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post catagory: features posted on:2009.11.01 14:01

I have said many times, about the Bible, that the more you read and study it the more questions it raises and that those that are the most steadfast and certain in their positions are typically the one's who haven't done much digging. The more I 'dig in' to the text of scripture, or the whole amazing, reckless and cosmic story line, the more I find myself in a labyrinth of interpretations and potential ambiguities. The Evolution of God is a book for those who are interested in the 'digging'. Wright digs deep but not where you might expect.

I assumed, unwisely, by the title and the fantastic color choices of the cover that I was going to be reading a very different kind of book. It looked very clinical and self important at the same time. Instead of exploding our minds with succinct presentations of scientific data that show that the idea of God 'evolved' in the human mind, Wright digs into the Old Testament. I mean really deep into the Old Testament. Pointing out the similarities of the Polynesian Hunter Gatherer societies with the hunter gatherers of OT Canaanites. He raises some provoking questions about the possibility of the monotheism of the world three largest religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) evolved out of the Pantheon of Canaanites gods. The Yahweh that we now understand seems according to the comparative textual evidence as a fusion of both the god EL (the god of gods) and the God of War: Yahweh. although this is shocking partly because of how it resolves the scattered dual nature of the OT God who has so many names (even in the Hebrew texts themselves) seems to be so violent and waring in the OT and more loving and merciful in the NT through the incarnation of Jesus.

He says a great deal of things that will make your head spin as he pulls you into a winding web of translation, editing and interpretive license that all come along with a modern rational reading of scripture. I love the fact that he is so deeply engaged with the text and is actively wrestling with how exterior forces such as economics, international stability and others have a major impact on the way God is viewed. When it served the consolidation of power to unite behind 'the One True God", Yahweh was left standing in the wake of Israel's great reformer king Josiah. After his men got ahold of the scriptural texts (which where not canonized, yet, beyond the first five books of the OT) the OT takes a decidedly monotheistic turn towards the God of War - Yahweh, who can beat his rival Baal at his own game by raining fire or just simply raining. He shows convincingly during passages from Elijah's life (like the one I just notes where Yahweh and Baal have a steel-cage-to-the-shame battle) that a turning point of political and evolutionary forces swiftly consolidated the nation of Israel out of the Canaanite peoples of Northern Judea (or the Promised Land).

I don't agree with everything he says but he has really forced me to take a larger view of all things related to the scriptures. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in 'digging' but be willing to sort through a few heavy coughing nights before you find the diamonds.

post catagory: books posted on:2009.10.14 13:06

I recently had the chance to view the new works on display at the Central Bank of the Bahamas gallery by John Cox and Heino Schimd. The security (and policeman) would not allow me to take any pics so sorry you will have to go see for yourself. Heino's work offers shadowy human forms that are upright but appear suspended in a state of visual tension by the style of the painting or drawing. The figures invite reflection and show a fine grasp of the mechanics of human anatomy. The figures are extremely minimal but seem to give off an emotional quality or depth by their positioning and posture. They seem sad or trapped, I couldn't decide for sure. I might be way of the mark here because they also have a sense of motion that captures the frenzy of modern life. each of Heino's series are striking and startling in their simplicity.

John Cox's new work appears to be a movement within his I against I series, incorporating both the single worded themes (this time rendered in a more integrated and personal way into each piece) and the use of boxing figures. The works explode the series into new color palates while also incorporating new elements of pattern and symbolism. Most of the works seem closer to John's roots and incorporate a broader range of his styles than anything I've previously seen. There seem to be hints both to his artistic influences like Rauschenberg as well as an engagement with cultural mores (see Jesus as an example) It seems that although these large canvases (each with it's own a small red square asymmetrically attached to the side) The canvases convey a sense of dreamlike vision. Perhaps we are staring into visual maps of the mental states of Heino's suspended figures, we are peering into the suspended unconscious that hides behind the physical. Together Heino capturing the shadowy outside of the physical world that we see and John presenting us with the interior meaning maps that prop up this shadowy world is a very heady and full visual presentation of the : Physical.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2009.09.21 13:20

First of all I have to admit a distaste for Matt Damon, so seeing him as an out of shape man 10 years older than Matt is, wasn't a thrilling visual. The Informant tells the true tale of a very wacky bi-polar corporate executive who stole somewhere between 9 and 11.5 millions dollars from his corporate fat cat bosses. The story is interesting but unravels by placing Damon at the center even when his behavior is outrageous it is polite and without any real clear motive. I was amused to see Joel McHale from The Soup as an FBI agent (wonder if he will one day be nominated for an academy award like former Soup host Gregg Kinear?) It won't be for this wooden and almost invisible role. Scott Bacula fails to make the quantum leap he would have needed to resurrect his career as his acting is staid and pedestrian. If it wasn't for the lunacy of the story I would probably have walked out...

post catagory: movies posted on:2009.09.19 17:14

,br> This book is a very interesting look at the reformation and the many offshoots that it has created. The main "Dangerous" idea is that the nature of Protestantism leads to a undoing of power and and doctrine. McGrath closely traces the beginnings of the reformation in the writings of Eramus to Luther, Calvin and the whole lot. He shows, in pretty convincing detailed, how the protestant tendency to define itself in opposition to other groups and sets of beliefs, has led to a fragmentation and the erosion of any structure to serve as a higher an overarching authority.

He walks slowly though the establishment of the Church of England, onward to the present day spread of Pentecostalism throughout the world. His prose is very readable and his historical commentary knits together a wide ranging network of divisions and interconnections between the Protestant church. Although the feel of the book was less dangerous than the cover implied, it still was a worthy scholarly study of how we have arrived at where we are now. Read it...

post catagory: books posted on:2009.09.17 15:56

I have been waiting for Quentin Tarantino to make this sort of movie for many years since I first sat with a huge grin in awe while the credits rolled on Pulp Friction while the Jungle Boogie funk blasted through the theater. the memory becomes even more vivid as the plot of IB revolves around a theater and the world of cinema. (At least Quentin's fantasies about the world of Nazi cinema during the later end of WWII) The things that raised this film above the Kill BIll bar was that, although he used all of his typical elements - mexican stand-offs, bare women's feet, skillfully crafted violent and gory sequences, great casting and even better dialogue. Instead of tipping over, this film balances all of these into an entertaining, however revisionist, tale of war, espionage and cinema. Below the surface of the story of a young jewish girl, Shosanna, who escapes the Nazi 'Jew Hunters' in France to find herself, inexplicably the owner of a beautiful film theater in downtown Paris. There are film star spies and a few subtle but effective cameo's that bring both humor (Michael Myers hidden behind pounds of makeup) and Tarantino self reference (Harvey Kietel's voice for a few key moments over the phone without ever seeing his face)

I have to end by saying two things about the acting, which is strong all around, but particularly the way Brad Pitt holds the center as a loose canon who you can't help but want to take the ride with even through you know it will be a crazy and death defying ride. Christoph Waltz deserves a Best Supporting Oscar for his portrayal of Hans Lander for playing the role with such vigor and gusto. He literally seduces you into liking him regardless of what you see him doing onscreen.

On one level the film seems to be grasping at a statement about the lust for violence in movies, while at the same time, delivering a film that's full of it. Maybe he's being ironic or maybe he is just rubbing our faces in it or maybe he just knows what we like... I am going with the third option! Go See It Now!

post catagory: movies posted on:2009.08.26 18:59

I have been pre-occupied over the last several months due to the fact that mrs seeward and I are having our first child: a little girl! We couldn't be more excited as you can tell by our reactions in the above short video. I think I am starting to wrap my head around it and ready to begin regular posting shortly. Until then ENJOY Brayden Skye McCabe.

post catagory: general posted on:2009.08.22 15:13

Seeward on TV

Earlier this week I was on Dr David Allen's talk show discussing the Hermitage in Cat island and the life of Father Jerome. I edited out the commercials so its not too long but I hope its informative and inspires more people to go to Cat Island and see the Hermitage.

post catagory: features posted on:2009.07.18 07:45

Wilco (the Album)

With the recent passing of Wilco's ex-axeman/ambient noise generator Jay Bennet it is hard not to listen to the new Wilco album and think of what kinds of contributions and collaborations he might have produced. Their is a decidedly less country influence than on previous Wilco offerings but that could just be Jeff Tweedy expanding as a songwriter. they even have a song called Country Disappeared but although it is a lilting ballad, has little to do with Country music and eventually becomes a call for Social Justice.

The biggest change I see in the band is the new guitar player/noise creator is much more progressive and less blues based than Bennet. Therefore the album marks a different sonic direction for the band. Light rockers like Wilco (the song), and You Never Know both set a very nice groovy vibe.

There are songs that sound a bit forced into the "standard" Wilco sound such as Sonny Feeling. It sounds like a retread of some of their better songs that tries to take it further but fails. On the whole the album is a successful experimentation with the Alt-country sound that has come to mark Wilco for the last few albums. Some great lyrical moments pepper the tracks as well and taking a close look at the lyrics will prove rewarding.

Everything alive must die

Every building built to the sky will fall

Don't try to tell me my

Everlasting love is a lie

- Everlasting Everything - track 11

post catagory: music posted on:2009.07.11 12:34

Eating Pie

post catagory: features posted on:2009.07.10 17:29

Gorilla Gardening

post catagory: society posted on:2009.07.05 17:07

Sometimes You Have to Breathe In

I have been running this tiny blog in this comfortable little corner of the internet since December 14th 2001. I have randomly commented on and been responded to on a variety of topics and themes that have held my interest at the given moment. As of late I have given more time to the video side of my interests. That being said, I intend to redesign seeward.com in a video blog format in the coming months. I am not sure how much I will post in the meantime but don't expect too much. When I relaunch with a new design and format the posts will resume at the typical irregular but continual pace and I still plan to post on the usual topics and themes of culture, music, books, spirituality and all things inbetween but until then :

It's Time to Breathe In...

post catagory: personal posted on:2009.04.29 18:48

A Global YouTube Symphony

Tonight at Carnegie Hall the first live performance of the YouTube Orchestra will take place. The above video is a mash up of the submissions (taken through YouTube from almost every country in the internet world.) Pretty cool use of technology if you ask me! Check out more about the project here.

post catagory: society posted on:2009.04.15 15:09

Alex Grey : The Comic Christ

I am speechless at this man's depth of creative vision and his amazing levels of technical and spiritual detail. It seems as if his eyes or his 'way of reading reality' are what sets Grey's work apart from lots of other 'trippy' painters., His work evokes a harmony and balance among all things that also integrates huge tensions and paradoxes. This little video is his talking about my favorite of his pieces, The Cosmic Christ.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2009.04.13 12:44

Nicole's Photographs

post catagory: features posted on:2009.04.10 19:20

Cole and Isabella's Dedication

post catagory: features posted on:2009.04.07 09:01

Crux @ the Ladder Gallery

post catagory: artshows posted on:2009.03.27 17:48

CAC Conference : New Mexico

post catagory: features posted on:2009.03.25 10:02

New Mexico

In this photo (taken at Solarize 2006) Richard Rohr is blowing my mind (not a difficult task!) I am sooo excited to be going to New Mexico later this week to the Emerging Church Conference and see old friends, make new ones and generally just disconnect from ministry life in Nassau for a few days. Still quite a few things to finish before I leave but I am looking forward to it! Check out a video I made of Richard during Solarize Here.

post catagory: personal posted on:2009.03.17 08:35

Ryan and Mandy Sitting in a Tree...

Regular visitors to the site will be familiar with my love for Ryan Adams, the rogue genius songwriter extraordinaire. Everyone else in the world will be familiar with Mandy Moore, whom he married yesterday. What an odd couple. She likes to do films for Disney and he likes to drink so many shots that he falls off of stages face first. I find the potential musical connection very amusing and wonder if we will be hearing Mandy's pitch corrected vocals backing Ryan on his next album or Ryan writing songs for Mandy's next teen girl mega-product? He has already proven he can have success with writing for female singers (see the Corrs and Bono singing Ryan's wonderfully written When the Stars Go Blue: check it out here

post catagory: general posted on:2009.03.12 13:09

Jason Mraz : We Sing, We Dance...

A few weeks ago I caught Jason Mraz on Saturday Night Live and was blown away. He did a nice reggae (with a full horn section) rendition of I'm Yours and a flawless performance of Lucky with Colbie Cailat (which just might be my favorite song at the moment)



The whole album is a diverse and yet simple collection of songs that all have great melodies and the playfulness of his voice never gets boring. I have been a big fan since his first few songs and although he is not as raw and risky as on past favorites as The Remedy and their are not pointed jabs at the Spice Girls but the album is still a brilliantly produced collection of feel good pop gems.

post catagory: music posted on:2009.03.10 14:53

William Alexander Taylor

One of Mrs Seeward's old friends in Jo-burg is an amazing digital artist. He is responsible for the new vector-ized little Seeward you see typing away at this post in the upper left hand corner of the page. He has some amazing stuff on his Facebook profile but I can't find a personal site for his art. Here is a link to a company site that has a small portfolio section : One Plus One. When I get the link to a personal site then I will post it in the comments sections but this is it for now.



I want to thank Will for the fantastic opportunity to see what I would look like as a cartoon. Thanks!

post catagory: general posted on:2009.03.09 10:14

Watchmen

In a parallel universe where 1940's style, retro-future technology and shadowy politics collide, Watchmen unfolds an unorthodox tale that weighs down the action and obscures the character so much that we hardly care whether they live or retire. it was clear from the smaller details that they used lots of digital technologies to achieve the retro look, but that never really translated into any real action. The strange and sometimes though provoking characters, created by Alan Moore are recreated faithfully and do lots of interacting but not much happens. Since the movie takes place in the USA there was ripe soil for political commentary. This takes the form of a virulent anti-war vibe that pervades the whole film.
The film ultimately seems to fail on the standards already set by V for Vendetta on of Moores' less faithful adaptations. There just doesn't seem to be much going on beyond the glossy 1940's stylistic aesthetics.

post catagory: movies posted on:2009.03.08 18:40

U2 : No Line on the Horizon

After a few seconds of twitter and crash of the opening track and title track, very much in expected U2 territory, as Bono's voice enters, it becomes clear: U2,as a band, have outgrown Bono as a vocalist. (see "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" or further evidence") I don't mean to say he sounds bad, it's just that his voice isn't able to be variable and fluid as the arrangements have become. It would have been better for him to use the spoken and drool Leonard Cohen/Lou Reed style of the verse of "Cedars of Lebanon" rather than the screaming and cracked style he emplys elsewhere. He still has it the lyric writing area, with gems such as :

"It's not if I believe in love
If love believes in me"

From my, so far favorite track, Moment of Surrender. Get on Your Books have a nonsensical lyrical style that mirrors Beck but attempts to approach to approach Bob Dylan but falls short. Breathe is the only other track that has really grabbed my attention so far. While a little earnest, tis is what we have come to expect from U2. I am thankful they haven't taken the Rolling Stones route of sticking with a tried and true branded sounded and risked themselves on this album, again, with new and unusual sounds that continue to showcase the strengths of Edge's musical arrangements, and guitar playing (there are actual guitar solos on quite a few tunes) and Larry Mullen's exceptional ability to add rhythmic complexity to often simple grooves.

I feel the need to add to this review that for many years of my childhood I slept under two six foot plus posters with these guys faces staring back at me from the Rattle and Hum and Unforgettable FIre days. I haven't really liked much of their more recent music but I felt it was time to check in with the lads from the green country and see what aging rock stars do with their spare time. Ultimately it seems there are enough ingredients to make this a huge album, some of it sounds like old school U2 from way back to New Year's Day and I WIll Follow. I predict we will see their faces all over the telly again as the album climbs up the charts.

post catagory: music posted on:2009.03.04 07:52

He's Just Not That into You

Earlier in the week we caught the ensemble cast driven tale of love and not-love called He's Just Not That into You. I found it to be very funny and, although at times predictable, an entertaining movie. For me, that is saying something given that Jennifer Anniston is in the film and I think she plays dead better than acts alive. The characters lives connect loosely and share similar desires for love and deeper happiness but none of it scratches beneath the surface of this Robert Altman type cast drama. I loved some of the people involved like Entourage's Kevin Connolly was funny as a niche market real estate agent but much of the rest of the cast was uneven. Jennifer Conolley was difficult to watch as the wife of man tryinf to hide a secret addiction (or several) The Mac guy is in it as well and some others but it Scarlett Johansson stole the screen as the flighty and clearly dysfunctional Yoga instructor/ evil temptress. I found the writing to be very funny so overall I would recommend this movie for a light evening of entertainment but don't expect too much depth for your dollar.

post catagory: movies posted on:2009.03.02 15:02

Grand Cayman

post catagory: features posted on:2009.02.25 17:03

Wikipedia Diving

I invented a new game for all the information junkies out there: Wikipedia Diving. Here is how you play:

You select a random topic that you are interested in, such as "Sky Diving" then you type that into the wikipedia search engine. YOu MUST read the entire article, no matter how long it is. When you get to the bottom of the article you got back up and click on one of the internal Wikipedia links that will take you to a new topic and repeat the process. You must read the Whole article and then select the next internal link. WHen you are ready to end the game you click an eternal link at the bottom of most articles and then either read or bookmark that external link. You could set a time limit on your diving (30 min to an Hour) or set an end goal topic such as "I am going to play until I reach something that relates to 'Auto Racing'."

Not all the info you encounter will be correct but it will be an interesting ride into areas that you may never had thought were out there and you might find some interests that you didn't realize you had. I was gong to call the game "Info-Porn" but I thought Wikipedia Diving is more accessible.

post catagory: general posted on:2009.02.11 08:00

Eat this Book : Eugene Peterson

I have decided that I do not like audiobooks for non-fiction titles. I listened to Eat This Book in 6 hrs on my iPhone but I will have to spend almost that amount of time trying to find the info that I need to use when I need it for a class I am going to teach or message I am going to give. Maybe there is a way to set bookmarks on the iPhone but I couldn't figure it out. That being said:
Eugene Peterson (the translator of The Message) writes with passion about seeing the Bible lived out in peoples lives. Along with painting some fantastic images of our relationship to the Bible, he also gives a firsthand account of how The Message was born in the basement of a little church bible study of Galatians. I am going to have to order the paperback of this book because I was very enlightened by so much of it that I need to pull out my highlighter and page-markers before it gets filed away.
One other note, the book is written for the average person but is so full of scholarly references that you really get the sense of Peterson's depth of reading and knowledge and all of that speaks to his competency as a translator. I have used the Message, almost, exclusively in our Sunday gathering for the last three years and so many people have commented that they are understanding the scriptures for the first time in their lives, which is what he set out to do. This book only made me trust his translation even more and I will most likely never pick up a KJV again!

post catagory: books posted on:2009.02.03 11:46

Scripture as Spirituality

I have been a devout reader of RIchard Rohr since I first picked up a copy of 'Jesus' Plan for a New World.' The title intrigued me and the content re-shaped my whole understanding of faith, conversion and the deeper dimensions of the spiritual life. You can find some short thoughts I had on it here.
This particular book: Things Hidden : Scripture as Spirituality, proved to have all the hallmarks of Rohr's style and insight. It seems that, while I find myself on the Protestant side of the great divide, most of my favorite theologians are catholic (and monastics as well) I am not sure if that means that I am becoming more catholic in my theology or if we are experiencing a re-formation or re-uniting of the two main halves of Christendom. (No offense to Eastern Orthodoxy but they are less engaged it seems, at this point, in relating outside of their paradigm) For now I think it is the latter rather than the former because most of the writers that grab my attention are not too popular in mainline catholic circles (Anthony DeMello, Gianni Vatimo, Leonardo Boff, John Caputo...) Sometimes I am surprised at how much some of them get away with in the order of criticism from within about the catholic church. Maybe the public image of Pope Ratzinger is not as heavy handed as one might believe? That being said, let me mention what I loved about this book on spiritual reading of the scriptures.
One of the things I like about Rohr is that he putting new language to the faith and along the way revealing some fresh insights into concepts that have become wooden and stale over the centuries since they were originally conceived. Here is a great example:

"Paul frequently uses the expression 'in Christ.' We are saved by standing consciously inside the force field that is Christ - not by getting it right in our private selves... We can't always be correct, but we can be connected. All we can do is fall into the eternal mercy."

His ability to re-voice old concepts (and introduce a few new one's as well) has helped me connect with my own understanding and practice of faith in ways that have stimulated and inspired my journey.
I also like that he weaves a deep knowledge of the way people are now talking about life and themselves into his writings. This makes him very current and his writing stand alongside some of the more popular contemporary 'gurus' while still maintaining a clear connection to the Christian tradition.

"What the Biblical revelation is achieving is basically a very different consciousness, a recreated self, an 'identity transplant' - like a kidney or heart transplant. The text is inviting us slowly, little by little, into a very different sense of who we are."

He also says some helpful things about some core Christian doctrine in new ways that don't violate 'orthodoxy', if you believe in that sort of thing, but shift our perspective in ways that allow us to see these ideas and concepts that were once hidden come to new life:

On Biblical Inspiration:
"Read inspiration primarily meaning that God is slowly evolving the reader's consciousness, so that it can receive an ever-clearer understanding of itself as the beloved of God"
This I love because it helps me understand that inspiration doesn't just mean 'when the Bible was written' but also means 'when it is read and interpreted.'

On The Fall of Man
"The English mystic Julian of Norwich said, 'First the fall, and then the recovery from the fall, and both are the mercy of God.' It is in the falling down that we learn almost everything that matters spiritually. As many of the parables seem to say, you have to lose it (or know that you don't have it) before you can find it and celebrate fittingly (see all of Luke 15)"

There are many other quotes that really grabbed my attention in a way that affirmed thoughts or wonderings that I had already begun to consider and plenty that stretched me into new understandings and ways of making sense of this mystery called faith. If you like Rohr or if you like reading books about the spiritual life voiced in new ways then I suggest you pick up a copy of this book. You will find much to chew on and digest and hopefully little that gives you spiritual indigestion.

post catagory: books posted on:2009.01.24 08:27

Son Lux : Walls and Mazes

I have fallen in love with a great new artist (courtesy of my musical connoisseur mate Barry!) Son Lux's one man electronic composition : At War with Walls and Mazes, is the first work of post-modern worship I have ever experienced. I say post-modern because the album seems to hold together so many diverse and even opposing genres, sounds and grooves. One moment a song is lilting along with a soft synth sound accompanying his dry and fragile vocal phrasing and within a few seconds it is crashing and surrounded by a swirl of break beats and church choirs drenched in gallons of delay. Some of the songs are a lesson in rhythmic mastery, as they test the boundaries of time signature and the limits of groove. Somehow it all seems to hold together in a space that is so full of emotion and atmosphere that you are transported to another realm where the traditional rules of structure and melody no longer apply. One of his best devices is that he keeps the lyrics on the minimalist side of the fence. Rather than trying to show how clever he is lyrically he goes with repeated phrases (all ripe with meaning and substance) that weave in and out of the mix as it unfolds and enfolds you into its universe of sounds.

Where have all the holy ones gone
No one is left to condemn us

There are sounds here that I have only ever heard in my head and I really can't say enough about the beats. They are really the center piece to an ensemble of layers that will take you to other worlds but not dream worlds. These songs sound like what it sounds like to be alive today: touched with sadness and doubt while clutching after a measure of healing and hope. What more can I say : I am in love with this music!

He has lots of free downloads and remixes on his blog: Son Lux Blog

He also did a fantastic remix of a Radiohead song you can download here: Son Lux Radiohead Remix

Finally here is a little video to give you another sense of what he sounds like:

post catagory: music posted on:2009.01.23 14:33

City of Angels

Here is a three part video I put together from the 27 gigabytes of video I shot while in Los Angeles. Watch for some of Mrs Seeward's wonderful photographs at the end of the video as well!

post catagory: features posted on:2009.01.19 19:43

III Text : In Real Life

I have been neglecting the site lately because I have been soaking up so much wisdom and experience through dialogue and travel. I attended a gathering for the online theology class I have been doing called III Text and I went out to LA for a few days with Barry Taylor. You can get a feel for bits of the III Text conversation in the short video above. I have lots that I am ready to start posting about so I stay tuned!

post catagory: features posted on:2009.01.13 17:50

Cole and Isabella

Here is a short video of the adorable twins. Seeward is now an uncle! the video features photographs taken be mrs seeward.

post catagory: features posted on:2008.12.30 20:53

Christmas in the Big Apple

We took a day trip into the city to have a look at the decorations and to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. It was a great time just hanging out as a family but it was also sooooooo cold! I had forgotten what real cold weather felt like and now I think my ears are permanently going to stay pinkish red and sore.

post catagory: features posted on:2008.12.24 13:44

Ryan and Friends Golf Outing

What a wonderful event and chance to raise money for The New Providence Community Centre Hurricane Shelter! Everything went off without a hitch except that I didn't win the portable DVD player that had an HDMI cable output (for the non geeks that means 'cutting edge') Check out the video and you will get a great feel for the day and how much fun we had!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.12.21 18:21

Golf is in the Genes

This is how it's done ! I apparently wasn't as rusty as I thought. I also made some nice drives that you will see later!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.12.20 14:05

Symbiosis at the Ladder Gallery

I am so proud of my wife Mrs Seeward! She had her first photography exhibition this week and it was a huge success! Well attended and quite a few images sold on the opening night (which is always a good sign!) Check out the video to see the evening and a closer look at the images she had in this, the first of many, exhibitions for her, I am sure!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.12.11 12:46

Bahamas at Sunrise

I woke up before the sun this morning to talk about the Advent Conspiracy and Rethinking Christmas.com. You can check out the clip above to see if my brain is fully functioning at 6am!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.12.01 07:17

As Crazy as it Sounds

As Crazy as it Sounds

This is my ego
It’s just my false self
Something like my reflection on the wall
It’s not real or everlasting
In fact it’s not even me at all

This is my shadow
I’m something larger
This is just my witness to the fall
And that I am broken but still keep hoping
That there’s healing for one and all

I am not an island
My spirit knows no bounds
I am not thoughts or feelings
As crazy as it sounds

This is my dark side
My alter ego
The one who’s here when I’m not around
He keeps me humble by making sure I stumble
But each time my truer self climbs off the ground

I am not an island
My spirit knows no bounds
I am not what’s before you
As crazy as it sounds

We are eternal
And everlasting
But right now we’re in disguise
As something ghostly but thank God not mostly
But still enough to sometimes cry

We are not an island
Our spirits know no bounds
But the light must have the darkness
As crazy as it sounds


(written and performed on a baritone ukulele on Nov 28,2008)

post catagory: music posted on:2008.11.29 08:39

Bolt

The other night we had the privilege of looking after two children of our good friends. So we took them to see the new Disney animation movie Bolt. I went in with no expectations and left pleasantly surprised! The animation, action and plot were all very well done and kept the big kid in me interested throughout the whole film. Even though it is not in the Shrek vein (kids movie with very obvious adult jokes) it was still very entertaining and felt more like a proper action movie than a cartoon. On a side not, it won't be long before the quality of resolution in digital animations is right on par with movies shot on film with real actors. I wonder if Shia Lebuef is getting nervous that he will be replaced with a much cuter animated version?

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.11.27 11:17

Quantum of Solace

While not feeling like a traditional James Bond film, the action packed Quantum of Solace is an enjoyable ride through the early beginnings of the 007 character. Instead of relying on high tech gadgets, Craig's rougher Bond deals with most of his conflict in a hand-to-hand manner. Beyond the missing gadgets, the villain didn't have the 'super-villain' feel that have come to mark the Bond brand. Not missing however are the stunning, and fully disposable Bond Girls. The plot moved so quickly that it never had time to impress upon the audience how sinister the villains endgame might have been. If I had to guess he, and his Ibiza reject looking right hand man, were planning to blackmail third world dictators by selling them natural resources that they had somehow hidden within the dictators own country. That aside, seeing James do some pretty impressive stunts and finally getting revenge at the end of the day, was worth the price of admission and will ensure that the Bond brand stays relevant for another few years.

Speaking of relevant having Jack White write a song for Alicia Keys as the theme was a brilliant idea and the song is one of the coolest opening numbers to a bond film I have heard in years (remember Sheryl Crow's Bond theme?)

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.11.17 09:04

Ryan Adams : Cardinology

While rocking harder than my favorite Ryan Adams albums, Cardinology is a solid collection of songs that continue to amaze me that this man can write such compelling melodies and interesting lyrics and live such a seemingly reckless life. Maybe it is all show but every time I have seen him on TV he seems about to lose control and smash his face repeatedly into the base of his mic stand to beat out the anguish and heart ache that have always haunted his better compositions. So far "Born into the Light" and "Let us Down Easy" are my stand-out favorites but I can tell that after a few days they will all hold equal sway.

post catagory: music posted on:2008.11.13 10:48

Election Day Song

Election Day (Finally)

The Democrats in Washington get ready for a feast
While Republicans count their money and wonder who this will hurt the least
When both sides climb from their pulpits
Will they realize their both the same
They might be chanting different slogans
But their both playing the same game
And people want change

Will the poor have a voice at the table
That isn't only smoke and mirrors
Will the white man trust the black man
After centuries of violence and fear

I give my better graces to all those called to lead
But an empire's not the safest thing to leave in the hands of greed
It's time for a change

I hope my fears are foolish and better nature wins
But the way the winds are blowing
We might be paying for their sins
It's time for a change
It's time for a change

The Democrats in Washington as preparing for a feast

post catagory: society posted on:2008.11.04 07:02

Seeward Skate Pro

There is a very good reason why this video has no sound!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.10.31 13:00

CCDA 2008 : Miami

Just got back from an inspiring time in Miami at the CCDA Peace in the Streets conference. So many things really touched me but they had a no video rule so i was only able to capture a few bits of footage on the sly. It still gives you a sense of the experience but it doesn't show you the most impressive thing about the conference: meeting John Perkins(80+ civil rights leader) who blew everyone away with an hour and a half morning bible study that taught more than I ever dreamed.

post catagory: features posted on:2008.10.26 15:02

SUGAR at Popopstudios

Last night was the opening of the SUGAR show at John Cox's Popopstudios. Seeward was extra excited for this show, have been invited to participate. My piece (meditation hemet) was called SugarMind - which will soon get its own post!) The show was great to attend with many works stimulating interesting thoughts. The Obama/McCain diorama shows how the USAmerica election has gone global. Better to just watch the video and see for yourself the diversity of work on display, all inspired by the idea or SUGAR. I found it interesting that none of the arts made reference to Sugar's slavery entwined history, which sys something about our culture moving forward. Moving the culture forward, seems to be the mission statement of Popop so I would call the evening a success!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.10.25 18:40

Ordination

This morning's Ordination service was such a joy to be a part of. As the above video shows I was honored to be ordinated my my longtime mentor, friend and cousin, Clint Kemp.
We ended the service with a song of mine that had helped me through many rough patches in in life and I'm sure will also help through many more...



I know this isn't the OSCARS but I want to thank my parents, many soul friends who are too numerous to mention and my wife for supporting and nurturing me over the ups and downs.

post catagory: features posted on:2008.10.20 21:58

Spanish Wells

post catagory: features posted on:2008.09.29 06:45

Ordinatio

I have submitted the following website as my ordination papers : Ordinatio. You can read my thoughts and comment as well. There is nothing earth shattering, just some simple responses to My Journey, The Creed, The Kingdom of God, and the Church. Feel free to browse around and check it out if theology is your bag or you want to see if I am as heretical as I look. =)

post catagory: theology posted on:2008.09.23 10:39

Burn After Reading

[SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU HAVEN"T SEEN THE MOVIE THEN DO NOT READ FURTHER]

I realize that I am not the only one who thinks Brad Pitt is more than just a pretty face, but I didn't expect him to steal this movie from such talents as John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand. Although they each turn in solid performances and clearly revel in their characters, Brad's Chad is the heart of this circular tale that is less about espionage and more about stupidity and emptiness. Although I usually like George Clooney, he rarely misses an opportunity to turn the audience off with exaggerated and odd body language with more than a few classic silly faces thrown in for good measure. John Malkovich is also in great form and gets a lot of laughs for being the biggest (and possibly most intelligent) loser in a world populated by a parade of soulless spooks and body obsessed opportunists. Although I ultimately enjoyed the film, I couldn't help but feel that, midway through, the reason I was watching was just shot in the face. from that point on the film fully sank into the sad reality that it had constructed.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.09.18 14:20

All Rebel Rockers

The only thing more exciting than a new Michael Franti and Spearhead album is one produced by Sly and Robbie in Kingston! All Rebel Rockers is the reggae-fied follow up to Yell Fire! (which still gets much play on my iPod) This time out the heavy rock guitars are replaced by all manner of dub sounds. The reggae vibe bounces around the spectrum from the old school Ska of the opening track Rude Boys Back in Town to the thoroughly modern dancehall of A Little Bit of Riddim with stops at the rock tinged Hey World and Sound System. Franti samples Bowie and The Police with equal effectiveness without ever feeling too derivative. All I Want is You is a very spaced out dub ballad that has some incredible sounds layered around a very simple song structure. Overall the songs seem a bit less engaging than Yell Fire! but there are plenty of them that really groove so its all good.
Lyrically the same themes arise throughout: love, justice, anti-violence and the power of music to heal and liberate the inner soul.

