Jerry Katz
photography & writings
The Real News Archive (Archive Home)
January, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
Reggae,
hip-hop and a love of God
Matisyahu finds an upbeat melody in Hasidic Judaism
By Quibian Salazar-Moreno
Special to The Denver Post
Monday, January 31, 2005 -
When Matthew Miller was a teenager, he was a hippie. He loved the
Grateful Dead, he grew dreadlocks and wore his Birkenstocks year
round. He even dropped out of high school to follow Phish on
tour.
"In high school I got into Bob Marley and reggae music too,
so that's how I lived," he said.
Now Miller, 25, sans the dreads, is known as Matisyahu - or Matis
- a Hasidic Jew who promotes positivism and spirituality through
hip-hop reggae music. In the past year and a half, Matis said his
career has grown quickly, capping off 2004 with an appearance on
ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." He is on a nationwide tour
that stops at Dulcinea's 100th Monkey on Wednesday and Trilogy in
Boulder on Thursday.
"I've always done music, but it's really taken off in the
last couple of years," Matis said. "For this tour, I'm
hoping for a huge response."
Matis grew up in White Plains, N.Y., with his nonpracticing
Jewish parents, whom he calls "reconstructionist," or
secular, Jews. He attended public schools but didn't do well
academically. As teenager, he felt a void in his life. He filled
it when he came to the Rocky Mountains.
"I was on a wilderness trip one summer, and I think we were
mainly in Durango and different parts of Colorado," Matis
said. "That was one of the first times I was connecting to
nature, away from home and thinking about God."
His faith grew after a visit to Israel. When he returned to the
States, he went to school in Oregon, where he delved deeper into
his musical side and studied reggae and hip-hop. Artists like The
Roots, Common, De la Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Nas all have
influenced Matis' music.
He returned to New York two years later, and started at The New
School, where he continued to work on music and in theater.
During this time he also attended the Carlebach Shul, a synagogue
known for its hippie vibe and free-form singing. His life changed
ultimately, however, when he met a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi. The
Chabad-Lubavitch movement is a branch of Hasidic Judaism that
Matis eventually took on. It was at this point he went from
Matthew to Matisyahu.
Though his band, consisting of a drummer, guitarist and bass
player, has been together only two years, it released an album in
2004. "Shake off the Dust ... Arise," is an array of
reggae dance hall, dub and hip-hop tunes with a focus on the
spiritual and uplifting parts of life. Matis says his purpose is
not to sell records, but to send a message.
"The Lubavitch community that I'm a part of (is) in Crown
Heights, Brooklyn," Matis said. "The whole thing is
based upon the rebbe. A rebbe is sort of the spiritual guru or
leader of the people. Our rebbe, Lubavitch Rebbe, we believe to
be the Moses of our generation.
"The rebbe's message was to go out into the world and let
the people know. Get the world ready and promote spirituality and
promote God and turn the world over."
Creating and performing music may be considered edgy in most
orthodox religions, but Matis said most of the people in his
Lubavitch community are supportive. At his shows, especially in
the New York City area, everyone from teenagers and young adults
to the influential seniors of his community come out to enjoy the
music.
"All the elders and all the leaders in Lubavitch are pretty
much positive on my going out and performing music and being on
TV and being in newspapers," Matis said.
The upcoming tour is his first major nationwide excursion, and
because of some Jewish laws and beliefs, there are some things he
cannot do, such as perform on Fridays and Saturdays because of
the Sabbath. When going to his shows, though, don't expect to be
preached to or told that you have to switch beliefs.
"In Judaism we don't look for converts," he said.
"We believe that everyone has a mission and a purpose in the
world, and non-Jews have a mission and a purpose just like Jews.
"We're not trying to convert people; we're just trying to
promote spirituality, godliness, making godly decisions and
living a godly and spiritual life. That's for everybody."
