A fun, new project launches today: BakinWhoopie.org

You can check that out, or show some love and keep yourself updated on Facebook.

Here’s the story:

Christmas 2009
I found a recipe in a magazine at my Nana’s house for something called a Red Velvet Whoopie Pie. It was two red-velvet cake-cookies, and a pile of cream cheese filling stuffed between them. I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese fillings, but I couldn’t resist baked goods called “whoopie pies,” so I copied down the recipe.

Most of 2010
I tried the recipe once, and it was a hit. A second time, and it was a favorite. Every gathering, every party, every event that we went to last year probably included a batch of Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. Everyone loved them, and they inadvertently became my “thing.”

Christmas 2010
My mother bought me a whoopie pie book. A little bit of history, a little bit of culture, and pages and pages of recipes. It turns out that a “real” whoopie pie is a marshmallow-based filling, sandwiched between two chocolate cake-cookies. However, enthusiasts have blown the possibilities wide open, and there are countless whoopie pie combinations in creation – and probably more still that are waiting to be created.

I was hooked.

I started baking. Furiously.

April 2011
People love whoopie pies. I don’t know how they’re just now beginning to find their way to the Midwestern states, but they’re about to knock cupcakes off the pastry throne. Dozens of people have done that overly-supportive friend-thing where they, with a mouthful of marshmallow filling, say something like, “You should start a business.”

But everyone always thinks they can start a business based on their passion or hobby. Everyone always imagines it will take off and they’ll be able to quit their day jobs inside a year. Everyone is always oblivious to thousands of like dreams that have crashed and burned.

Not me. I’ve seen dozens of great cafes close their doors, and dozens more entrepreneurial efforts dive.

But then the name Bakin’ Whoopie came to mind, and I thought it was pretty stinkin’ awesome. And then my neighbor applied to be my first employee, if I just pay her in whoopie pies. And then I thought, “Let’s just have fun with this while it lasts, and see where it goes.”

So that’s what we’re doing.

I dig whoopie pies. I dig the basic, delicious structure that lends to endless creativity. I dig the name. I dig that there’s a raging debate about where they started, and the yummy residue that the moist cookie-cakes leave on your fingers. So we’re Bakin’ Whoopie.

Join us.

Let’s talk about it.

Not argue. Not yell and scream. Not condemn or judge without reading. Not hate.

I’ve seen a lot about it. So have you. I’ve seen a couple good, theological responses, but not many. And even fewer that were really open for discussion.

I’ve been putting it off, waiting for it to just fade away, but then I saw the cover of Times. So it’s not going away. I’ve also been putting it off ’cause I didn’t want to play into the marketing hype that launched the book to the New York Times Best Seller list.

But we’re committed to theology here, at least for 2011, and it doesn’t get any more “relevant” than this. So I ordered a (used – I don’t know if that actually matters, but … ) copy from Amazon just now. I say we go through it together. Book Club 2.0.

Wanna play? Get yourself a copy (still a lot of used ones on Amazon) and we’ll set deadlines. Mine should arrive in a week or so. When it gets here, we’ll pick a “due date” for Chapter 1

Sooo … a couple weeks ago (months, maybe, I’m honestly not sure) I got an email from Technorati, which is weird ’cause I don’t really use Technorati.

They’ve started this new site called Blogcritics, and invited me to contribute.

Before you get all impressed, let me say that it’s really not a deal. They have thousands of people contributing, so it’s not a select list by any means.

From the About:

More than 100,000 daily visitors rely upon Blogcritics.org — the famously “sinister cabal” of more than 3100 writers — for the latest news, opinions, and reviews on music, books, film, TV, popular culture, technology, and politics. Blogcritics.org is an online magazine, filtered microcosm of the blogosphere, and a full service news and reviews source, covering all aspects of contemporary culture and society.

But for whatever reason I thought maybe I’d shoot for one piece a week and write to someone besides the choir. I love the choir, and I think the choir needs writing to, but – you know – different.

My author page is here, if you’re interested. You can even subscribe. Remember: Not writing to the choir.

Just thought I’d throw that out there. As you were.