You came here to chill
But I came to rock
And to smash the empire
With my beat box

If you want to hear what conscious reggae/rock sounds like in 2008, All Rebel Rockers is cut straight from the source.

post catagory: music posted on:2008.09.11 14:06

The Language of God

Francis Collins is an interesting character. At once a leading geneticist and the man, partially, responsible for cracking and mapping the Human Gnome. In his book, the Language of God, he sets out to articulate why he, as a scientist and believer in God (the Bible, Jesus...) how he reconciles his faith and his commitment to reason. Most of the book is a series of C S Lewis quotes that give theological underpinnings to Collins' arguments against both naturalistic evolution and "God of the Gaps" Intelligent Design. Preferring instead to fuse the main points of both worldviews into what he calls Bio-logos. By fusing both the scientific "bio" (Life) and the spiritual "logos" (word), Collins does a deft job of weaving current evidence with profound philosophical questions. I appreciate his approach and the way he sees both science and faith operating in different systems of meanings and both offering important answers to different kinds of questions. Some questions that science will never be able to address : Why is the universe here? and some that faith is poorly designed to communicate: How did we get here in the first place?
Although there is plenty here that will not doubt infuriate certain fundamental types, I am certain that anyone who reads this book with an open mind will find their positions changed and enriched. Also be prepared for a seriously in-depth explanation of DNA and how it functions within a cell. You also get a lecture tacked on at the end about BioGenetic Ethics if that's your cup of tea!

post catagory: books posted on:2008.09.10 13:31

God of Promise

God of Promise

Spinning around getting down with the world again
Looking for places and spaces where I can fit in
It seems that some would have me lie down
Some would make me crawl
There's hardly any space at all

A mind can explore sometimes from simply reading the news
In the midst of the floods and the wars and people being abused
It seems that some would have me lie down
And do what I am told
While some are bought and some are sold

We can't serve the God of Justice
And turn away from someone's need
We can't claim the God of Comfort
With much more than we need

Try as I might I find it hard to label the blame
What's wrong with the world and with me are somehow one in the same
It seems that some would have me called out
And made to feel ashamed
It seems that some enjoy the pain

The harder and stronger I fight hoping to defend
It all comes crawling and crashing back to me in the end
It seems that some would help me fall down
And swallow what I'm sold
With their prescription pots of gold

We can't claim the God of Justice
Right along side our gods of greed
We can't serve the God of comfort
Then use violence to bring peace

post catagory: music posted on:2008.09.09 08:20

Nicole's Photo on Display @ Starbucks

We were making our daily pilgrimage to Starbucks and we were excited to see that one of Nicole's photos was hanging in the little gallery space that they have on the wall. Thanks to Flixwagon and its iPhone video live streaming to the web, you can share the moment with us!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.09.05 20:42

Waiting for the Great Leap Forward

It is not very often that a song immediately gets under my skin. Even some of my all-time favorite songs required a few listens to really sink in. Then along comes this little number by Billy Bragg: Waiting for the Great Leap Forward. Basically a three chord folksy tune that really puts its finger on the pulse of our modern times. With verses dealing with the corruption in Cuba to the war in Iraq:

The cold war is over but the stakes are getting higher
Now I'm afraid of collateral damage and of friendly fire
I don't believe we can defeat no axis of evil
By putting smart bombs in the hands of dumb people

His commentary doesn't end with war politics as he looks into the promised future expansion of humanity with a slightly cynical stance.

One leap forward two leaps back
After all this time you can still send me a fax

Here is a clip of Billy performing it live:

The best version is available from a live recording on iTunes. He makes some very funny jabs between lines that remind me of early Bob Dylan humor and commentary.

post catagory: music posted on:2008.09.04 13:38

Grandpa McCabe

Here is another video that my brother shot. This time it is Grandpa McCabe holding little Isabella. Looks like Jared has created a Vimeo account and plans to be posting more videos! Stay tuned for more McCabe babies...

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.09.04 07:44

Redesign by Nicole

Nicole had the opportunity to exercise her interior design skills on a room for a friend's twin girls. She did a fantastic job and the room looks awesome! I love the bright colors and the playful but clean feel to it all. You will see in the video that the twins themselves where so overjoyed that they became speechless just like on the television design shows. Well done Mrs. Seeward!!!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.08.30 17:58

Seeward is an Uncle x2!

The babies are doing really well and Jared and Danielle both sound excited and send many thanks to everyone who has been praying for the little ones!

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.08.30 09:07

Isabella and Cole McCabe

Although they were early, they are breathing on their own and doing as good as can be expected. Many prayers were send out for them and their proud parents Jared and Danielle. Here is a little video of Isabella:

I am looking forward to seeing them soon! Continued prayers for the little ones and their mommy and daddy.

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.08.27 11:46

Anthony De Mello Online Resource

The Anthony De Mello is an online archive of stories, videos and mp3 recordings of Tony De Mello's spiritual reflection on a wide range of subjects. The above video is a sign of a cheesier video production style than the hipper christian world uses today but the teaching is still engaging and relevant. I love how relaxed and calming his presence seemed to be. For the interested, here is a link to a short bio of Tony written by his younger brother.

post catagory: features posted on:2008.08.23 15:05

Women are Heroes

Women are Heroes is an international art project that uses the urban landscape as a canvas for social action and contemplation. Their website describes the project this way:

The Women project wants to underline their pivotal role and to highlight their dignity by shooting them in their daily lives and posting them on the walls of their country.
On the other hand, by posting the same images of these women in Western countries, the project allows everyone to feel concerned by their condition and connects, through art, the two different worlds.

I love the surreal effect that the large scale human features has on the landscape. I would love for this sort of idea to spring up in Nassau. The human images transforms the buildings into a larger whole, as if you are seeing the spirit of the neighborhood.



Roght now they have projects in Brazil, Kenya, South-Sudan, Sierra-Leone, and Liberia but they are looking to spread the idea further with help from like-minded individuals abroad. They even have them on the sides of monorail cars that stare down on the city in wide-eyed wonder at night. Great idea and execution and raisin awareness for such a worthy cause: women!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.08.19 20:41

Tropic Thunder

With the possible exception of Zoolander, Ben Stiller makes formula movies that poke fun more than truly satire whatever genre he sets his sites on. Tropic Thunder takes double aim at the War Movie genre and the whole Hollywood movie making machinery. Although the thin plot and gruesome special effects worked on my patience, it was worth the money to see Robert Downey as a blackface stereotype hard-ass and Robert Downey as a ridiculously posh Australian thespian and even Robert Downey as a Kabuki faced Vietnamese farm women. We get quite a few uncomfortable moments with Tom Cruise updating his break-out dance chops from Risky Business. Tom's character is exactly what I imagine Harvey Weinstein to be like. They sort of played him that way in Entourage a few seasons ago and it stuck with me when I saw Tom spewing rapid-fire verbal abuse into a cell phone.
Danny Mcbride makes another funny appearance as a special effects coordinator with a half blown-off ear. Jack Black offers his (by now tired) physical comedy in the Chris Farley school of "fat guy rolls around". Ben Stiller has a funny Col. Kurtz moment while clutching a little twig oscar that really made me laugh out loud!
I liked how the movie started with a few trailers that catch you by surprise (escpecially the sweat)
There has been lots of talk on the internetz about the politically incorrect language and that scene struck me as unfunny and possibly designed to attract the very sort of negative publicity that it has successfully generated.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.08.18 18:25

Hit and Run : Part Two at The Hub

AJ has done it again with another collection of diverse and engaging art oblects. Everything from painted cardboard pizza boxes to high end custom kiteboard graphics shows evidence of his strength in choosing images and color combinations. In the above video you can hear AJ give commentary on a few of the works including my favorite piece with Barack Obama locked into a gun site. You can read my comments about the piece here". The whole event seemed to be charged with an electric quality and most of that came from frantic energy of the works (and the rest came from the fact that the event was sponsored by Red Bull)
AJ also injected a bit of humor with a piece called Million Dollar Baby with the highest price tag I have seen on a work by a local artist. One of the most impressive works was a hand drawing that had a very subtle beauty that isn't emphasized in the full frontal pop of the stencil forms. After his show in Oct at the Ladder Gallery, AJ has said he was going to take a year off from exhibiting. There is no telling where all that free time will lead his creative mind. His first 2010 exhibition might take place underwater!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.08.16 17:10

Memory @ the Ladder Gallery

For the next few weeks the photography of Wellington Chea will be on display at the Ladder Gallery at NPCC. This, his second collected exhibition, aims includes photographs from as diverse geographic locations as Hong Kong, Havana and the Blue Hole of Long Island. Many people commented on the timely nature of the Blue Hole shot since it was the location of a tragedy just a few weeks ago. In the shot you can see people playfully sunbathing near the murky hole that drops to incredible depths. Seeing the photo and reflecting on the fact that three people drowned at this spot, most likely on a sunny day not unlike the one in the picture, we are reminded about the fragility of life.
Other stand out shots included a very ornate interior of a temple in Hong Kong as well as a Cuban Lady full of life and song. Check out the images for your self if you are in the area!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.08.11 09:47

Pineapple Express

If Super Bad was the Fast Times at Ridgemont High of this generation, then Pineapple Express is the Up in Smoke.I have had a hit and miss attitude towards Judd Apatow and his sometimes overly juvenile but occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. I think I enjoyed this movie because it felt very much like the rambling hijinks of Superbad with a slightly more adult story. Seth Rogan plays the loser with a heart of gold who gets embroiled in a drug war after witnessing a murder while blasted on the rarest of chronic that gives the film its title. There are plenty moments where the plot weaves close to the same stoner adventure territory of Superbad but there are enough new ideas and subtle comedic chemistry between Rogan and the other two stooges who go along for the bloody and mega-violent adventure.
The movie ends well with the three sitting around at a Denny's type cafeteria recounting the craziness of the night before and all of the sudden we are not so far from high school after all. Check out this movie if you want a good laugh.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.08.09 16:52

Conor Oberst : Conor Oberst

It isn't until the sixth song on Conor Oberst's first 'solo' album that it begins to feel like a Bright Eyes album if only a slightly less overwrought than usual Bright Eyes album. That sixth song is a Johnny Cash inspired tune called I Don't Want to Die (In This Hospital) It rocks, in a retro-country way, into familiar territory as Conor allows his voice to be shredded in a way that perfectly pitches his angst and emotional abandonment. Not all of the songs have as much musical depth and many lack the kinds of full arrangements that have become a signature part of Conor's recorded sound. There a few stand out compositions that stretch a bit beyond the usual folk-song genre, sometimes to great affect on Milk Thistle and Moab. There are, as always, a few Biblical allusions such as Lenders in the Temple and the previously mentioned Milk Thistle with its reflections on heaven. Souled Out!!! is one of the more intriguing tunes on the cycle. Mostly a country rock fuzz anthem about Conor's neighborhood (two streets over from the barrio) which devolves into a chanting chorus of :

"You won't be gettin' In
You know by now
We're Sold Out in Heaven."

As catchy as this songs is it is hampered by Conor's self conscious production style that allows the song to be interrupted by random studio babble and waves of crashing noise and whistles. Sausalito sounds as smooth southern california country as Jackson Browne or Tom Petty. The collection seems to have been rushed out rather than fleshed out and so contains a slightly looser feel than most of Conor's other recordings.
That being said, Conor is still channeling his, often fragile, emotions through interesting melodies and rhythmic textures while he contemplates death like "Flying kites in the winter time". I am one person who is glad that he is...

post catagory: music posted on:2008.08.05 12:38

Born at the Right Time

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!

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.08.01 13:17

Spook Country

William Gibson always has his anxious fingers on the surging pulse of our not so distant future. So it has been an exciting ride to read his latest book set, not in the future, but in our current age. The plot weaves its way through some of the fringe uses of technology and is riddled with characters who, in one way or another, have been effected greatly by the collision of high tech and low life. This book had me from the opening chapter as our heroine Hollis meets up with a locative artist to see his latest virtual reality piece on the sidewalk outside of the Viper Room. I was enthralled by the effortless way he reeled me into the story by dazzling me with new technologies and referencing a moment in pop culture that had a large impact on me(the death of River Phenix)

I recommend this book for its brilliant prose and edgy story but I am really struck with its vision of where things are headed in our techno obsessed world. Imagine a day when virtual reality technologies have reached the point when they can fit into sunglasses. Now imagine a world where those millions of mobile virtuality reality goggles are overlaying graphics and even moving video on top of reality. Hook the whole system up to the internet and global positioning satellites and you have a world that will be very odd and customizable. A lot like google earth with all of the plugin features turned on seems to be where our reality is headed. One of the characters early on in the novel makes the statement that "we populated cyberspace and now it has grown so huge that cyberspace is spilling over into our physical world. The internet is unfolding and transforming our experience of reality in ways we could have never predicted"
This idea really stuck with me as one character in the book wakes up to a field of Monet flowers superimposed over her bedroom floor and through the walls so it looks as if her bed were resting in an endless sea of slowly waving impressionist lilies. Imagine all the customizing and cosmetic aspects of our current world unfolding onto our experience of reality itself. You could, with the help of a simple set of sunglasses, live in a world that is completely redesigned to match the cartoon aesthetic of the movie Waking Life. People have been talking for years about fears that internet use was such a private and isolated experience that we were going to become less social. I know think that the kinds of tribal sub-cultures that congregate on the web will gravitate over into the real (or blended reality and digital effects) world of our not too distant future.

post catagory: books posted on:2008.07.30 09:23

Cape Town

Here is another one of our South Africa videos from the wonderful city of Cape Town. It was very cold, cloudy and rainy for the one day we were in Cape Town so you will notice the dampness and grey mood but we still had a blast walking around the harbor and seeing what we could. Still more videos to come!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.07.25 09:15

Wanted

Wanted is a full-on action fantasy with flipping cars and bullet bending stunts. James McAvoy plays a loser who is ready to step out of his dead end life and into the kill or be killed world of international assassins. The visual effects in the movie owe a great deal to the Matrix trilogy but the movie lacks any of the Matrix's story telling depth. What it lacks in the story and dialogue department it hopes to make up for in stylized action. We get fiery car chases, a spectacular train battle hovering over a mountain chasm and finally an army of explosive rodents. Although this is stimulating you are left asking some confusing questions about the generic elements of the story. For instance Morgan Freeman is forced to say the absurd phrase "International Fraternity of Assassins" about six times. After the first few times it seems like a parody. Overall the action takes the center stage and the audience goes on a energy fueled ride through the surface of an underground world of International Assassins.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.07.24 18:39

Sharad Lightbourne : Kinesis

I received an email this morning that I was going to delete because I didn't recognize the sender, when I saw this familiar face peering out of the boy of the email. It was Andre Chappelle once again finding his way into the Nassau Art Scene. (Follow the link in his name to get a bit of background on Andre) It seems that Sharad Lightbourne is a photographer who is back in the Bahamas after attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. The website for his show is pretty stylish : Kenisis. The site and the show even have an original musical score produced by Zoltan Johnson. The show is set for Sept 18-19 and if it matches up to the excitement that I feel about the photos of Andre an the website, it should be a fantastic experience. I am intrigued about his choice of Andre as a subject. Here is what the site says about Andre:

"Andre Chapelle is one of the most prominent faces in Nassau. His life of experiences, judgments and consequences made him the perfect poster model for the show."



Also an update on Andre: A few months ago his sister came back to Nassau on a mission to get him off the streets and into a treatment facility in the US. Apparently Andre accepted their help and they are making passport and police record arrangements in order for him to fly to Florida. maybe the photos from this Kinesis show were taken around the time of his sister's visit because I have not seen him that clean in many years.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.07.24 08:53

Hermanus

The above video is a compilation of our time in Hermanus. This is the town where Nicole's parents live as well as the breeding spot for the Southern Right Whale. You may see a jumping whale in the video (if you don't blink!) More videos to come...

post catagory: africa posted on:

The Dark Knight

Much has already been said, and rightly so, about Heath Ledger's final performance. It is riveting to watch him seem so naturally creepy. I don't know if he will win the Oscar but he certainly put all that he had into crafting a villain that is at the same time completely insane and totally somehow believable. That being said, The Dark Knight was a slightly too long action romp that blends convincing special effects with subtle political commentary about life in the surveillance culture. There are lots of direct suggestions that "good people have to do bad things to overcome the really bad people." So the action plays out as the Caped One and the Joker dance around the increasingly blurry lines between Order and Chaos. There is one particular exchange between Batman and Lucius Fox in front of what amounts to a massive bank of spy cameras that most reveals the obvious subtext.
I was entertained but a little distracted by the tragedy of Heath Ledger to really say that I enjoyed it. I will have to catch this one again in a few years on cable and see if it stands the test of time.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.07.21 20:20

The Marvelous iPhone

I, like many people, have lusted after the iPhone since it first hit the shelves over year ago. Now, thanks to my generous wife, I now have one of my very own! I have been frantically pawing it for the last few days and I have been so overwhelmed by the other features that I am just now getting around to using it to post to seeward.com. So far I am most impressed with the Skype application that allows me to use my Skype account to make long distance calls from anywhere that I can get a WiFi connection (home, office and Starbucks, where else do I need =) As you can see it also came with a groovy Paul Smith Monkey protective rubber casing to keep it from getting beat up. A few years go I was excited about the Palm Pilot technology but it never really delivered on the promise of an all-in-one personal digital companion. Well so far the iPhone has delivered in spades. I can have mobile access to my emails, appointment calendars, music, videos, and even more!

Steve Jobs for President!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.07.21 10:48

The Remember Garden

Our community is making a large meditation garden on our grounds. It is made up of five VERY large stones that each represent issues that we feel called to focus our attention on: Grace, Environmental Justice, Economic Justice, Hiv/Aids and Racial Reconciliation. On Wed we gathered to paste small pennies on the Economic Justice stone and bits of broken sea glass on the Grace stone. Bahamian artist Antonius Roberts was also on hand carving faces into the Racial Reconciliation stone. You can see a brief snapshot of the evening in the above video.

post catagory: general posted on:2008.07.19 07:15

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Translated from Icelandic into english the new Sigur Ros' album is titled "With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly" This is an amazing consolidation of all that I want in an album. Epic songs that touch your emotions more than your mind (it helps that the lyrics are intentionally nonsensical) At times I am reminded of U2 if Bono had enough faith to really push his voice into strange and wonderful territories. I wouldn't put on this album unless you want to fall into a deep and melancholic mood but they make melancholy sounds so lush and shot through with fragile beauty so its a sweet sorrow.

post catagory: music posted on:2008.07.17 20:39

Pater Noster

This is the first of several videos I have begun editing from our South Africa trip. This is a compilation of the drive from Hermanus to Pater Noster as well as the West Cape Fossil Park and the Nature Reserve. There are some great Ostrich shots in the last few minutes of the video.

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.07.17 20:31

Father Frank Stroud

The last time I saw Father Stroud it was at a Vicars and Bunnies party where all the women dressed as bunnies and the men as, well vicars. I went all out and wore a bishops costume (my only chance to feel the inner freedom of wearing a liturgical robe) When Father Stroud spotted me I was shocked and didn't even know he was on the island let alone invited to such a sorted affair. He didn't miss a beat and loudly proclaimed, as he was vigorously shaking my hand, "I am so glad they had enough sense to make you a Bishop!" We sat for a good while and he shared with me the troubles of growing up in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood with a name like Francis. He also joked that this was the first party in his life that he didn't feel at all out of place since all the men had on clergy collars. I remember visiting him at his Jesuit home in Fordham university a few years ago and being lured in by his easy laugh and the slightly sly grin that would come across his face when he was about to deliver the punch line of one of his very humorous stories. I have learned a great deal from him and from his mentor Anthony DeMello. I have met very few 'spiritual' people that I felt were truly free and Father Stroud was one of them.

Sadly, as I was away in South Africa, I received the news of his passing after a long battle with cancer. He was such a fun-loving and wise person, I think everyone should go out and buy a copy of his book : Praying Naked because the proceeds will go to helping keep the DeMello Institute afloat and furthering their synthesis of Eastern Spiritual Practices, Modern Psychology, NLP and the power of a good story. I can just picture Father Frank and Anthony DeMello reunited and sharing compelling stories of the time that they have been apart. Here is the last picture that we took that night of the Vicar party and it will be my permanent memory of Father Stroud:

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.07.17 15:09

Plasencia

We are having a great time in Spain! The above video is of Plaza de Mayor in Plasencia which is a few blocks from our hotel. The city was built in 1118 and the square has been there since the beginning. Every week for almost 1000 years they have an open air market in the square. We are staying in a building that used to be a convent and monastery so all the rooms have very monkish rustic style to them. I will post more videos and some of Nicole's photos soon but for now here is a short video of one of the dozens of giant storks that nest on the roof of the building:



Yesterday we even saw a huge eagle with about a 12 foot wingspan flyin gover the pool area but I didn't have my camera on me. I will be on the lookout for him later though!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.07.03 16:16

Leaving Paradise...

We have made it out of the paradise of South Africa and we are now in a little town in Spain called Plasencia. It is about 2 hours drive out of Madrid and the location of many 15th century vacation homes of the rich and powerful. More about Spain will be coming soon because we have a very fast wireless connection in our hotel room so I am going to catch you up on some South Africa images and video and then hit you with the Spain posts.
We were sad to leave Jo-burg and Nicole's sister Angele's family. We had a great day hanging out with Nicole's niece Jenna and nephew Joe.



We played some basketball and walked around their beautiful neighborhood which includes a wildlife preserve where we saw some black swans that were swimming with their little baby swans:



I have never seen so many strange and wonderful animals as we have seen on this trip. Just walking in their neighborhood we saw a very weird bird with a very long beak that the kids said are deadly. How about that! Deadly birds just wandering around the hood! Speaking of wonderful birds:



If you check the photos on the right hand side of this page you will see some more images from the Jo-burg part of our journey. For those in the Bahamas, we also hung out with someone you might recognize:



Stay tuned for more updates from Spain as we settle in and begin to enjoy the country that brought the world Picasso, Goya, Dali and more...

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.07.01 13:23

Jo-Burg

We are with Nicole's sister and her family in Johannesburg. We have been having a great time and hanging with Ryan. I can't post pictures because I am not on my own computer but everyone sends their love from across the world! Hopefully I will be able to post some image and video from Spain. Stay tuned!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.29 10:54

Ancient Africa

Right now we are resting in Hermanus until we fly to Joberg on Saturday. The above image was taken by Nicole on our ride back from Pater Noster. We went to Pater Noster only because it was recommended as a great vacation spot. While we were playing scrabble in the living room of the guest house, Nicole opened a tour guide type book and we discovered that the region around Pater Noster was famous for much more than great vacation spots. It is home to the worlds largest and richest fossil collections:



This video shows the excavation of what used to be a river bed. Over the last few decades they have discovered skeletons of animals long extinct and dating back 5 million years! It was interesting to see the jaw bones and teeth fully preserved after such a long time.
Then we went onto the West Cape National Park which is home to one of the most important historical discoveries ever found. Eve's Footprint is a fossil record of a human female dating at least 117,000 years ago. Around the corner from there is the location of the Saldhnaha Skull which is the olderest piece of human skull bones ever found (at least 115,000 years old) We took a drive through the park and foudn this look out point called Seeberg which means 'seeing mountain':



It was breathtaking to consider that we were walking on land that some of the earliest human beings walk on. What struck me was how fertile the land was. Even the cracks in the giant rocks had little forests growing out of them even without any soil just the water and sunlight. It was as if things couldn't hep but grow in such a rich climate. We spend a good deal of time just silently wandering around the site and taking in the view:



In the video about halfway through the pan you will see a little village and that is the location of Eve's footprints. The mountain used to be made of wet sand but has been transformed by the elements over the 117,000 years into a solid rock structure.
We are leaving Hermanus tomorrow and today is pretty rainy! I hope to secure an internet connection in Jo-berg (and then Spain) but if not then that will explain my lack of posts from here on out. Thanks to all who have commented and pray that I can keep up the posts for the rest of the journey!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.27 02:07

Pater Noster Part Two

How could I post a video of an ostrich prancing and not get ANY comments! Oh well, moving on to other interesting things. The above video is a quick pan of our room at the Dunes Guest House in Pater Noster. This place was truly amazing down to every last detail. We woke up and had a wonderful breakfast before taking ne last drive through the little sea shore town:



After a short drive we stopped at one of the richest fossil deposits in the world and a wolrd famous national park. I have some more stunning photos and videos (even some of ostrichs but you clearly don't like the big birds) I will post more soon but just to give you a hint ClickHere. I understand that you are either too busy to comment or you are just a bunch of:

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.26 02:04

Pater Noster

Today we drove up north of Cape Town to a little town called Pater Noster (Our Father). It is right on the sea and was founded when a group of Portuguese sailors shipwrecked on the rocky coast. They eventually settled here and named the town after their tendency to pray the Lords Prayer. The town is very unique and a favorite vacation spot for South Africans. On the way we stopped to take photos and I spotted an Ostrich prancing on the side of the road:



What a treat to see an ostrich running along the side of the road! To be honest I had to throw a small rock at him to get him to run but it was worth the effort to see the lazy bird strut.
Once we arrived in Pater Noster I was immediately struck by the beauty of this little fishing village. The main industry is tourism and most of the men in the town also go out on the rocks and fish for their daily food. We are staying in a four star guest house that is owned by two interior decorators from Jo-burg. It is called the Dunes Guest house and the place is fabulous inside and out!



Nicole and I are in the one on the right and gregg and debra are on the left. We went to a nice lunch and then spent the afternoon hanging in the great room playing scrabble and drinking nice wine. Soon the sun began to set and I pulled out my video camera just in time to catch the sun as it made its final decent into the chilly sea:



After the sunset we had a nice dinner of crayfish (a cousin to the Bahamian crawfish but they serve the whole thing not just the tail!) We are now back at the guest house and turning in for the evening. Tomorrow I will post more shots of Pater Noster and anything interesting that finds its way in front of our cameras! Thanks again for the comments they really do make us feel loved!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.24 14:07

Experiencing Hermanus

We have been spending the last two days exploring the sights of Hermanus, where Nicole's parents live. Yesterday was Sunday and we took a nice drive to a fantastic restaurant called Milkwood Lodge for a wonderful lunch. I had a 200 gram steak fillet that was the best steak fillet I have ever tasted (and the cheapest!) Then we went on a little sightseeing tour. First to the top of the mountain range that borders Hermanus. We had to drive up on a road called Rotary Way. The project to build the road up to the amazing sightseeing vista was spearheaded by Nicole's grandfather Bill Le Barrow in the 1960's (her mom's father). They wanted to name the road after him but he insisted that because the Rotary Club donated the first 100 pounds to build the road that it be named Rotary Way. The project was well worth it because the view from almost 710 feet above sea level is stunning as you can see from this video:



If you look closely you can see the Hermanus Golf Course in the video. It costs almost $200 to play a round on the course and the waiting list for membership is over two years wait and thats just to get on the waiting list.
After taking in the view for a bit we moved on to Voelklip Beach for a bit of whale watching. We actually just going for the wonderful view of the ocean waves:



We were sitting there for a few moments watching the seagulls and surfers and then all of a sudden Debra yelled, "hey look over there!!!!" When we turned we caught a glimpse of two Southern Right Whales jumping out of the sea. Gregg went running back to the car for his camera and I pulled mine out of my pocket and caught this little gem of a video:



Tomorrow we wake up early and drive to a little sea side town called Pater Noster. It should make for more exciting images and videos so stay tuned and continue to comment because it makes us smile on the inside!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.24 00:29

Beautiful Drive Back to Hermanus

Yesterday I didn't post because I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountain drive we took from Stellenbosch back to Hermanus, where Nicole's parents live. Nicole took the above picture that just about captures how I felt seeing such stunning scenery! We are now back in Hermanus and it is Sunday afternoon. We had a hearty lunch and then drove to the top of the mountain that borders Hermanus. I got to shot some more stunning scenes that will have to wait for future posts. Just to wet your appetite for the longer videos I will be editing together of this trip, check out this little clip from the drive yesterday:



I have a title for the longer video I will be making of our journey: The Secret Heart of South Africa Tomorrow I should be posting more of the videos and images. Also Gregg has been taking some impressive images that I will hope to post soon so everyone can check out!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.22 09:03

Things Are Looking Up!

The above video is of the house band at Mama Africa. We went there last evening for a wonderful dinner! I had the mango chicken kabobs while Gregg had the Wild Game Platter featuring Ostrich, Kudu, Springbok, Game Sausage and Crocodile skewers. I tasted the Croc and it tasted like chicken (as expected!) Just for the record to clear up an earlier post, Monkey Gland is the name of a sauce that is put on beef burgers and contains NO monkey parts!
This morning we drove to Stellenbosch (which you would have already known if you are checking the little travel calendar on the left hand side of this page) Before we left Cape Town we walked around the waterfront one more time with Gregg and Debra. In this shot you can see me pointing out which direction to the next scottish ale house for a few more breakfast beers!



We arrived at our lodge at were amazed at how it looked! We are staying just outside of Stellenbosch at the Papyrus Lodge that sits right on its own private lake!



This place is really quiet and peaceful and looks amazing even with the clouds and the slight bursts of rain that keep cropping up. We spent the first few moments just roaming around the area taking photos (some of which you will see in the right hand photo section) I was able to catch this short little video as two ducks flew over the little lake that our chalets are sitting on top of:



After the walk we headed over to a winery for a very classy lunch of Goat Cheese and Mussel soup with some of their own Shiraz to wet the palette. The food and wine and atmosphere were so classy that I felt out of place in my jeans and wrinkled t-shirt but they were very nice and our waiter was one of the most humble and gentle people that we have come across. We even tried to rattle him a bit but I think he just assumed that we were arrogant Americans instead of foolish Bahamians!



Tomorrow we have a drive through the mountains and the weather (left sidebar) is looking to improve (thanks for the prayers and posts!) Stay tuned for more Africa!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.20 12:11

Cape Town on a Rainy Day

This is a little statue of Nelson Mandela that sits along the busy Cape Town harbor. I really liked it because it is oddly proportioned and his legs look really small compared to the rest of his body. We checked into our hotel and then walked over to Nicole's favorite restaurant Spur for a Monkey Gland Burger and a banana milkshake. After some really good shopping for clothes we went back to the hotel to rest and watched a strange movie Harsh Times on the hotel cable. Here is a little video of the cloudy harbor:



Tonight we went to Mama Africa and had a great dinner and saw a live band that deserves its own posts with pictures and video tomorrow, so stay tuned for more in the morning (which will be in the afternoon for all of you folks on the other side of the world!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.19 14:16

Another Cloudy Day and Coffee...

Yesterday was another cloudy and chilly day in Hermanus! We took a quick trip to the waterfront and had coffee at a very cool coffee shop called Essence that was in the center of the waterfront area, and on the second floor so it had a great view, which you can see in this video:



After the coffee we took a quick little walk to the water but there weren't any whales mating so we just spied on a Dassie (rock rabbit) for a while and then went to rent some videos:



We spent the afternoon watching 3;10 to Yuma (enjoyed it!) and then Samuel L jackson in The Cleaner (enjoyed it not so much!) We had a great day relaxing and getting geared up for the second leg of our vacation. Today we woke up this morning at 5:30 am and drove into Cape Town to collect Gregg and Debra White from the airport. The arrived safely and we are now in our hotel on a rainy overcast Cape Town day. With weather like this it REALLY reminds me of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. We are planning to go for a bit of shopping and maybe a walk later if the weather clears. Tonight we have a dinner planned at Mama Africa where we went two years ago with Nicole's sister and saw a fantastic Marimba band playing! You can check out the video on our old vacation site here. Stay tuned for more posting and thanks for all the comments! They make us feel connected to home even though we are a LONG way away!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.19 03:31

A Drive to Somerset West

Today the clouds began to clear away a bit in the Western Cape and we took a nice shopping trip to a mall outside of Cape Town. On the way we stopped at a little farm (pictured above) and saw the official animal of South Africa, a Springbok:



Nicole and I ate nice spicy meat pies and had a great time driving and laughing together and being blown away by the amazing scenery! We also sorted out a permanent internet connection so I will be posting some nice videos in the next few days! (For you tech people out there, our internet connection is running through a Bluetooth wireless connection to a Nokia cellphone, not a great data rate/speed but very mobile since we can use it anywhere we can get a cell phone signal!)



After the drive we had a great dinner with Nicole's family (including Nicole's 11 year old doggie, Snuffles, who is pictured above) We were also joined by Nicole's sister Rochelle and her boyfriend Franklin:



A special thanks goes out to Shelly for letting me borrow her tricked out cellphone for posting on seeward.com! After all the food, shopping and driving I was beat and ready for a good nights rest which I am about to dive into.



More posts coming over the next few days so stay tuned and comment so I know you're out there!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.17 15:13

Cloudy Day Trip

This is a short video clip taken on the waterfront in downtown Hermanus. I still haven't sorted out a permanent internet connection so I can't upload any long videos (yet!). Yesterday we went for a day trip to see Nicole's aunt (her dad's sister) and a few friends of the family who live around the Cape Town area. On the way we stopped for Nicole's parents to shop for a new car:



They had quite a selection to choose from since all the cars were vintage Rolls Royce's and Bentley's:



After much test riding and kicking of tires this is the one that Dave finally selected:



HA! Actually these images are from a Vintage Car Club that was eating at the same wine farm restaurant that we took Nicole's father to for Father's day. Since Dave is a car lover it was essential that we took some photos (and videos) of the wonderful autos before we left. Things are going very well and we are overcoming our jetlag nicely. The weather has been rather overcast and cloudy so no decent images of the scenery have emerged yet! Today is a public holiday so we are heading home to curl up by the fireplace with a nice movie on the telly. Stay tuned for the weather to clear and the beauty of the Western Cape to be displayed!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.16 04:27

Made it to Hermanus!

View Larger Map



We made it to Hermanus, and Nicole's parents new cottage, safely and are still trying to sort out an internet connection. So far we have already had a few great home cooked meals (Lamb Roost Dinner and Pork Sausage Breakfast). The next two we will not be posting since its Sunday and then Monday is a public holiday. Hopefully early next week we will be able to get into regular posting. So far we haven't even taken any scenic photos since the weather is cloudy and we are still jet lagged. Stay tuned though, we will be sort out soon!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.14 07:27

Arrived in London!

It is about 2pm London time and we are in the middle of a long lay-over until our evening flight to Cape Town. The flight over was very smooth although I do not recommend eating onion rings prior to your flight because Nicole and I went to the Green Parrot and filled up on Conch Fritters and Onion Rings and it gave us a bit of excess wind, which is not very cool on a cramped airplane!. The in-flight entertainment was pretty cool! I watched an episode of one of my favorite shows Flight of the Conchords and then fell asleep until they announced that we were landing at Heathrow. Nicole watched the movie "The Incredibles" and then had an on-and-off night of sleep.



We are sitting in Starbucks and wishing we could do some Yoga to loosen up our stiff muscles and bones. I have to say that the Starbucks here has a MUCH better selection of food items than the ones in Nassau. We are eating Greek Yogurt with a granola mix - way too healthy for the Bahamian palette! All Around the Heathrow Airport is much like an upscale shopping mall - a fun place to spend a few hours browsing around the things we can't afford!


View Larger Map

Next stop Cape Town(we arrive tomorrow morning and then a short drive to Hermanus! I am not sure how long it will be before I can get a permanent internet connection sorted out but stay tuned I will figure something out!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.12 07:22

We are Off (Almost) !!

View Larger Map

If you zoom (using the control on the upper left hand side of the map) you will see a nice overhead view of our little place in Palmdale. Where I am sitting writing this first post before we leave for the airport. If I get a connection in the London airport, then I will post again tomorrow during our layover (almost 9 hours!) If not then we will post when we arrive at Nicole's parents house. You can also follow the blue lines on the map and zoom back down to an overhead view of their cottage by the ocean.

The little calendar on the left hand side of this page has all our travel info. Just roll your mouse over the dates to see where we are or where we are headed! I am so excited I can barely type!

Peace!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.11 11:14

Worship Team Beach Fun Day

After all the hard work that went into the iWorship fundraising event the NPCC worship team took a much needed day of beach fun and relaxation. Thanks to Brooks and Chris for boating all of us up to a private little getaway on Rose Island for a wonderful labor day adventure. The fundraising was also a success and we met our goal of over $10,000 for new equipment for the stage!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.06.09 11:57

You've Come to the Right Place

If you have found your way here then, very soon, you will begin seeing updates from Christian and Nicole's trip to South Africa (and Spain). This space will show the most recent updates and the photos to the right will also be updated (In Internet Explorer the photos might be at the bottom of the whole page - scroll down to see them!) Right now the photos are just random images from the last few months but they will change when we get over there. We will begin posting shortly after we arrive in Hermanus on June 12th:


View Larger Map

The above map has markers for all the places that we will be during our trip. Navigate using the Google maps controls and you can follow the journey.

