasis is a little misleading. You might actually think Hamlet 2 is an irreligious musical about Jesus, when it’s actually a spoof of “inspirational teacher” films like Dangerous Minds.  (But didn’t Jon Lovitz already do that with High School High?)

Hamlet 2’s promotional campaign even features a sing-along music video that’s part the number, part clips of the film. It’s fun, but you might not want to spoil it if you’re planning to see the movie:

I give Hamlet 2 its props for “Rock Me Sexy Jesus’s” laughs, but the filmmakers seem a little too proud of themselves for it. It’s like they’re congratulating themselves for being so “edgy” that they’ve come up with mildly blasphemous musical shtick. But musical numbers featuring Jesus aren’t really that innovative, or even surprising. In contemporary theatrical satires and hipster cable TV shows, the “Jesus song” has almost become a cliche in its own right, and here are just a few:

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