Comments on: Lent/Lint

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:36:38 +0000

I know–the concept that there are only parts of a university campus for “free speech” is kind of laughable. I understand their reasons for doing so, but just calling it that…it’s funny.

By: Yana

Yana — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:43:53 +0000

It always seemed to me that the free speech lawn was counter-intuitive to the whole idea of free speech since it limited where you could speak freely.

Yes, service projects seem like a much better way of getting people involved!

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:32:03 +0000

Oh, Yana, don’t remind me about the campus “preachers”! Aaahh! I had conveniently blocked that out. While I was never involved in the religious orgs on campus, I think they were more apt to do service projects than scream at people from the “free speech lawn” (ha)…I don’t remember them being very in-your-face. UNCW had one of those “preachers” too–just got into a bunch of arguments with people for a few days each semester.

By: Yana

Yana — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:15:49 +0000

Um, there were campus religious organizations at UCF? I thought it was just that crazy lady who called us all fornicators and the old guy giving out new testament bibles. Sorry, no thanks, I’m already one of the chosen people. Or do my pierced ears disqualify me? Crap!

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:16:48 +0000

(Er, am a snob is probably a more accurate description.)

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:16:19 +0000

Sabrina–Marianne used to get her muddy bears at a convenience store in the student union at UCF. I wonder if that store is still there and if they still sell them? They were in a bin like jelly beans, and you paid by the pound. Those were the best.

I think Fat Tuesday sounds a little more up my alley. Though my mother-in-law, who was raised Catholic, always had fish on Fridays, and I think that’s a splendid idea. I mean, I don’t know about the spiritual significance, but it’s a proven fact that Americans don’t eat enough fish, so I’m all for any practice that encourages a once-a-week fish day! (You don’t like fish, though, do you? We need to find a fish you’ll like…or am I remembering that wrong?) Also, I find it hilarious that we’ve changed the meaning of lent so much with our “40 Day Challenge!” notions. Perhaps I’ll look into the real lent. (Also, the lint: AAAAAHHHHH! Well, now you know my weekend plans.)

Jesse: Yeah, during undergrad I felt slightly allergic to all on-campus religious organizations, but then felt mildly guilty for being such a snob. (Not saying that you’re a snob! But I was!)

By: Jesse

Jesse — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:27:07 +0000

…oh yeah, plus my Lutheran background, in which I grew up seeing it as “something you just did”–and it was never modeled as something personal and sincere for me… It was just one more thing on the church calendar that everybody was supposed to begrudgingly do (like being good, shaking hands, and singing hymns).

By: Jesse

Jesse — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:23:23 +0000

I always felt like a “reject outsider Christian” in college when everybody who was doing the lent thing would walk around campus with the ash cross painted on their foreheads, and I didn’t have one… I think those feelings are largely why I personally feel animosity toward the practice, because I think it’s supposed to be a personal “expressing devotion to Christ” thing, but all the on-campus organizations tried to use it as an outreach tool, and it just alienated the Christians who weren’t doing it… (me)

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:44:46 +0000

Chocolate-covered gummy bears sounds like a good study snack to me.

Also, I’ve always assumed that the observance of Lent originated with Catholicism, since Christianity was also initially organized by the Catholic Church. Lent always starts on Ash Wednesday, which is the day after Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)–a moral holiday (aka day to binge on a wide variety of vices). Traditionally, Catholics give up meat during Lent and fast except for one meal a day. Obviously, those ideals have become more lax over time. As I understand it, the guidelines of observation shifted so that only meat was given up, but fasting was not required. Also, historically some Irish Catholic clans were excused from fasting because of the famine they’d experienced. Eventually, I believe the contemporary version of strict observance is limited to excluding meat on Fridays, which is why clam (not considered a meat) chowder is often the soup-of-the-day in many restaurants on Fridays. The more popular adoption of taking on the challenge of giving up something you like seems equivalent to understanding that Christmas means Santa and presents.

And yes, THE LINT YOU SEE IN THE VENT IS A FIRE HAZARD. Cleaning the lint trap after every load is important but not adequate. You need to clean the vent annually. http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_dryer.asp

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:41:47 +0000

Marianne got me hooked on them in college–she always called them “muddy bears.” If you find good ones, the bears are still nice and soft. Delish! The ones I have now are a little too chewy, but chewy muddy bears are better than no muddy bears.