A paradox or so it seems – The Church of Fashion in Lincoln Heights is holding a Baracktober fest tonight (Tues) at 6 p.m., and part of the motivational entertainment will be a screening of one or more of the many performances of the Rev. Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping. Perhaps the world has spun so wildly beyond recognition in recent days that Fashion and Shopping have spun apart? Perhaps. I thought they were the same thing. Even when we’re not talking expensive materials. But it’s a new world. And we’re hoping Barack can be president in it.

If you’re uninitiated, the Reverend Billy is a performance artist who preaches that consumer culture is poison to the soul. That’s my kind of church, as long as I can keep buying the things I absolutely must have to live the way I do.

Robin Shulman described Rev. Billy in the Washington Post:

[The Rev. Billy] and his flock have exorcised cash registers and staged other "interventions" in retail stores. He has been arrested dozens of times. In 2003 he was banned from all Starbucks outlets in the world, and in 2005 he was banned from Disney properties. Now Morgan Spurlock, who directed the film "Super Size Me," has produced "What Would Jesus Buy?" a "docu-comedy" about Talen's gospel now in limited theaters.