All of the previous sections of seeward.com are still online and accessible from either the above subject links or the main section links on the left-side bar. The time and weather from South Africa will be up for the duration of our trip so you can get a sense of winter on the other side of the equator. Take some time to leave comments and check back often!

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.08 20:01

The Countdown Begins...

With less that a week before we head off to the other side of the ocean, I have made a few changes to the site in order to prepare for the (hopefully) daily posting of our adventures. The above photo was one of my favorite photos from our last trip. Nicole took it after we stopped on the side of the road to shoot some video of the amazing landscape.

We leave next Wed the 11th, in the evening so stay tuned for posts after that of photos and videos (If I can secure the wireless cell-phone internet access that I am hoping for!) If you do come and check out the posts, please be kind and leave a comment so we can feel the love from all over the world. Look out South Africa (and Spain!)

post catagory: africa posted on:2008.06.05 20:05

We Think We've Fallen

if we get too close to the light
we will burn our wings
and soon we begin to realize
why angels cry when they sing
when they sing for us
oh they sing for us

if we drift too far in the night
and we loose our way
where the angels no longer guide us
through the darkness of our days
then they cry for us
oh they cry for us
when they sing for us
oh they sing for us

'cause we might never be the same again
we were battered by the rain and wind
we might never find our home again
we think we've fallen
now we stumble around
we think we've fallen
we think we're chained to the ground

we run too fast for our spirits
till we lose the pace
as if the angels were trying to catch us
to wipe the glory off our face
but they sing for us
oh they sing for us

though the chains no longer bind us
we still struggle with their weight
and the angels try to remind us
that we all share the same fate
then they cry for us
oh they cry for us

post catagory: music posted on:2008.06.03 10:52

The Other Side of Hope

This image pretty much sums up, for me, the knife edge mixture of hope and chaos that is being radiated from the US presidential marathon election. Obama is riding a very real wave of dissatisfaction and a hunger for change but it is constantly mirrored by the other side. The side that is unwilling to have things any other way than they think is best. Those types have already proven themselves more dangerous than we are often willing to admit. And so the razor continues to cut its way towards election day. Hillary mentioning RFK was less a personal revelation than an indicator of how desperate the times are. This image is one of the strongest I have seen in a good while really capturing the way the moment feels to an outside observer.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.05.31 16:10

Indiana Jones Returns

In 1981, I was ten years old and Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of the first movies that I went to the theater to see. (Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian and Blazing Saddles were also among the first I saw on the big screen) I remember being almost as excited about the video game coming out on the Atari 2600 as I was about the movie. I can't remember much of the first movie but I still remember the excessive amount of hours spent trying to get a smudge of little pixel cubes that were meant to be Indy to slide into a little opening in a pyramid. I remember finally getting him to the finish line and feeling disappointed that the reward was not much of a payoff after the long wait. Well after seeing the barely resurrected Indy in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull I feel the exact same pang of disappointment. The pace of the movie was far too fast to do anything other than sit back and drift along. The plot could have been stolen off of any number of conspiracy/UFO-logist forums and even with its obvious twists and turns doesn't feel very inspired. It was kind of cool that they found a few gophers that had SAG cards because everyone else seemed tired and not just from running for their lives.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.05.27 19:14

iWorship

I have been busy the last few days working towards the iWorship event we held at NPCC. The above video is a very rough audio mix from the 24track that I used to record the event. We will be producing a cd of the concert and I will post some mp3's when they are finalized.

post catagory: features posted on:2008.05.26 16:55

Robots Got Soul

We are truly living in new territory! This past week saw the first ever symphony conducted by a robot. The very cute Honda Asimo conducted the Detroit Symphony to a warm response from both the audience and the musicians. This kind of thing really excites me and I am not absolutely sure why. A few years ago I heard Kevin Kelly, futurist and editor at Wired Magazine, speaking about spiritual issues facing the church. He said the most important issue we need to wrestle with is "What are we going to say when robots ask us 'am I human?'". This really stimulated me into new areas of thinking about what it means to be human. If robots acquire all the external dimensions that we tend to think of as human then it might force us to look further within to find our identity as human beings. If a robot can play or conduct music in a way that moves our hearts and spirits then what does that say about where that emotion and inspiration come from? Maybe that emotional response to music is not being communicated by the soulfulness of the musician, as we tend to think, maybe it is coming purely from within us as a response to the external sounds. It is possible that music is not carrying any emotional resonance but is simply being used (by the listener) to unlock inner realities that normally lay dormant. All of this requires more thought than I have given it so far but one thing is certain, I want my own musical robot!!

post catagory: society posted on:2008.05.14 09:09

The Extraterrestrial is My Brother

For so many years the church has been behind the curve on scientific issues: gravity, the solar system, etc. This time it seems that they want to be way ahead on the Extraterrestrial issue. Today the Vatican's top astronomer announced that "the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones." He even went on to say that it is important that, if aliens exist, we see them as children of God just like human beings. This shocked me on several levels. Who knew that the Vatican had an official astronomer and more than one! Also that the Vatican would comment or speculate on such a strange issue seems odd to me when there are so many other things to have a position on.

post catagory: society posted on:2008.05.13 14:27

Elvis Costello : Momofuku

Momofuku Ando created instant noodles and Elvis Costello titled his instant album, momofuku, as a verbal tribute. I think 2008 is shaping up to be a great year for music. Dig! Lazarus Dig! hasn't worn out its welcome after a month of listening and along comes a new album by the bratty Brit that is often too smart for his own good. This time out he rocks through a number of songs that sounds like retro nods to his former glory and mixes in a few odds numbers that seem to take the album way off the standard rock/pop landscape. Elvis' voice and song-writing seem as strong as ever but his lyrics are beginning to show cracks in the armor that has established itself over the last 30 years of lyrical gems. Some of the songs sound great but lack the extra wit that many would expect from EC. He sings some very nice vocal harmonies and occasionally wants to enter into Burt Bacharach territory but that isn't a bad thing.

I read an interview with EC recently where he said he misses the times when people sat down and put on a record and listened to the whole album in one sitting. He said that he was still making albums to be listened to in that fashion but no body did it anymore with the Ipod and it's shuffle features. So I listened to the whole thing in one (iPod) sitting and decided that he has a point. After only browsing a few songs previously none of them really grabbed me: however, during the complete listen the songs seems more well developed and even complemented one another in both arrangements and pacing. If you are an EC fan and want to here some new tunes from the best pop star with the worst teeth, even before Madonna, give this album a chance.

post catagory: music posted on:2008.05.12 15:02

The Band Sway

The above video is from last New Years Eve at the Ichiban Steakhouse. The entertainment for the evening was the wonderful band SWAY who are not only great friends but also the subject of my newest website design project. Click here to see the site and listen to some demos that I recorded and produced as well!

post catagory: websites posted on:2008.05.08 20:28

Iron Man

There are more than a few things that amazed me about Iron Man. 1) This movie has been in production with three different studios with almost 12 writers since 1990. 2) Director John Favreau allowed the actors to write their own dialogue for 90% of the film. 3) One of my favorite guitarists, Tom Morello from AudioSlave and Rage Against the Machine, has a cameo as the first person that Iron Man tosses into the side of a very dark cave.

This movie is so well done on all levels from technical aspects to the brilliant casting choices. I am already excited about the two sequels that are planned but until then I will have to wait for Tony Stark's role in the upcoming Incredible Hulk (Written by and Starring Edward Norton). Comic book films are really beginning to pull some serious talent and dollars judging from the box office returns that Iron man is already showing! It must feel great to Marvel that they are finding such success with the first movie that they fully financed themselves. So maybe with all that new cash they will hurry up and make an epic Avengers movie.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.05.04 19:50

Albert Hofmann dies at 102

Some of the best things in life are discovered completely by accident. Such was the case of Hofmann and his most famous discovery while looking for medicinal uses of fungus found on grain and wheat. I wonder if his discovery and lifelong relationship with his "problem child" had anything to do with his long life? One thing is for sure, his work has had a profound impact on the world we live in and also on my experience of it. Rest in Peace!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.04.30 11:09

Seeward is ill

Not ill in the hiphop way of being cool or hip - ill in the sense of falling off of the map for a good while. I have been held up in the house with a wicked cough and will be visiting the doctor today to remedy the situation. Regular posting will resume shortly after my health improves!

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.04.30 08:33

Hit and Run @ the Hub

My friend AJ continues to push deeper into the Bahamian art scene with a one night only, one man show called Hit and Run. The show featured a combination of mediums from stencil on canvas to skateboard and kiteboard designs. The theme for the evening was punk and the word really summed up both the presentation and the feel of the show. Aj's strength in portraits really infused a human quality to the rugged and often color heavy paintings. By taking and manipulating some of his fantastic original photos, AJ recasts the faces in a way that invites a deeper reflection. This show also saw AJ branching out and spraying onto a variety of surfaces: masonite, cardboard and plastic.

The show was well attended and really generated a lot of conversation around both the images and the combination of canvases and objects displayed. Good on ya Arjuna!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.04.19 06:58

Dig Lazarus Dig !!!

"I don't know what it is but there's
definitely something going on upstairs"

From the opening dissonance of what sounds like a rusty saw being scraped with a carnival drill, you can sense that the bad seeds are ready to play bad. Gone are the soft soothing string arrangements that represent the softer and more reflective side of Cave's persona. This collection of songs is full of menace and swagger. Even the beautiful Hold on to Yourself is driven through with a dark and slightly twisted timbre. Jesus on the Moon offers a classic Cave narrative style that drifts nicely towards a lush and satisfying conclusion. Night of the Lotus Eaters is a tasty bit of wordy weirdness. The mood is so thick and the band is very understated only creating more pent-up energy and tension.More News from Nowhere closes out the cycle nicely but maybe chugs along for a bit too long.
One of my favorite tracks has been Accidents Will Happen from the pre-release EP. I am a sucker for a ragged voice and a folksy guitar. When the band drops in the songs becomes anchored and eventually deconstructs into a wildly poppy harmony-fest. We Called Upon the Author is a fantastic song on man levels. it has some rather unusual sounds and an even better lyric packed with witty wisdom. I love the line "I go guruing down the street..." Brilliant! Glad to see that Nick fallen into the same curse that plagued some of Leonard Cohen's middle period recordings. I Dig it Dig it Lazarus Dig it !!

"There is a chord in you that I could not find to strum" - Jesus of the Moon

post catagory: music posted on:2008.04.17 16:25

New Jersey 2008

post catagory: features posted on:2008.04.15 18:15

The Bank Job

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.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.04.06 20:39

On the Road to Emmaus

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

post catagory: clay posted on:2008.04.04 21:46

Spirituality

I have been reading a book lately that has been stirring up some thoughts. I realized that although I have given my life to learning about, exploring and teaching about Spirituality, I don't have a working definition for the word. Some would argue that a single definition is not possible and the word is a symbol or catch-all category for a wide range of ideas and experiences. I tend to agree with this assessment but I also thought I would reflect on what, in my own journey, the word has been used to catch. Here is my attempt at a working definition of the word Spirituality:

Spirituality is our capacity to consciously experience and respond appropriately to the Divine Presence in our daily lives.

I am sure that I read a similar definition along the way in my studies but I can't say for sure where. To follow from this definition, anything that helps bring the Divine presence into consciousness and helps us respond well is, in my book, considered spiritual. In all my searching and learning, I have yet to find anything as helpful as Jesus in discovering the Divine Presence and a model for how to respond to it in the midst of our daily living.
May your spirituality grow each day to sense the Divine Presence in all things and in all people.

post catagory: theology posted on:2008.04.02 12:44

3 Shirts for $30 Dollars

This is seeward's new line of Bahamian inspired T-shirt design. Someone should get on this and make a little cash out of the idea! I think the idea of Moneygami is inspired! It reminds us that money is best used to make something beautiful. If money becomes an end in itself then it looses its beauty. If it is intentionally crafted to cause something of higher value to occur then it can becomes a tool rather than a means to security. Here is a simple guide to make your own wardrobe!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.03.31 16:37

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Kevin Spacey has a knack for picking good movies to be associated with (with the exception of the stinker The Life of David Gale) So I had high expectations for 21:the movie. I can't say that I was disappointed but it did seem to lack any real depth beneath the trying-very-hard-to-be-hip-and-sexy vibe. Spacey anchors a cast of youngsters who do a decent job of holding their own, particularly the lead Jim Sturgess as the math genius who is recruited to lead the MIT Blackjack Team towards Vegas bliss. Interestingly for a movie about counting cards, you never get a clear explanation of what the card counting process actually is even though they keep referring to it as 'simple math'. That is most likely due to the fact that the real life people who the movie was based on have mostly made a living selling card counting help books and holding desperate gamblers weekend retreats. They can't give away for the price of admission their current livelihood now that they are banned from playing in the casinos for life. I am not nit picking because without any real knowledge of what is being done on the tables the action gets reduced to sexy close ups of cards being flipped over too high intensity techno music and you are left feeling that it was too easy. In real life the MIT team spent years losing lots of money before they perfected a system that only gave them a 4% better than chance advantage over house. The movie makes it seems like they are printing money. It was entertaining enough but it could have been so much more but what do you expect from the guys who brought us Legally Blonde.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.03.29 11:34

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

"Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:
Father, it's time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent."
- John 17

post catagory: clay posted on:2008.03.24 18:41

MoneyGami

Where art and commerce collide: The Art of Moneygami!

post catagory: websites posted on:2008.03.24 17:14

Sk8ting

A few posts ago I mentioned that my friend AJ had given me a custom painted skateboard as a gift. If you check out the above video you will see that my skating skills haven't changed a bit since I was in junior high school. I still shred it up to the Violent Femmes as well!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.03.24 13:40

What Does Easter Mean to You?

I made this short film for our Easter service. It is a series of short interviews about the meaning of Easter. It features a combination of footage that I shot and footage I gathered off of the web (the best footage came from Work of the People). Towards the end you will see a super-macro shot of a honey bee working on a fresh flower. I shot that with the marco setting on my video camera and it turned out great!

post catagory: features posted on:2008.03.22 17:29

KidRobot Invades

A few minutes ago something caught the corner of my eye and as I turned I realized that tiny Kid Robot had found his way into our house and was slowly sneaking up on the other clay figures in our collection. I was able to startle him and snap this quick shot before he scurried off talking on his futuristic robot cellie. It sounded like he was talking to his agent so you may soon see him making appearances in upcoming seeward films.

post catagory: clay posted on:2008.03.22 17:08

New Mind Reading Technology

Texas Instruments has set a high standard on two fronts. One for developing the first bit of technology that can read a person's thoughts. They also score top honors for having the creepiest presentation of said technology.
This little shows a demo where the machine, undercover as a styling turtleneck, intercepts the brains signals headed to the vocal cords and then interprets them back into the intended words. Right now it only has about 150 words in its vocabulary but things are improving quickly. We are truly living in unusual times and the rate of change does seem to be speeding up.

post catagory: society posted on:2008.03.21 19:42

Digg!!! Lazarus Digg!!!

"I used to be down the faithful man
Now I'm hanging with the doubting Thomas's" - Accidents Will Happen

If the two songs on the pre-release EP by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is any indication of the quality and tone of their forthcoming new album then we are in for a real treat. The title song strikes a swagger and grooves through the best of Cave's Grinderman experiments in grit and grizzle. Accidents Will Happen is a country-fied stomper full of loose and lively lyrics that wrap around a dense mix of layers that eventually give way to a background vocal part that sounds like the beach boys before a rusty guitar melts the mix in half. The Ep also comes with a fantastic video for Digg!!! with Nick and the boys channeling Ron Jeremy's mustache in front of a project urban scape.
"I don't know what it is but there's definitely something going on upstairs!"

post catagory: music posted on:2008.03.21 16:57

The Transpersonal Self

Since Freud, possibly with a little help from cocaine, gave us a well formed view of the Self as a static construction, there have been other models of psychology and the Self that are gaining traction in our increasingly fluid modern world. One view that makes a lot of sense to me it is the Trans-personal view of the Self. Psychologists tend to see the Self as a static identity(or Ego) that is strengthened or weakened based on whatever particular neurosis we might adopt to distract us from the terrifying reality that we are going to die. Trans-personal psychology conceives of a much more fluid model of the self that really resonates with my own personal experience of reality. I will attempt to explain my understanding of this model and how it relates to spiritual experience.

Lets not think of the Self as a static thing but a process that brings the illusion of stability to our experience of the chaos of reality. Rather than our static self reacting too and bouncing off of external reality that is outside of ourselves and concrete, imagine the self as an organizing mechanism that takes in all experiences and does the heavy lifting of interpreting those bits of experience based on our current stable map of reality. One way of looking at it would be that our minds form a map of reality that acts as a slightly pliable container not unlike a water balloon. We take the diverse and disconnected contents of reality (in this case the water) and it fills in our map and gives it shape and density. We experience this filled balloon as ourselves. The surface of the balloon is constantly being molded and slightly reshaped by our experiences. No matter how large our balloon of self may be, it will eventually bump into parts of reality that do not fit within the stretched membrane that has become our map of reality. These new bits of experience could be new information, they could be painful experiences or they could be anything that challenges the way we think the world works. When we are confronted with these new bits of reality that challenge us we only have two options:

1. We can tighten up the balloon and harden the edges and refuse to accept the new information. In this process we also lose touch with reality over time and use up a great deal of energy avoiding or denying the truth. This course of action is what makes religious fundamentalists who waste immense amounts of energy defending a rigid and incomplete view of reality (or scripture).

2. We allow the balloon to break and begin the process of creating a new deeper and more flexible map of reality. This process feels like death to our inner selves because we often mistake our interpretation and map of reality as reality itself. When we become overwhelmed by reality as it truly is, this can cause a great deal of trauma within ourselves. For a period we are forced to observe the world with fresh eyes and are required to revisit and reinterpret things in new ways. It can feel like becoming a child again. This makes intuitive sense and we even have a cliche ready made for the occasion when we help people see a bigger view of reality : "I don't want to burst your bubble but..."

What we call the self is really a complex process of trying to bring order and meaning to the chaos of living. This order has been shown to move through a few predictable phases as we develop and grow:

Phase One - Self Identification : We see the membrane of our balloon only stretching over the parts of ourselves that we accept and identify with. The other parts of ourselves that we can't accept get projected onto others and we interpret others through the cracked lenses of our own divided self. For instance we might have deep insecurity issues and therefore we are disgusted when we see someone else who appears insecure. We are really interpreting ourselves but we haven't learned to allow those parts of ourselves into our balloon.

Phase Two - Shadow Identification : The balloon breaks and we accept that we are not perfect and that all of the things that we hate in others are also found within ourselves. The chaos of this realization begins to find stability in a new map that interprets reality more accurately because there is less projecting our inner issues onto reality. We then begin to interpret others more accurately.

Phase Three - Familial Identification : Our balloon expands to include the parts of the world that we really love and enjoy but rejects the parts (and people) that we do not like or agree with. A similar process that happened within us at the previous phase is now happening in our larger interpretations of reality. We are less self focused but we are still interpreting reality from a very self obsessed place. All value and meaning is based on our personal perspective and desires.

Phase Four - Non-Dual Identification : We begin to accept all people and things as part of reality without defending ourselves or rejecting anything. This is a state of being that allows us to truly see the world as it is and interpret it accurately without the imposition of our own defensive attempts at dealing with chaos and uncertainty.

This is just my best understanding at this point about what I am processing and is in no way a full and complete explanation. It is just my attempt at understanding what is happening within me : and all of us. Jesus put it like this:

"Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." - Matthew 9:17

post catagory: theology posted on:2008.03.20 08:47

Lucid Dreaming

I had my first lucid dream last evening. Meaning that in the middle of the dream I realized that I must be dreaming and then was able to take control of the dream and do whatever I wanted. The dream began while I was swimming in the pool in the house that we used to live in in Miami. A got out of the pool and realized that my glasses were broken. In real life I broke my glasses a few months ago so the reaction was fresh in my mind. In the dream, for some reason, my friends son Jack, was to blame for the broken glasses and I was bitterly blaming him for the real life broken glasses also. In the middle of the rant I suddenly asked myself "Could this be a dream?". Everything was so real and vivd.
At first I struggled and decided that it wasn't a dream and that my glasses were actually broken again. This made me even more angry. Then I remembered something that I had read about lucid dreaming. Light switches do not work in dreams (no one knows why this is the case but it seems to be for all people). I walked over to the light switch and flipped it up and down. Nothing happened so I turned to the 'dream Jack' and smiled. Then I got excited and fully accepted that I was awake in my dream! I walked over to a group of strangers that suddenly had appeared in the living room area of the house and grabbed one of them by the cheek. It felt so real, even the feeling of razor stubble and the weight of the head as I tugged on his cheek. I decided that if I could do anything then I could think of much cooler things to do than tug on some strangers face. With that thought I leaped off the ground and flew straight through the french doors that separated the dinning room for the pool area. I continued to rise as I flew through the screen and off towards the sky. I made a quick fly over of my old elementary school and was just about to cross over the Florida Turnpike when the excitement woke me up.
I quickly got up and wrote down the details so I would remember them for later. i have read that one of the benefits of meditation is Lucid Dreaming and now I know for sure. The practice of meditation, or lowering your brain-wave frequency while staying awake, trains your brain to be able to enter deeper wave patterns with more blood flow than normal. When you are asleep your brain goes into a delta wave pattern which has very little energy and blood flow in the brain. In fact the frontal cortex that is responsible for self-directed thought isn't even active while dreaming. That is why you feel like the dream is happening to you not that you are controlling it yourself. So when your brain gets used to going into deeper wave cycles while awake, the increased blood flow allows the frontal cortex to fire up while you are in deep sleep. Some life long meditating monks never lose consciousness even in deep dreamless sleep. I could not imagine what it must be like to be conscious 24 hours a day! I am no Zen monk but I very pleased to have been surprised by this little adventure and when it happens again I will try to not get so excited and enjoy it for a bit longer.

post catagory: general posted on:2008.03.18 08:12

Max Taylor : The Other Side

Last night was the official opening of the Popopstudios Centre for the Visual Arts. The evening featured a retrospective of Bahamian artist Max Taylor. (you can scroll down for an interview that John Cox did with him for the show). The work was all across the board from pencil and ink drawing to dark umber portraits and large, bright African inspired paintings. A series of what looked to be watercolors really spoke to me. The forms were so delicate and the faces were stylized in a fashion that I can only describe as 70's cartoon. The pieces I liked were from the early 80's and had a much more sophisticated look than the more rough and incomplete feel of the larger canvases. Max is quite a talented wood carver and apparently a potter as well since there were a half dozen bowls with colorful fish painted on them on display as well. In the interview Max talked about the Social Voice of art but this show lacked that edge of commentary and drifted quickly into purely aesthetic realms. Although I spied a group of what looked like hooded clansmen in one of the pen and ink drawing, I wasn't really able to tell if they were actually clansmen or just clergy. Maybe that was the point but that kind of social commentary could have only made sense in Max's new home in USAmerica.
Kudos to John and the POPOP crew for making the ground and gallery look splendid, I am looking forward to the coming shows in this new space.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.03.13 09:30

Boxed In @ The Hub

This week is the biggest week for art in the Bahamas! With the Transforming Spaces exhibition taking place this weekend and involving 12 gallery/exhibition locations and just about every artist in the country, it is a busy week for art lovers. Last night we attended the first exhibition in a cool new space called The Hub. It was a group show featuring 6 established artists: Jonathan Murray, Holly and Lynn Parotti, Margo Bethel, Jackson Pettit and AJ Watson. The above image is from Jackson's film Black Liquid which featured a male model (artist Jonathan Murray) being soaked in black paint. It was quite a powerful film for only lasting 1 minute and evoked many strong reactions (not all positive which is a sign of effective art as far as I am concerned). AJ Watson, under the DECYPUL moniker, presented two custom skateboards:



AJ has continued to make his mark on the cultural scene and is one of the few artists who is displaying this weekend at a number of featured galleries. He even gifted me with one of the custom downhill boards!
The feel of the event and the rough trade look of the place really captured my attention. I am looking forward to great things from The Hub in the future, not just as a gallery space but a point of connection for creative and like minded people to gather and explore new possibilities for life and spirit. More reports from the other galleries will be forthcoming as the week moves on!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.03.12 12:52

Max Taylor Interview

I was fortunate enough to film John Cox interviewing Max Taylor yesterday at the Popop Center for the Visual Arts. Check out the video above as he discussed color theory and the role of social and political activism within artwork.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.03.11 10:16

Let Go of Your Life...

"Anyone who saves their life, will lose it: Anyone who loses their life will save it" - Jesus

People have been willing to die for many things. Some have put their lives on the line for the environment, while others have risked their lives for political ideologies and lost. But what did Jesus feel was worth sacrificing it all for? He asked His earliest disciples to give up all earthly possessions, turn away from Father and Mother, and even to carry their own crosses as they drank from the martyrs cup: but why?
The idea of suffering for doing the 'right' thing or for obeying God was deeply imbedded within the Jewish world view and Jesus even referenced it during the Sermon on the Mount when He declared those who suffer, like the Prophets of History, for the coming of God's Kingdom will be blessed. One a emotional level it makes sense that anyone who lives with a fear of death has already died, since every action is taken in a cloud of fear and caution. A life that is worthwhile and genuine can only begin when on is willing to die. What could motivate that type of radical change of heart that allows someone to step outside of the natural structures of hesitancy and fear?
I believe Jesus' answer is: People are the only thing worth dying for. It is the heart obligation of love and compassion that you would do anything required to remove the suffering of those that you love, even if it meant that you began to suffer. It is the threshold of suffering, and death, that keeps us from the freedom of real love for one another. It is our fear of death that is barring the open door to God's Kingdom. It is love and compassion that leads us through the door and lightens our burdens of fear and caution that have kept us in darkness. Only when we lose ourselves enough to the sacrifice of love, do we get a glimpse of God: for God is love. It is in these small, but profoundly challenging ways, that God's spirit moves out advancing the Kingdom. Sometimes it causes me great pain to realize that we (the Church) have avoided wrestling with these core issues by creating a theology around personal holiness and the management of sinful behaviors. he didn't spend a great deal of time trying to teach people how to avoid temptations. He spent His time trying to build our faith in a new kind of life in God's Kingdom. A life where we are willing to lose our lives for the sake of others so that we may be reborn as Children of a Loving God.

"The Son of Man did not come into this world to be served but to serve and offer His life as a ransom for many" - Mk 10:45

post catagory: theology posted on:2008.03.11 08:58

The Marley Resort

We had the pleasure of celebrating our good friend Debra Higgs birthday last night at the newly opened Marley Resort and Spa. The place was fantastic even though the restaurant, Simmer Down, hasn't opened yet but the bar, Stir it Up, is fully functional and stocked with a fine selection of beers!



There was a sirt-of wedding reception going on there so teh place was very crowded and quite loud which made for a lively time. My favorite part of the night was when I got mistaken for Johnny Depp (which made Nicole as happy as it made me =) They have put so much work into making the place loot fabulous, it is a pity that most sections were too dark for my camera to get good shots of. Interested parties will have to check out the link above.





Happy Birthday Debs!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.03.09 18:30

Christian is Fierce!

Call it the subtle influence of people I respect, I have become interested in fashion all of a sudden. Not that I am going to run out and buy a couture suit or anything, I am just beginning to appreciate the design and creativity that goes into making something beautiful to wear. I been watching the final few episodes of Project Runway and last night the infant terrible Christian won the final $100,000 prize after designing a line of clothes that were edgy and sleek at the same time. Guest judge, Victoria Beckham, said she would love to wear his clothes (we'll forgive him for that one!) While he is only 21 years old he has a firm command of his creative process and continually delivered things that impressed me (and the judges)
I must be getting old because yesterday I caught myself daydreaming about buying a stylish suit!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.03.06 15:10

The Feeling : 12 Steps and Home

Apparently good music still finds its way through the rusted corridors of what has become of the music industry. UK based The Feeling have crafted a sophomore album full of catchy tunes and more Beatles musical references than you can shake a pair of tight leather pants at. "Love it When You Call" has restored my faith in pop song-writing, while rocking like early Cars and swooning like the Beach Boys, this tune is pure aural ear candy! Rose' is a nice mid-tempo track anchored by a soothing arrangement of lush vocal melodies and piano twinkles. From the first track, Sewn, the hooks just keep coming and the production is full of nice subtle surprises without ever sounding contrived (A hard thing to do when the band trades in such familiar retro-ish territory). I have only been listening to this album for a few days but already its my favorite collection of songs in many months!

post catagory: music posted on:2008.03.03 14:56

The Head Trip : Jeff Warren

The Head trip is a guided tour around your own brain in nice bite size and digestible chunks. Have you ever wondered what happens during deep sleep? or why we sometimes fall into a low level trance when driving the familiar path to our home? By giving his personal observations alongside personal interviews and extensive research on everything from hypnosis to entrainment of brain waves through neuro-feedback loops, Jeff Warren weaves a masterful, if scientifically biased, tour of consciousness. What I mean by scientifically biased is that he is intentionally distancing himself from the average new age 'brain science/kosmic spirituality' gurus that have cropped up lately. By staying close to the research put forward by the world's foremost researchers and only using his personal experiences as a support, the book steers clear of sounding like a self help manual, although I am sure it will be very helpful to lots of interested people. At times the physiology of the body/brain begins to sound very much like a computer system. i am not sure if this is just a simple metaphor because of the proliferation of personal computers of whether the design and architecture of personal computing was imprinted with the blueprints of brain mechanics. Either way, the idea of 'harnessing' each of these various states of consciousness (deep sleep, hypnosis, and more) seems very empowering.
take the story of Thomas Edison who developed a way to tap into the brain's most creative state: The Hypnagogic - that moment right before you fall into a deep sleep. By taking an intentional nap in front of his desk with two small steel balls in each hand. Edison was sure he would wake up as soon as he drifted off and released the balls to smash hard on two metal plates that he set on the floor. As soon as the crash woke him up, he would quickly lean forward an write down what was on his mind. This way of tapping the deep layers of unconscious activity associated with sleep for creative inspiration was also mined by Salvador Dali who devised a similar technique involving metal keys rather than steel balls. Dali would paint whatever image he brought up out of his sleeping mind (this explains a lot about Dali's work!) This technique even has a practical history beyond the invention of the light-bulb. Paul McCartney has said that the song Yesterday (voted by Rolling Stone to be the greatest pop song written so far) came fully formed as he awake from a dream.
The Head Trip is full of interesting applications and explorations for each state that the average person passes through in their head space every day. I can't begin to image a world where this kind of practical knowledge about what it means to be human is taught to children as part of a more holistic educational paradigm. Anyone who wants to see just a small glimpse into the brain-tech future should do a little searching for the concept of Binaural Beats. We may never be the same again!

post catagory: books posted on:2008.02.29 09:14

Fashion Art Crime

I have gained a new appreciation for the level of creativity that goes into creating fashion from watching this season of Project Runway. It is not the type of show that normally appeals to me but the diversity of creative expression that the designers pour out so quickly raises them a notch above the other rats-in-a-digital-cage judging shows. The above fashions are not from a lost episode of Project Runway, they are actually from this week's Paris Fashion Week. The design house Viktor & Rolf were apparently trying to make a statement about 'Fast Fashion' (the types of made in china street-level fashions that most of us can afford) The look is very surreal and one that I can see catching on in more popular (read cheaper) versions. It would be fun to walk around with an object jutting its way out of your outfit. Image the crazy possibilities!

post catagory: society posted on:2008.02.28 13:19

Vantage Point

Forest Whitaker's bulging and shaking aside, there isn't much of a point to Vantage Point. On the surface it is a political thriller with a generic terrorist gang attacking the US president. The main problem is that is fails to go below the surface. It does have some original coverage of the old car-chase on a crowded street driving the the opposite way but even that wear thin after a short while. The film had some great talent in Forest and Sigourney Weaver but it really failed to get them into any interesting situations. The first half of the film has about seven pause/rewind tricks that replay the assassination of the president from almost every possible angle. After the third one you are left feeling that Freud might have some thoughts about the filmmakers dark sub-conscious repression of hostility. But when the film actually begins to move forward the hostility is fully unmasked as every last member of the President's entourage are shot like fish in a barrel, most before they even saw it coming. I am not a prude when it comes to onscreen violence but when it is utterly devoid of a compelling narrative it just feels disgusting. I felt similar feeling during Mission Impossible 3 watching the violence careen into comic book dimensions while my actual entertainment flat-lines.
Did I mention that Forest Whitaker is a very shaky and bulging man.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.02.24 15:59

No Fumar!

It has been over a year since I smoked my last cigarette. I would love to say that it was the product of much prayer and spiritual strength but I am certain that it was simply the practical fruits of reading Alan Carr's How to Stop Smoking the Easy Way. If you have any loved one's who want to quit, I HIGHLY recommend this book to them as a tool that retrains your brain. I feel so much healthier and generally stronger and more hopeful than I did last year. I realize that might have other causes but it does fill me with hope to think that something I had almost lost hope of ever letting go of, is now more than a year behind me! Life is truly full of limitless possibilities!

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.02.19 13:53

Obey Obama

Since I don't live in the United States this isn't really an endorsement but merely an observation. The above poster is a statement on how inspiring Obama is to creative people like Obey Giant 's Sheppard Farey. It is also a statement on the increasing role that the street art urban forms are playing in mainstream culture.

post catagory: society posted on:2008.02.18 18:06

The Bible : Karen Armstrong

"Reading the Bible is not an academic exercise, it is a spiritual quest!" - Karen 'Runaway Nun' Armstrong

It takes a great deal of time for the truth to filter out to the masses. This is even more true when the masses are threatened by the truth and build huge walls of defensiveness and denial around their ignorance. For instance, it has been a number of centuries since critical theory has been applied to the Holy Scriptures but it has only been in the last few decades that the masses have had to wrestle with the implications of these new techniques. Often this is understandable given that many truths spend far too lang locked within the language of the academy and are rarely restated in ways that are accessible without a great deal of intellectual investment. Karen Armstrong is among a special group of writers who have a gift for retelling the scholarly and academic perspective on things in a way that make sense to the average person. But even though she has done a great deal of the work for you, reading The Bible will still prove to be a task that requires investment.

As she winds through the multi-layers of Hebrew thought and theological editing of what we call 'The Scriptures' she is assaulting many sacred cows whose blood may spill over those whose minds are closed against new ideas. She walks a fine line of showing tremendous respect and even submission to the scriptures while purging many unhelpful concepts that have embedded themselves within the Christian tradition. What remains after the journey is a richer and more mysterious view of the purpose and value of sacred writings and the ways that history has sharped (and at times obscured) the message contained with The Bible.

