Thinking a lot about symbols after watching the elegant Summer Hours last night. Good Friday is a great day to reflect on what the cross could/would/should symbolize for those devoted to Jesus. This led me to Moltmann. I hope his ideas stimulate not simply thought, but a change of mind as you contemplate the Cross today/tonight whether within a church or outside of it.
From the Crucified God by Jurgen Moltmann.
“Every symbol points beyond itself to something else. Every symbol invites thought. The symbol of the cross in the church points to the God who was crucified not between two candles on an alter, but between two thieves in the place of the skull, where the outcasts belong, outside the gates of the city. It does not invite thought but a change of mind. It is a symbol which therefore leads out of the church and out of religious longing into the fellowship of the oppressed and abandoned. On the other hand, it is a symbol which calls the oppressed and godless into the church and through the church into the fellowship of the crucified God. Where this contradiction in the cross, and its revolution in religious values, is forgotten, the cross ceases to be a symbol and becomes an idol, and no longer invites a revolution in thought, but the end of thought in self-affirmation.”
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from solitude to community to ministry – Henri Nouwen
I am definitely missing the “solitude,” part of the discipleship process right now. I’m not slowing down to reflect on my life and on God and to create some space for him to act in silence.
I feel the effects when I am in community, of often not having something to offer or of longing for community or ministry to fill a void that can only be filled by God. Now, certainly God speaks within community and ministry. However, the place where those words get sorted out is in solitude. Just as the voice of God heard in solitude gets sorted out in community and ministry.
My so-called moments of solitude are often cluttered. They are filled with reading/studying scripture, not turning the words over and again to allow them to penetrate. There is often the background noise of my Ipod or a thought which hits me and drives me to Google something. The discipline of rest and silence is a difficult one these days. In the past I counted this as a strength of mine. Of course, it helped to work for a church and have the freedom to set aside time in the middle of the day for this practice. On top of that, I took a Sabbath day, a challenge now that I work a more traditional job which is disconnected from much of my personal life. I find it tougher to shift my schedule of relationships, chores and activities enough to really rest. Often these elements of my life used to be tied to my work, and now there is little connection there.
The good news is that I realize this now, and its time to reflect on life and figure out how to clear out some space for God to act in private.
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Download these today – Songs I came to like during ’09 listed in no particular order.
Pursuit of Happiness – Kid Cudi feat: Ratatat & MGMT [With this song I declare the one hit wonder label officially invalid]
For Prayer – Wye Oak [The best song from a great live band still trying to find their way in the studio. Restraint & indulgence meet one another as you shift from shoe gazing to foot stomping in this fuzzy electric guitar romp ]
1901 – Phoenix [Took the reins from MGMT as the kick starter for every indie dance party]
Paparazzi – Lady GaGa [Infectious Hook, Coolest Video of the Year, & a live performance that singlehandedly breathed life into the VMA’s – She is everything Adam Lambert wishes he could be]
Man Named Truth – Monsters of Folk [Listening to this song is like careening down the road with a ranting friend behind the wheel, but finding a strange clarity in the madness]
Daylight – Matt & Kim [Pop music without the bad aftertaste]
Willis the Fireman – Flotation Walls [*Singalongability? Yes. Ambiguous yet infectious lyrics? Yes. Climactic Orchestral Pop? Yes. Well, I’m on board]
Robocop – Kanye West [Let’s not forget about 808’s & Heartbreak, a game changer in the hip hop community that actually embraced the idea of an album. An entertaining and surprisingly insightful collection of songs with new discoveries every time you slip in the ear buds. Take a ride or a drive through the city at night with this album on and enjoy what happens. Really, any of 5 songs could have been picked]
Manhattan – Kings of Leon [While in danger of being worn out on the radio and in every restaurant/bar/club on earth, don’t forget that these Pentecostal southern boys give rise to some great straight ahead rock music.]
Winter Months – Old Hundred [Featured on the first EP from these C-Bus nouveau folk boys, this song sets the mood and taps into feelings we can all identify with]
Paper Cup – The Swell Season [Lyrically stunning song from an otherwise disappointing sophomore set – “Paper plane take this note straight to her, if her hearts still in the fight.”]
