Meaningless Ramblings
The first electric guitar amps did not work very well. They distorted awfully when turned up. I understand that the ever-so-popular Vox AC30 has a bit of a reputation for catching on fire. Technology has come a long way. Guitar amps potentially could work quite well now. However, somewhere along the line guitar players got it into their heads that an amp was supposed to sound distorted. Most guitar players will add extra distortion via a little box the guitar plugs into before it even gets to the amp. There is quite an industry for these little boxes if you care to look for it. These days, it is becoming increasingly popular to not use an amp at all, but just plug a guitar straight into a computer, then through the wonders of “acoustic modeling,” there are software programs that can digitally reproduce the sound of a vintage guitar amp, that did not work very well.
But we are not here to talk about guitar amps.
I was more than a little surprised last October to discover that my church actually sponsors a Halloween carnival. Halloween being, as it were, the “paganist” of pagan holidays. This year someone offered the explanation that over time Halloween has lost all of its meaning and therefore it is perfectly acceptable for Christians to celebrate it in anyway they choose.
I occasionally wonder at the first knucklehead who lopped down an evergreen and dragged it into his living room. I am told it was a Norwegian, although for what purpose I can not imagine. I should not be surprised if someone were to offer an explanation that was not remotely related to Christmas, but that this is merely another ritual that Christians have adopted as their own.
At this time of year, I can not help but think of modern pagans celebrating a Christmas which has lost all its original meaning, just as modern Christians celebrate Halloween. And when I look at my parents ornately decorated plastic Wal-Mart tree, I can not help but think of our old friends and their guitar amps.