If you are interested, like me, in seeing things as they are then this book will be helpful in seeing the scriptures in fresh and historical ways. If you are prone to holding your convictions with an iron fist then you should steer clear and use you time to write a Christian commentary on the final Harry Potter novel.

post catagory: books posted on:2008.02.12 10:16

The Assassination of Jesse James...

America has always had a love affair with the Outlaw Spirit. This film does a great job of putting you inside that affection during the late 1800's fascination with Jesse James and his train robbing gang. Long before the thug exploits of modern outlaws like 50 cent or John Gotti, a generation of people were entertained by the outside of the law adventures of Frank and Jesse James. Brad Pitt is his usual crafty and charismatic self, adding the occasional violent outburst to round out the character, who comes across as menacing more than likable. The real stand out here is Ben's little brother Casey who holds together a very complex mix of fear, ambition and courage. There are times when you are rooting for the coward Robert Ford and other times when you are disgusted by his insecurities but overall he is is impossible to dismiss. Nick Cave was involved in making the musical elements pitch the tone in a decidedly more moody key than many period pieces. Nick even makes a short cameo as a rambling minstrel singing a rowdy folk song about Jesse's death.
In the end, for me, the movie was about the hunger for fame and the emergence of celebrity-mania. This is the broad stroke, brushed over a very intimate portrait of a certain kind of life led outside of conventions where even your friends might shoot you in the back.

post catagory: movies posted on:2008.02.07 09:03

Happy Birthday Bob!

There's a natural mystic blowing through the air
If you listen carefully now you will hear.
This could be the first trumpet, might as well be the last
Many more will have to suffer,
Many more will have to die - don't ask me why.

- Natural Mystic

post catagory: general posted on:2008.02.06 09:21

Tim and Selima Hauber

Click here to download the movie for yourself!

post catagory: general posted on:2008.02.04 16:25

The Study of Imagination

I came across a wonderful site for the Multi-Disciplinary Study of Imagination. It is a group of artists, poets, doctors, writers and more who are getting together to share ideas and research on the human imagination. You can see a diverse and thought provoking mix of videos here or read more about the upcoming live webcast events here.
The group is taking part in an interesting three month project called Brainwave in NYC. Brainwave is worth checking out for its interactive blend of fringe science and creative arts projects. Last week to kick off the event a man set the world record for being locked in a tank full of ice for over an hour and tomorrow evening Lou Reed is going to be discussing his newest poems on meditation with a neuro-biologist. If you go to the site be sure to check out the round table discussion on the way the brain works during dream states.
Its easy sometimes to forget that we live in a mysterious and wonderful world full of potential and possibilities.

post catagory: websites posted on:2008.01.29 07:01

I AM JOHN COX : PROJECTS

The creative and code-writing wheels have been spinning overtime for the last few weeks as I finish up a new interactive website for artist John Cox. The site is a collision of various images, videos, and writings that offer another layer of experience for John's ongoing abstract conceptual works. Check out the site : HERE and I also put a link into the right side link bar for the future. If you check it out, be sure and leave a comment.

post catagory: websites posted on:2008.01.25 17:48

Ken Wilber Has Famous Friends

I was beginning to worry that Ken Wilber, and the future of spiritual evolution, had run its course when I noticed how commercial the posts on Ken's Blog were getting. Every other post just a sample of what they are selling over at Integral Naked. But from this image you can clearly see that Ken is still making money with his integral psychology practice. Famous clients like this must have Ken rolling in the moulah - or samsara! Its not easy being Integral.

post catagory: general posted on:2008.01.22 21:50

Nassau Ink

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.01.21 18:21

Eels : Useless Trinkets

When I was a youngster working the racks at the local music store, we used to get our choice of the promotional albums that the managers had already picked through and decided were crap. Boy did they make a mistake with a the disc A MAN CALLED E. I was intrigued by the odd looking man playing a toy piano on the cover and when I finally heard the music it contained I became a committed fan of Mark Everett or the mysterious man called E. He reminded me of Brian Wilson but with a less hippy-fied take on the world. I continued to purchase his two fantastic solo discs before he formed, probably my favorite all time band : Eels. When I worked at Sony Music Studios in NYC, the highlight of my employment was the chance to sit in the front row as Eels taped their Sessions at West 54th Street, TV gig. I was like a school girl seeing The Beatles - really!

I say this all to set the context for my thoughts on their newest release of rare and unreleased tracks : Useless Trinkets. It is a comprehensive (50 tracks) romp through their experiments, remixes, live recordings and songs that just never made it onto their official releases. For an Eels fan the title is a bit misleading because, for my money, the BBC live recording of Manchester Girl is far from useless. We also get to hear unexpected bursts of genius or tour-weary insanity in tracks like My Beloved Mad Monster Party and My Beloved Monstrosity, both punked up and jazz twisted takes on the very beautiful and delicate My Beloved Monster. Saw a UFO ends the eclectic cycle and hits all the notes of classic Eels material: aching melancholy, beautiful melodies, observations about the strange times we live in and a childlike hunger for love. I hope E is cleaning out his closet to move forward but I hope he continues to write with such honesty, playfulness and depth.

post catagory: music posted on:2008.01.16 10:13

Wonderfully Made

A short film from the children's ministry in the art studio. They learned about the importance of community and accepting all people as beautiful creations of God while making freaky figures out of clay. Some of them turned out really nice and the overall effect is very cool!

post catagory: post subject posted on:2008.01.14 14:45

Shattering Surfaces: Wynwood Art Magazine

The newest issue of Wynwood Magazine has an article that I wrote last year covering the work of John Cox. The article explores the context of John's work and offers a bit of commentary about the place of Bahamian cultural development and the definition of Bahamian Art. You can read the article online here.

post catagory: general posted on:2008.01.12 18:49

Make Art Not War!

Yes these are sculptures made from old guns. In an interesting project in Cambodia, UK artistSasha Constable worked alongside 22 emerging artist to create these (and many more at the from her name) works made from guns:

"The 23 young Cambodian artists who worked with PAPC were all fine art students from The Royal University of Fine Art in Phnom Penh (RUFA). They ranged from 20-28 years old and were from the Painting, Sculpture and Interior Decoration departments. "

Not only are the sculptures well executed but the ideas that it generates are just as impressive.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.01.10 17:09

Setups | Situations | Solutions

The latest exhibition at the newly expanded popopstudios featured new works by the trio of John Cox, Heino Schmidt and Blue Curry. As always the work offered many interesting directions to guide the wandering mind through the collision of mixed media and traditional techniques like painting and pencil drawing. All three artists featured new work that all seemed to be addressing or responding to different ideas with equal levels of wit and invention.

Heino Schmidt's Six of One, half a Dozen of the Other was a very satisfying combination of shaky dashboard video driving through Nassau's streets and some well executed line drawings of a rugged looking man in 360 degrees. Heino articulated just enough to give the drawing character but still allowing you to fill in the details. Check out the video to see what I mean. This has got to be the most moving piece of Heino's that I have experienced. i will have to go back and watch the whole video loop.

Blue Curry's video installation traces the history of a statue that was unveiled in 1900 in Nassau to great celebrations. Within a few years the holiday honoring the man in the statue was taken off the books and a few years later the statue landed in the back of the Bahamas National Library storage. Blue heard about the statue's sorry state from a Tourist's comment post on an internet forum. Being from the Bahamas while living in London, Blue tracked down the statue in the storage closet and gave it a makeover complete with fetching blue eye shadow and a sturdy duct-tape necklace. It is as if new technologies are helping to reboot our discarded histories by re-infusing it's artifacts with meaning - or irony, I am not sure which direction Blue might have been leaning. Reading the timeline that he had printed

John Cox continues in his intriguing exploration within the I Against I series. Four of the six canvases this time do not feature words and simply offer shadowy sea greens and low res blue images which convey a much less confrontational stance than previous works in this series. The absence of textual symbolisms to guide (or distract) the viewer gives the pieces a soothing calm. The final two pieces are a study in opposites. I Against I's cold blues and shocking night-safety writing is a cluster of clashing energies while Champion is a soft mesh of tranquility. This piece speaks to me of resolution. As if the first piece when you enter is the first punch that starts the fight. we get a few rounds of give and take and then suddenly the knock out punch. With the figure of Cox now buried beneath an cloudy mix of zen floral shapes the overall image is beautifully abstract and decidedly more feminine in tone than anything I have seen in Cox's previous work.

I am currently working on a new website project featuring three streams in John's current work. I will surely post the link when it is soon finished. I really enjoyed this exhibition and look forward to going back to see the work again.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2008.01.07 20:54

Punk Marketing : The End of Rebellion?

What happens when the underground becomes just another marketing platform? It seems that there is a crusader who will make sure that once something is street, it stays street. Meet Splasher a self proclaimed undoer of corporate co-opting of the graffiti and street art forms. I can understand why he (or she) may want to splash paint on the street posters of Obey Grand Wizard Shepard Fairy's work. I was reading a Q magazine a few weeks ago and saw that Shep had created some images to sell Crown Royal Bottles. It seems that this really upset Slasher and he went on a bit of a rampage destroying all the OBEY posters he could find. I am not sure I completely agree with this reaction but I do think its interesting that subcultures like street art have a certain organic self governing system. If you step too far into the mainstream then some punk will step up to give you a splash to the face.

post catagory: society posted on:2008.01.07 16:30

Vimeo is the Way to Go

After a year long search for a new online video hosting service that doesn't destroy the quality of uploaded videos, I have found the answer : VIMEO. Not only do they leave your videos in high definition, they also allow you to use any aspect ratio so the videos have a much smoother film-ish presentation. This video is an older video I worked on for John Cox. Check out the same video on YOUTUBE here and see the difference.

post catagory: websites posted on:2008.01.03 21:12

Salvation and Expanding Consciousness:Pt 2

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the
inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents...
some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge
will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our
frightful position therein." - HP Lovecraft

I no longer think of enlightenment as the ascending of some mystical ladder into the heavenly realms. Rather than a "raising of the levels", it seems better to think of expanding consciousness as a process of widening rather than climbing. Like a fractal that extends outward in all directions and leaves an ever increasing complex web of beauty behind, the expanding of human consciousness seems to be about knitting together a fuller map of experiences and information. Lovecraft made a great point in the above quote and I think he touched on a major tension of our times. With new vantage points that we have been provided by new technologies, the view of reality that has emerged can be "terrifying". It is at these new points of intersection that we are forced to either invent new ways of connecting reality together or to expend massive amounts of energy to try and hold the center that is rapidly dissolving under our feet. If we can risk jumping into the tensions and not avoiding them, we may be able to knit together new world-views that will, for awhile, give us back our illusions of certainty and comfort.

This widening process is also thrust upon every individual person as they journey in life. More experiences and more information have a way of forcing us to accept new connections that we might not normally see. I think of the moment when someone first considers that the person who they felt threatened by or even opposed, was, in many profound ways, very similar to themselves. What do you choose to do with this new information? Do you allow it to challenge your deep seated convictions and then reform a model of relationship that offers compassion and love to even your enemies? When you risk this new way of loving, I believe that your consciousness has expanded to include (rather than oppose) more of reality. The main problem is that in order to allow this expansion we must allow the painful death of letting go of our older ways of connecting the dots together.

I still believe that Jesus has many powerful tools to offer a person who wishes to go through the process of "death to life" but I also think that Jesus was primarily connecting dots that are now becoming self evident. We must go off the charts towards the mysterious and unexpected movements of The Spirit in order to navigate into the new world that is being birthed before our eyes.
Many of these thoughts are still conceptual but I intend to circle around thee themes for awhile as I work out articulating what I am discovering. I would welcome any thoughts.

post catagory: theology posted on:2008.01.03 11:08

New Beginnings

Another year break onto the scene. Lets pray that 2008 is full of blessings and new advances in the way of Grace and Peace. I have a few things cooking for the site in the New Year so stay tuned and you just may become famous:


br>for 15 seconds!

post catagory: personal posted on:2008.01.01 12:20

Salvation and Expanding Consciousness : Part One

"I pray that they may be One" - Jesus in John 17

I once believed that salvation was only about the forgiveness of sins. I was taught that the whole of God's message to human beings involved a spiritual/legal transaction that removed the punishment of sins and the burden of guilt from those that had the wisdom to choose salvation by repenting and asking for forgiveness. While I still do hold onto the metaphysical framework that underpins these concepts of sinfulness, salvation and repentance, I no longer feel that salvation is only about the forgiveness of sins. I tend to think of this framework of sin/repentance as the ground floor in a much larger building that is being constructed through the lives of the Followers of Jesus. In order to understand the purpose of the entire building we must look closely at the foundation and see what purpose it serves in holding up the subsequent floors.

At the early stages of our development as human beings we become aware of ourselves and we don't always like what we see. We are confronted with parts of ourselves and parts of our pasts that we would rather not have to face. Some people are very accomplished at blocking out those unwanted and undesirable aspects of themselves but that is a subject for another day. Lets focus primarily on the type of person who has had the courage to see themselves as they really are. What do we do with the unwanted parts? How do we reconcile the fact that often we would like to be loving and kind but find ourselves, instead, being hurtful and petty? How do we move forward when it seems that, somewhere deep within, we are broken and incomplete? This is where the message of sin and repentance enters into our lives in positive and life giving ways. We are taught a whole framework for looking at the world that not only acknowledges our brokenness and unwanted parts but also offers us a way of accepting them. If we believe that these unwanted and broken parts can be forgiven by the ultimate authority : GOD, then it can help us in the process of accepting them as part of ourselves. "To be saved" in the traditional sense is a way of learning tools that help us to accept and integrate our shadow side rather than spending wasteful time on guilt and shame. For people who are struggling with accepting themselves this can be a powerful message of freedom and healing. This is a message of personal inner salvation.

The problem I struggle with is that Jesus talked about a whole lot more than just the forgiveness of personal sins (a strong case could be made that he rarely talked about sin in personal terms but rather mostly in terms of a communal or cultural sin) For Jesus the struggle he most seemed to addressing was not so much the inner struggle with guilt and sin but the society's struggle with integrating the unwanted or unlovable aspects back into the whole. One of the main ways that people became 'shadow' (or rejected and shameful) people in Jesus' world was by their inability to perform up to the standards of God's law. The same dynamic of integrating the broken and unwanted parts of ourselves is recast within the drama of the Gospels as Jesus' life and teachings seem to be knitting back together the shadow sides of society in the same way that the forgiveness of personal sins help knit the individual back into an integrated whole. Jesus' mission seemed to enact the integration of all people back into God's whole.

Is the message of 'Oneness" any less a message of salvation than the 'forgiveness of sins"? In my view, it is an even wider and expansive salvation that points toward the greater reality of the connectedness of all people (and all things).

Stay tuned for part two about the consciousness part of the title.

post catagory: theology posted on:2007.12.18 11:29

The Best 5 Albums of 2007

5. The Reminder : Feist
This album finds a nice middle ground between the bristling pop of 1234 to the sleepy wash of Brandy Alexander. Even before the iPod commercial, I was flipping around on the television and I caught the first verse of 1234. I paused to listen and by the end of the song I was hooked. The rest of songs stay midtempo but completely satisfying.



4. Grinderman : Grinderman
This album is full of more cock and swagger than an aging Nick Cave should be allowed to flaunt. The guitar tones will melt half of your face right off if you lean into the speakers at the wrong moment. Cave's profound grasp of literary device give the lyrics an equal sting. No Pussy Blues just might be the pinnacle acheivement in the evolution of the crotch rock genre. You get a real sense that Nick and the boys are having lots of fun playing in the mud - "I must above all love myself!"



3. Cassadaga : Bright Eyes
It appears that young Connor Oberst is growing up, but slowly. Cassadaga is a jangly romp that seems to present a more restrained Conor coming to terms with his inde-cult fame and pans for the future. The title is a telling reference to the Cassadaga Spiritualist Centre where Conor went seeking a spirit guide for the future. Coat Check Dream Song is one of the true songwriting jems that Mr Oberst has shuffled forth.



2. In Rainbows : Radiohead
"It's about that anonymous fear thing, sitting in traffic, thinking, 'I'm sure I'm supposed to be doing something else' " is the way Thom Yorke characterized the themes within In Rainbows. When I listen to this record I feel in many ways that I am finally listening to OK Computer's anticipated sequel. That is both because some of the songs and fragments have been featured in Radiohead live shows since the OKC period but because the band has fused together in interesting and hypnotic ways that have been more fragmented on the albums inbetween. This one will last longer in my iPod than Amnesiac.



1. How to Sell Soul to a Souless People Who Sold Their Soul : Public Enemy
After 7 years of watching from the sidelines as hiphop literally slides into the gutter, Chuck D steps up to the mic and lays it down with power and prose. I could have used a lot less Flava Flav and a few more guests to round out Chuck's wisdom. Nothing slams harder than Black is Back and both album versions of Harder than you Think but the most impressive track might be The Long and Whinning Road where Chuck mellow raps the titles to every Public Enemy album as well as about 50 Bob Dylan song titles. A word play that I think might have even impressed Mr Zimmerman himself. On a final note they should give an award for the best album title ever and it should go to PE for this album!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.12.12 20:01

An Unethical God

"I've had a vision and
you know I'm strong and holy,
I must do what I've been told." - Story of Isaac - Leonard Cohen

The story of Abraham and Isaac has never sat very well within my heart. It has raised, within me, countless questions about the nature of God and the real purposes behind this biblical God's interactions with His people. On one level, the idea that God would ask for a father to kill his only son reaps of violence and only makes sense once you come to the final act and see that God rescued Abraham from committing the sacrifice of his beloved. I can wrap my head around the story, as long as it remains, on the surface, a story about obedience. Where things go south for me is when I begin to enter into the story, not as a complete package but as an unfolding narative experience. When I ask the questions about Abraham's inner turmoil during this little episode, then new questions enter into my mind. If this is a story about obedience, then we are forced to ask, "What is Abraham being asked to obey?" Either way you look at it, Abraham is locked into a paradox of emotional pain. On one hand if he obeys God and kills his only son then his heart is broken. If he refuses to obey God, and spares Isaac, then he may suffer a crueler fate than heartbrokeness. Is God simply testing Abraham or is He teaching him something about the fluid and situational nature of what it means to obey God?

We often think of obedience in terms of following some prescribed system of morality or ethics. "To obey" often means to do what is mandated in some external system such as God's Law or our community's established standards for behavior. But what do we do when the author of God's Law asks us to do something that is forbidden in the law? Doesn't this paradox beg us to consider that obedience is not simply an external, or measurable, matter but also a deeply personal matter of the inner workings of God's spirit within us.

In John 3 Jesus says, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit." This idea that following the fluid movement of the spirit is a more difficult undertaking than simply following the rules, is beginning to unlock the meaning of the Abraham and Isaac story for me. In his wonderful and probing book, Fragments of the Spirit, Mark I. Wallace says, "God as Spirit is the wind who blows as she wills; and as such, God as spirit can be no more understood within the confines of an ethical or philosophical system than the wind can be explained by reference to a weathervane." I love this picture because I believe that, at the core, we often misunderstand the essential point is to know God and bring God's will to bear in our lives. God's will is not contained within a legal system of "do's and don'ts". It is this freedom beyond established ethics that got Jesus into so much trouble with His contemporaries.

The meaning of the Abraham and Isaac text seems to be centered around our dynamic faith and obedience in relation to God's radical freedom. Is it possible that Abraham was being taught the ways that he had misinterpreted God by God himself shattering all preconcieved notions of the Divine nature. God is a good God who also kills. The paralells between the story of Isaac and the story of Jesus are startling. In Jesus, God enacts the same sacrifice of a son that Abraham confronted and we are left with the brutal truth that God cannot be fully known through our ethical and moral systems, even the ones that are "God ordained"

post catagory: theology posted on:2007.12.12 08:24

2012 : Daniel Pinchbeck

Pinchbeck is an intriguing figure in the post-everything journalistic hinterlands. At times his writing bristles with an energy as if it was blasted through the complex patterns of a fractal. Crossing the map through many back alley fringes of contemporary and ancient cultures, Pinchbeck really knows how to weave an interesting, if intensely personal tale for our liminal times. It is quite impressive that he is not only able to find academic connections between so many varied sources that all seem to be telling a similar tale of apocalyptic transition and further evolution of the human species, but that he is also brave enough to share so much of his personal baggage as well as insight. It is strange that with so much various bits of experience that get presented in 2012, I seemed to be really moved by one fragment of a line:

The Secret Road to the Open Heart

While I had a time in my journey when I might have argued differently, I am not convinced that long term use of psychedelics is that secret road. I identified with many of his stories of powerful insights coming from the use of LSD and other exotic concoctions such as Ayahuasca but I also felt that he was stretching to make some personal intuitions more universal. The eventual thrust of the book is a narrative account of Daniel's life as he travels around to different shamanic cultures and lets them blow his over intellectualized western mind. Just to make sure that all bases are covered, he also conducts his research in the chaos-city of Burning Man. While I dissagree with him on many points, I do agree with his central thesis that we are in a phase of human development that is causing rapid waves of expanding consciousness that could well change the basic experience of being human. He mentions a few of the potential transformations:

1.Our relationship to and understanding of Space and Time shifting on a scale that brings the psychic realms of spirit and soul into fuller view.
2.The emergence of the intuitive self over and above the ego self and related to that the re-establishment of the female or mother archtype into western culture.
3.The realization of the fully networked self that understands itself completely in relationship to others rather than in opposition to them.

All three of these points have come up a lot lately in my various readings but Pinchbeck does a masterful job of knitting them together into his personal narrative prose. When I finished reading the book, fully amused and uniquely inspired, I found this great discussion between Pinchbeck and the always insightful Douglas Rushkoff. Douglas says somethings during part one of the video that really nails some of the tensions I had with 2012. I am not so sure that the kinds of change we are experienceing will come together so quickly. I am certian that things are speeding up and I can sense many of the transitions that he is talking about but I still can't see how this will all come to a head and crystalize by 2012. Rushkoff also makes some really interesting comments about the Bible and the way that the stories that it contains are the source code for western civilization. if we are beginning to learn how to hack into or realities, then these stories offer us the keys to the kingdom in order to understand how things can be shifted and transformed. For more interesting things from Pinchbeck's online universe Reality Sandwich click here.

post catagory: books posted on:2007.12.10 20:30

The Ghetto Prophet

I posted some new recordings in the music section of the site. It is the last cycle of songs that I wrote through 2007. Here is a bit fo a breakdown on the songs: Intro-Function :This is a raw and funky mash up with a sample from a 1930's radio ad for the Edison Phonograph. It features Arjuna Watson playing some smoking harmonica licks. Want it to Be :This track started as a test for a new drum program that I downloaded and evolved into a spoken word/hip pop groove. The main vocal part was improvised in one take. I really like the line "we're all naked in our branded clothes". This song definately marks a different direction for me in the musical future. It is also the newest song in the batch. If the hrad drvie hadn't have failed I was going to add a reggae chanting type vocal performed by a friend of mine. I was able to add some smooth back groudn vocals by mrs seeward! A Living Power : This is on of the few tracks that I was completely finished with. It is a very loose and trippy reggae influenced instrumental backing a sample of Ghandi talking about his perception of God - A LIving Power. Rise and Fall :This is not a cover of the great song, Rise and Fall, from the first band I was ever in called The Reign (or Tuen depending on who you ask) This is a different song that I wrote a few years ago after a very sudden visit to NJ. The song was a way of expressing how the slow process of growth in our lives is like learning to find the ryhme of life. I really like the line "I need a new king, one that doesn't need a throne" This was a reference to Jesus being the kind of King that didn't oppress us like all the other things that we give power over us. Refuse to Shine :This song was written a few years ago when this website was getting heat for being dangerous to people who are not prepared to think. In many ways I had to feel the weight of personal attacks in order to learn a new way of seeing the world and myself. 'all true lovers were torn apart by the darkness' Positively 4th Street :I recorded this bit of Dylan venom during that same period that I referenced above. The two songs seem to work together in my mind, the first representing the way I was struggling to find a path of love and still choosing to be a light and this one was a way of exorcising those parts of me that just wanted to howl. AJ also plays some really nice harmonica on this track. All his harmonica parts are recorded in one take, cuz he is just bad ass like that! Change the World :I have had this song around for a long while. I have tried to record it in so many different styles but nothing seems to fully be where I hear it going. This jerky reggae version was a very rough mix that Gregg White did one day while showing me some protools tricks. It is the only mix from this incarnation of the song that survived so enjoy! Go to the music section now to download your very own copy!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.11.16 09:19

Turning to One Another

A few years ago I read a very interesting book called "A Simpler Way" by Margaret J Wheatley. It was full of the most eloquent prose and divided nicely with lots of striking photos and poetic elobarations on the central idea of how to simply one's life. I was excited to discover that an online learning experience that I am a part of had chosen to read another one of Wheatley's books "Turning to One Another". In short this book is about the lost art of conversation. The most interesting thing is the wonderful questions that she asks throughout the book:

Can we restore hope in the future?
Am I becoming someone I respect?
Do I feel a vocation to be fully human?
What am I willing to notice in my world?

The quiet wisdom that fills each page is quite a treat. The emphasis is on small changes to the ways that we think and act in the world, not on large visions of swift revolutionary change. Again she has peppered the pages with wonderful poetry (some of hers but mostly others). This is the perfect book to begin conversations and life-changing discussions with because it never even approaches the tired road of religious debate but stays on the firm and uniting ground of conversation. Here is a short poem that really grabbed me:

If we were not so single minded
About keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death. - Pablo Neruda

post catagory: books posted on:2007.11.07 07:26

American Gangster

This film is one of the best epic gangster movies that I have seen, and I have seen them all. The acting is top-notch and the cast is well balanced between heavyhitting pros and moving-from-hip-hop-to-hollywood newcommers. I enjoyed watching Common and Method Man playing both sides of the law/drug lord fence. Denzel is wondeful as he almost always is and this character is a tense and pent-up quiet storm of a man. It is always hard, I suppose, to tell this kind of story without glamourizing the illegal and brutal lifestyles that are being portrayed but Ridley Scott did a great job is pitching the tone of the film in a more realistic frame than cinematic flurry. The locations, the costumes and the cast all seemed like real life not some over glossy hollywood life. The same goes for the violence which is in heavy supply like the packets of heroin that Frank Lucas used to break the back of harlem in the late '60s early '70s. Before you get the title shot and credits you witness a brutal, and brief, murder that sets the tone for more quick and brutal violence that follows. For my money, Russel Crowe steals the show as the Boy Scout cop who heads up the newly formed DEA and takes on the drug dealer who might have had a hand in killing his former junkie partner. Even with all of the cop/bad guy tensions this film is more about corporate business and cutting out the middle man than anything else. You get to see inside the business end of the underworld because the obession that Lucas had with running his business in very particular ways. Maybe Oscar nods for both Russel Crowe and director Ridley Scott but I think Denzel's part wasn't challenging enough to get the statue.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.11.05 08:33

Saul Williams : Niggy Tardust

"Hail Mary, Mother of God
I got a whole host of angels
Shufflin in my iPod

Saul Williams has to be one of the most interesting people that I discovered while floating through the Integral Universe. He is a crazy post-modern black poet that sounds like his head is exploding with spontaneous wisdom when he speaks. His newest disc is produced by Trent Reznor which accounts for the gritty synth tones and the heavy beats driven sound. While Saul's most impressive gift is an almost fluid like flow that bounces way, way beyond the normal hip-hop playground. Although I wouldn't call this hiphop, it has more than a few nods to the mothership and 70's funk but the overall tone is much harder. The verses rarely seem to get up any momentum but when they do it becomes a heady blend of ideas and eloquence. The idea of having a Niggy Tardust alterego already tells you that Saul is directly engagin with black identity and his constant use of the n-word can only be assumed as sarcastic. The chorus of Niggy Tardust is a flip on the standard hiphop call and response :

"When I say Niggy, You say nothing"

Niggy .........

Imagine a masterful poet having some fun stretching his high level awareness into the often stuffy box of pop culture. At times it is brilliant and at times it simply breaks apart under the strain of trying to be accesible. I like it better than most NIN I have heard. Another cool thing about the album is that is is offered for ANY price, ala _in_rainbows. Download it here.

post catagory: music posted on:2007.11.02 14:39

The Power of Dialogue and Humor

After the official Soularize event ended, a few people got together with Richard Rohr to explore contemplation. Thanks to a bit of Scottish hospitality at the end of the first day Nt Wright, Brennan Manning, Richard Rohr and Barry Taylor had an organized chat surrounded with about four video cameras and various mp3 recorders. Below are some of my shots but you can get the whole conversation as well as the whole conference over at Soularize.net:







The conversation was interesting but the highest point came not from one of expected speakers but from a very funny and slightly bent Irish lad named Gareth Higgins. Cheeky Lad, that Higgins.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.10.31 12:03

Soularize 2007

Well the much anticipated Soularize 07 conference is over and in a flash. It was a great time to hang with Barry Taylor and hear some interesting people talk about interesting ideas. The video above is a little montage of some of my footage. You can join up to get all the content from the workshops and the main sessions here. It is well worth the small fee to hear such a diverse selection of ideas and experiences. My favorites were Richard Rohr, speaking on the concept of contemplation and its essential role in spiritual development. I also enjoyed Rita Brock and her emphasis on paradise rather than overcoming sin. I got to meet some cool folks as well and will be posting links to their blogs in the future. For now, check out this little preview of a conversation between Bishop NT Wright, Brennan Manning and Father Richard Rohr. They were interviewed by Barry Taylor and are answering his first question about the future of the church.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.10.30 16:22

Honeymoon in Havana

'Honeymoon in Havana' sounds like an old movie title starring Frank Sinatra and filmed during a casino inspired visit to his mobbed up associates. Havana is not just the city that got stuck in 1959 it is also the magical location of our second honeymoon after our second wedding ceremony (more to come on that front! can you say SA) There are many interestign changes to Cuba since I was there almost five years ago. One of the most obvious is the restoration program that is bringing color and life to some of the cities most beautiful buildings. The other is the increased amounts of capitalism that is creeping into every aspect of the country. For instance



Check out the first of the images to the lower left that Nicole took and you can see the way that the Cuban government will stop at nothing to sell a t-shirt.
We had a great time walking through Old Havana with Renier, our Cuban tour guide. He said the average Cuban makes about 23-26 US Dollars a month. He has a degree in chemistry and used to work at a water purification factory. He was a great guide and had a sweet spirit.



Overall it waas a wonderful time that would have been even better if the food was better. I am not one for fancy eating but the food in Cuba is quite awful. We both left with a touch of upset stomach and a deep hunger for two quarter pounder with cheese extra value meals.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.10.16 18:03

Decypul by Arjuna Watson

I made a short film for my buddy Aj's art exhibition this week. It has some interesting quotes on his work and his thoughts on a diverse cross section of ideas. Check it Yo!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.10.15 17:04

Old Havana

For the next few days I will be mooning with my honey in the city that time forgot. I will lift a toast to all the seeward.com readers and try to dance well into the night.

post catagory: personal posted on:2007.10.11 12:02

Radiohead : In Rainbows

When I scroll through my iTunes library most of the realestate space is taken up by Radiohead songs. I am a confirmed fan and so today was a special day with the release of their newest offering: In Rainbows. The critics have been supportive of the music on this disc and skeptical of the distribution methods. Each customer is allowed to set their own price for the digital-rights-free download of the album. They should have added some sort of incentive to pay more, something along the lines of the highest price paid gets free tickets to the first show on the upcoming tour.
The songs all seem to naturally sit alongside the rest of thier rather extensive catalog. There are plenty of dense and moody atmospheres for Thom's voice to slide and twist around. The drumming is always a standout for me and already these songs have some of the most interesting grooves and percussion sounds I have ever heard. It usually takes a few listens for me to 'get' where they are coming from but this one seems to be accesible right away. I already feel in love with : Nude and Reckoner. While some of the songs sound like they could have fit onto Yorke's solo project, however as a whole, they are less laid back and more minimal than previous Radiohead albums.

If you liek Raidohead and want to get your digital copy go here be patient, milions of people are trying to download all at once (or at least hundreds =)

post catagory: music posted on:2007.10.10 11:55

Bahamian Artists Podcast

I have been very busy as of late and have fallen behind in posting. Here is a link to a new site that I am developing that will be a series of short video podcasts featuring Bahamian artists working in all medium. Click here to visit the site!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.10.10 10:24

Free Burma

post catagory: society posted on:2007.10.04 15:39

Our Unforgettable Wedding

On Saturday evening many of our friends and family were invited to a surprise 'wedding shower' at my cousin Todd's (and his lovely wife Lorna) beautiful home in West Ridge. What they didn't know was that we had a beautiful surprise for them. Once they shouted 'surprise' I told them that we were about to get married right now. Everyone was very shocked and one cheeky person even shouted a funny question : "Does Nicole know she is getting married tonight?" - She did and we did!



The above image was taken just as Nicole pulled up with her special drivers (John and Archie) and that is one of the flower girls catching a sneaky peek. The girls looked adorable in matching dresses and flowered hair.







After the short but beautiful service led by Clint Kemp we had a long and passionate kiss:



We were so blessed to have our friends David and Angie Sacks join us for the event and have David capture the magic with his keen photographer's eye. We laughed and kissed and then kissed and then laughed some more. Nicole was having so much fun posing for the camera and looking so cute at the same time:







We took a few posed pictures of the wedding party which included my brother Jared as the Best Man and Nicole's good friend Chris Awkew as the Maid of Honor:



We also got a few great images of my family standing with us as well:



After the photos we moved into the back yard which was decorated wonderfully by Chris, Paul, Randy, John and Archie.



The food was wonderful and the spirit of joy and celebration filled the air:















We want to say a special thanks to everyone who helped make this night the best we've ever imagined - particularly my mom and dad for their generosity and for being at the center of the deception! We look forward to celebrating again with Nicole's family in South Africa next year and we have many more pictures that we will be making a larger website for. So if your not in any of the images then don't worry, we still love you!

post catagory: features posted on:2007.10.01 11:51

post catagory: personal posted on:2007.09.29 15:56

Doggie Style at the Ladder Gallery

The newest show at the Ladder Gallery is an exhibition of photos by Sabrina Lightbourne. The phots feature a mainstay of the Bahamian cultural scene: the pot cake. The Pot Cake is the name for stay dogs in the Bahamas. They get their name from the burned bits of rice that remain caked on the bottom of pots when making Peas and Rice. The burned parts, called "Pot Cake", have the most flavor and add zest to the already spicy concoction. Sabrina has spent the last few months capturing the canine characters in a variety of settings. The mood of the images spans a wide range from sad to playful and almost every emotional note inbetween. You can see dogs sleeping alongside busy headlight lit roadways sleeping safely just out outside of the deadly fate that many stray dogs meet on our streets. You can see bright smiles:



and tired stretches:



For a bit of novelty (that could have been a larger part of the show) she doctored up one image to resemble a pop-art type presentation.



