First, from AP, we have the case of a furious woodpecker...
May 27, 2005, 1:03 PM EDT
SULLIVAN, N.Y. --
Car owners are covering their mirrors in an attempt to outsmart a territorial woodpecker who apparently believes his reflection is an enemy.
Tim Taylor, who owns Thruway Auto Glass, said he replaced 30 smashed mirrors last year and 18 this year, all from cars of people who live in this area east of Syracuse claimed by the bird as his territory."
People come in pretty mad. One guy's been in here three times already because he keeps forgetting to cover up the mirrors," Taylor said.
During breeding season, male woodpeckers aggressively defend their turf, even against imaginary foes, said bird-watcher Benjamin Burtt.
Anne Miller has had two mirrors on her Pontiac Grand Prix smashed and watched the bird attack her neighbor's Malibu."I told him to shoo. He did. Then he came right back and finished the job," the Madison County resident said. "Instead of flying off, he walked across the windshield and did the passenger mirror. I was flabbergasted."
Second, Fundies Other Infiltration:
May 28, 2005
latimes.com : Print Edition
For the Young, Hip and Christian, These Stores Rock.
Religious bookstores expand their offerings and become destinations for live music and good, clean hangin' out.
By Claudia Zequeira, Times Staff Writer
It's Saturday night in Norwalk and Vanessa Ruiz, a high school student, is rocking sideways to a catchy, bluesy melody played by a live band. She doesn't know the words but tries to sing along, forming a wide smile with each breath. An 18-year-old Paramount resident, Ruiz came with a friend to The Node Bookstore & Cafe in Norwalk to study and check out the music. And she did it, in part, for Jesus.
Ruiz, who attends an Assemblies of God church regularly, was one of nearly 100 teenagers and young adults gathered at the Firestone Boulevard shop, where customers say they find a cool and sacred way to spend their day. And their money.
The store, which opened in January, is the brainchild of Pastor Richard Salazar of the New Harvest Christian Fellowship and is considered the latest expression of a growing evangelical oriented retail market that is keying in on the young.
The Node carries an array of merchandise in its music, book, gift and apparel sections. It also has a cafe that serves nachos and pastries, several iMac computers ideal for doing homework and a row of iPod listening stations where teens can choose from about 2,500 Christian songs.
What can a young Christian find here? The latest CD by Jars of Clay, an alternative rock band; edgy T-shirts declaring "Satan, You're Fired!" and "Daddy's Girl" (in this case, the reference is to God); Bible covers (pink ones for girls and metallic ones for boys); and rubber bracelets with the words "Live for Him" emblazoned across, to name but a few items.
And hundreds of books, such as the hugely popular "Left Behind" series and the similarly successful VeggieTales, a collection of children's stories based on the cartoon characters.
Live music is another big draw. Because of The Node's close relationship with Christian radio station KFSH-FM (95.9), The Fish, the store regularly holds performances on Saturday evenings by up-and-coming acts the station seeks to promote.
A for-profit business owned by New Harvest, the store is a cross between a Barnes & Noble, a Virgin Megastore and a similar Christian shop Salazar visited while doing missionary work in Manchester, England. It is also the pastor's attempt "to bring a little West Hollywood to Norwalk."
For Salazar, it is a means of spreading the Gospel and responding to a market he knows well.
"The old style isn't working. If you look at statistics, the Christian bookstores are closing down, because, to be honest, you can go to Sam's Club and Wal-Mart and get a Christian book at a cheaper price. What we have to offer is the ambience and a good Christian environment," he said.
Salazar said that a significant percentage of his clients are non-practicing Christians or not Christian. The word "Christian" is absent from the store's marquee, he said, because of his desire to appeal to all kinds. "We wanted to be able to invite the person who just wanted to have a cup of coffee," he said. "This is a business."
Catherine Stellin, vice president of the Intelligence Group, a trend forecasting company with offices in Los Angeles, said the concept of a lifestyle store for Christians "is relatively new but has the potential to get much bigger. People are looking for ways for religion to become more incorporated into their lives."
In Riverside, the Harvest Christian Fellowship bookstore-cafe (no affiliation with Salazar's church) becomes similarly packed with teenagers and young adults, especially on Sunday evenings before and after services in the church next door.
Completed in 2003, the modern, glassy structure holds hundreds of Christian books and music titles. In its ample cafe, Starbucks is served. A video tower displays images of church services and performances by Christian bands.
Harvest Christian Fellowship Assistant Pastor Jeff Lasseigne said the store was designed to capture young people's attention.
"Some congregations feel that if they update, they compromise their message, but that's not true," he said. "If you don't change with the times, you're not going to reach that next generation you're trying to minister to."
Christian entrepreneur Aurelio Barreto opened the first of his five C28 retail stores in April 2001 in Riverside. The others are sprinkled across malls between Riverside and San Diego County. A sixth C28 (a reference to the New Testament's Colossians 2:8, which warns about the worldly vanities) is about to open in Palm Desert.
Besides selling trendy apparel, accessories and CDs, Barreto's shops offer Christian music shows.
Many of the T-shirts sold by Barreto under the Not of This World label, which he created and owns, feature the names of Christian hard core and rock bands. Other items include hooded sweatshirts announcing "Godly Chicks Rock."Christian products are a $4.2-billion-a-year business, up from $4 billion in 2000, according to a study conducted in 2002 by CBA International, a trade organization of Christian retailers. And music accounts for 15.2% of CBA members' sales.Many who visit these stores say they like to put their dollars where their faith is. Another reason, they say, is to experience a feeling of belonging often absent in the secular world.
While looking at gift items at The Node, Cassandra Gaitan, 20, said she felt "accepted" there.
"I feel the world is becoming more vulgar, so this is a nice atmosphere," she said. "The people who work here are friendly and they are sympathetic [that] Christians can be passionate about their religion."
Observers offer various reasons for the interest in Christian youth-oriented cafes and shops. Some point to an increase in evangelicals' numbers and a more religious society. Others point to savvy marketing.Watching from afar are those who believe such marketing is a double-edged sword.
Craig Detweiler, a theology professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena who has written a book about the relationship between pop culture and religion, said Christian retailers can be a wonderful addition to the community but should seek to strike an ethical balance between religion and commerce.
"Jesus had a marketplace theology," he said. "At the same time, there was a moment when he threw the moneylenders out of the temple. He had very little patience for selling salvation or for those who were cornering the market on spiritual matters."
On Saturday, as Ruiz and her 18-year-old friend, Charlene Abdullah, packed their books and prepared to go home, both teens said they felt good at The Node and would return."This is exciting," said Ruiz. "There's hardly any places in our society where you express how you feel about God…. I feel safe here."
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