No Sound but the Wind – The Editors [It could be argued I’m just looking for someone to fill the Baritone sized void “The National,” has left while recording their new album, but this track from the pleasantly surprising “New Moon” soundtrack hit all the right notes for me.
Pressure – Company of Thieves [Song I’m most surprised didn’t blow up in the mainstream. If they have more than one trick up their sleeves it could be cool to hear their second act]
D.O.A. – Jay-Z [When this track hit I knew we weren’t getting another “Kingdom Come.” It doubles as a great workout song]
*I know I pulled a little bit of a Simmons there.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 09, best of, music | 1 Comment »
Just saw the previews for “Numbers,” with the quickly fading Nic Cage, Hannah’s apt analogy was to compare him to Wesley Snipes, perhaps he’ll have to start paying to be in movies as well.
What happened that Josh Brolin started picking all the right movies? One moment he is in “Dead Girl,” and “Into the Blue,” the next, he is in “American Gangster,” “No Country for Old Men,” “W,” and “Milk.”
Kate Winslet and Julia Louis Dreyfuss, are there 2 other women who have grown more beautiful as they’ve gotten older?
This is hands down the worst Oscar opening ever. Wow – Do Anne and Hugh just feel embarrassed right now, like when you are in a cheesy skit in front of the church? I have the same awkward feeling that I get while watching the poorly costumed/moralizing plays. I am tempted to turn off the tv and not watch anymore.
Hey, at least the stage looks cool.
Eva Marie Saint, man was she awesome in North by Northwest. Great Hitchcock film…..Greatest Hitchcock film?
Still really want to see Doubt, is the movie as good as the sum of its parts? Talk about a great cast. Amy Adams is really picking good movies as well. She does such a wide range of stuff.
Hannah has a moral conviction against all Woody Allen films, probably will never see Vicky Christina Barcelona.
Taraji was awesome in Hustle and Flow – She should have been nominated for that role a few years ago.
Goldie Hawn should probably invest in a tanning bed, that tan line makes it look like her breasts are exploding out of her dress.
Least suspenseful questions ever….”which will be the best animated movie?” Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, or Wall-E? Is that really the question you want to leave hanging before commercial break? Will Heath Ledger win Best Supporting Actor? Oooh, I don’t know?
It’s pretty clear already – Milk is gonna win big tonight. I think maybe Danny Boyle gets best director for Slumdog because of how big the vision and scope of the movie is. But, Milk wins best picture and Sean Penn gets best actor.
Pretty impassioned speech by the winner of best adapted screenplay by Milk. I like that he was more affirming and hopeful than vindictive or political .
The music in the animated movie montage actually made Hannah get up and walk away from the couch.
I like Jack Black’s line about getting paid big bucks for a Dreamworks animated movie, and then going and placing all his money on a bet that Pixar will win the Academy Award.
Has Kiera Knightley done a movie in the last 3 years that wasn’t a period piece?
How does Dark Knight not win for best Art Direction? – You get so lost in the world of the movie. For a truly outlandish story, the look and feel make you believe its possible. The set work helps sets such a powerful mood for the rest of the film. Sometimes I feel like picking period pieces in this or the costume category can be cop out choices.
Jolene thinks Jennifer Aniston looked so uncomfortable while presenting. I agree, and think she generally seems out of place in all of life right now.
Hellboy II was pretty great for makeup, another stunning visual achievement by Guillermo Del Toro’s team, but the work on Heath Ledger as the Joker was iconic, and the way Cate Blanchett looked 15-20 years younger was stunning. Tough competition here.
Lovers in Japan was the perfect choice for the romance montage. Love song of the year. The Nick and Norah clip almost ruined the whole montage for me. Atrocious film that tried way to hard. Michale Cera needs to be careful – he is picking a lot of the same roles. I loved that Jamal and Latika’s first kiss in Slumdog Millionaire was the last moment of the film (pre awesome Bollywood dance of course). Their love developed and was proved long before a kiss was ever shared.
The cinematography award is one of the most important for me. Great cinemattography is the difference for me between a movie I could watch on DVD and one that I have to see on the big screen. Dark Knight & Slumdog is a tight race, either deserve it. There Will Be Blood was the right choice last year. Just watched Last of the Mohicans for the first time last night, whoever Michael Mann uses is one of the best in the business whether shooting city scenes in Heat and Collateral or the stunning American wilderness of LOTM.