Overall I really enjoyed Sabrina's choice of subject matter and her keen eye for mood and setting. Each image tells a story and also reminds us of the beauty of life that often goes unnoticed or even despised among us each day.

The show also presented the works of another photographer named Christine Graham whose work didn't have as much emotional content or clear point of view. One piece stood out above the others:



I look forward to seeing much more work from Sabrina in the future. She has made me consider what life is like for 'man's best friend'

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.09.25 13:30

There's Never Too Much Cute

If you are ever having a bad day (like the poodle pictured above) then head on over to Cute Overload and within a few minutes you will be full of smiles and wonder over the abundance of 'cute' that exists in the world. I think the Japanese are onto something with an extra-cute aesthetic, it brings out a little flutter of joy!

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.09.19 14:48

The Making of Pudgy

I had a wonderful time on Saturday helping out with the production of a short film called Pudgy. It is a short story that Dr Allen has used as a type pf parable in his teachings. A few years ago I wrote a theme song for the story and so I got a nod for the music to be in the film (and my hairy self as well!) I met some great people and I learned a lot!

post catagory: features posted on:2007.09.17 22:30

Say Goodbye to Your Mouse

I used to be addicted to my laser mouse but for the last two years I have completely weened myself off using it and have been using the trackpad on my Macbook Pro. It looks like the world of user interfaces is about to be revolutionized in huge ways!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.09.12 11:47

Shoot'em Up

I always thought that action movies were already parodies of real life until I saw what a parody of an action movie looks like. Complete with a mysterious hero, with inexplicable personal habits like only eating carrots, a sympathetic but not completely trustworthy female love interest and a bad guy who is meant to be smarter than everyone else, Shoot'em Up is an action movie on steroids. It is a farce but not in the same vein as direct spoofs like "Scary Movie" but more of an over the top homage to all the classic action movie conventions. With the better than your average action movie talents of Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, this short but to the point romp is worth a few thrills for the price of admission. There are plenty of points that you have to laugh out loud to keep from destroying the illusion but somehow it still seems to work enough to keep you interested. It actually worked better than some of the non-comedy action movies I have seen. Paul Giamatti is brilliant as always!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.09.10 10:15

Salvation, Meditation and the Ego

On the journey of our human development, we face two potential sidetracks that can stand in the way of our progress or growth. If we think of the ego as simply the dividing line between us and the rest of the world, then we can begin to get a sense of what the course or arc of our development might look like. One way of looking at what is means to be a healthy person is that we we equal to everyone else. One one hand many of us have been formed towards feeling like we are less than others. We might feel deep in our spirits that something is wrong with us or that we are shameful for the things that we do. Often we spend time focusing on the areas of our lives and behaviours that we are not pleased with and that becomes the measure of our worth to ourselves. This state is really evidence of an underdeveloped or wounded ego. We haven't yet learned that we are no worse than anyone else, so we don't know how to give ourselves permission to just simply be where we are at. Instead we end up allowing other people to push us around and often take advantage of us. In times where a healthy ego would have stepped in and defended us, our underdeveloped ego just slips away into passivity and co-depedance. On the other hand, many of us spend no time at all focusing on the negative parts of ourselves and we end up with an overdeveloped ego. We really come to believe that we are better than other people and that somehow other people are weaker or more broken than us. We take this overdeveloped ego out into the world and often end up pushing around others with a less developed ego. These two positions are where most therapy begins. Most of the time it is those with the underdeveloped ego that turn to therapy willing ly and those with an overdeveloped ego that are forced in by crisis.
Jesus message is very different to these different types of people. To those in His day that were self-righteous (the Teachers of the Law as an example) He spoke a messege of judgment and harsh critique. Calling them to look at the brokenness and 'sin' in their own lives that they were practiced at avoiding and denying. To the outsiders, like the Samaritans, who thought they were less than dogs, His message was one of acceptance and forgiveness. As the popular saying goes He "comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable". In a sense, Jesus was offering very practical therapudic frameworks for establishing a healthy ego or 'sense of yourself'. An ego that didn't see it self as any more or less important (or holy or lovable) than anyone else. On either side of the coin there is the possibility of transformation by either accepting that the 'burden of your sins' had been lifted and you no longer needed to carry shame and guilt or by showing you that you were not as perfect as you thought and therefore humbling you so that you can truely embrace others as yourself. The major difference between how spirituality and psychology form a healthy ego is simply where the work is thought to be accomplished. In spirituality is it is done by God while in psychology it is done by the therapist (or the patient depending which school of thought).
Once we establish a healthy (non-shame based or self-righteous) ego then the real work of transformation begins. The practice of meditation is really the willful practice of disolving the ego and learning to not be defensive. You can think of meditation as allowing your ego to be plunged into the Divine. I have, at times, in meditation felt as though I was connected to every single living person. I am not saying in an intellectual sense but in an experiential sense. I felt that connection. However real that feeling might, or might not have, been, it is a hard thing to carry out into the everyday world. It is easy to forget that I am really one with every other person. My ego is always on hand to jump up and rush to defend my puny sense of myself. As soon as I feel challenged or the need for affirmation, I shrink down into a reduced and singular entity called Christian McCabe. The practice of meditation, over time, can allow a person to trancend the ego all together and from a place of oneness, a person might enter the world as I see Jesus entering it - full of Grace and Truth without the need to defend himself or even argue others into affirming Him. Trusting that 'those that have ears to hear' will hear.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.09.07 12:14

Nicole is Cooking with Gas

This little video is of ms seeward cooking for the first time in her new kitchen! She is making a very tasty pasta dish that even has a special ingredient (see if you can catch it in the video). Cooking with Gas is an island way of saying 'you are getting along well or doing just fine". It is sort of a like 'Rolling steam-pressed" Nicole is surely cooking with gas!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.09.03 15:30

Balls of Fury

Christopher Walken has been on the screen during more than a few of my favorite cinema moments. He is always able to find a way to make his characters become larger than life and still totally within the bounds of reality. Unfortunately by the time he shows up in this movie my patience was already being tested. It wasn't that the movie was completely bad it just never really offered anything substantial in the way of laughs. The few times that it did make me laugh was from classic prat falls and sight gags (or sight-challenged gags if you think its funny that a blind man might fall into a large hole). Walken does his best to carry the total comedy load and succeeds at times: his email address is pradalover217@gmail.com - that was funny after seeing him in about ten of the most over-the-top wardrobe choices I have ever seen. Even with the Matrix-style stop motion effects, ping-pong is just not that interesting to watch. If you put the surreal land of Kung Fu movies and an old James Bond flick into the micro-wave, after 30 seconds you will have Balls of Fury - undercooked and lacking flavor.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.09.03 12:09

Feist

It is not often that an artist or a song grab me intensely and right away but the other night I caught the last few moments of Feist playing on the Late Show. I think the Polyphonic Spree were sitting in as the choir for the performance of the ultra-catchy '1234'. Her voice and the playful, yet bittersweet, tone of the song just reached out and grabbed me. I was compelled to go to iTunes and download the whole disc and I am glad I did. The songs all sit at a mid-tempo range and often sound like a less groovy, more moody, version of Dido with off kilter elements that approach Portishead. Her voice is, at times, blistering and at others sweet and pure. If you are looking for some music to help you wallow in the melancholy, this is it!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.08.30 07:16

Bahamian Artists #2: Arjuna Watson

Clearly my definition of Bahamian Artists wouldn't match up to the rampant nationalism that I see displayed in some of the older truly Bahamian artists. Arjuna is kicking it from as deep down as Melbourne, the home of some of the world's finest stencil artists. In this podcast, he talks about the beginnings of his craft and his unique take on beauty.

post catagory: podcasts posted on:2007.08.28 12:07

Bahamian Artists #1: Edrin Symonette

This is the first in a new series of video podcasts that I am creating focused on interviews with Bahamian Artists. I will ask each artist a few questions related to creative and cultural issues and showcase some of their current work. Edrin became the first in the series after we bumped into each other in the Ladder Gallery. His work is a nice blend of styles and techniques and with a nod towards graffiti styled figures cast in bright primary colors, Edrin's work feels both urban and joyful at the same time - a hard blend to represent! Stay tuned for many more artist to come.

post catagory: podcasts posted on:2007.08.28 12:05

Superbad

Superbad is super funny! A well acted romp through the mind of two adolescent boys means the plot revolves around sex, sex, and after a few attempts to procure illict booze, more sex! This movie could have been miserable if it were not for the brilliant timing chops of the two young actors, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. The writer (and star of Knocked Up) Seth Rogen shows up as part of a cop duo that adds another level of entertaining hi-jinks to the plot. If you liked Sixteen Candles then this movie will give you an updated version more suited to the way the youth of today roll. McLovin' is Superbad!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.08.26 17:38

Reveal

It has been quite a long time since I read a book that came from the WillowCreek Association Resource Mill but this one is different. I was told about this book by someone who I trust and was assured that the infomation inside would be relevant and valuable: it was on both accounts. The book is simply a summary of some research that "Super-Mega-Church Willow Creek Community Church commissioned a few years ago. The main thrust of the research was to look deeply into the strategies for spiritual growth and development that were being used at most contemporary evangelical churches and assess if they were effective. I knew the findings were going to be interesting when they opened up with a quote from Jesus teaching in Mark 4 "The Kingdom of God is like a seed that a farmer cast into a field and then went away and forgot about. When He returned it was fully grown and he had no idea how it had grown."
The basic assumption of most church sanctioned spiritual development strategies is this: more involvement in church activities (bible studies, service opportunies, small groups, Sunday services) will stimulate a positive growth pattern in a persons life. Right away in the forward by Super-Mega-Pastor Bill Hybells, it is clear that the findings didn't really support that assumption. In fact most of the findings show something very different than you might expect. Nothing in this book really came as a surprise to me personally because I had already picked up intuitively on the weaknesses of the current 'spiritual growth strategies' that focused too disproportionately on aquiring knowledge and/or purging of certian hot-botton 'sinful' behaviours. What this survey revealed was that the church is only really a launching off point for a healthy spiritual life. A place that can, but doesn't always even realize that they should, help instill some spiritual practices that will aid a person in their ongoing personal growth. As a person grows they can actually become staled by expecting the church to stil be holding their hands and 'feeding' them. What really feeds people as they grow is for them to take the intitiative and begin to reach out and serve others.
It was interesting to hear that all across the USA in the church of various denominations and sizes, 'mature' christians were griping about the same things that I hear from the disgruntled in our community - we need deeper bible teaching, we need more times of connection, we need more clear evidence of successful evangelism.... In the very back of my mind I used to harbor insecurities that maybe they were right and that somehow we just didn't know how to do 'it' correctly, whatever 'it' happens to be. Now I have taken a very deep breath and settled into the fact that people will do almost anything, including shift the focus and try to put you on the defensive, in order not to move on in their own journey.
I have been following Jesus for over twenty years now and, although I have gone through times of intense frustration and confusion, I have never once thought that it was the church's fault. Maybe because before I began to follow Jesus I had already discovered the value of practice. Whether musical practice or spiritual practice that I picked up during the times that I checked out Buddhism, I grew to quickly realize that, ultimately life is what YOU make out of it, not what someone else makes for you. That being said this book is a very reassuring read to anyone who is trying to move this 'way of Jesus' into the future because it helps cut some ties that have allowed tensions and too many needless arguments.
Here in our community we are much further ahead than the massive Willow Creek for two reasons: 1 We went with our gut and didn't need to conduct a national survey to prove that things were wrong with the limited and 'church-dependant' spiritual formation strategies and 2 Because we are small and we can take bigger risks without wasting 180 million dollars.
Stay tuned as I write future blog entries about NPCC's newly constructed strategy for holistic spiritual development. We are just planting flowers of truth, beauty and goodness.

post catagory: books posted on:2007.08.23 17:31

Derek Roderick @ The Ladder Gallery

The latest collection of work on display at the Ladder Gallery is a series of tropical photographs, mostly underwater, by Derek Roderick. The collection is an explosion of wonder and color that moves between the complex organic structures of sea coral to the imposing creature captured above.



These large format prints really transport you into the undersea realm full of tranquil life and hidden beauty. Derek has logged many hours underwater as a dive instructor here in Nassau but his eye for composition sets his work apart from most of the underwater shots I have seen. Some of his close-ups are thrilling



The show will be up until Sept 30th so come and check it out!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.08.21 08:29

Jazz by the Sea

aught Mizpah Bethel playing by the ocean in Sandyport. The wind was so strong that the audio was ruined but the video came out very nice. I am really beginning to hate what Youtube does to the videos. The quality gets reduced so much that all videos look the same. I am interested in finding a new video host but I already have over 30 videos uploaded to youtube so I guess I will just have to keep playing with what resolution I send them.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.08.20 21:13

Public Enemy : How to Sell Soul...

About two years ago I remember watching Flava Flav straight clowning on VH1 and thinking "I wonder what Chuck D is thinking about all this attention Flav is getting?" With the release of the new Public Enemy album (the first on in almost 8 years) we can safely assume that it made him angry! This disc might be the best hip=hop as political tool album ever. It is loaded with powerful funky beats, blistering social commentary and more than enough crazy hype-man Flavor Flav. There is even a song rapped by Flav himself that details his life in the surreal life/flava of love spotlight over the last few years. Chuck D and his straight to the gut tone and factual commentary. Chuck is going after the rest of the hiphop community and showing no mercy with lines unleashed at 50cent and Krs-one with a guest spot leveling of P=Diddy

Once upon a time in jamacia queens
An icon gets shot and no-one knows what it means
It was just another murder scene so lets get on with the bling-bling
the Ching-Ching and half naked chicks that can't sing

The production style is more wu-tang than kanYe but that provides more weight and grit to Chuck's flow. I just have to add that the title "How to Sell Soul to a People Who Sold Thier Soul" is the greatest album title I have ever heard - Chuck D should be recognized with the stature of people like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton because I bet he has the ears of quite a few young soldiers - lets hope his messege gets through.

post catagory: music posted on:2007.08.16 12:49

WORK @ The DiasporaVibe Gallery

Bahamas in the House! In what I believe to be their first international collective exhibit, the artists from POPOPSTUDIOS presented a fine collection of works that surely stimulated much discussion and reflection from the large crowd in attendance. During her introduction, the curater of the gallery pointed out that the work was edgy, interesting and worthy of investment. While most of the work was clearly not designed to be sold but to simply be experienced or considered. For instance, Blue Curry was displaying a humorous conceptual piece that recorded the process of removing a large section of beach in the Bahamas and replacing it with the following sign



You are invited to watch the process of collecting the sand looped on four video screens or behold the majesty of the individual collection bags laid out across the gallery floor. I have always felt that this piece worked as a not-so-subtle critique of the Bahamas as both an escapist vacation paradise and a stopping off point in the international drug trade. I like it when art is able to offer a bit of ambiguity so that the process of interpretation is stimulating an several levels, even if some of those intepretations were not intended in the original inspiration of the piece.
Speaking of inspiration, I have no idea, for certian, what Hieno is asking us to consider by offering the interplay between a projected loop of a fly-swarmed dead dog and a series of equally creepy paintings of the same canine corpse. Is it a reflection on death or how, like a dead dog rooting right in front of us on the pavement, we must learn to live in the face of death? Either way it was a bold way of breaking through the sometimes unrewarding process of experiencing a work of art. Like they say, you either loved it or hated it but it forced you to choose a side. I like art that doesn't allow you to sit on the fence. For the record, the paintings were well executed and less unsettling than the video.



Toby Lunn had a few interesting visual images blending both color and movement into emotionally engaging pieces that were a nice foil for the harshness of the dead dog video projected near-by. Jason Bennet displayed a large piece that seemed to float it was so smooth. I could just stand staring at his canvases for hours. They don't as much suggest visual forms as they conjure up emotional or interior landscapes. Places on the piece will be almost lined up geometrically and then out of nowhere a patch of cracked and weather comes raging out of nowhere just like the way some days feel unpredictable and almost lining up with some form of order.
Seeing the series of paintings offered by John Cox was much different seeing them lined up along large wallspace. they seemed even more confrontational and intense. The series emerged as a grouping rather than just each individual image. Also from a greater distance they had a punchier visual feel blending elements of superflat graphic design with well placed objects adding organic textures to the self portraits.



It was exciting to see the work being so well recieved. The Miami Herald was there and seeward even gave an interview to someone claiming to be from the Nassau Gaurdian (I hope I didn't say anything stupid!)

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.08.14 23:41

Miami - Ft Lauderdale

Went over to Miami, Ft Lauderdale and here is the proof. I am working on another longer video with highlights from the WORK exhibition from the POPOPSTUDIOS artists. In this little video you can see the sights in Miami Beach and a bit of driving around (in a convertible mini-cooper) and doing what you do in the States - shopping!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.08.14 08:36

The Aerosol Arabic

He has a very famous name, Mohammed Ali, and a visual sense right off the streets of NYC. The Aerosol Arabic is the graffiti name of a British Muslim artist that blend Islamic script with a very urban asthetic.



At the beginning of the rise in graffiti as a legitimate artform it seemed to be a much about an ideology as it was about a visual style. Artists who chose to present their work on the sides of someone else's property were reclaiming public space and to a certian subtle degree making a statement about the notion of private ownership. The Aerosol Arabic is not embracing the anarcistic values of your typical street artist but he is instead, through his use of sacred words stenciled in Arabic script, fusing the street level artform with a sense of the mysterious power of words to influence us.



If you recognize that the words confronting us from all sides plastered on countless billboards and poster ads actually effect us in not-so-small ways, then it makes sense that we could also be effected by these visual prayers. In this piece



he is praying for the Earth. Thats a prayer I could get behind!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.08.09 10:10

Another Sort of Links

The top video is a quick loop of my golf swing and the bottom video is the swing of some pro that we met out on the course at the Cable Beach Golf Course. I had a great day - shot 87 (with three double bogeys) I had a great time playing with, and beating the socks off of, the drummer from the Baha-men, Moe and a few other notable friends. Next time I need to convice them to play for money (or munny's)

If you listen closely to the pro's video, at the end, you will hear that his ball hit a tree, again!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.08.06 08:55

The Bourne Ultimatum

When I was in high school I read the Robert Ludlum Bourne Trilogy and was forever cursed with a mindful of conspiracy theories and distrust for the US government. I wouldn't call myself a fullscale conspiracy theory nutter but I love hearing a good story(Like this one about the rea reason the bridge collapsed in Minn) This final installment of the movie versions of the tale did not disappoint. There are so many conventions in the modern action movie that they can quickly get in the way of the story and leave me checking out. The Bourne Ultimatum has some of the most believable and well directed action that I have seen onscreen in a long time. A sign of a good action sequence for me is when you are pushed almost to the point of disorientation but not quite. If the action is fast paced but you can still follow the moves step by step then I know that the director is very skilled and focused on every detail. Having read the books, the climax of the movies was a bit underwhelming given that they just didn't have time to give all the detail that Ludlum wrote. Matt Damon is,again , great as the small guy who packs a large punch and he rest of he cast round out the corners with the exception of Julia Stiles who always seems out of place to me. I would recommend this as a fast paced and well executed romp through the winding halls of CIA Black-ops, Mind Control and the occasional blast of explosives like only hollywood can provide.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.08.06 07:53

Common : Finding Forever

A few years ago I was blown away by Common's last album BE. I was excited about the release of his next mostly kanYe West produced disc. Most of the tracks bump in a soulful way like DJ Filla used to produce and a wiki search for the ablum credits reveal that kanYe used a beat that was created by the late Filla as a tribute. Common says the album is an attempt to find music that will be timeless and still address current issues. There is much more oldschool b-boy type spitting on this disc than on BE and the subject matter is slanted in the direction of celebrity culture. it doesn't seem like he is offering much of a critque by dropping names like "Will and Jada, Jen and Vince" . The People produced by kanYe and The Game produced my Will.i.am are stand out tracks. The final track Southside features kanYe himself blowing common away with a rapisfire tribute to chi-town. Well worth the long wait and a great teaase for kanYe's own disc set to drop on aug 21st.

post catagory: music posted on:2007.08.02 15:12

Go 'Head, Its Your Birthday!

Today is my birthday but we celebrated a little early. Four more years until middle age!

post catagory: personal posted on:2007.08.01 11:03

Miles the Munny

If you are familiar with the KidRobot universe then you would recognize the above image as a glow-in-the-dark do-it-your-self wonder called a Munny. I was gifted this lovely little blank canvas and created Miles. I used a bit of marker, some old cassette tape labels and a sheet of nifty self-sticking velvet paper. Some people really get into designing these things, you can see more here. I would love to have an army of these little guys!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.07.30 17:45

The Simpsons Movie

I have been a fan of the Simpsons from all the way back to the Tracey Ullman show (yes I am that old!) and it was with great pleasure today that not only did I buy a Big Kids meal at Burger King to get the little Simpsons tie-in plastic toy, I also went to see the Simpsons movie. It was great fun! From the first moments of Bart writing on the chalk board - "I will not illegally download this movie" to Green Day performing the opening theme, the fun was fast paced and irreverant. The plot involves an eco protection agency becoming the evildoers out to destroy Springfield. The evil gets so intense at one point all the people from Moe's run next door in a panic into the church while everyone in the church runs out and into Moe's tavern. There were plenty of rapidfire one liners and inside jabs to keep any Simpson's fan appeased. I personally could have used a little more Monty Burns for my taste. If you stay till the end of the credits you get to hear Maggie say her first word - "sequel' Here is what mrs seeward and I would look like as simpsons characters. Create your own here.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.07.28 21:29

Naquatic at the Ladder Gallery

At New Providence Community Centre we have an art gallery called The Ladder Gallery. Gillian Watson has been doing a fantastic job curating the gallery and filling the walls with interesting and diverse works by a wide range of Bahamian artists from firmly established people like Antonius Roberts to a collection of emerging artists. The latest show is titled Naquatic and is a collection of works by : Abby Smith, Lemero Wright, Dandreia Bethel and Edrin Symonette. The works span a diverse spectrum of styles with a focus towards nature as a unifying element. Lemero Wright's pieces seemed to display two very different approaches, with some work being more direct and representational and others falling into the Abstract Cubism mold that I have seen in his previous work.




Sprung by Lemero Wright Autumn Beauty by Dandreia Bethel

Dandriea Bethel had some nicely textured works but they seemed oddly focused on the season autumn for a show that opened in the middle of a Bahamian summer.



During the last show I was impressed with Edrin Symonette and his graffiti syled paintings. He may have been spending time with Elkino Dames because his newest works have a similar obsessive quaility that Elkino's 'brick-styled' backgrounds convey. His Lutra Pine I and II didn't speak to me as strongly as his previous multi-layered and colorful works.


Lutra Pine I by Edrin Symonette

I was very impressed with the work of a new artist Abby Smith who was having her first showing. She showed both a diversity in subject matter and a versitility in technique that grabbed my attention.


Jump by Abby Smith

A few in her series had a cutesy element that reminded me a bit of Anne Getty's photos of babys in abnormal situations.


As I Lay by Abby Smith

I am willing to forego my distaste for bright florescent colors becuase this piece just seemed very well executed. By far, my favorite piece in the whole exhibition was this one by Abby:


Slumber by Abby Smith

Overall I was impressed with the varied techniques on display but I was having trouble sorted out the choices of subject matter and how they related to each other in some thematic way. Maybe they were not meant to and that it fine as well but I am always looking deeper into the work of artists that I encounter to see a bit of their personal perspective peeking through. I am not saying that I want to have a message in each piece but I am interested in gaining something on both a visual and asthetic level as well as an intellectual one. Maybe I am spoiled by the way the artists in the POPOPSTUDIOS collective blend both visually engaging images with subtle and sometimes profound ideas. That being said, the artists showing in the naquatic show have all made some visually beautiful images and I celebrate that whole-heartedly!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.07.27 10:09

Manuela Wuthrich Live

Mrs Seeward and I had the pleasure of playing in Manuela's band this weekend. My camera was in the hands of some film students who ran a pretty complex looking set of cameras around the room. It was great to play the catchy and well written music. The stage was also decorated with a very nice mood and set the tone for a great evening. We recorded the show on my digital 24track and plan to make a smoother mix to really make the songs and the dvd shine! Great job Manu, I am sure its just one in many more successful concerts in your future!

post catagory: post subject posted on:2007.07.26 17:44

Harry Potter

With the release of the 5th installment of the Harry Potter movies and the final book, we are in the middle of another Potter-mania blip in popular culture. At least in my world, given that I am engaged to a huge Potter fan (who bought the latest book on the day it was released and is almost through reading it already). We checked out the movie a few days ago and I have to say that I enjoyed it much more than the earlier episodes. Since Harry, and his fan base, are getting older the storylines are able to be a bit more complex than before. The Order of the Phoenix was very different in that it wasn't as action packed and had a greater sense of mystery and foreboding. I have not read any of the books so I am a bit leftout on the reasons behond some of the new characters such as the little pasty-white girl who had all her shoes stolen and the whole sorcery government but the plot was easy enough to follow and at times involved a giant, which always makes for interesting plot development and humor!
I love the little cartoon above that somebody made to mock the 'head-in-the-sand' stance that many Christians take towards popular culture -For some the head should be shoved into a more southern location on their own bodies!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.07.26 07:47

John Cox : i against i

I was able to catch a glipmse of some new works by John Cox before they are shipped off to the POPOPSTUDIOS first US show in Miami next month. I will be in Miami for the opening so I will post more footage of the other artists from popop in the show. I think John's pieces are quite stunning! The subject matter deals with surfacing the inner tensions that circle around certian large themes that society presents the individual, in this case John. The themes center around male gender expectations like Hero, Savior, and my personal favorite DragonSlayer. I really dig the stencil-like way he paints onto the canvas with brushes. The pieces are very gritty and muti-layed but somehow manage to convey a sense of peace and calm. Maybe it is the use of white as an anchor or background color throughout the series gives them a sense of groundness. You can't tell very much in the video but they are also very large and imposing in size, forcing you to recieve them in the confrontational way that they seem to have been intended. I will have to explore with John what some of these words mean to him or to his take on the context for their interpretation.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.07.23 23:04

The Cross Shore Dune Buggy

My friend AJ - who I swear is not completely crazy - just prone to fits of twisted genius, has traded some old kit for a real live Dune Buggy. It looks just like a hot wheels car I used to have as a 7 yearold kid. You can see the action in the video above that I shot on a quick spin aroudn the hood.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.07.23 16:46

Staff Retreat

We are all suffering for Jesus down here in the islands, so today we took a break from the hectic pace of Nassau and visited Rose Island for the day. You can check out the video I shot above. I am testing a new way to present videos on the site. Please let me know if things are not working as well as the used to or the quality is compromised.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.07.19 19:08

My Desk

I got a new video/still camera the Canon Powershot TX1 so I decided to post an image of my workspace. While I have no pictures pinned above my desk that contain nudity, I do have a copy of A Matrix of Meanings which is just as offensive in some circles. You can click the link above to see the full resolution quality of the still images. Another nice thing about this camera is that it also shoots High Def video at 720p resolution. I will be posting many more videos in the future so you can check out the video quality which i would decribe as stunning so far. You can see two more big images of my space here and here. For now you can see a bit of the video from this upcoming concert extravaganza! manuela wuthrich live at npcc.

post catagory: personal posted on:2007.07.18 20:37

Transformers

I used to have at least three of the classic transformers play figures from hasbro when I was a kid. Pretty snappy piece of toy form engineering if you ask me. I was remember being fascinated with them for at least ten minutes. They were fun to play with but they were also out during the verge of classic arcade games like pacman coming to the home via the atari 2600. The movie version of the classic tv show and toy set is just as snappy as the orignal toy designs. The action and effects really carry you through a wild ride of mayhem. I had a thought during one of the massive robot to robot battle scenes that the types of graphics and effects that were on the screen would one day be used at the virtual reality video game level. I was truely amazed at the level of detail and great camera panning to really put you inside the action. On one level this is one of the best pure fun movies that I have seen made in a comic book genre. On another level this is the highest budget car commercial that has ever been produced.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.07.10 11:43

The Ghetto Prophet

Over the last year or so I have been working on a batch of recordings of some new songs. About two weeks ago I learned a hard lesson about backing up your projects. My external hard drive that was housing my protools sessions decided to give up the virtual ghost. I was able to scrape together various semi-complete and demo versions of the songs. It is a blessing because I would most likely have continued to tweak the recordings into oblivion. It was almost like a musical cleansing process. I have been much more creative and inspired in the last few weeks since deciding to call these songs 'finished'. Here are some mp3 versions of the songs. I made up some enhanced cds with some fo the live performance videos from this site and called the package 'the ghetto prophet' a reference to Jesus from one of the songs in the cycle. Here are the tracks:

Intro-Function :This is a raw and funky mash up with a sample from a 1930's radio ad for the Edison Phonograph. It features Arjuna Watson playing some smoking harmonica licks.
Want it to Be :This track started as a test for a new drum program that I downloaded and evolved into a spoken word/hip pop groove. The main vocal part was improvised in one take. I really like the line "we're all naked in our branded clothes". This song definately marks a different direction for me in the musical future. It is also the newest song in the batch. If the hrad drvie hadn't have failed I was going to add a reggae chanting type vocal performed by a friend of mine. I was able to add some smooth back groudn vocals by mrs seeward!
A Living Power : This is on of the few tracks that I was completely finished with. It is a very loose and trippy reggae influenced instrumental backing a sample of Ghandi talking about his perception of God - A LIving Power.
Rise and Fall :This is not a cover of the great song, Rise and Fall, from the first band I was ever in called The Reign (or Tuen depending on who you ask) This is a different song that I wrote a few years ago after a very sudden visit to NJ. The song was a way of expressing how the slow process of growth in our lives is like learning to find the ryhme of life. I really like the line "I need a new king, one that doesn't need a throne" This was a reference to Jesus being the kind of King that didn't oppress us like all the other things that we give power over us.
Refuse to Shine :This song was written a few years ago when this website was getting heat for being dangerous to people who are not prepared to think. In many ways I had to feel the weight of personal attacks in order to learn a new way of seeing the world and myself. 'all true lovers were torn apart by the darkness'
Positively 4th Street :I recorded this bit of Dylan venom during that same period that I referenced above. The two songs seem to work together in my mind, the first representing the way I was struggling to find a path of love and still choosing to be a light and this one was a way of exorcising those parts of me that just wanted to howl. AJ also plays some really nice harmonica on this track. All his harmonica parts are recorded in one take, cuz he is just bad ass like that!
Change the World :I have had this song around for a long while. I have tried to record it in so many different styles but nothing seems to fully be where I hear it going. This jerky reggae version was a very rough mix that Gregg White did one day while showing me some protools tricks. It is the only mix from this incarnation of the song that survived so enjoy! Also after the song ends their is a special song that comes in. It is called That Girl and was written just after one of the first lunches that mrs seeward and I had together.

post catagory: music posted on:2007.07.06 15:17

More Blockbusters...

I checked out a few more big budget hollywood movies over the last two weekends. The latest (and hopefully the last) Die Hard film starring the ever likeable republican Bruce Willis was a fun romp full of action and the rare witty remark. The plot. like the other Die Hard features, revolves around greed and an elaborate plot to cause chaos and steal lot and lots of money. I enjoyed seeing the Mac guy using a PC while playing the role of a resourceful, if fearful, geek hacker. A cameo by director Kevin Smith was also a treat even if he only played a crabby and lazy parody of the basement hacker. This movie is worth the price of admission and a med box of popcorn!



I am a huge fan of animated movies and this one was a pleasure to watch. The plot was solid and the animation resolutions have improved a geat deal since the last PIXAR release. Another little movie that I watched on pay-per-view called Arthur and the Invisibles was also a real treat. Featuring the voices of David Bowie and Robert Deniro, among others. Thats all for now, I am back in the swing of things and will be posting more regularly in the coming weeks!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.07.06 07:47

Extras

I LOVE RICKY GERVAIS! I borrowed the first season dvds of his BBC show Extras and I am loving every minute of it!. I have been a fan of Ricky and Steve's(or should I say Karl's) podcast and xfm show for the last few years so I am already acustomed to the raw sarcasm and off color humor that abounds in the series. The set ups are the same for almost every episode which leaves plenty of room for Ricky and the rest of the very funny cast to spread their comedic wings. Steve Merchant has the all-time funniest character, playing Ricky's pathetic agent. I also really enjoy the guest appearances in each episode and the humor that comes from seeing people like Kate Winslet (pictured above) making fun of themselves. "If you star in a movie about the holocaust you will surely get an oscar!"

post catagory: general posted on:2007.06.29 08:04

Who Needs a Doctor?

I have been rather busy with a few new projects lately so I have not been blogging at my normal rate. lately I have been thinking of what a new way for Christianity(or followers of Jesus) to relate to the rest of the world. For years I have been put off by the exclusiveness and arrogance of the mainstream way of relating that assumes that Christian's have some corner on truth and that the rest of the world is radically compromised in a way that Christians aren't. Aside from the fact that in almost everyway you can measure Christians are no more moral or ethical, you can still her traces of superiority dripping off of the tongues of Christians who follow a Lord who thought nothing of himself. I often get asked by people who discover that I am a pastor (I don't wear it on my sleeve, the tattoos cover it up!) "what do you think of people who reject Christianity" I used to say that I have respect for them since I also reject Christianity as a religion in favor of a relationship with the living and loving presence that I am fond of calling "God".
There is one statement by Jesus that has set me off into thinking that following Jesus might not be such a powerful and superior position after all. "I have come for the sick" after asking who needs a doctor, Jesus describes His followers as the sick ones. The ones who are not well and need Him to come along and help heal them and set them on a new path. Does this then imply that even in Jesus day there were those that were well and didn't need a doctor? I realize that this cuts against the tide of the churches doctrine of original sin and much of the way paul's writings are understood but how else are we to take this statement. If their are no 'well' people then Jesus was just saying another of His confusing one-liners. I think it is in keeping with the rest of Jesus life and message that those who would become his followers would learn to see themselves are less important than everyone else - not more.
Just some thoughts to prove that I am still alive!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.06.27 15:00

Favorite Sopranos Image

This picture is too funny and comes courtesy of my brother who has a very good sense of humor. He must have known that I would split my sides laughing. I hope he can post some details about the location in the comments section! This made me laugh even more than the day after the final episode when I was reading all kinds of overly intellectual theories of what happened when the screen went black. Right in the middle of two lengthy posts that quoted so many small details trying to build a case for Tony being killed, i read this one line post that cracked me up. It said, "The oddest thing is that I have been to Holstens and they do not have onion rings on the menu..." I laughed so hard that it hurt but this image made me laugh harder. BTW I was pleased to see Phil meet such a disrespectful end, as I thought he was a bad seed all along.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.06.20 19:28

Pray for the Simple Way

From The Simple Way website :

6/20/07 - 3AM At around 3am community members of the simple way 3200 house awoke to the sound, heat and flames of the warehouse across the street. Residents on Potter Street were all evacuated safely. By morning, it was a seven alarm fire that consumed many of the houses in the neighborhood, including the simple way's 3200 Potter Street house.

