Ring the bells that still can ring Forget the perfect offering There's a crack in everything That's how the light gets in -Leonard Cohen
This morning I was having a peaceful quiet time and I came across this little flower growing out of the cracks in the pavement. Many years ago Clint Kemp used this very idea of a flower growing through the cracks in concrete in a sermon about How God Works. At one point we were even trying to hire a photographer to stage a similar image so we could use it in our services. Well this morning as I saw the flower I felt God's presence in a powerful way. It was as if God was saying that even when everything looks broken and hard, new life and beauty can pour forth from the cracks.
When a movie is referred to as a 'franchise' then I usually lose interest but the latest comic book epic struggle between good and horribly scarred evil is worth a few hours on a Friday night. The usual computer generated effects are amped up to roller coaster level thrills as you speed through the NYC cityscape in high definition clarity. The plot is more of an inner struggle than any real bad guys. Toby Maguire did a very good impersonation of an evil conor oberst as the hyper aggressive side of the nerdy Peter Parker. At one point Peter parker becomes quite a chick magnet. even though he looked about three and a half feet tall. It was a bit too silly for my tastes but the audience sure loved it. They laughed as much as they did when Toby was crying from thinking he had lost his sweet Mary Jane. After the the first few thrilling action sequences everything began to feel familiar and predictable. On a positive note, this movie is proof that there is someone in hollywood geekier than bugged eyed Toby Maguire, Topher Grace!
I checked out the latest exhibition at John Cox's Popop gallery. Popop Studios is a sort-of home base for a group of Bahamian artists who are looking to push the definitions and appreciations furhter in our culture. I really love what these guys do and many of the Popop artists are among my favorite artists working in our country. You can check out more info and work at PopopStudios.com.
This newest show "Drawing the Line" did not disappoint. I really liked John Cox's new work, especially a large piece with the name of his new-born son "shelter" adorning the center. Michael Edwards also had some very interesting large scale dot matrix looking pieces that invited mor focused stares from those attending the show. Jason Bennet's emotionally dense pieces are always a highlight for me and this time the work seemed more engaging than the last show I attended. Heino Schmidt, who is always three intellectual steps ahead of my expectations, created four pieces (two photographs and two pencil drawings) that were interconnected in subject matter. Blue Curry created a series of little illustrations that really made me laugh. He recreated, in visual and textual forms, the various bits of spam that invades everyone's inbox (viagra, fake rolexs and penis enlargement pills!) You can count on Blue to always be very accesible and deeply conceptual at the same time and that is a huge strength! I was very impressed with the progression in Toby Lunn's work. He has been pushing the boundaries of his style for the last few years and I feel he has finaly hit upon a very natural and vibrant combination of his love for bold colors and his inner zen attitude. You can see more of Toby's work here. We are blessed that in such a relatively small country there is still a core of artists who are willing and able to keep pushing art forward!
Last night we stayed at the Mabula Game Lodge in the middle of the Bushvelt (African for bush field) We went on two safaris and saw so many cool animals - lions - giraffe - hippos - rhinos - monkeys - bucks and more! We took a few pictures but the videos really capture the mood! The smell and the COLD were overwhelming! We stayed in true bush style in a little tent. Well OK maybe a fancy five star tent but still a tent without any electricity at all.
The lodge was great and the people who ran it were very entertianing and knew a great deal about the animals.
At the end of our second game drive the ranger stopped the Range Rover and we got out on foot and creeped within 15 feet of a pair of a female Rhino and her baby. It was thrilling and scary at the same time. Even the Ranger said he had never walked up that close to a Rhino before. It was all perfectly safe since he had his rifle but when we stood up the mother Rhino gave us a very stern look. We made it out of the bush alive and are now in Pretoria (Hatfield). Tonight we meet up with Barry Taylor and play some music at the conference (that may be more scary than the bush!)
The new show on TLC The Monastery is an interesting show. It features five men bringing their modern-life struggles into the confines of a monastery to see what the monks have to offer. The show has an interesting collision of the traditional and the current. Last week's show featured a day trip to visist a hermit who had been living alone for the last 27 years. In his solitude, he spent most of his time in prayer and daily chores. One of the modern day men asked him what his prupose or goal in life was and he said "My purpose is to die!". I find this very odd given that Jesus said to His disciples that their business was life not death. The monk's life or solitude and seperation seems to align with many of the attractive qualities of Buddhism. This is only the beginning of the mixed signals that this show is sending out. The first few episodes that I watched were heavy on the personal discipline side and very light on the ideas about a loving God. It seemed like the monks were saying that the life of following Jesus was all about hard work and disicpline. I didn't hear much mention of a larger theology that made their efforts worthwhile. Soon some of the men dropped out because they either didn't like or couldn't hack the regime of religious life.
I find it interesting that the monks tend to use very mystical language to express their ideas about God. For instance, in last week's show, a man who was angry at the monks for not blessing his divorce was talking to an older monk. The monk said that their was no way to experience God except through the love of human beings. This is a thought that I have had as well but it was interesting to hear it coming from someone who has chosen to live a life that was very cutoff from people who don't believe the same things or experience God int eh same way that he does. As the conversation progressed the monk said that he felt that the TV show project was an instrument that God was using to wake the monks up to a deeper understanding of Himself.
I guess I can accept that God is even using the show to expose people to to alternate views of human life. I just wish I heard more about how Jesus had inspired the monks to choose their lifestyles.
Francis Scott Key, Mother Jones, Pancho Villa, Dom DeLuise, Michael Penn and Jerry Garcia are all born on Aug 1st but I am most proud to share my birthday with Chuck D of Public Enemy! It's also quite a Kosmic treat to have a total eclipse of the sun happen on your birthday. Although the eclipse is only visible in the northern most regions of the globe, you can see what it looked like with the help of modern satellite technologies. This eclipse is part of a series of eclipses called "The Midnight Eclipses" given that they happen during Midnight Sun. I feel this birthday is going to continue to be a great one given that someone(actually a group of people) just guessed my age at 27! I didn't have the heart to tell them that they can add 10 years!
Last weekend I performed (with a few friends) at a fundraising event. We were raising money for a talented actress friend of ours to pay for her university. We performed a song of mine entitled "Change the World". You can check out the video here. Thanks to Brian Lee for filming the event and also designing the groovy flyers!
As always with internet video, it works best to pause the video at first and after a moment or two it should play smoothly when you un-pause it.
The Bank Job sets itself apart from the usual caper film almost right out of the gate. Opting for gritty hands on thuggery instead of the typical high-tech gadgetry, the plot is more smash and grab than elaborate con. Jason Stratham plays his established type as a likable thug who isn't afraid of mixing it up with some heavies. The based-on-real-events plot is intriguing and keeps the story interesting enough to last until the end. I wish all caper films were this well done and had as interesting a back story but for every Bank Job we get three or four Ocean's Fifteens.
There are a few things that Bahamians can claim is truely their own and the musical style 'Rake and Scrape' is very close to the top of that list. With its stylistic roots spread across the neighboring tropical islands, the style of 'Rake and Scrape' just makes you feel Caribbean! On Friday night at NPCC we had a true 'out-island' experience with Ancient Man and Crab Man. You can see from the video that a great time was had by all and the event was planned and executed very well, thanks to the hardworking Events Team! There was even someone playing the saw which added to the unique cultural flavor. When you play the video, make sure to pause it for a few minutes after hitting play, so it can load up, then hit play again and enjoy!