You have to give it to Jessica Biel, not many women can survive this long as actresses based entirely on the look of their body. I mean, thats the reason she is succesful right? I’ve never thought she could act. She almost ruined “The Illusionist,” She hasn’t been a lead in one other legitimately good movie, and personally I don’t think she has a pretty face. Kate Winslet is way better looking. IMHO. Oh yeah, and she can act.
Finally something funny, thanks Judd. James Franco should get an award for best entirely opposing performances, that were both believing, engaging, and endearing characters who you wanted to befriend. I am excited for where his career could go from here.
True confession, outside of 24, I have never watched one network tv drama.
Pardon me Hugh, but the musical returned last year with, Once. And it wasn’t another Broadway rip off poorly reproduced on film. BTW – didn’t Chicago win best movie not long ago? The musical has never left us. Come on, are they really doing a whole musical montage and not including Rent? One of the biggest musicals of all times, and one of the more recent succesfull shows that was made into a movie. Ahhh, High School Musical 3, adding to the pantheon of great musicals.
From Jimi: re: your comment about Jennifer Anniston…in fairness Brad and Angelina were sitting like 15 feet from her at that point. “Good point”
Josh Brolin is with Diane Lane? he married up.
Hannah would agree with Jimi that Ben Stiller was never really funny. I think he has his moments, but that Tropic Thunder was so overrated. Ben, Jack Black, and Steve Coogan completely mailed in their performances. Robert Downey Jr. and Danny McBride gave that movie the only life it had. Speaking of Steve Coogan, Hamlet 2 was a big letdown, it looked genuinely funny and original from the previews, not another High School High. BTW, whenever your movie conjures up memories of a Jon Lovitz vehicle, maybe you want to reconsider what your investing your time and energy in.
James Marsh, the director of “Man on Wire,” just came on film. I know it’s a documentary, but I think it should be nominated for movie of the year, it is so freaking compelling, the characters so complex and rich, the story so fascinating, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
YES! pumped up that Man on Wire won. Yeah, you need to go watch this movie, Phillipe is quite an amazing man – his story inspired me.
Just finished a glass of Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, it is fine, but once again I’m not that impressed by anything from Great Lakes brewery. I don’t think I’d buy it again. So far I think Bell’s is best Great Lakes region brewery.
Ouch, I was just forced to remember Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull, which definitely gave Nick and Norah a run for worst movie of the year.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is winning a lot more awards than I thought it would. I guess the Academy loves their 3 hour long period pieces.
You know the “Boom Goes the Dynamite Guy,” has firmly entrenched himself in American culture when he gets a reference from Will Smith.
Glad to see The Dark Knight get a win outside of Ledger’s performance. The sound was good, it put you on edge. It’s not often that i think to myself during a movie, “boy this is chilling/powerful,” I did think the same thing about Slumdog. The music/sound was great. I really liked that they incorporated in Paper Planes during the train scene. I wanted to start dancing a couple times.
“Apparently the line of the night is ‘growing up on the east side of Berlin…the suburbs of Florida…India…Hollywood seemed so far away.’ ” Jolene
“and Whoa…John Mayer at the Oscars is really weird for me” Jolene. I thought the same thing but don’t know why. I did like his “L.A.’s Gonna Eat You Alive,” song for Conan’s last show the other night. What’s the Over/under on Conan succeeding in Leno’s spot? And how pissed is he that Leno moves to Ten and probably steals a lot of his guests because it is primte time? I think if Conan sticks to his guns and usual humor he will do great because everyone from 16-40 is a fan. He can withstand a few years of older folks not being that excited about him while the rest of us get older.
How many more Coldplay songs will we hear tonight? I’m afraid that Viva La Vida is a really good album that could get overplayed and as a result, under appreciated. I think that is a real danger of the influx of music in commercials, montages like tonight, ring tones, ect…. If I am an artist I feel like I would be careful about who I give license to. Then again, I might just take the money and run.