This is the house that I stayed in last year when I visited Shane and the rest of the loving brothers and sisters in Philly. Lets keep them in our prayers!

post catagory: society posted on:2007.06.20 10:07

The Blockbuster Movie Sequel Fest

Over the last few days (maybe more) I have seen a few of the current 'mega-movies' that have been disappointing the earnings handicappers. First up is the rise and fall of the Silver Surfer (or should I say the silver surfing Jesus?). While the dialogue was mostly silly and the felt about as fake as Jessica Alba's blue contact lenses, it was a better mindless romp than the other two on the mega-movie list. The action sequences were very over the top but were so realistic that you couldn't help but be amused. Their is one particular scene in London where the large ferris wheel almost topples into the Thames before it is quickly drained dry like someone pulled the stopper in a cheap hotel bathtub. When I was about 12 years old I spent way too much time trying to draw the fantastic four. I went through a stage where I was trying to create very comic book looking grafitti characters. The fantastic four were the models for the bodies as I intricately traced and shaded my way to discovering that I didn't really draw very well. Overall this movie is worth the time ,if you are in bed with a high fever and the room is spinning from too much cough syrup.



The first Pirates of the Carribean was so well done and full of inresting dialog, characters and local Bahamian scenery. I was truly surprised that they pulled it off again when the sequel turned out to be about as good as the first movie. Although they left it open, I hope that this is the final installment of the series. It seems like they ran out of interesting plot angles and just opted for the full-on chaos-rain-wind-wave-pirate-swords-and noise. Everytime the action started it degenerated into chaos bouncing between so many characters that you felt completely lost. Thank God for Johnny Depp who turned in another great run as the RollingStoned Pirate. Speaking of Rolling Stoned Mr Richards is far less entertaining than when Depp is taking the piss out of him.



This movie suffered from the same issues that also injured Pirates 3. It had serious issues with the story being too complicated and unclear to actually care about what was happening. In this version of the over styled con caper, they added the very funny Eddie Izzard and had him playing without laughs. They also added the always over the top Al Pacino and had him playing so small you forgot he was in the film. By this third installment it seems that the plot and characters can't go anywhere because there is way too much going on all the time. The only thing I enjoyed were the nice computer enhanced flyover shots of the Vegas Strip. After watching this film I wished they had given me a 'Billy Martin'.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.06.18 19:14

This Thing of Ours....

With most of the major players out of the picture, I felt it was safe to come out of hiding. After almost 86 hours of ultra-realistic and totally engrossing crime/family drama, Sunday night marked the end of 'this thing of ours'. Many people thought they had an inside angle on how things would turn out. I even offered my own speculations in this post but creator David Chase had other plans. I have read online reactions ranging from 'I want to kill David Chase' to 'WTF?????'. I have to admit that I was in the 'WTF' camp for most of last night, after the credits rolled but after some reflection, I feel more comfortable with how the series ended.
Chase has left us with a few choices of how we might interpret the final ending but he nailed Jersey by having it all end over onion rings at a roadside family diner. You can’t get more Jersey than that! Here are a few possible interpretations:

1) Life Goes On - nothing happened in the diner and life for the Soprano family just keeps chuggin along as normal (with of course the impending FBI raids and grieving of fallen soldiers) One major point in this direction are the lyrics to the song that Tony selected from the jukebox while waiting for his family at the diner' Journey's - Don't Stop Believing. with its line about 'the movie never ends it goes on and on and on' This would be in keeping with Chase's heavy use of musical and lyrical symbolism throughout the series. Even with the apparent FBI tightening its grip on Tony he has proven to be VERY resourceful in the past at getting out of tight squeezes. Regarding the FBI threat, think Meadows lawyer boyfriend mentioning a case with a corrupt city councilman involving bag men and whores. Did you notice the look of recognition on Carmella's face realizing that Tony had leaned on that same Councilman to get her spec house approved. So if Life Goes On, then we might also believe that Tony pulls it together and spends the rest of his life walking that perilous tightrope between power, greed and sudden death that we have been watching for 7 seasons. That last five minutes in the Diner lets you in on what it must be like to be Tony Soprano - what tension! There is enough information to come to this conclusion and feel relatively certain. If that’s the story you go with then David Chase was rubbing our own prejudices in our face by having the Italian-looking guy and the urban youths lurking around to show us that we all stereotype people. In this ending there is nothing is even a bit of a message with AJ echoing Tony’s advice to ‘focus on the good things’ That’s a sound message and thought about in relation to the chorus of ‘Don’t’ Stop…” in the background it even feels like an intentional attempt to show that Tony had made the kind of positive impact on his son, that we never got to see Johnny Boy Soprano (or ‘Livia) leave on Tony. So Life Goes On and Tony is still the lovable and conflicted ‘beast slouching towards Bethlehem’ from the Yeats poem that Chase has been weaving into almost all of this seasons episodes in some way or another. Another sign that Chase might be tryign to send a message would be the desert scene with Tony on Peyote crying ‘I get it” and the Yeats’ poem reading:

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert.
(the episode before the desert trip is titled “The Second Coming”)

So Life Goes on and Tony has his own private revelation about the meaninglessness of life and we have to struggle with the deeper fact that their was no deeper meaning behind the ending other than ‘Life Goes On’.
This interpretation is a bit undercut by the fact that at the end the action is interrupted not with a nice fade to black but a quick and jarring cut to black. If you are just trying to tell us that Tony’s life goes on then it would have been a gentle signal to have a slow fade to black to show that action is still happening. What we got was a quick and jarring halt to the action. The feeling the NOTHING happens after the cut. Over the seven seasons it has become clear that the directors invest a great deal of thought into small choices like scene cuts and this isn’t the first scene in the series to end abruptly right in the middle of the action.

2) Tony Got Whacked - In a flashback conversation with Bobby at the lake from earlier this season, Bobby and Tony agree that 'you never even hear the one that gets you' when talking about getting whacked. This wasn't the case with Bobby who both saw and heard his series of fatal shots over the tin whistle of a massive toy train set. It is possible that just after Meadow enters the diner with a very uncomfortable look on her face, Tony is killed instantly with a shot to the head from the Godfather-gun-in-the-bathroom hitman. Everything ends abruptly because we have been seeing that scene through Tony’s point of view. Tony never saw or heard it coming so neither did we. Tony is instantly dead and since the show was about Tony the story is instantly over. Internet obsessives who have no doubt freeze-framed the last scene a million times by now, point out that while Tony is in the diner, before his family joins him, we get a quick cut to a shot of Tony sitting at the booth looking in the mirror at himself. In the mirror Tony is wearing a striped shirt, not the brown shirt and jacket that he is wearing throughout the rest of the scene. This might be meant as a subtle hint that we are seeing this scene from inside of Tony’s paranoid and jittery head. He had to be thinking about the fact that he whacked a made boss of a family without consulting the whole five-family-council for backing. And the way the hit went down was so disrespectful especially to an old school guy like Phil Leotardo. It is more than likely that even if the five families approved of the hit, once they heard Phil’s wife’s story, it was all over for Tony. A ‘zip’ from the Old Country was sent in to follow AJ and lead them to the diner where Tony is waiting. The Italian guy gets up and goes to the bathroom to gather his thoughts before whacking the boss of the New Jersey ‘Pygmy thing’ in front of his family in a crowded diner. He comes out guns blazing and its lights out for Big T.
If you buy this version of the story then it makes sense to have a quick jarring cut when the story ends because this is how most of the real stories of the Tony Soprano types actually end : Quickly with one shot to the head and they ‘never see or hear it coming’.

3)We Got Whacked – Did we really think that we could hang around with these tough guy types without getting some blood on our hands. We just were never expecting it to be our own blood. We have been slowly reeled in by the paradox of Tony’s hulking tough-guy frame and the very human frailty. Not unlike Agent Harris with his “we’re finally going to win this war” admission of guilt, we have grown comfortable in Tony’s world and in that final scene; we were instantly ripped out of it. It was always Tony’s world and we were just voyeuristically peaking in for the thrills. Maybe we wore out our welcome, like Ralph Cifaretto or we were just the victim of senseless violence like the waiter who Paulie whacked because he complained about the tip. Either way in the end we were taken out of the story. We were so ‘on the edge of our seats’ worried about Tony, that we never saw it coming.

I have to hand it to David Chase. It would have been much easier for him to have selected one ending and let the chips fall. Some would have loved it and many would have hated it no matter what he decided. Instead he choose the harder path of leaving us with at least three valid ways of interpreting how the story ends. That is postmodern storytelling executed exceptionally well. Going the extra mile to leave us hanging and to offer multiple layers of perspective and meaning without bowing to the pressure to flatten it down to one dimension so people will leave with a sweet taste in their mouths (even if it was the taste of Tony's Blood that would have satisfied many). I believe Chase is not only acknowledging the interpretive role of the audience in his work but he is forcing us to enter into the participatory and creative process of putting it all together for ourselves. This is not groundbreaking in it self but very ballsy to choose to take the path that was sure to confuse many and infuriate everyone who needed to be told how the story ended.

I look forward to seeing what Chase gets up to next because I am even more convinced after last nights finale that he has a powerful grasp on what makes our culture tick and he seems committed to rubbing our faces in it with an excruciating attention to detail and a great ear for musical symbolism. I am going with story ending number three (check out the picture above at our open casket)

Even if the show ending on a perplexing and challenging note that doesn’t mean this post has to so, I leave you with my favorite one liner from the finale: Little Carmine’s movie production company is called ‘lone wolves’ – that is classic Sopranos subtle humor and one of the small reasons that I have grown to love this show.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.06.11 11:31

Cat Island

This little movie is from our trip to Cat Island. It features shots of the beatiful beaches, the creepy crabs and a few surprises. You can also see footage of two small churches that were built by Father Jerome. (see this post for more video of Father Jerome's work)
It was so great to hang with Andrew Jones and have a quick jam in the living room of Greenwood. Cat Island is a fantastic place to get away for the hectic pace of Nassau! Do you need a Bahama-vention?

post catagory: features posted on:2007.05.25 11:27

The Hermitage

In 1938, master architect John Cyril Hawes(later renamed as Father Jerome), left his station designing churches for small farming communites in the Australian outback, for Cat Island Bahamas. He had grown weary and frustrated during the contruction of his most famous structure



St Francis Cathedral in western Australia

He lived in Cat Island for the remaining 18 years of his life and during that time built 4 churches. (check out future videos to see some of the churches) His most complex structure was his personal Hermitage on the highest point in the Bahamas, mount Alvernia. The structure is based on a monastry from the times of St Francis.
The spot is striking on a few levels. First it is a rare sight to be so high up and have such an impressive view of the whole island. Second, the scale of the building is reduced so you have to bend over to enter the rooms and walk around. This was a design feature with spiritual reasons. Father Jerome was a tall and successful man but he intentionally built the ceilings low to force himself to remain humble and bend over, as in prayer. Another of the Hermitage's unique features is the 16 stations of the Cross that dot the landscape as you walk up the rocky path towards the 240 ft plateau.
Father Jerome built his own tomb on the site and used to sleep inside it once or twice a year so he could 'get used to it'.



John Hawes (Father Jerome) in 1932.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.05.24 09:00

Cat Island

I have spent the last few days relaxing on Cat Island (the island formerly known as San Salvador) It has been a wonderful time of rest and exploration. I have been shooting lots of video and Nicole has been taking lots of pics so more will follow. For Now I am well rested and loving the fact that I live so close to such a remote and deserted island. The image above is of the Hermitage. I am editing a special video of shots from the hermitage so stay tuned!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.05.21 07:50

R I P Chrissy

Christopher Moltisanti had seen his ups and downs over the past 7 seasons of The Sopranos. From the dizzying heights of rubbing shoulders with John Favreau and Janeane Garofalo to last seasons lows of dating one of Tony's ladies and falling back off the wagon, it has been a ride that has helped make the show so dynamic in its dramatic reach. Well, at least from Chrissy's point of view, it all ended last Sunday. After placing an obviously bootlegged copy of The Departed soundtrack into the disc player, while Comfortably Numb played in the background, Tony realizes that Chrissy is high and they have a horrific accident. It seemed fitting that his last words were "I won't pass the drug test..." I think it was the fact that he admitted being high that drove Tony over the edge. I think Tony even saw it as a mercy killing to save his wife and daughter. In a short and darkly lit scene, Tony puts his once heir apparent out of his misery.

I had somehow hoped that Chrissy would go down in a hail of gunfire rather than turn state's evidence, as many online were saying, but noone saw this coming out of the blue. It makes sense though when you consider how often people die from traffic accidents. Chrissy was my favorite character on the show, always good for a one liner that makes me roll over with laughter. Even this week in his final scene with Tony, he says "That's the flying ointment" - classic!

Chrissy's tensions with Paulie over the years has provided some of the more entertianing moments that the show has offered. Last week they ramped up those tensions and had Paulie breaking balls and cadilac-mowing lawns, I thought they were leading to a showdown where Paulie would whack Christopher. David Chase is determined to keep us all guessing right up til the end.

I could devote a whole post to the thoughts I have about Tony Soprano dosing on Peyote! "I get it!" - with tears streaming down his face. Maybe Tony meant he discovered the meaning of life or maybe he just discovered what Christopher's struggle with addictions had been about. With three episodes to go, i am sticking with my original prediction that Carmella will kill Tony and AJ will fully enter a life of crime. One thign I am sure of is that the ending is going to be hideously dark in its tone. It just feels like the Sopranos world is imploding in an atomic fashion.

"Tragedy... Like a pebble in the lake. Even the fish feel it." - Christopher Moltisanti

post catagory: general posted on:2007.05.15 15:41

Sacrificial Stewardship

This week we looked directly at stewardship of our finances. We talked about tithing and how the NT presents a much more radical and challenging picture of a new kind of economy. You can listen here. The audio begins with the sound of a short TV ad for the lotto, where a guy is being pressured to give more into the offering place because, presumably, he had won the lotto.

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.05.14 22:02

Emerging From the Shadows

Antonius Roberts has been making some interesting and diverse art lately. He is firmly established as a painter, wood sculpter, and chainsaw vituoso! His latest project is focused on bringing a personal dimension to the public discussion about HIV/AIDS in the Bahamas. He painted flat outlined forms of 6 people living with HIV. The images shine with personality and the essence of the people's character seems to break through the caribbean chaos backgrounds. He invited each of the subjects to make a mark on the canvases. The above video captured the event for a DVD that will accompany the paintings once sold. It was great to support Antonius and to meet the people in the images, so full of life and energy! I also contributed a statement for the program:

HIV is a very emotional subject. A subject that is often surrounded on all sides by ignorance and depersonalizing fear. Its a subject that can quickly become too complex for words. Complex because it effects not just our minds but also the depths of our hearts. Because of this complexity and emotional core, HIV and its effects, is a subject better addressed from the workshop of a passionate artist rather than from a podium on Parliament's stage.
By assembling a group of HIV survivors and reflecting their images in minimalist outlines, these paintings help show us that we are all the same in so many ways. What can be seen poking out through the muted tones is the strength of character and personality that might sometimes be overlooked in these most precious people. We see signs of celebration, dancing, signs of courage and ultimately a sense of hope emerges directly through the bold red marks made by the survivors but also a larger hope that new creative ways of addressing vital subjects like HIV awareness are beginning to emerge from our nation.
In these works, Antonius has reframed the HIV issue in our minds, as well as our hearts. He has reminded us that, together we are all effected by HIV and when we see ourselves as a part of a larger community then we will find more public expressions of strength and hope that the subject of HIV deserves. When it comes to HIV, there is no 'us and them' we are all a part of us.

May 2007

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.05.09 18:20

Stewarding our Lives

Part two in a three part series on Stewardship. I told a few of the stories from the Q conference. Jon Passavant, Kevin Kelly, Majora Carter, Blake Mycoskie and the ever joyful Mark Jordan made an appearance on video! The focus of the message was on the need to build a foundation around 'who God is' or 'what God is like' so we can learn to discern His voice in our lives. We looked at a text in Mark 1 where Jesus walks away from a whole town in order to follow His calling or purpose. Give it a listen here.

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.05.07 12:59

Spiderman 3

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!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.05.05 19:47

Spray Can Artist

This is my favorite clay figure that I have ever made(so far!). He is a great blend of simplicity and character. His stencil glows in the dark and he is a bit hyper-active.

post catagory: clay posted on:2007.05.05 09:24

Cross-shore.com : New Design

You may remember this site flash design that I did a few months ago for AJ. I recently redesigned the html/css version of the cross-shore universe. You can check out the site here. I like working with Cross Shore because I get a great deal of creative freedom and I get to muck around with the graphics! This design is a slightly reggae influenced color pallette to give the feel of the islands and a graffiti style lettering because stenciling is cool! Let me know what you think?

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.05.02 10:57

Q Conference Video

this is a little video highlight reel from the Q conference in Atlanta : April 2007. In the video you will see Kevin Kelly, founder of Wired Magazine, Jeff Johnson, host of two shows on BET, Rob Bell, pastor with indy rock like cult status, and the very funny Rick Mckinley from Portland, Oregon. Overall I had a blast listening to so many diverse speakers and meeting some new people like Marc Elliot, Marc wins the award for being the first person to recognize me in real life from this website!

post catagory: features posted on:2007.04.29 21:45

Q : Day Three

Q wrapped up with a few short presentations from people like Rick Mckinley, who spoke about how to take the information home with us and put it to some kind of practical use. Clint Kemp also got the chance to tell some of the stories that are happening at NPCC. The stories seemed to go over well, since he had a line up afterwards to give him the glad-hand. (he didn't have as many people as lined up for Rob Bell last night and, unlike Rob's line, to my knowledge no one asked Clint for an autograph or asked to take a picture with him =)
The rest of Rick's crew from Portland seemed like a great bunch and I am hoping to make it out to Portland to do some ministry research sometime soon!



We also met this great guy named Eric



He works with a ministry based out of Pretoria, South Africa. It is a drama ministry but nothing like you would expect from a drama ministry. They deal with difficult issues like sexual abuse and self injury. This kid had a real glow and warmth about him that you could really feel. If the future of the church is being led by people like Eric then there will be no shortage of courage and faith! Stay tuned for video highights in a future post.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.29 13:32

Q : Day Two

Day two at Q! The first day proved to be much like trying to drink from a firehose while day two was a bit less intense, there were still some interesting ideas exchanged. The energy level was high and the lineup of speakers was very diverse. Dan Kinnamen, from the Barna Research Group made a presentation called 'unChristian'



It was a bunch of statistics that he had assembled about how 18-24 year-olds think about christianity. Some of the stats were interesting - only 12% had positive feelings about Christianity while over 90 % had positive feelings about homosexuality. One thing about his presentation that bugged me was he kept saying 'this is what outsiders think of us'. I felt the use of the term outsider was not very helpful and only made it more clear why those same people might reject Christianity. I thought he should have called them 'normal people' because Christians are the crazy ones!
I also got do meet Stu from 'One Punk Under God', it was fun to chat with him and find out how the Revolution church is going since Jay Baker left for NYC : things are going well, he said and he was surrounded by a posse of tattooed freaks!



Andy Stanley is a second generation pastor of a very large church in Atlanta called North Point. He spoke about the church changing culture. I liked the end of his talk when he focused on the balance of grace and truth. He is a very clear speaker and has a humble stage presence.
Next up was a panel discussion on homosexuality and the church. I thought it was going to be interesting but it didn't turn out to be so great. No one had read the NY Times article about the genetic aspects of sexuality and the conversation went down a very well worn road of 'love the sinner and hate the sin'.



In the talkback session afterwards, some very uptight brother found the speaker's rather conservative views too shocking and he began firing with both barrels. Chris Seay did a great job of putting the guy in his place and restoring peace and order. I am still troubled by the lack of real open ended dialogue on this matter and I hoped that a conference like Q could actually be a place that radically new ideas were exchanged : not so on this issue!
The Exec Vice President of American Evangelicals, Richard Cizik, spoke about his life-long passion for the environment and shared that he was recently written a letter by a large group of his peers asking that he either be silenced of fired.



That was truly sad to hear, since the guy seemed to be very bright and also carrying a huge heart for God's creation. He said that the letter stated that evangelicals should only have two issues: abortion and gay-marriage - figures that more people would be excited to stand up for what they are against that actually standing for something that they are for.



Jon Passavant is one of the top five male models and happens to be a pastor's kid. His talk was funny because he LOVES the movie Zoolander and also he is ridicualously good-looking!



In the after noon half of us went on a tour fo the High Museum of Art. They had an exhibit from the Louvre but I was more excited about seeing the largest gallery collection of Howard Finster's art. I got a phot pass and took a photo of every single one (look for a seperate Finster post soon!)

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.29 13:13

Q : Day One

I'm writing from the lounge area of the 'Q' conference in Atlanta, Ga. The conference which is modeled after the T.E.D. conference, is a gathering of cultural influencers who happen to also be christians. The conference is founded by Gabe Lyons (pictured above) and the Fermi Project. Today was the first day and already I have had lots of great ideas to interact with. My favorite presentation so far has been by Kevin Kelly, editor-at-large and founder of Wired magazine.



As you can see, he spoke about his views on the next 1000 years of Christianity. His presentation was all over the map from aliens to asking if robots should be considered Children of God. He has a very fresh perspective on many things that sometimes get christians all worked up. he said that he firmly believes that all technology is divinely inspired. This from a man who doesn't own a laptop and has never had a television in his home. My favorite part of his presentation was when he stated that he feels the most important question for the church to be wrestling with is "What does it mean to be human?". Since this is the theme that we choose for our teaching theme this year at NPCC, I felt very encouraged. Some other notable speakers included Donald Miller,



who spoke about the power of living within a narrative. I have been saying that very same thing about the value of teaching people to see themselves living within the Biblical story. Josh Jackson is the founder of Paste Magazine



He spoke about the need for the Church to encourage and not limit artists in their expressions and creativity. He also talked about what he thinks it means to 'be in the world and not of the world'. He had some great things to say and it was cool because I bought my first issue of Paste yesterday, not knowing I was going to me the editor and founder today! The mag is great and had a very fair review of the new Bright Eyes cd. Jeff Johnson hosts two shows on BET.



He spoke about the HipHop culture and racism and IMUS. He made a nice play on words about the whole Imus "nappy headed hoes" scandal, saying 'I'm us" focusing us around the reality that we each, individually, carry the responsibility of seeing ourselves as a part of the collective 'us'.



We have been having a great time and eating very well. Last night I finally got the Mexican food that I have been craving for the last six weeks! We also tried some dark Mexican beers as well!



I am shooting lots of video and more pictures than I can post right now. The venue is a very old church that has been converted into a concert hall. So it feels very cool and the sound mixes are incredible! The evening sessions began with John Foreman (the singer from the band Switchfoot ) playing his songs on an acoustic guitar with a very gifted cello player. He talked about the art of song-writing and how he sees the intersection between church, culture and economics. Great stuff!



More images tomorrow!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.25 21:49

Stewardship Part One

Earth Day weekend seems like a good time to begin a three part series on the idea of Stewardship. This week we focused mostly on caring for God's creation as both an act of stewardship and an act of worship. I had to admit that I not an outdoor type of person and the farthest thing in the world from a 'tree-hugger'. You can hear the message here. I used this story from The Washington Post called 'Pearls before Breakfast'. The article is a clever twist on Jesus' words about the futility of throwing pearls before swine and also an interesting look at how our modern society expresses it's values in daily living. We seem to be running at a rapid pace and chasing after values that end up squeezing beauty off to the side. I think this has a huge impact on the way that we relate to the beauty of the environment. Anyone who has a trancendant experience that was facilitated by appreciating the beauty of nature, will end up caring for that same value in their daily living. Let em know what you think by commenting with the link below! (also you need to let the sermon audio play for a minute or so before the sound starts - the first minute or so is blank)

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.04.24 07:49

Jazz, Wine and Art

The Poop Deck, a local restaurant with a very risky name, held an art event and wine tasting. It was a nice setting, right on the water on a breezy spring afternoon, to hear some smooth and funky jazz, played by the G Note All Stars and to check out some new works by local artists. The wine was nothing to write on the internet about but the art was interesting! I bought a print by a local artist with Dreadlocks, that I had never met before. His work had a very playful vibe of celebration about it that sucked me in.



Toby had a very impressive large piece called Biodyn that was both deeply organic looking and science fiction-esque at the same time, almost like an explosion of elements, matter and violent gases into the birth of a new universe. John commented on how his work was not in its best context surrounded by the other mostly landscape paintings. We got a chance to chat briefly about some of his works and I am really loving the way his work is heading.



Other notable artists were Antonius Roberts with a few new paintings that mark a departure from his wooden sculptures in many respects. Malcolm Rae is an older Bahamian artist that has been making some inspired work that seems to blend an impressionists eye towards the Bahamian landscape with a modern animated flat look. The results look a bit like the style of Richard Linklater's Waking Life digital effects. He also uses gold and silver paint pens to add highlights and definition that give them a slightly graffiti touch as well. It was also fun to hang with the girls!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.04.21 20:14

Who Cares About the Environment?

April 22 1970 saw the first celebration of an international Earth Day. Showing the growing global discussion about the environment, our largest national paper, The Tribune, ran an expanded Earth Day section. They invited some of the usual suspects from the Bahamian Activist Scene : ReEarth and others. I was invited to write 800 words about 'the spiritual dimensions of environmentalism'. I enjoyed reading the issue and most of the articles were very well done and informative! One strange thing though was a picture of Ira Einhorn. The picture wasn't too strange given that he was a speaker at the first Earth Day in Washington DC. It was the caption that was strange: "Ira Einhorn, a leading force in the 1960's hippies movement of non-violence, drugs and free love".

Here is the article that I wrote:

Who Cares about the Environment Anyway?

I want to make a few things clear right off the bat: I am not a tree-hugger by any stretch of the imagination. I would much rather be inside with the air conditioner cranked sitting in a comfortable chair than to risk the dangers of being bitten by tiny flying insects in order to ‘relax’ and ‘connect with nature’. I don’t care about the environment because I am an activist; I care about the environment because God cares about the environment. From the very beginning we see that God was deeply pleased with what He had made, so pleased that he took time to say “it is good”. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made”. I want to ask a simple question as a way of reflecting on Earth Day in our Bahamas: How can a ‘Christian Nation” not be leading the charge to celebrate, protect, nurture and care for God’s creation?
In our Bahamas, we have been blessed with the richest of natural beauty. Beaches and shorelines so stunning that people fly from around the globe to soak it in. But sadly many of these beaches and coastlines, right here in Nassau, are littered with piles of beer bottles, soda cans, old mattresses, rusted out washing machines, burned out cars, fast food wrappers and the occasional broken flip flop. You can drive right now to beaches along the southern side of New Providence and see piles and piles of trash littering the coast heading into the sea. It seems like we don’t have a high value on caring for our environment. Why don’t we, in the Church, see this as a spiritual issue? Maybe the Church is not interested in environmental issues because of passages like this one from Genesis :

“"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Maybe we feel that since we are meant to ‘rule over’ the earth we have the right to treat our environment any way we see fit. With more and more global attention being placed on environmental issues and responses coming from all places on the map, it is important for our country to reflect on both the economic and spiritual dimensions of these issues. From a purely financial standpoint, as a country that survives off of tourism, we should make the choice to cleanup and care deeply for our natural resources. If we look even deeper at some of the biblical ideas about creation, we can also see that from a spiritual point of view, caring for our environment can be an act of deep and meaningful worship as well.
If God’s original idea was for human beings to ‘rule over’ His creation, where do we get the idea that we should care deeply about it? Part of the answer is found in looking at the way Jesus talked about what it means to ‘rule over’. In Mark 10, Jesus says:

"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and who ever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

If we are meant to ‘rule over’ God’s creation then God desires for us to do it in the same way that He rules over our lives in Jesus. Jesus comes to us as a servant and through His nurture and care for us we begin to allow Him to become Lord over our lives as well. This is an intimate picture of the way that we are to ‘rule over’ God’s creation. We are to care for it with the same level of compassion as God does and find ways to nurture and tend to it much like a gardener would tend to his treasured garden. The littering in our country suggests that we have gone way passed not caring about creation and might be speeding towards taking God’s good gifts for granted. Isn’t this a spiritual issue in our minds?
When the church begins to care about the environment as much as God cares about it, then we will see a huge improvement in the way that our natural resources are nurtured and cared for. We may even see a reduction in the unnecessary piles of trash but even more importantly we might learn a bit more about how deeply God cares for us as His children. To reflect God’s love through the ways that we care for our environment is a powerful expression of active worship that both honors God and reveals His true nature to the rest of the world. This Earth Day instead of thinking, “Who cares about the environment anyway?” lets go outside and clean up a bit of His beloved creation as an act of worship and praise!

Here's that image of Free-Lovin Ira Einhorn, murderer and genius inventor of the modern computer database architecture.

post catagory: society posted on:2007.04.20 14:36

The Human Factor

You experience a violent tragedy very differently when you actually know someone who could have been a victim. The picture above is of my friends Mark, Kim and Aidan Stern. They were in my small group until last year when they left Nassau for Mark to take a job as a professor at Virginia Tech. The good news was that Mark was away at a conference on Monday and Kim was at home with little Aidan but watching the news reports on TV took on a much more emotional nature than watching a rampage event normally. The feeling of watching this tragic event on TV was much like watching the "shock and awe" stage of the latest War in Iraq, while knowing that my friend Shane Claiborne was over there dodging the bombs. My prayers are with all of those that have suffered pain and loss from this senseless rampage. I also pray that the news media begins to use some sincerity and wisdom as they probe the details of this event without drooling and foaming at their blood-hungry-headline-hunting mouths. (I am speaking to you FoxNews!)

post catagory: society posted on:2007.04.18 09:32

Judah's Blessing

This weekend I had the rare opportunity to take part in a baby dedication service. Our friends Shaka and Jen's little one, Judah, was being presented to the world. Boy was he excited about all the attention! He did well considering that he had a late night the previous day! The service went well and it was so great to be able to take part in a service that was both casual and meaningful at the same time. We all committed to being a part of Judah's ongoing development and growth. That shouldn't be a problem because he is quite magnetic, especially for the women! Many continued blessings for the littlest 'Lion of Judah'.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.17 08:48

Klippies and Coke

Just got an email from a friend that reminded me of this. When Nicole and I were in South Africa I really enjoyed some Kilppies and Coke. Seeing this little bottle, on the rocks, near that beautiful rocky sea, made me extra thirsty (for both a cold glass of Klippies but also a game of HotShots)

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.12 14:47

The Story is About Love

Now seems to be the time to begin to explore some issues that have been circling around in my mind/heart for quite a long while. A few Sunday's ago, during our Easter series, I gave a talk about the work accomplished by Jesus' death. I made a statement after reading this passage from Hebrews 10:1-4

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

After this passage, where the writer goes on to say, 'therefore, lets creatively encourage each other in love'. I made a statement "Ultimately the story is not about sin, it is about love". Well that statement seems to have caused a bit of a stir. I thought I would take a bit of time to unpack how I arrived at that statement, both for my own clarity and for the sake of others that might seek to understand where I was coming from.
let me begin by stating my bias up front - I believe the story of the Bible is a story about God - but a story about God told from a human point of view. That is not to say that there are not moments of revelation but simply to say that the writers themselves(particulary in the New testament) are clearly struggling to make meaning out of what has occured in the life, teachings and death of Jesus. So I am not offering any of the following scripture passages as proofs unto themselves but rather pointers towards, what I believe, is the 'true arch' of God's intentions with his relationship with humanity. That being said, lets begin by looking at Romans 7:7 - "What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law." Here Paul is saying something important about the function of the law: making us aware of our sinfulness. This takes me in my mind back to Abraham and a time, before the law, when human beings had no awareness of sin. God engaged Abraham, even without Abraham's awareness of sinfulness, and began a relationship. God then began a process of teaching human beings that there was a better way of being human. He began to set up the systems, symbols and rituals that marked the Old Testament temple worship. A hint at the purposes behind this system lay in the meaning of the word Leviticus (the Old Testament book containing the law). It means "to seperate" or to "divide". So God uses the law to divide out a people who begin to become aware of their sinfullness, and also aware of a new way of living in the world as human beings. This whole system and it's underlying purpose of teaching people about their sinfullness before God came to fulfillment and conclusion in the work of Jesus. In fact Jeremiah 31 talks about the new covenant when God will "forget that His people ever sinned".
Now we are two thousand years on down the road and we still view 'awareness of sin' as an essential part of the story. Even in spite of our open admission that many people suffer under the weight of guilt and shame that results from the way we place such an emphasis on sin. Lets think for a moment about someone, in our modern world, coming into a church community. They are there, most likely, for one of two reasons. 1) They have had a painful experience that they find hard to cope with and are seeking a new way of being in the world that allows them to make peace with what they have experienced , or 2) They have had experiences of trancendance or freedom that seem to lift them out of their ordinary lives and point them in a direction of the deeper spiritual dimensions of life. I think we make a huge, and niave, assumption if we think that these people coming into a church are in the same state as Abraham. They are fundamentally different because of the ongoing effects of God's interaction with humanity. Even though they might not use the word 'sin' to label it, they are fully aware that there is something deeply fractured and broken about, not just the world they live in, but in themselves as well. They have been living in a world that has been slowly waking up (for thousands of years) to the presence of Evil and the deep fractures that 'sin' has caused in their world. What should our starting place be for these people when we tell them the story that has offered us a new way of living? Do we teach them some Old Testament system of labeling sin? The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8 that 'Any focus on the law is actually a focus on ourselves" If we try to teach people to become aware of their sinfulness, do we not run a huge risk of setting them on a course towards self obession and empty legalism? Is there another way?
Lets look for a moment at 1 John 3:18-20:

"My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves."

