August 22 2011

Supernal in-studio set debrief

The transcript opens mid-show after the band's in-studio performance; the hosts praise the acoustic set's peppy energy and joke about one participant missing the band's arrival after stopping to help someone on the side of the road. They note the band normally plays electric, admire that the band tours with an RV and trailer, and encourage listeners to support them as they head toward the Minnesota State Fair. The host says the band's upcoming album is coming out soon.

Next week's guest JJ and the planking craze

The hosts preview next week's guest, a local hip-hop artist called JJ who was photographed planking across the band Saved on Sunday, then riff at length on the planking craze — defining it, name-checking Justin Bieber and a goal-celebrating soccer player, and recounting a news story of a man arrested for planking on a police car. The talk ends with a joking plan for a planking contest.

Secular or Solomon game

The hosts play their recurring game: one reads a proverb and the others must say whether it is a secular proverb (with country of origin) or from Solomon's Proverbs. Rounds include Proverbs 10:23, 10:17, 10:26, and 10:18, with misses on secular entries from Brazil, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia. The game sparks a sidebar on reading Proverbs in the English Standard Version instead of on NIV autopilot, a group unpacking of what 'like vinegar to the teeth' means for a sluggard, and a tangent about a haunted pub, the Rams Head Inn, near Stonehenge.

Dear LFTP: Karen and the mother's ring

• Was the writer wrong to tell her friend Karen she has no right to wear a pawn-shop mother's ring because she is not a mother?

A Dear LFTP listener asks whether she was wrong to tell her friend Karen she has no right to wear a pawn-shop mother's ring because she is not a mother. The hosts unanimously side with Karen: a ring is an object whose meaning the wearer assigns, illustrated with analogies to wedding rings, a father's Air Force ring, and 'world's best dad' shirts. The 'Secular' persona's answer, signed Dear Ring of Truth, agrees with Karen and scolds the writer for dragging others into the dispute.

Dear LFTP: the $2,000 eyelid-surgery promise

• Does the writer owe Maria the $2,000 he promised toward her eyelid surgery after she ended the relationship?
• How long does a person's word last, and is a promise made in sin still binding?

A man who cohabited with Maria for two years asks whether he owes her the $2,000 he offered toward her eyelid surgery now that she has left him for someone else. The hosts debate keep-your-word theology at length: one retells the Gibeonites' treaty in Joshua 9, another cites Jephthah's vow, and they argue whether 'let your yes be yes' binds a promise made in sin. The Secular answer says the offer ended when she replaced him and suggests she arrange her own financing.

Dear LFTP: grandmother who puts grandpa down

• Should the granddaughter privately confront her grandmother about constantly putting her grandfather down?

A grandchild asks whether to privately confront a grandmother who constantly puts her grandfather of fifty-plus years down in front of the family. The hosts say no: long-married couples often bicker publicly as their normal mode, illustrated with a neighbor-couple anecdote about Wayne, Louise, and an Agent Orange versus Agent Green argument, and advise intervening only if grandpa signals he is hurt. The Secular answer concurs that the marriage's longevity suggests the dynamic works for them.

Wrap-up: recaps, previews, and sign-off

The host recaps Supernal's studio visit with directions to find them via the show's Facebook likes and Reverbnation. Next week brings rapper JJ ('Plank Man') plus a 'vices' discussion covering drinking and smoking — what is permissible versus what is beneficial. The hosts also preview singer Jess Anderson's pre-release CD 'Not What I Thought' and single 'Fireflies', give updates on Saved on Sunday and Syndrome of Fire, promote upcoming Spirit Midwest clips, and sign off.