Is picking your ring tone one of the most important decisions we now must make? It is certianly one of the most defining decisions of your life. You can’t pick a ringtone for a song that is too popular. If you want an older pop song it must be appropriately ironic, not cheesy. You want that perfect song that everyone admires or else is intrigued to hear because it is so indie that no one has heard it. As a white person you also have to be careful about your choice of which rap songs you use, it needs to be a club hit or intellectual rap, nothing too gangster that makes you come across as a wigger. Truly a perplexing choice.
Slumdog just might take Milk’s crown for Best Picture tonight. It is cleaning up a lot of the awards. Jimi is right about Film Editing being the award Slumdog should take home. The movie moved so quickly and yet so effortlessly between different times and settings. You never felt rushed or like you were catching up or confused. Very well done.
Is John Legend (or John Stephens as my cube buddy Kevin knew him at Springfield High School) the most overrated R&B star out there right now? Is it that he is palatable, nice, and socially active? I have 2 of his albums and neither really impress me. They are good, but not great. I like his voice, but I don’t think he has quite found the right sound yet.
Best Supporting Actor nom that should have been, Anil Kapoor, for Prem Kumar, the gameshow host in Slumdog. The silent exchanges between Prem & Jamal during “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” were excellent. Does he remind anyone else of Andy Serkis? I thought Gollum was hosting the game show a few times.
Paul Newman, truly a great one, The Sting, is one of my favorite movies. My Dad introduced me to it, and I am so glad. Thanks Dad.
Best Director, for some reason I feel like this will go to Danny Boyle because his job was tougher. Even though I still feel like Milk wins best picture. And I know these 2 awards usually go hand in hand.
Boyle wins, maybe Slumdog does take best picture. PS, see Millions by Danny Boyle, a heartwarming little film where once again he coaxes amazing performances out of children.
Could this show end before midnight? wow – it is moving pretty fast. Strange to see Shirley Maclaine (sp?), Cher, Jane Fonda, and Kathy Bates as past winners. In my lifetime I haven’t known any of them as great actresses.
I don’t think Sophia Loren’s breasts match.
Not to pick on an older lady, but when you’ve had that much plastic surgery you are asking for it.
Kate wins it — That’s my girl — greatest actress of my generation, no doubt. Hmmm, a shampoo bottle, Kate Winslet and Billy Madison have more in common than you’d think. Still think she should have won for Eternal Sunshine in 04 instead of Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby.
Be on the lookout for Nine later this year, it features Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, and Marion Cotillard. You’ll probably get your face acted off.
Sean Penn did give a great performance in Milk. You could see the smile of his soul through his eyes throughout the movie. He truly became a character, didn’t pull a Hanks and just act himself.
Boy, the Visitor was so good, such a wonderful subtle performance by Richard Jenkins, truly deserving of this nomination. A quiet, powerful little film, almost on par with Jenkins other sublime performance of the year with Will Ferrell in Step Brothers.
Penn wins, 3 for 3 (although, in the interest of full disclosure I did tell Jolene I thought Anne Hathaway might pull out an upset earlier today)
And the winner is…..
Slumdog Millionaire…wow…I really thought Milk would win – definitely a great film. Don’t think you could go wrong with either Milk or Slumdog tonight. However, I do think the Dark Knight should have been in the mix. At the least, Nolan should have gotten a Nom as the Best Director. Brilliant job pulling together a dazzling film.
Goodnight folks.
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I just completed one of the quickest reads I’ve had in awhile, The Real Mary, by Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed. Great little book exploring “Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus.” Scot does a good job engaging within the context of Mary’s world both as a Jew and a Mother, and the realities of her journey to a life of faithfulness as she is called to carry, birth, raise, and eventually follow her son, the Son of God, to the cross and beyond. Her life is one I hadn’t given a lot of consideration to beyond the Christmas season, but there is a rich faith story to draw from, and it is fun to think about the fact that Jesus, James, and the rest of the family had to learn the life of faith from someone. Who better to teach them than the woman who uttered these beautiful words…
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”
Mary’s song was banned from being read in public by the Guatemalan government during the 80’s because of it’s subversive nature. There is a lot more to Mary than meets the eye, and this book does a great job helping us to train our eyes on the fullness of Mary’s hope, doubts, and femininity as she wrestles with the unique call to be the “Mother of God.” I highly recommend this book to anyone, it is an easy read no matter how much of the Bible you have consumed. However, I it is must reading for women interested in living in the way of Jesus. There is a severe lack of books that thoughtfully examine the scriptures with historical accuracy and paint such a fascinating and challenging picture of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus as a woman. This would be an awesome book to read together with other women.