Maybe a better way of engagin with people would be to direct them, firmly and practically, towards lives of sacrificial love. Telling them that this is the way our Lord lived His life and offered it to us as a way out of the oppression and brokenness that we feel. Certianly, without the work of Jesus, the issue of sin would still keep us from loving but clearly, from the state we find Israel in during Jesus' time, awareness of sin, through the law, did not result in lives of love for one another. It resulted in self obesession and pride. I find it interesting that we don't see Jesus in the gospel's laying out awareness of sin for people but loving people first.
I have much more to say on this matter, so this is just a part one, but I finish with this. We have to consider what we think the story is ultimately about before we can experience the full impact of the story. Anthony DeMello recommends that we let a story work on our subconsious for a very long time and then it will reveal its deepest meaning to our hearts. I think that on the surface the story of Jesus appears to be about sin because we tend to see it from a human point of view. I am starting to believe that, from God's perspective, the story has always been about love. It has always been about God, Himself, and as we know from another sly passage in 1 John 4:17:

God is Love!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.12 10:31

Johnny Cash's House Burns Down

You know you have soul when, after you die, your house burns to the ground and collapses in a cloud of smoke and ash. That's what happened to Johnny Cash's former Hendersonville, TN home on Tuesday. The home was purchased by Barry Gibb (yes from the Bee Gees) and was undergoing renovations when tragedy struck. It seems odd to me that the family would have sold the house in the first place but who can judge how people will react to death and loss. Mabe the house was too emotional for them to return to so they decided to let it go. You can see the house featured in the video above from the fantastic song HURT. It somehow seems fitting that Johnny's legacy is so powerful it burns down everything in its path and only leaves a pile of dust and ash. Ashes to ashes, indeed!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.12 08:50

The Bishop

This little guy was made as a celebration of Easter. I had the chance to wear a similar get-up recently and I enjoyed it so much that I created this little Bishop to remind me of the feel of the robes! Already this little guy has began to take an offering among the other clay figures that he shares a shelf with. I hear he is also planning to invite them to a house group bible study as well!

post catagory: clay posted on:2007.04.11 14:58

Its a Jersey Thing, Faggeddaboutit!

My brother emailed me this image that he took on his phone last week of the original Satriale's in Kearny, NJ to celebrate the beginning of the final cycle of Sopranos episodes. Will Tony end up in jail, in prison or worse? Here is my official prediction about how the series will end: Tony will be killed by Carmella in a rage and Anthony Jr will begin a life of crime in his dad's footsteps. We'll have to wait and see!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.11 10:34

Cassadaga

Hey kids! Its time to cake on the black glitter nail polish and eyeliner, Bright Eyes has a new album! Cassadaga is the long awaited follow up to last years big three release combo (I'm Wide Awake, its Morning, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, and Motion Sickness) The first track, Kill or Be Killed, is a nod in the direction of 'The Big Picture' which kicked off the passion and beauty of 'lifted....' but it never comes close to the same level of reckless abandon that has marked most of Conor Oberst's best songs. It just seems to float in a haze without ever really grabbing you by the throat and iluminating your mind with a potent cocktail of stark truth and weary hope. The same can be said for the rest of the 13 song cycle as well. There seems to be a lack of energy and excitement throughout. That is not to say that there isn't upbeat songs, for instance, Coat Check Dream Song, has a nice upbeat and bristling rythym section that pushes the, mostly punk country, arrangements into new terrritory. Coat Check is the strangest sounding song in the buch with some truely odd lyrics and vocal treatments:

The world was not of interest
Though her days were never dull
Her bed beneath a crucifix
On guests performing miracles
With the Son of God just hanging like a common criminal
"When I do wrong, I am with God," she thought
"When I feel lost, I am not at all"
Oh, I’ve made love, yeah, I’ve been fucked, so what?

The arrangements are very nice all around but the most important element (Conor's almost over-the-top energy and abandon) are notably absent. You can hear glimpses of it during 'No One Would Riot For Less' but even that is a pale version of songs like 'The Bottom of Everything' and 'Waste of Paint'

I have only been listening to the songs since yesterday but so far none of them seem as well crafted as Conor's previous tunes. I am very picky about how words are phrased in a song and I have always loved the way Conor finds interesting grooves to set his extremely wordy verses within, but this time there are lots of places where the phrasing seems forced and unnatural. If I had to choose a best song so far, it would be No One Would Riot For Less. Classic Cars is an interesting story about Conor's love affair with an older 'Patron of the Arts" with this verse:

And I keep looking for that blindfold faith
Lighting candles to a cynical saint
Who wants the last laugh at the fly trapped
in the windowsill tape
You can go right out of your mind trying to escape
From the panicked paradox of day to day
If you can’t understand something then it’s best to be afraid

There is some speculation online that this song is about Wynona Rider but who knows?
A few images seem to crop up in many of Conor's lyrics and this time out there are lots of references to pyramids and bricks and empires falling apart and lots of signs that Conor is struggling to find his place in the midst of a world that seems to scare him into a panic.

She’d talk forever about the phases of the moon
Saying, "Everything is a cycle, you’ve got to let it come to you
And when it does, you will know what to do"
Without even knowing I guess I took her advice

I wouldn't go as far as to say that this album is weak but it seems as if Conor is in the middle of some sort of emotional transition, I just hope that it isn't going to tame the wild-eyed and free-flowing nervous energy that we have come to expect from, Conor, the sad-hearted bard of the suburban wilderness.

post catagory: music posted on:2007.04.11 10:10

Grindhouse

There once was a time when I would be the first in line at the release of a Tarrintino film. I fondly remember a gang of us driving all the way to the interstate to see Pulp Fiction on its opening night in Gainsville, Florida. While that movie popped and sparked full of interesting characters and witty dialogue, Grindhouse seemed to fizzle and fade rather quickly. The first of the double feature, Planet Terror, was a zombie romp that never seemed to come together. Although it was packed full of gross-out gore and some sexy machine gunning action, the overall effect wasn't entertaining to my tastes. We almost left during the two short and horribly graphic fake trailers for the non-existent movies 'don't' and 'Thanksgiving'. Next up was the once-legendary Tarrintino's Death Proof and we ended up walking out about ten minutes in to it. It seemed to me that Tarrintino has become a poor cartoon version of his former glory. In those first ten minutes we get at least 5 close=up shots of women's feet and the extra-creepy personality of Quintin himself plastered across the giant screen. Maybe I am just not cultured enough to enjoy Tarrintino but I haven't walked out of a movie since 'Kill Bill'. I might watch the rest of it when it comes on cable and I have a head cold or high fever flu.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.04.10 08:46

Blades of Glory

Will Ferrell might just be the funniest human being to ever leave the cast of Saturday Night Live for the big screen. Blades of Glory is his latest character driven romp through wild costumes, toilet humor and the occasional flash of homo-erotic physical comedy (see above =) The team of Ferrell and Napolian Dynamite's Jon Heder seems to work on paper but doesn't hold must spark on the screen. Apart from the laugh-out-loud moments where Ferrell and Heder launch their bodies through movements that should be reserved for 15 year old Eastern European girls who dream in glitter, spandex and gold, there is not much here to see. Ferrell is funny but the character is not as well written as some of his other comedic gems. There is not much of a story and almost every scene is going all out for a laugh. Throw in a few cameos by former Ice Skating legends and you have the general idea. The only thing left is to sit back and take in the wonder of Mr Ferrell in all his silly genius. While it wasn't as good as ELF, Blades of Glory will bring a smile to your face.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.04.08 20:15

Bunnies After Dark

Our friend Jane threw a party where men had to dress up as Vicars and Lady's had to dress as bunnies. For some strange reason the thought of dressing up in the formal liturgical robes got me excited! I was so lucky to have help from the women in my life : Nicole, My Mom and My Grandmother really made the costume perfectly and I just got the pleasure of wearing it! And what a pleasure it was. I was thinking Cardinal but everyone called me bishop which I gues isn't so bad! We had lots of fun and even more than this guy:



He may have had the most creative costume for the whole evening! Nicole Looked beautiful as a sexy bunny, complete with whiskers and a button nose!



We even ran into a real priest - my friend Father Stroud was in town and up for a good time!



He said that this was the first party in his life that he felt that he didn't stand out! You can check out a few more images from the evening by scrolling down and checking out the lower left hand side.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.06 20:59

Shooter

After the attention that Marky Walhberg enjoyed following his comic relief role in The Departed, I was interested in seeing if he could hold my attention as a leading man. Shooter is a rather formulaic thriller that tells you all its secrets in the trailer. We have seen the plot more than a few times before but this time around the 'bad guys', interestingly, were not some group of foreign terrorists but high ranking and powerful US citizens. There were plenty of allusions to the current global and US state of affairs and the plot revolves around a company much like the real life and very scary Black Water Security. If you haven't heard of them, Black Water is a private security company (read private military force) founded by one of the largest contributors to the GWBush presidential campaign. These mercenaries make up almost half of the troops in Iraq and have the added bonus of not having to be counted in the death toll numbers. They have also been used to 'protect' the citizens of New Orleans after Katrina. I find the idea that a military force that includes helicopters, jets, armoured vehicles and a whole range of weapons that haven't even been approved for official military use, is availible for hire. I find it equally scary that their main contracts are with the US government.
Shooter follows the fringes of this sort of group as they 'protect' an assasination atempt on the US President. About ten minutes into the film the ball starts rolling and its a cat and mouse game that mostly sticks with Marky's mouse. Some familiar emotional territory is entered with the introduction of a love interest but there is an interesting tension between Marky and Kate Mara which makes it feel fresh. Overall the production levels is very high but the story just isn't that interesting. At its center it is a story about the massive amounts of deception and violence people will inflict to stay in power. I think its time for Walhberg to make a movie where he doesn't kill everyonewho is left at the end. I heard him say that his film choosing strategy is 'I choose one for them and then I choose one for me" - I hope Shooter was 'one for them' because it didn't do it for me.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.04.06 13:26

Leonard Cohen Afterlife

On a cold and rainy Seattle evening about 14 years ago, Kurt Cobain bummed a cigarette from me as we stood huddled in the cold outside, between acts, at a Leonard Cohen concert at a small theatre in the center of the city. I remember noticing that Kurt had a missing fingernail on his right hand and a very deep stare that made it hard to look into his piercing eyes. There wasn't much conversation among the four of us and as we went back inside I snuck in behind Kurt's security guys and enjoyed an unexpected escort to my seats which were only one row behind Kurt and his entourage. I remember seeing Kurt weeping as Leonard sang the lilting and achingly beautiful lines of Hallelujah and Sisters of Mercy. I knew the concert had a big impact on Kurt because a few months later when his newest album came out he had a line that begged for a 'Leonard Cohen afterlife'. It was about a year later when the sad news came of his suicide.
I still remember the sickening feeling I felt when I heard that he had died and in such a tragic and painful way. I remember feeling a sense of pain and loss, even in the midst of my own drug crazed oblivion, that has never left me since. It wasn't so much that I was a fan of Nirvana - I was, but only casually. It was more a sense of loss for our generation and the hopes and dreams that had found an outlet in the whole 'grunge-everybody is moving to Seattle' thing. There was a sense that the world was waking up to something that the gloss and excess of the 80's had kept at bay. It was almost as if the early 90's was the morning after for the decadant 80's. A time for people to wake up and do an assesment of what kinds of damage had been done the night before. In Kurt's case, the damage was too much to bear.
On this day 13 years ago, with Kurt's passing, much of the world had to face the dark and painful reality that getting everything you ever wanted can still leave you cold and empty. William S Burroughs, who worked with Kurt on some spoken word musical projects, said that Kurt couldn't continue living because he never learned to 'be alone with himself'. Lets pray that we all experience a 'Leonard Cohen" afterlife filled with beauty too painful to describe and too stable to avoid and until then we learn to be alone with ourselves.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.04.05 11:39

Copyleft Infringment

Copyright is one of the ideas that is being challenged at the heart of this story about EMI and iTunes signing a deal to offer the EMI catalog without digital copy restrictions. They studied the market for the last two years and decided that pirating is still an issue even though they were spending money on creating Digital Rights Managment (DRM) The whole notion that something shoud be protected against copying seems a bit naive to me. We live in a 'sampled' world. The ways that we are relating to technology have created an entirely different relationship between those that create bits of cultural artifacts (songs, paintings, etc) and those that purchase them. For instance, It is now so easy to not just enjoy a piece of purchased culture but to interact and use it to create something new. The kind of sampling that was going on in the early days of hiphop with 12 inch records has now grown into sampling of all forms of creative expression. It is just so easy to do that everyone is beginning to do it. I think this changes our relationship to art in a strange way. Because it has become so highly accesseble it has opened up new pathways of creative expression that were not possible before - think Mash Ups or even Human Beat Boxing. I think these new channels of creativity are making the average person more creative and interactive and might lead to a very different kind of culture where everyone is engaged not just a small limited number of 'creative' types. i don't want to sound Star Trekish but I think that in this kind of a future, ownership of creative works will not be an issue at all. I think we are on the verge of a creative interactive enlightenment that will leave all our current notions of art and its relationship to things like commerce completely shattered. On a side note - You should check out the video linked to the 'Human Beat Boxing" words above - it is simply a masterful beat boxer named Beardyman. Give it about a minute and then you will have your mind blown by the unbelievable display of talent.

post catagory: society posted on:2007.04.03 14:12

Bright Eyes : Four Winds EP

There has been lots of talk about Conor Oberst, the central voice of the revolving door collective Bright Eyes, being the future of rock and roll. I would have to agree that Conor has already shown an impressive range on both the songwriting and lyrical fronts. Last year saw the release of two albums that veered violently into vastly different directions. While all the sad-hearted emo kids wait with baited breath for the newest full length Bright Eyes album (set to drop on April 8th) they will have to be satisfied with the Four Winds EP and a pre-release single ("No One Would Riot For Anything Less") from the new album.
The EP is a six song cycle that seems to blend the best of last years two musical directions. There are plently of acoustic and country flavored sounds layed among the dense and electronic flurries of machine created sounds. "Reinvent the Wheel" is a rollicking journey cut from the same cloth as "Bowl of Oranges" but with a more dense arrangement pushing the boundaries towards country soul at times. "Cartoon Blues" is a rocking track that even references one of Conor's cult-classic songs "Padriac My Prince" a stand out line "People are made up of water and fear, if there weren't women present we wouldn't be here, so lets make life worth living". "Stray Dog Freedom" reminds me of Golden Smog and Wilco at times as it rushes and pulses its way toward distorted chaos and tense beauty. The EP is a solid collection and seems to be pointing further towards a new more dense and distorted Bright Eyes than we have seen in the last few years - with the except of the fantastic "Lover I Don't Have to Love".
The Pre-release single "No One Would Riot for Less" is a beautifully crafted almost classical ballad that offers both sharp social commentary - "Little soldier, little insect, you know war it has no heart, It will kill you in the sunshine or happily in the dark" and stunning string arrangements. If this is what the new album sounds like then we are in for a treat! Conor's voice sounds even stronger and more crisp than on "Wide Awake it's Morning" and the mood that this song sets is very powerful. I hope the new album can walk the fragile line between heavey emotional energy and bouncey swirling joy that has been the terrritory that Bright Eyes inhabits. Until April 8th, go and check out the new tunes on iTunes! You won't be sorry!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.04.03 08:26

Wounds to Worship part 5

This week was Palm Sunday and I spoke about the death of Jesus and seeing it within its first century context. The thought that religion (structured ways of purification required to approach God) functions like training wheels. We explored the idea that Jesus' fulfilled God's purposes for the Law and therefore freed human beings to remove the training wheels and begin living lives focused around loving others rather than measuring sin. In short, Jesus provided us a way to go beyond religion and truely be transformed by God. One main point also was that the story of Easter is not a story about human sin. It is a story about love. A love willing to endure cruelty, injustice and evil. You can check out the message here.

We need better ways of talking about our relationship with God. The story of 'the fall-sin-need for a savior-born again' is too focused on the human side. Much thanks to Barry Taylor for telling the story that ends this talk about the wonderful and moving album : Jesus Blood Never Failed Me, Yet.

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.04.02 12:07

Sex God

Rob Bell is a very gifted communicator and Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids Michigan. I have had the chance to meet Rob on few occasions and he is quite a bundle of energy and insight. His last Book Velvet Elvis caused a bit of a minor stir among the over religious and his new book Sex God, at least, has a snappy title. The book explores the 'endless connections between sexuality and spirituality' and is a refreshingly open minded and even practical take on the issues of sexuality in our modern culture. Rob always does a great job of both mining the deoths of the scriptures and interfacing them with our lived lives. In this book, the chapter called 'Leather, Whips and Fruit' really touched me. The chapter is mostly about the idea of lust and how it has the power to control our lives. Rob really has great language to describe the contours of lust. The phrase that got me was that lust 'fills so much head space' and how the root word of lust actually means 'filled in the mind'. He then goes on to talk about the struggle with addictions and how the idea that we must face our lusts and addictions head-on with will-power is absurd and unhelpful. He talks about the way to overcome addictions is not to resist and repress but to rechannel that life force and spiritual energy towards something else instead - try loving, maybe!
I would extend nothing but encouragement to Rob, since I see that he has become the target of the Way of the Master ministry that I have commentted on before here and here. They have produced an online rebuttal to one of Rob's Nooma videos. They are pretty rough on him, even making the statement that 'he doesn't look like a christian' . That's most likely a great thing!

post catagory: books posted on:2007.03.30 10:35

I Bet Gavin Friday is Pissed!

Bono is now an honorary Sir of the British Empire. I am not well informed about all that is entailed with such an honor but I think that he now gets full access to James Bond's spy gear and two weeks a year gets to enjoy the 'timeshare' suite at Buckingham Palace. I think Bono is pushing harder for sainthood than for knighthood but, I am told that unless you are as secure as John lennon, you just do not turn these sorts of things down. I think they should open up this knighthood process in the style of American Idol and have people vote: Perry Farrel for Knighthood!

post catagory: society posted on:2007.03.29 13:58

The Hypnotist

You are getting very sleepy.... very, very sleepy...... just watch the swinging ball.... very sleepy....... You are begining to feel very light-headed.... In a few moments I am going to say a 'signal' word and you will fall into a deep feeling of bliss..... very sleepy...... you are falling deeper now.... your arms are getting light and your slowly drifting off..........In a few moments you will feel all stress and pressures lift..... very slowly..... drifting slower........ you are almost there.... you can feel yourself getting lighter....... and the ends of your fingers........... beginning to take flight....... Your 'signal' word is........



BOOYAH!!

post catagory: clay posted on:2007.03.27 18:21

Rusty "Big Beats" McDowell

Rusty got the nickname "Big Beats" while he was still in Jr High. He used to rip the legs off of small desks and unleash a torrent of drum and bass groove lines on its hard-wood topped surface. Before joining funkBots, Rusty used to make a living working in a factory that canned little vienna sausages so you know he is familiar with the deeper meanings of term 'funky'. Maybe the industrial sounds of the factory influenced his massive intensity or maybe he just wears his pants a shade too tight - you be the judge!

post catagory: clay posted on:2007.03.27 18:12

Angel of Light

Last year during Easter, I wrote this song caled : Angel of Light. I have been singing it a few different ways over the last few months. Nicole came up with a beatiful harmony to add beauty to the arrangement. I wrote the song about the idea that there is a part on each of us that would rather nail Jesus to the cross than to bow down and worship Him. We performed the song last Sunday at our communites Sunday gathering. Gerrard Knowles and Ricky Nixon joined us and added their flavor to the mix.

You can hear the mp3 by clicking the title above or you can save it to your computer by right clicking and choosing 'save target as...'. If you are using a Mac then its ctrl click!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.03.27 09:19

American Express Has Taste!

I got an email today from David Sacks. He is a very talented and creative photographer who had the good fortune of using Nicole and I as models during his last journey to Nassau. He emailed this screen shot of an image of he shot last year on the front page of the American Express website. (click here for full size image) I never really thought I had a mainstream look but after this and a few other places that my photo has popped up I am beginning to wonder. The Yahoo Life cover from three years ago was a funny place to see my shining face but the best so far has been when my cousin called me to make sure I was ok after seeing my face msiling at the top of an ad for americansingles.com. There can only be two explainations of this image being used: 1) They recognized the power of Nicole's beauty or 2) they knew how large my AMex bills are and they thought they would give me some sort of recognition! Lets see them use my new natural white rasta look =)

post catagory: general posted on:2007.03.23 16:25

Christ at Emmaus

There is a curious story in the gospels, after the death of Jesus.[Luke 24] Two of His disciples are heading away from Jerusalem (just as Jesus had told them not to do) and they are approached on the road by a stranger. This stranger begins a conversation with them by asking about their messiah. The two disciples express their dissappointment and the fact that they no longer believed that Jesus was the true messiah. A while later the two disciples and the stranger go indoors to have a meal. During the meal, in an instant, the truth is apparent and the stranger is revealed to be Jesus. As soon as they realize who it is, Jesus dissappears. This moment of revelation is captured in Rembrandt's classic Christ at Emmaus. This painting could almost serve as a template for all of rembrandt's paintings, in that it has all the ingredients that he worked so hard to include: A sense of heightened drama, an ordinary domestic setting like a meal, dark lighting throwing shadows about and the spark of God's divine presence breaking through the surface.
Rembrandt did quite a few studies and two finished versions of this scene. This is the other one:



Rembrandt made his living painting portraits of rich people and educational scenes but his passion flowed into several spiritual ideas that he returned to again and again throughout his rollercoaster of a life. I think this scene sums up the power of Rembrandt's work: the miracle of the divine spirit manifested in human flesh. Not just the flesh of Jesus but all human flesh revealing sparks of the divine. Which one do you like better? the top or the bottom one?

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.03.23 11:52

Van Gogh and the Church

After basically being thrown out of the church for caring so much that it impacted his dignity, Vincent Van Gogh lived, for a short period, with his parents. During this time he painted the grounds of an old church that was eventually sold off to pay the bank. He cast the ld building in very dark tones, as you can tell from the image above. He also did some pencil sketches that show his growing dissillusionment with the Church.



In this one you can see that the small figure of the person is seperated by many layers of shrubs and borders that seem to imply the distance and trouble it is to find your way to the church. These images and more serve to illustrate that Van Gogh, even though he was no longer a Minister, he still felt the need to make commentary on the state of the church in his day. Was it a warning or a critical prophecy? Did he hope that his contemporaries would pay attention and move towards reform or was he simply a bitter old genius?

This weekend I am doing a Creativity and Spirituality workshop at NPCC. We are going to be looking at the lives and works of four artist: Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Howard Finster and Bahamian legend Amos Ferguson. It still strikes me as deeply telling that this image:



is arguably one of the most recognized piece of western art and it was painted looking out the window of a mental institution. Does that say that our modern world need some serious therapy? Does it blur the line between genius and madness? Is there a chance that God was whispering a silent message, hidden within the strange and wonderous life of Mr Van Gogh? What do you think? Now would be a great time to try out the new comments feature! Simply click the word 'comment' below and speak your mind!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.03.22 12:12

Grizzly Bear

You may have seem them here singing while walking down a street in Paris, but the densly harmonic four piece Grizzly Bear are actually based in Brooklyn, New York. Their sophomore disc Yellow House is a fantastic collage of over the top vocal layers and strange folksy textures. The music feels very futuristic and old at the same time. Much of the song have simple arrangements that act as launching off points for all four guys to get into the vocal gymnastics ala Abbey Road Beatles on tracks like 'Little Brother' and soaring like radiohead on the single 'Knife'. While keeping things clear and simple throughout, Grizzly Bear has crafted a very original, if not bizarre at times, sound that will appeal to those that like to chuck on some headphones and get lost in the soft layers of multi-track harpsichords.

post catagory: music posted on:2007.03.21 19:58

Atlantis Aquarium Tour

In the Bahamas it is not what you know but who you know! Or more acurately - who you are related to! I have been fortunate to have some very well healed relatives in high places, like my cousin Todd Kemp who is very important in the Water Features Dept at the Mega-Resort Atlantis. Last weekend he was kind enough to give us a little behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium system. The tour was great and we got to see some pretty freaky fish without having to stand in a massive line of obnoxious cruiseship passengers who are in a hurry to get back to the food trough. A big think you to Todd for his time - it was fantastic (except for the fish feeding kitchen smell =)

post catagory: features posted on:2007.03.21 08:08

The Majestic Lady

Friday was spent lounging on Robinson Caruso Island (Rose Island actually!) in the able care of the Majestic Lady and her crew. Nicole's sister is in town from South Africa and we have been having a great time! (read: more videos on the way!) The boat trip was fantastic and the weather was perfect. It was truly a much needed break and reminder of why I live in such a beautiful place.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.03.20 19:01

Rake and Scrape Night

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!

post catagory: features posted on:2007.03.20 07:16

Wounds to Worship - Part Three

Our community has been working through the Easter narrative. This week we were at the Garden and the Trial of Jesus. You can check out the audio here. I really feel a connection to this part of the Jesus story. So much tension and drama. I remember actually weeping when I read it for the first time. I was fortunate enough to hear some very interesting historical information from Bruxy Cavey and N T Wright. Speaking of NT, he is going to be speaking at a very cool conference that will be hosted here at NPCC in Oct. Richard Rohr and Brennan Manning will also be featured speakers.

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.03.18 20:22

Jonny Greenwood is the Controller

Jonny Greenwood, as the mad scientist stationed at the guitar in Radiohead, has been the architect behind some of the most amazing sounds that were ever wretched out of a guitar (and keyboard and wall of delay/distortion effects units and 1940's style soviet army radios) His latest accomplishment is curating the Trojan Records compilation ; Jonny Greenwood is the Controller. This disc is packed with 17 funky old school reggae cuts that are sure to get your body movin'! Lee "Scratch" Perry makes three appearances with his 'Bionic Rats' being a stand out track. You've got a cool reggae cover of the popular torchsong 'Fever' by Junior Byles and a spaced out 'Flash Gordon Meets Luke Skywalker" by the Scientist & Jammy & The Roots Radics. This collection is sure to warm the hearts of reggae fans and maybe turn on some black-clad Radiohead fans to look even deeper into their affection for all things black. There is something funky, groovy and comforting all at once about the sound of old reggae. It has a smooth rythmic sense and that helps but I think its the low-fi (thick as mud in parts) that really transports me to another world. If you are interested in checking out the healthy state of pre-marley reggae and ska, you must check out this collection!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.03.13 08:17

Wounds to Worship

Sunday was the second in a teaching series leading up to Easter called Wounds to Worship. You can download the message in mp3 format here. Dr Allen began the series last week by looking at how his pyscological work has revealed that life is deeply wounded. We picked up on this theme while looking at the Last Supper and particularly the disciples reactions to Jesus mystical and firm statements about his impending fate. We looked at some interesting words of Mother Teresa about the spiritual poverty in the west:

"You in the west have the spiritually poorest of the poor much more than you have physically poor people. Very often among the rich there are very, very spiritually poor people. I find it is not difficult to give a plate of rice to those that are hungry, or to give a bed to those who have none. To console or remove the bitterness, to remove the anger, to remove the loneliness of those who are physically rich but spiritually poor takes much longer"

We talked about the two kind of woundedness "the down and out" - those who have lost everything and feel hopeless , "the up and out" those who have gained all kinds of success or wealth and still feel a nagging emptiness. The message also included a reference to the art of Tim Noble and Sue Webster. (Thanks to Barry!) and a clip from the film "Saved" - the gangsta exorcism scene! We closed with this little video featuring Oscar Peterson playing a beautiful piece called "The Last Supper".



Throw in a few verses from John's Gospel and this image:



and you have a sermon!

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.03.12 20:57

The Pope Calls Bob Dylan a False Prophet

A few yers ago Ice-T made a point that you are not truly infamous until the President of the United States says your name. In Bob Dylan's case, the Pope will have to do. In a new book released this week, the current Pope recalls his times with Pope John Paul. He recalls that he did not support Bob Dylan playing at an event in the 80's, calling Bob a false prophet. You can read more here. A few week's ago Simon Scowl of American Idol, made a statement that Dylan was boring, banning forever the spirit of art and creativity from the set of Idol (unless by some strange twist of fate ZeFrank decides to audition next season as his next mission).

post catagory: music posted on:2007.03.12 13:54

Bono Wins Another Award

Bono has won many awards during the span of his 30+ year music career. A few weeks ago he won the NAACP image award for his work against poverty. On the RED BLOG they said this about the honor "This is an award for a lifelong pursuit of the equality and coexistence of humanity" - not bad for a rock star! Above is a video of the comments he offered after accepting the award.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.03.09 09:17

Brent Malone

Protective Hands with Salamander

On a chilly Ash Wed morning three years ago, I was in LA taking a "city-break" from the island life. My trip was interrupted by the horrible news that my friend Brent Malone had passed away. I had breakfast with Brent on the day I flew out of Nassau for LA and we exchanged some timely thoughts. I am not normally one to put my cards so firmly on the table but for reasons unknown at the time, we both took the opportunity to tell each other how much we cared. I told Brent that I felt honored to know him and that he had opened up a whole world of creativity and inspiration in my own journey. Brent just laughed and called me his "Rock and Roll Pastor", a name he had used for me in many of the introductions he had made of me in the Nassau art scene. A few months before his passing I had just finished recording a cycle of songs and I gave a copy of the disc to Brent. I had given the disc to quite a few other people but Brent was the only one who really engaged me about the music. He really seemed to treat it as ART. he asked me indepth questions about the musical and lyrical content, making connections to his own journey. I remember one lyric in particular from a song called "Find My Way Home" that really resonated with him. The line was 'All the miles we've traveled down, vanish like white lines". For me it was about travelling great distances and then feeling like you are right back where you started, but for Brent it was a direct reference to the vanishing of other "white lines". In the end Brent characterized my music as "Bob Dylan-esque Gospel" and that is fine with me! The week that he died, Brent gave me a small folder with scans of some of his paintings. These are a few of my favorites:


The Cross


Inner journey


Life Within

Brent was a manicly energized person. He could fill one single sentence with five or six brilliant ideas. During our Christmas service four years ago Brent hung a blank canvas in the front of the auditorium by the stage. During worship he invited people to join him in filling the blank space. Before anyone arrived he had painting the following words on the canvas - "I feel plain and lonely, please come and fill me up with your...."
He also did some work with our children's ministry and created this piece:



Brent's idea for the cross was to teach the kids that they are the body of Christ in the world. One of the last conversations I had with Brent, i was pitching him and idea of doing a discussion group for artists that would focus on spirituality. I took great pains to tell Brent that the group would be open to artists of all beliefs (or no beliefs as well!) when I finished my pitch, Brent smiled and said "That's fine but just remember that I work for a Jewish carpenter!"

I haven't had that many friends die so far but the thought of seeing Brent again makes it hard not to believe in an afterlife!

Rest in Peace Father of Bahamian Art, rest in peace!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.03.09 07:41

Scientology

While I am not one to atack someone's belief's, I have been hearing a great deal of strange business about the celebrity-magnet Scientology lately. I was having dinner a few nights ago and a friend relayed a story about someone being trapped on a Scientology Work Ship. Their family was trying to get them off the ship and they were refused contact. Then I read this. I have always found the stories surrounding the "church of scientology" a bit too odd to be taken seriously but lately I am beginning to wonder. I think the reason that it is attractive to people is that it emphasizes technique and formula over intro-spection. The whole mystery of the human pysche is reduced to negative and positive energies. You have a very practical solution to the human problem of "too much negative energy". You hook up to this e-meter:



"The central practice of Scientology is "auditing" (from the Latin word audire, "to listen"), which is a one-on-one communication with a trained Scientology counselor or "auditor". The auditor follows an exact procedure toward rehabilitating the human spirit. Most auditing uses an E-meter, a device that measures very small changes in electrical resistance through the human body when a person is holding onto tin cans and a small current is passed through them."- Wiki

Sounds very similar to the process of psychotherapy plus the added illusion of "technology" to strengthen one's faith in the experience.
I heard that recently John Travolta made the statement that Anna Nicole Smith would haved lived is she was a Sceintologist. I guess that might be true, unless of course she has a mental breakdown and has to endure a "introspective rundown". A process where a scientologist who has had a mental breakdown is forced into solitary introspection with the help of a blindfold and a mouth gag. Lisa Mcpherson had a car accident while studing to be a Scientologist at their headquarters in Clearwater Florida. Although she was not seriously injured in the accident she stripped off her clothes and began to babble. She was taken to the psyche ward of the hospital until a Scientology "away team" came and collected her. In the care of her "church", She died ten days later, showing signs of starvation, dehydration and small insect bites throughout her body. Maybe this is just something to make fun of and I may get a legal email for sayign this but : Sceintology is one of the creepiest things I have ever encountered. If you don't believe me check this out.

post catagory: society posted on:2007.03.06 18:53

On Being

The Washington Post has a new online video project called: On Being. They post new videos of everday people each week. So far they have a wide range of people from a nun to a gay man. Each person has a short one sentence quote and a 3-7 min video interview. The project is described by them like this "onBeing is a full screen interactive video feature that takes you into the musings, passions, histories and quirks of all sorts of people. If we learn who they are we can learn btter who we are". The site is pretty slick, from a design perspective, and if they keep adding interesting content it seems like a great idea.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.03.05 12:31

Zodiac

There are several things that make a true crime case stick into the collective awareness. Only a handful of murder cases, that do not involve famous people, rise out of the thousands of murders that happen each year. The case of the Zodiac Killer in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s is one of those cases. Besides the mystery of it never being solved, add to that a laundry list of bizarre costumes, crytograms and theories involving the alignment of astrological bodies. The film, Zodiac, is more a story about the effects of those mysteries on the lives of most of the people who came in contact with the insanity close-up, than it is a thriller based on the actual crimes. The story follows the lead detectives, San Fran reporters and a rookie cartoonist as they slowly become unraveled as they face the frustrations of not being able to find answers that lead to the identity of the Zodiac. The movie places you in the mindset of a detective investigating a case that is far too complex and strange to ever really get to the bottom of.
I enjoyed the movie although it felt disappointing towards the end. I have visited this site in the past and was already fairly sure that the suspect presented in the film is most likely the true Zodiac. However while I was creating the above graphic for this post I had a bit of investigative inspiration. I think I may have discovered the identity of the true Zodiac. At first I spent some time working with the zodiac's own signature logo. As I manipulated it, it started to remind me of another symbol that I had seen quite a lot.



That's right, it is a dead ringer for the AQAL symbol used by Ken Wilber to explain his "All Quandrants, All Lines" philosophy on reality. It seemed at first a silly notion but then I began to dig even deeper and I found this early wanted poster created in early 1970.



It is a known fact that Ken Wilber was "surfing and meditating" in California during the years that the Zodiac was active. It is also a fact that the last Zodiac letter was sent in 1971. In 1978 Ken Wilber completed his first book, The Spectrum of Consciousness after "working on it for almost ten years". I think someone should look into this. Ken has been behind two other movie franchises in the past so why not Zodiac as well? I won't sleep until I figure this out, for certian........

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.03.03 18:59

Anna Nicole's Memorial

Today was the first of two scheduled memorial services for Anna Nicole Smith. As luck would have it, the service was held at a little Baptist church that sits about 100 yards from my fiance's office window. She was able to snap these photos from the event.



I wasn't at the service but I saw a few moments on the Tele while getting a Red Bull from the liquer store. The frist image I saw on the screen was of the two disputed baby-daddies Larry Birkhead and Howard K Stern. Right next to them in a very fly white suit was my friend , and Anna's personal dance instructor, Mervin Smith.



