'These are men who take their roles as tastemakers seriously.'

Vodka before lunch and endless fish tacos. Ooh, my head.

Sufjan O'Connor?

Sufjan Stevens is not just the prime mover behind what may be this year's best album, he's also an inspiration.

As an artist of faith (as opposed to a "Christian artist") he's a model for integrating faith with his work in such a way that it is still palatable to the mainstream, rather than an ingrown, cultish echo chamber. As a believer working for a growing, mainstream music and arts publication, his example is instructive, even if I likely fall far short of living up to it.

Answer me this - how many true believers have been profiled respectfully in the Village Voice? And how many have been compared to Flannery O'Connor, rather than Falwell or Robertson?

Belle

Here's a little visual aid to accompany my previous post.

Behold, "Belle."

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, junior version

The other night the Moppet's babysitter showed up wearing a T-shirt that said: "Best Actress in a Continuing Drama." We loved it and asked if it came in a 3T. Why? This sketch of our routine whilst watching Beauty and the Beast (once a day lately) should provide a pretty strong clue...

1. I announce I'm going to put the movie in. The Moppet immediately starts crying "Pretty dress! Pretty dress!" So I have put on the right pretty dress (prop #1), preferably a blue one, so she resembles Belle.

2. As the movie launches into its opening song, The Moppet searches the room for a certain blue, hardcover book (prop #2) from my library. (It resembles the one Belle holds throughout the number.) Then she twirls about the room holding the book.

3. When Gaston snatches the book away from Belle, The Moppet insists that I follow suit, then I must throw the book in the "mud." At this point she starts repeating lines of dialogue: "I'd like my book back, please." Then she asks for a towel so she can "clean" the "mud" off the book.

4. The next few minutes continue in similar fashion, mimicking the action on the screen, repeating the occasional line, and singing along with the songs.

5. Then during the big dancing scene, it is absolutely mandatory that daddy be available to dance in spindizzy circles with The Moppet.

6. As Belle races off to rescue her father, holding the magic mirror, The Moppet grabs a plastic, bubble-blowing apparatus which is shaped like a hand mirror (prop #3). Then, as Gaston wrestles the mirror away and tucks it in her belt, I have to tuck the bubble-blower in my belt.

A two-and-a-half-year-old drama queen? You be the judge.