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Lots of great looking movies out there right now both in the theaters and on DVD, there are a few I really want to see, but don’t know any real people who have seen them (Internet Critics don’t count as people). Let me know if you’ve seen any of these and your thoughts.
In Theaters:
Let the Right One InOn DVD:
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Come one, come all, to the Westland Mall Gun Show! Right on the border of Hilltop, home of the most murders in Columbus, and within a short bus ride of Franklinton, another neighborhood haunted by gun violence. Good news attendees, you can walk out of the show same day with a rifle or shotgun without a gun license!
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Upon moving into our new place in June, I thought I would strike up a quick friendship with our next door neighbor, Cora, a kind older black lady, who shares a love for the scriptures. Sadly, we’ve ended up being mostly waving neighbors.
However, I have had more spiritual conversations than I can count with my fingers and toes with my elderly white gay landlord, David. David is in his seventies, and lately we have been talking about death. I went down to reset our router which is in his part of the house (We live on the third story of an Old Town East Mansion from the turn of the century), and asked about his Christmas. He told me about his brother, who is ninety, a former farmer, too proud to admit that he and his wife need to move off their land to a different setting with more care. This led to a conversation about how we compassionately care for the elderly as families instead of shipping them off to centers. and the question of when one should have the choice to live or die as he shared the story of a friend. He told the story of a friend who struggled with HIV before the time when there were medications to prolong life well after contraction. After a year of a fast downward spiral, his friend was living because of technology, not humanity. The Doctor was in the room with David, and as he was leaving “mentioned,” to him that there was morphine on the table, and that 2 drops would kill the pain, but that 7 drops would be too much.
Is it more humane to prolong life when the quality of life is not good, and a patient is beyond recovery, or too let one slip off into sleep, to await the resurrection of the dead? Do we play God more when we use technology/medication to prolong life or when we give someone the drug they need to slip into eternity when they can no longer function as human beings?
Posted in neighborhood | Tagged death, HIV | 4 Comments »
Ohio passed a statewide law relating to conceal/carry issues. This overrules any city law that prohibited people from carrying weapons in parks.
“Parks are places where people particularly need to be able to defend themselves, because we don’t want users of a park to be victims,” Aslanides said. “As long as the criminal knows that potentially someone could have a gun in a park to defend themselves, the intent is to deter that crime. As a result, we’ll all be safer in parks.”
Hmmm, I don’t feel safer. Also, I’d like to think we can come up with alternative ways to make parks safer that don’t include giving the freedom for people to have a gun strapped to them.
My in-laws live out in the country and my cousins are farmers, so i understand the need for guns that arise in those settings. However, this is not a one size fits all issue. The fact the state doesn’t acknowledge the reality of gun violence in Columbus, Youngstown, Cleveland, and Cincinnati and come up with a law that allows for cities to set restrictions insuring the safety of their residents is troubling.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged city, columbus, dispatch, gun rights, neighborhood | Leave a Comment »
one of the good things about living in the city has been recognizing how some areas of town get looked over for basic services that a city should provide its residents. Take for instance, our street, Kendall Place. At the intersection of Kendall and Main Street (A primary throughway in Columbus) we haven’t had a street sign for the 5 months i’ve been familiar with the road. Explaining landmarks to friends you are trying to direct to your house can be difficult when you instruct to “turn after the auto shop,” (the only legitimate landmark) when there are in fact 5 auto shops within 3 blocks. For homeowners, it is frustrating trying to sell your house when your street is invisible (until this last month, i would still drive by our street once every couple of weeks).
Some of our more artistically inclined neighbors put up a bright neon posterboard street sign which lasted a couple weeks, and was rather helpful. Thankfully, last night as I turned onto Kendall, there it was, that signpost I’d been waiting for, afixed to a telephone pole. The street I live on is now named.
Posted in neighborhood | Tagged columbus old town east neighborhood urban | 1 Comment »
Encounter the City 