It has been a media circus here and it is not letting up anytime soon. We are expecting over 20,000 members o the media for the upcoming inquest into the death of Anna's son Daniel. I may have to go down to the courts one morning and break out the Vultures Go Home song one more time for the assembled media vultures. Check out a video of the casket being carried into the church here.

I heard a reporter on tv last night say "even decomposing is 'better in the Bahamas'"!

post catagory: society posted on:2007.03.02 12:51

EyeTV - Hybrid

Every once and a while I come across a technology that really gets me excited! The last time I got this excited they had just perfected streaming multi-track audio onto a laptop through the USB ports. Now I am excited about a new piece of gear called EyeTV Hybrid. It allows you to watch tv (HD, Digital and Normal Analog) right on your apple laptop. That is pretty cool by itself but the best feature is the Tivo-like features. You can pause, rewind, record and edit LIVE TV. The software is really easy to use and the features are incredible! Within seconds (I mean it) it was up and running and I was ready to record. Not only can you simply press the "record" button, you can also schedule it to auto record shows and it will even wake your computer up and tune to the correct channel. You can hook up a VCR or DVD player and encode them to digital format for playing in KeyNote or Powerpoint presentations. You can burn them to DVD right within the same slick software that allows you to edit out the commercials. The signal quality is great even though my cable signal isn't very reliable on its own. It also has a digital antenna for those who live in the States. Most large cities in the states broadcast 18-25 HDTV channels for free over a digital format. That means that you can even use it wirelessly while on the go.
Literally seconds after I plugged it in, the first channel it was tuned to was CBC. It was one of my favorite shows, The Hour, and the guest was my dad's favorite musical artist : Meatloaf. I quickly hit the record button and caught the last three minutes of Him comparing his newest Bat Out of Hell 3 album to Abbey Road and Sgt Peppers. Just last night I recorded three interesting things on-the-fly:
The Meatloaf interview on The Hour
A Strange Cartoon about Jesus Freaks
and an episode of The Sopranos

If you are interested in getting into the digital television recording world and don't want to shell out the cash for a Tivo (or Cable Bahamas' $500 digital set top box) then the EyeTV Hybrid is for you! That is if you use a Mac!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.03.01 13:41

Jesus Hates it...

This little picture made me smile so I had to post it so I will see it randomly years from now and laugh about it again! It has been one week and still no cigarettes. I am still feeling unwavering in my choice to become a non-smoker. The physical withdrawls are a bit more uncomfortable than earlier in the week but nothing to complain about. Its as if the EASYWAY book did some kind of hypnosis on me - and the other million sof people who have been successful in quitting after they read it.

post catagory: society posted on:2007.02.27 23:53

This is My Life : Wes Anderson

This little gem was a high point of the oscars telecast. It's a new Amex commercial directed by Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore ,The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Life Aquatic) The ad is very nicely shot and gets a lot out of its short 2min playtime. The rest of the Oscars had a few high points - the wonderful choice to allow film makers to create the montages between awards. I particularly liked the one on Writers. I thought that Ellen was funny and helped the show not feel so stale. I liked the people behind the curtians making shapes - Snakes on a Plane and such.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.02.27 20:42

How to Stop Smoking the EASYWAY

I have smoked on and off for a number of years and have treid a few different methods of trying to stop. I have tried the patch, the gum, the "i-am-going-to-smoke-so-many-that-i-get-sick-of-them" method and all in vain. Last year I had moderate success with the patch (I stopped for about nine weeks). Still the process was very difficult and I found myself very frustrated and angry most of the time especially the first few days. I remember going through hour long will-power sessions, fighting the urge to run out and buy a pack. I even woke up out of a sound sleep and as I was coming into my mind, I realized I was digging in a trashbag that I had thrown my old butts into and hoping to just get a taste of nicotine. I remember being depressed, especially the first days, about the fact that I was having to give up something that I appeared to love (and also hate at the same time). Well, as you may have already guessed, I decided to read the hugely popular book by anti-smoking guru Alan Carr: How to Stop Smoking the EasyWay. I had sme major doubts that a book could really make the process of quitting smoking any easier but I had seen Ashton Kutcher talking about how he stopped smoking after reading the book and I make it a point to try to follow in Ashton's footsteps (you've been punked, beotch!)
The book was not what I expected at all. It is basically a reverse engineering of the addictive cycle. Most of the book is one long decontruction of the idea that smoking is something that people enjoy. At first I was not agreeing with him on this and for the first 40 pages I kept saying, "No I really do enjoy much about smoking!" But slowly as the book progressed, I really began to open my mind to another way of looking at the "habit". Rather than scaring you with the health or financial reasons for stopping, Carr simply goes to the heart of the issue and helps you see that thinking you enjoy smoking is like "banging your head against a wall so you can enjoy the pleasure of stopping".
It has been two days and I am actually enjoying the process! I do not feel as though I am giving anything up. I feel as though I am being freed from a prison that I had not even realized that I was locked within. I am just as surprised as anyone that I feel this way but I have to say this little book is a very effective aid in rethinking your relationship to addictions. Much of what he says applies to almost anything that you might be addicted to. Not only am I finding it easy to stop smoking but I am really energized and excited about what my life will be like in a few weeks when I will feel the health benifits of not daily breathing poison. I am not down on smokers and I am not going to turn into a self-righteous ex-smoker. I sympathize with addictions and will only seek to love those that struggle with addictions of various forms. But as for me, i know that I will never smoke another cigarette as long as I live and that is not a depressing thought but one that I am rejoicing! YIIIIIIIPPPPPIIIIEEEEE!

post catagory: books posted on:2007.02.23 08:10

The Best iPod Add-on!

In the ongoing quest to put all availible technology into the palm of our hands, a new add-on for the iPod has just taken it to another level: The iBreath is both an FM transmitter and fully functional breathalizer machine rolled into one. So you are out at a club and are not sure if you have had too many, there is no need to worry, simply pull out your iPod (you certianly had it in your pocket as a plan b in case the evening was un-exciting and you needed to retreat to the saftey of your digital music and video library). Besides saving people from harm and DUI violations, having your very own pocket breathalizer might also curb other drunkeness related mishaps. Before you make a fool out of yourself by attempting to "pop that collar" in a wildly drunken frenzy or before you make a pronouncement of love to the "lovely" lady/man that you just met on the way to the toilets, check to make sure that you are not past the legal limit for love - or dancing!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.02.23 07:32

Its Almost Election Time

It has been a very interesting week here in the Bahamas. With the escalating Anna Nicole drama, our Minister of Immigration, Shane Gibson, has resigned his post in after pictures of him kissing Anna Nicole Smith appeared on the front page of our largest newspaper, The Tribune. When I first heard the news, early last week, that someone had broken into the house where Anna was staying, I knew things were going to get ugly. The intial news reports all mentioned that computers and computer discs were stolen in the break in. The next morning in the paper we saw a short series of photos showing Shane and Anna almost kissing. The pictures themselves are not all that interesting. The kind that you see from almost every birthday party where the guests are celebrating with the host. The next day, Shane and his wife appeared to explain the context of the pictures and that their whole family was at the party and in the room when the "shocking" images were taken. It made little difference because a ground swell of negative energy had already began to circle around Mr Gibson and his special treatment of Anna Nicole. Lets put it this way, the average wait for a legitmate permant residency grant is about 1-2 years. Anna was granted hers in less than one month. During the upcoming elections I am sure that we will here more about the misadventures of our current cabinet ministers but the truth is I am still saddened by the whole affair. It just seems to be everywhere on TV. Maybe it is so we don't realize that over 150 people were killed in Iraq on Saturday.

post catagory: society posted on:2007.02.19 06:45

Learning to be Transformed

This week I spoke at our community on the topic of the spiritual disciplines and particularly fasting. We are about to enter into the season of Lent and this message was a way of preparing our community to engage Lent in a new way as a tool for spiritual growth and transformation. You can check out the sermon here and a little movie of the slides I used here. Please feel free to make any comments! I used Dallas Willard's "The Spirit of the Disciplines" as the main thrust of the message with a bit of creative sampling from one of my favorite speakers from up north. For all the hockey fans out there, I give a quick shout out to Bryan McCabe, my cousin the NHL hockey player.

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.02.18 13:49

Do You Need a BahamaVention?

About three weeks ago I began to notice a series of strange, but well executed TV ads for the Bahamas appearing in many primetime slots. last week right before the Grammy's began on CBS they played one of these "Bahamavention" ads. It seems that our Ministry of Tourism has really upped the ante with regards to our media presence. last night I noticed that The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is a proud sponser of E's wildly irreverant TV wrap up/commentary show Talk Soup. During an in show segment they mentioned the Bahamas and particularly the Bahamavention campaign. You can check out the very tongue-in-cheek website for the campaign here. I am actually pleased to see that our government is entering the modern world and employing cutting edge ad stratagies to their marketing campaign. A few years ago a couple of my friends worked on a big budget film/web project for the tourism ministry that resulted in this bright and shiny website, and now they are taking the same level of intention to their television ads.
I think it is a bit strange that these ads are in heavy rotation during a time when our country is being mentioned almost every hour in news reports about the ongoing Anna Nicole Smith drama. Just in the last two days I have the following from cable news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News (just kidding I don't watch Foxnews!):

"The Bahamas is known for crime and the fact that Anna Nicole's former residence was broken into is only par for the course"

"The Bahamas has the most dated and inefficient court system and this will make the fight for custody very tricky."

"The Bahamas Minister of Immigration and Anna Nicole had a "flagrently sexual relationship".

I guess Anna Nicole failed to have a successful Bahamavention.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.02.17 09:36

Welcome Official Opening

The official opening of the public art project Welcome happened on Feb 15th at 6pm. The event included short speeches by the three sponsors Clint Kemp (New Providence Community Church), George MarcAntonius (Kerzner Intl) and The Ministry of Tourism Minister, Obie Wilscomb. It was great to see the acceptance and excitement that was poured out on the project and the recognition to the artists whose vision made the project a strong statement overall. It must be said that from the NPCC side of things, this project would no have happened without the constant effort (and sometimes struggle =) of Gillian Watson - You Go Girl!
Check out the video to hear the speeches and to get a sense of what the evening felt like.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.02.16 13:08

Read Print

Read Print.com is an interesting place to find tons of free books and other writings online. One of the coolest things is that you can search through the text of the books offered. Clearly due to copywrite restrictions, they have an abundance of classics that have fallen into the public domain but some of the classics are worth reading: 1984, The Origin of Species and a whole boat-load of Sherlock Holmes titles. Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha is among the many offered and certianly a timely read given the current morphing of eastern and western ideas about all things spiritual. Along with the long form fiction and non-fiction titles, they have an impressive list of essays, articles and poetry as well. If you are into reading the classics in a new way or just wanting to use the cool search feature to see how often Arthur Conan Doyle used the word Hashish in His writings (55) you should check our Readprint.com here.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.02.14 14:32

Re-Design Complete!

After a few weeks of various tweaks and additions, I think seeward.com is finished with this round of redesigning. Now its time to focus on posting again! I am really going to see if I can push the limits of this site this year. Meaning that I am going to try to upload as much information as possible and really pack it full. It is has always functioned as a kind-of journal but I am going to kick it up a notch and try to draw some larger purpose out of the random postings. When I last checked the database, I had over 550 posts so far. That's over the last 2 years. You can always browse through the older posts by using the little post sorter on the top right of this page. Choose the catagory you want and hit the "go" button. Stick around the seeward universe, you just might learn something!

post catagory: personal posted on:2007.02.13 22:26

The USAnti-Heroes

You must check out The USAnti-Heroes! You may even recognize some of the heroes' alter egos. They have a very entertaining video from last year's Buy Nothing Day. The Jubilee Jester looks very familiar!

post catagory: society posted on:2007.02.12 11:54

The Grammys : 07

Every year I watch the Grammys with my computer open. Here are the results:

The Police sounded rather tight(they also sounded loose in the appropriate places) given that they haven't played together in more than a few years. I wonder of a new album is in the works? Overall I wasn't overly impressed with their performance. I was hoping for a medly or even a rearrangment that took them in new directions but I guess you don't mess with a good thing.


Tony Bennet saying this "I want to thankTarget, the best sponser I ever worked for!" right after Stevie Wonder dedicated the Grammy to his late mother was a strange clash of values. Speaking of Target there was an ad with The Beatles Hello Goodbye in the background (is Michael Jackson responsibile for this? Is he selling off the rights to Beatles songs to ads to pay he huge debt?

Prince's one word introduction of Beyonce.

I am glad Mary J because her blowing through an extra long list of names was a bit disappointing. I wanted to hear from her at least she thanked Jesus first! =) Her second speech had a little bit message to it - the peak of fame can expose who you really are.

I liked Justin Timberlake's performance but I could do without the JT in-your-face cam.

The tribute to James Brown was sensational !!

It was clearly a year for the Dixie Chicks (or at least anti-war sentiments being validated) and Rick Rubin, Both winning multiple awards. The Arctic Monkeys went home empty-handed and that is a shame because their album blows the doors off of The (once mighty) Red Hot Chili Peppers. I have grown tired of the RHCP as of late and particularly Anthony Keidis' mumbled nonsense. James Blunt also failed to win an award after being nominated for five.

It was cool to hear Bob Wills' San Antonio Rose! I have been in love with Mr Will's and his Texas Playboys. I remember I was accidentally sent a recording of His Greatest Hits from one of those pre-internet monthly music clubs. I decided to open it and give it a listen partly because of the connection to Gram Parsons but also because of the crazy sequined suits that the Playboys were wearing on the cover.

I wonder why the Eagles didn't perform to celebrate their life-time achievement award? Rascal Flats played some note-for-note renditions in their place while Don Henley was honored with another award from the music cares foundation.

All in all it was a good show from a musical standpoint - much better than a few years back when almost every song performed was hip-hop. Once again I would like to thank - target!

post catagory: music posted on:2007.02.12 11:35

seeward in worship

My friend Derek took some great images during practice for this morning's worship service. I like the way that he captured the motion in my arm. They came out so well I used one for the header image on the music page.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.02.11 20:34

Drawing the Line @ Popop Gallery

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!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.02.10 08:59

kejanard.com

My friend Kenard has been working up his first website for a good while now - you can check it out here. He has some great images from both here in Nassau and in jamaica along with some up-to-date tech news from all across the web.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.02.09 12:13

Welcome

I taught my friend Gillian how to use iMovie and she made this little film for the upcoming launch of the Welcome art installation on the grounds at NPCC. The piece is officially being unvieled this week with dignitaries and important folks like the artists Antonius Roberts and Tyrone Ferguson and members of Government.
Good job on the video, Gill!

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.02.08 15:43

Anna Nicole Smith Dies

I would never have considered myself a fan of Anna Nicole Smith but, since she appeared emotionally naked in her train-wreck of a reality show, I have felt a bit sorry for her. I realize that she has used nakedness in many forms to draw the public attention that she so desperately needed but I am still saddened by her passing. She didn't seem like an evil person but simply one that was broken and desperate. So desperate that she willingly allowed the media to lead her in a dance that sucked every marrow of shame(and sensational news headlines) out of her poor choices and psychological weaknesses. She might have courted the kind of life story that could have only led to her eventual demise, but she was still a mother of a little baby girl. It seems that the fight for that little baby will get even more intense if she is the sole heir to Anna's inheritance.

A few months ago, when her son died, I wrote a song called "Vultures Go Home". We had driven to the house she was living in here in Nassau to perform the song in front of the assembled media. I really felt for the desperation for her situation and the way that the public was eating it up. Later I heard that she sold pictures of her son, taken in the hospital the night before he died - for over $600,000.

Why does the media feed off of people's pain and scandal? Why is scandal an effective PR strategy for celebrities who's lives are falling apart?

May God rest her soul.

post catagory: society posted on:2007.02.08 14:57

Shane Claiborne

I found a great video of Shane speaking at a youth event on youtube. It seems that Jamie Moffett (another founding member of The Simple Way in North Philly, has been posting videos of Shane and their Another world is Possible project. Jamie has some great media skills and it was nice to see some videos of Shane infiltrating the web-i-verse.

post catagory: general posted on:2007.02.05 22:13

Nicole's Birthday

Saturday was Nicole's birthday and we had a wonderful time celebrating! We gathered at one of our favorite restaurants Indigo. Another treat was that our friends band Sway was performing that night so the place was packed full of good times! Check out the video to share in the experience! Nicole looked amazing(you'd never guess she was turning 25 ;-) and we all had a fantastic time!
It works best to pause the video after hitting play. Then after a good portion loads you can begin the video again and playback will be much smoother.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.02.04 16:40

DVD : I Know I'm Not Alone

I posted several months ago on the fantastic album "Yell Fire!" by Michael Franti and Spearhead. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to catch a quick interview with Franti on CBC's the Hour. He was much more laid back and relaxed than I had pictured him. He was promoting his new DVD release "I Know I'm Not Alone" which documents his cultural travels throught the war torn Middle East.
The DVD is a powerful little piece of guerilla film-making at its best. Scenes of families crowded into bombed out apartment buildings enjoying each others company and Franti's manic folk strumming. He bumps into a few musicians as well as some US military soldiers during happy hour. What is revealed is exactly what he says was his purpose for the trip and the film: to highlight the human cost of war. This is not so much a preachy anti-war movie as much as it is a pro-life movie. Franti has an odd charisma even when it is clear that much cultural differences seperate him from those he meets and entertains along the way.
The most moving scene for me was an impromtu performance, in Iraq, for about 20 US Marines who were taking a few minutes away from trying to survive. He played a song called "We can Bomb the world to pieces but we can't bomb it into peace!" His song choice showed that he had courage to sing such an obviously anti-war song to soldiers who had beers in one hand and M16's in the other. Through the voice over we learn that he was acually quite intimidated by the soldiers at first. After the performace they said that they repected him for coming in to their space and singing such a confrontational song. Many of the soldiers expressed that they no longer supported the war and that they were just trying to stay alive long enough to go home safely and this was three years ago! What I respect about Franti is his strong convictions and his commitment to showing love to people on both sides of the issue. He doesn't condemn the soldiers who are, for the most part, just doing their jobs in a difficult situation. In fact through his lyrics on Yell Fire you can see that the real focus of his judgments are those in power who send people off to war without ever having to face the horror of war themselves (are you listening GWB?)

Those who start wars never fight them
Those who fight wars never like them

If you buy the DVD be sure to check out the Arab rappers in the special features section - kickin' it Mulim style. Music is truely the only universal language!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.02.02 12:06

Smokin' Aces

Jeremy Piven leads an ensemble cast of half-wit thugs, lunatics, professional killers and professional killer-chasers. The first thirty minutes of this film were promising: lots of witty dialogue and smooth cuts between the various storylines but the payoff never came. Suddenly everything devolved into a poorly executed splatter flick that owes much to Pulp Fiction and Snatch in the style department.
Some notable appearances by Alicia Keys and Common. Both of them were strong on screen with Alicia playing a semi-professional semi-lesbian hit woman and Common playing a smoother than ice member of Piven's entourage. Piven hits all the right notes as a drug crazed and paranoid entertainer with mob connections but the silly plot twist at the end leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. If this movie could have delivered on the setup and sustained its wit, it would have been fantastic. However it ends up being a rough and tumble wanna-be stylish gangster movie that could have been a great one.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.01.31 18:31

Dis Be Meez!

I just came across a "create your own avatar" site called MEEZ. You can easily create your own online identity by browsing through their selection of hipster clothing. There are plenty of very cool fashions to choose from, and like the real world, you have to pay for the nicer items. I was still able to get pretty close to the way I would present myself in a virtual world!
I guess its a sign of the average age of their users that none of the customizable characters look older than 18 years. Still a fun site to check out for creating your own little online character.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.01.30 17:59

Paradise Dive Charters and The Signature Deli

I just finished up a new site design for Paradise Dive Charters. Corey and Monica has an exciting dive operation running with a personal touch. With a wide ranging set of options for dive trips and any level of training you might need. The site was fun to work on and I tried some new design techniques that I have been exploring lately.



Also I designed a site for The Signature Deli. My friend Snucky Miller opened it up a few weeks ago!You can check out fantastic live Jazz from 8-11pm on Friday nights.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.01.30 15:06

Oh Snap!

snap.com is looking to move industry giant google off its database code driven throne. It has one of the coolest image searching interfaces that I have ever seen but the coolest feature is the nifty little popups that now grace the, newly designed, seeward.com.
About the new design, I am still doing some tweaks to add new features so stay tuned! For now here is a list of cool sites that you can test out the previews:

The Simple Way
Wired News
Warhol Blog
TED Blog

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.01.30 14:50

Platinum Soldiers

This weekend at npcc we had Carlos Reid as a guest speaker. Carlos used to be the leader of one of the largest street gangs in Nassau. Since the early 90's, He has been running Youth Against Violence. At the end of his talk he introduced The Platinum Soldiers, a hiphop group made up of boys and young men from his ministry.
The video is about 10 minutes long so you might need to pause it, after hitting play, to let some of the video stream load. This will ensure a smooth playback.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.01.30 09:06

How (Not) to Speak of God

I haven't reviewed a book in quite awhile. I have read a few but have not found anything particularly remarkable. I just re-read Peter Rollins book How (Not) to Speak of God. I enjoyed it much better the second time around. Peter is a well versed writer that blends philosophy and rigorous thought with Biblical reflection and a healthy dose of narrative illustrations. There is much to think about in this little book with a cover that looks like someone spilled thier latte on it.
Rather than going through all the ideas that I was intrigued by, I will just highlight the one that proved most helpful to me personally. In a section called "Truth as Soteriological Event", Rollins unpacks the Absolute vs Relative Truth debate by shattering both positions. Looking at 1 John's "Anyone who love's has seen God because God is love", he shows that a proper biblical view of truth is not the Absolute truth position that is based on propositions designed to describe "the real" or "Truth". What he ends up saying is that we only know Truth (God, Love ...) through our relationship to it. So instead of accepting some descriptions of truth that are meant to represent "The Truth" we instead, experience Truth and are therefore transformed by it. This position not only shows the weakness in the absolute/relative debate but also drives a wedge at the core of our Christian obessions with "correct belief". This point, and many other just as profound points, are made in simple language and illustrated like a masterful sage.
I look forward to reading more from this deep thinking Irishman from Belfast!

post catagory: books posted on:2007.01.24 09:58

Sex, Gardening and God

I just finished a three week series at our community entitled : Being Human : Sex, Gardening and God. We explored themes of The Kingdom of God vs the kingdoms of our modern world. You can check out each week's message and a final song below:

Part One: This message sets a biblical framework for the series by looking at the temptations of Jesus in Luke's gospel.

Part Two: During this message we looked at advertising and how it is geared to our basic human needs for : Love, Security and Power.

Part Three: Looking at passages from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6) we wrapped up the series by reflecting on Jesus invitation to a new kind of life.

We Will Find No Rest: I wrote this song after reading the Confessions of St. Augustine. I found many of the ideas in The Confessions were very relevant to our world and the struggle of following Jesus' way of Being Human.

post catagory: sermons posted on:2007.01.23 09:13

John Cox Works

Bahamian Artist John Cox has a newly designed personal portfolio site here. I am a big fan fo John's work and the proud owner of a few of his furniture designs. Check out his new site for photos of new works and lots of info about his work.
On a connected note the collective at popop studios has a tasteful facelift as well.

post catagory: websites posted on:2007.01.22 14:57

Alphadog

I went to see this movie for one reason: I wanted to see if JT was indeed a triple threat dancer, singer and actor. Most people have seen the A&E doc about the sad real life events that inspire this depressing tale of suburban excess so I was really just interested in seeing the actors. Before I say anymore, I have to say that JT held it together rather well considering he only had to learn about three lines and repeat them on cue : "Dude, F$%K!" , "Don't F$%K with me, dude!", and "Dude, I'll F%$K you up!"
On my way into the theatre, the attendant was stopping three obviously 12-13 year-olds at the door telling them that they had to be at least 18 to see the film. About a minute into the film I had to go back out to tell the attendant that the movie was showing off centre and part of it was being projected onto the wall and curtian instead of the screen. (something that never got fixed by the way) I went out just in time to hear the attendant telling the same 12-13 yearolds that he had spoken with his boss and they were now allowed to go inside and watch the film! @#&@%#&@%#&! I could say a great deal about the excessive language, drugs, sex and violence of this film but it's enough to say there is NO WAY 12-13 year-old JT fans should be allowed in to see it!
So about the movie, it was a bomb blast of overacting and mindless gansta posing (Ben Foster seems like he was in a Kung Fu movie the way his intensity boarders on absurd) Throughout the film I kept reminding myself that this was inspired by true events and that the kind of lunacy that was being portrayed actually happened 2000. (at least the core events because I am sure a great deal of it was hyped up for the drama of film)
The movie left me with the same feeling I had after reading Less Than Zero. I just wanted to reach into the story and shake some sense into the characters. If you too are curious about JT's acting wait for this to come on cable. Having seen the film, for me, the jury is still out!

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.01.20 08:41

Davis on Frisbee

I posted some thoughts, a few months ago, about the documentary Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher. Last year while I was in LA, I had the chance to view the film and meet the director/producer David Di Sabitini. I was moved and inspired by the film on many levels. Recently Erik Davis wrote a review of the film (here ) I love the way the Davis writes and he does a good job of both summarizing the best parts of the film and connecting Frisbee's story to a much larger movement of alternate spiritual currents that flow through California.
You can order your own copy of the film here or you can learn more about the strange and wonderful story of Lonnie here.

post catagory: movies posted on:2007.01.18 07:38

How God Works

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.

I thank God for this little reminder!

post catagory: general posted on:2007.01.15 10:15

Signature Deli Opening

My friend Snucky (the best bass player I have ever met!) just opened a new deli called the signature deli. I went to the grand opeing on Friday to hear his new band Pneuma play some smooth and funky jazz. The deli has a nice starbucks type feel and the food is very good. During the weekends they are going to feature some interesting jazz combos. The band sounded amazing (trust me because the audio from the video camera doesn't do it justice)
Remember to pause the video aftering hitting play. That will allow some of it to load and the ensure the viewing will be smooth.

post catagory: features posted on:2007.01.14 16:17

Permanently Seeward

About 17 years ago, shortly after I had my first powerful encounter with God, I had a series of extremely vivid dreams. I have forgotten many of the details of the dreams except the following:
I was waiting in a long line outside of what I thought was a club. There were hundreds of other people waiting in the line and I was pretty far from the front. A man in a monk's type robe, carrying a clipboard, came through the line and ushered me to the front. I was inspected by the attendants and led into the building which resembled, on the outside, an old catherdral. Once inside it looked like a very large corner store, sort of like a 7-11 but with a bit of a starbucks flavor. As I roamed the isles checking out the twinkies and various flavors of beef jerky, I noticed that there was a small stage in the far corner. The stage was set up with instruments for a band but no one was playing. I walked closer to the stage and laid down on the floor. The ceiling of the store/club/church was painted with natural looking clouds and even a little moon peeking out through the bright lights. As I laid there, the most beautiful and soaring music began to play. It was such amazing music that I didn't even look up to see if it was being played live or who was playing it. I was just enjoying it to the fullest. I remember that it was similar to early Pink Floyd with a soulful and lyrical guitar lead at the center. I don't remember many other details except that when the monk let me through the line he checked off something on his clipboard. I caught a quick glance at what was written on his paper. It was a long list of names and, when he opened the door for me to enter, he had placed a check mark next to the name - seeward

For the next few days I had more dreams where I was referred to as seeward by either myself or other people in my dream. I even remember one where my guitar was speaking to me and, before me and my guitar got into a huge disagreement, my guitar had called me seeward.
I became convinced that these dreams and the name seeward were connected to the experience of God that I had enjoyed a few days earlier. At the time I hadn't read much of the Bible. A few years later, after I had read more of the Bible, I discovered that it was common for God to rename people after experiences with Him. (Saul had become Paul etc) It seemed to be God's way of marking a conversion or rebirth in someone's life.
Since then I have seen seeward as my spiritual name. The name for the way God sees me. Nine years ago when I started this website I registered seeward.com and have always seen this space as a collection box for the things that I am learning, searching for, creating, baffled by, inspired by or just simply things that resonate within my spirit.
I am still Christian McCabe but I am slowly learning to become seeward.

post catagory: artshows posted on:2007.01.12 13:15

I Shop Therefore I am

Recently I came across two articles that were a bit disturbing to my naturally contrary personality. One was about the new trend in merchandising that has shop managers rearranging merchandise in their store based on computer data of how shoppers navigate through the store. They feed the security videos through a pattern recognition program that shows them what areas of the store are "Hot Spots". What they found out was that placement of a product is almost more important than the product itself. You might have an item that sits way in the dark corners of the shop, not selling so well. Once it is moved to the "Hot Spot" it begins to sell rapidly. We are talking about all kinds of things from air conditioners to car wax. This might not come as a surprise that product placement is important, especially if you've ever bought a magazine or a pack of juicy fruit gum while waiting in line at a grocery store. The thing that concerns me a bit is that technology is being leveraged against the consumer in an invisible way that seems dehumanizing. Feeding shoppers behaviors into a pattern recognition program seems to reduce human beings to sets of behaviors that can be manipulated and exploited. I realize that all major North American retailers have been using psychological ways of manipulating the behaviors of their shoppers but this new wave seems to be a more direct avenue of coercion.
The second article represents an even deeper level of invasion. You can read about it here. Researchers from three well known universities are hooking shoppers up to fMRI machines and recording the brain wave patterns that change as shoppers make choices on what to purchase. For now the research is just in the lab but all signs would point toward some form of brain scanning eventually making their way into retail outlets. The study has shown that people have different reactions and thresholds for what they think is "too expensive". Can you imagine a future where the prices of items are scaled up to suit the reactions of consumers. When a more affluent person enters a store the prices might automatically adjust to reflect thier higher income and therefore their higher threshold for deciding when something is too expensive.
I am planning to write a few commentaries on a few TV ads that have caught my attention lately, if I can find them online. For now, Jesus wants you to curb your consumption!

post catagory: society posted on:2007.01.09 09:37

Big News!

Click here to see the exciting news!

post catagory: personal posted on:2007.01.02 07:31

Triston and Chase

My cousin Margo and her husband Scott just had twin boys! Triston Barry and Chase Anthony Farrington are both healthy and loaded with cute!

post catagory: personal posted on:2006.12.21 08:59

Celebrity Saints

A recent study has revealed that children under 10 think that being a celebrity is the "best thing in the world". God was only ranked number 10 in best things in the world. having good looks and being rich were the number two and three choices. Read more here.
The kids also gave a list of the most famous people in the world and Jesus made it to number four, outranked by Madonna, Tony Blair and Simon Cowell. Did I mention that these were kids from the UK. I would love to see a similar study with american children. One of the hopeful things is that the survey also revealed that kids would put an end to "wars" and "knives and guns". Here is the complete list of best things in the world from the ten year old universe:

1.Being a celebrity
2. Having good looks
3. Being rich
4. Being healthy
5. Pop Music
6. Family
7. Friends
8. Nice food
9. Watching movies
10. Heaven/God

I recently saw a study that showed that what kids learn up to age 7 determines a great deal of how their worldview will crystalize. Its worth taking a moment to reflect on the fact that we live in a world that teaches kids that it is far better to be famous, rich and good looking than to be healthy or to know God. In our culture Brad Pitt must be the messiah because he is off the charts on the rich, famous and goodlooking scale. If there is anything positive to find in Brad's qualities as savior it is that he is raising awareness for global poverty issues. Maybe celebrity really is the new sainthood for our post everything future?

post catagory: society posted on:2006.12.19 09:05

Another Round

I have been out of comission lately from another round of kidney stones. I should be back to normal posting soon!

post catagory: personal posted on:2006.12.18 10:06

Vultures Go Home

A few months ago when Anna Nicole Smiths son died here in Nassau, it was a particularly slow news week. All the major cable news channels (msnbc, e, court tv) all send video crews to camp out in front of her house. Something about the circus seemed inhumane and so we wrote a little song! We went down to play it in front of the cameras but thankfully it rained and the crews scattered like roaches!

post catagory: society posted on:2006.12.11 15:30

Clergy

This clip is from the Aids Day Concert ot NPCC. It features Clergy performing Refuse to Shine. The beginning of our set was a little rough in the mixing department but by this song things began to settle in better.

post catagory: features posted on:2006.12.04 20:33

Andrew Jones and Spirithouse 2

Here is Andrew Jones and Spirithouse performing Rushin Through the Crowd at the Aids Day Concert at NPCC. You can see the crowd was well into the music!

post catagory: features posted on:2006.12.04 16:53

Anku Eneas

This clip for the Ads Day Concert features spoken word artist Anku Eneas performing his piece Tonez. Anku aslo performed some soulful new songs as well!

post catagory: features posted on:2006.12.04 09:27

Andrew Jones and Spirithouse

Here is a video of Andrew Jones and his band Spirithouse playing at the Aids day concert on Dec 1st 2006 at NPCC. They are playing one of my favorite songs Doctor Doctor. The lovely Nicole is singing with the band! More highlights are on the way if you missed the live webcast.

post catagory: features posted on:2006.12.03 19:11

Aids Day Concert at NPCC

On Friday night Dec 1st, we are having an HIV/AIDS awareness benifit concert to raise money for the Bahamas AIDS Foundation. The show will be packed full of wonderful and inspiring arts such as: Anku and Leah Eneas, Vision, Andrew Jones and Spirithouse and my band Clergy plus more. The show will be webcast live at this link. The link will only work during the actual show time between 7and11pm eastern standard time. If you have the chance check it out!

post catagory: music posted on:2006.11.30 07:56

Seeward is a Sports Racer

I have been loving the wonderful daily video shows posted by zefrank. He is so intelligent and funny that I can't get enough. I recently sent in a little intro for his show and if you check out the video above you can see that today he used my intro!
Now my hairy face will be beamed out to thousands of internet citizens.

post catagory: websites posted on:2006.11.29 14:10

Monster Jam

This little guy is the lead guitar player in the all clay band FunkBots! He has a prototype guitar made out of silicone so it feels squishy and has tons of sustain! Stay tuned for the rest of his bandmates!

post catagory: clay posted on:2006.11.25 09:58

Casino Royale

Wow! I loved this movie! I have been a sort-of James Bond fan my whole life but the last few bond films have left me flat. It seemed as if the over the top violence and too perfect demeanor of 007 didn't fit very well with the ultrarealism that some of my other favorite movies offered. Casino Royale is a wonderful blend of both the Bond mystique and the ultra realistic.
The new Bond is a bit more thuggish than the previous incarnations and this is a very good thing. It makes Bond seem more able to fight for his life and take on the evil baddies. In this installment we get to see James before he had acquired many of his trademarks: tuxedo, shaken martinis, and sexist manipulation of women.
One of my high points was seeing my buddy AJ's face filling half the screen as an extra in a Madagascar snake vs mongoose bett