Sunday, January 30, 2005
‘Spiritual
Cinema’ comes to Rio Theatre in form of ‘Indigo’
By SALLY BLODGETT
SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL
Stephen Simon is a maker of what he calls "Spiritual
Cinema." And he may be about to change the way independent
films are made and distributed.
On Saturday, Simon, a veteran producer known in Hollywood for
"What Dreams May Come" and "Somewhere in
Time," will make his directorial debut with
"Indigo" at the Rio Theatre. The film depicts a
middle-age man who loses his family as a result of a single
fateful mistake but is given an unexpected chance at redemption
through the unusual psychic gifts of his granddaughter.
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2003 San Diego Film Festival,
"Indigo" will premiere Saturday at more than 600
locations worldwide, but not through mainstream distribution
channels like Disney or Time Warner.
That’s fine with Simon. He broke with Hollywood two years
ago, moved to Ashland, Ore., to set up his own production house
and hasn’t looked back.
"Spiritual Cinema is a grassroots movement driven by an
audience who has finally reached critical mass, which is nearly
20 percent of the U.S. population," says Simon. "This
audience is actively looking for entertainment that upholds and
support spiritual values. Except for the occasional film like
‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,’ these pictures
just can’t be made in Hollywood. So I decided to go out on
my own and find a new way."
To distribute "Indigo," Simon went directly to New-Age,
non-denominational churches and spiritual organizations
nationwide and invited them to host the premiere. More than 500
agreed. He also negotiated a one-time-only lease agreement with
about 100 AMC movie theaters.
"Indigo" was made in only 20 days for $500,000 and a
minuscule advertising budget of $5,000. This is a film without
big-name movie stars. There are no special effects or fancy
editing and, says Simon, all 38 roles were performed by
first-time actors. The film was co-written by James Twyman, who
also served as the film’s executive producer, and Neale
Donald Walsch, author of "Conversations with God," who
stars in the film.
So what exactly is Spiritual Cinema?
"Spiritual Cinema is not a new phenomenon, really,"
says Simon. "Classic films like ‘It’s a Wonderful
Life’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ fall in that
category. So do films like ‘Groundhog Day,’ ‘The
Sixth Sense’ and ‘A Beautiful Mind.’ Spiritual
movies tell us compelling stories that transcend our negative or
traditional beliefs about ourselves and our world. These stories
reveal the possibilities of healing and the transformative power
of love."
In seminars Simon gives around the country, he frequently
encounters young filmmakers who are eager to make meaningful,
spiritually based films. What advice does he give them?
"I tell them to focus on the story. The magic is in the
story — not the action, not the movie stars, not the visual
effects, not the editing. Ask yourself the question: What story
do I want to tell? I also warn them to be careful about focusing
on delivering a message. Most people actually resent it if they
go to a movie and they feel like they are being hammered with a
message. Movies are for entertainment."
For more information about the film ‘Indigo’ and The
Spiritual Cinema Circle, visit: www.indigothemovie.com. and www.spiritualcinemacircle.com.
~ ~ ~
A
'Spiritual Mother' of Spoken Word for a Hip-Hop Generation
By FELICIA R. LEE
Sonia Sanchez, 70, has been called the "spiritual
mother" of spoken word by Danny Simmons, the executive
producer of HBO's Def Poetry series, a showcase for spoken-word
performers from the hip-hop generation. For Ms. Sanchez, a poet
with more than 16 books and numerous awards to her name, the
adoration flows right back.
"Talib and Mos Def, KRS-One, Ursula Rucker - they're saying
things that are important," Ms. Sanchez said in an interview
last week at Columbia University, where she recently began
teaching a poetry writing workshop. "It's poetry. It's
definitely poetry."
"That whole group of rappers and young singers and poets
have put their fingers on the nation's pulse," she said,
even though, she added, commercial hip-hop has descended into
vulgarity and crude caricatures. "There's an important group
of young people coming behind us, and they've got to be helped
and protected."
That cross-generation fertilization was what Mr. Simmons
envisioned for Ms. Sanchez's appearance at "Def Poetry
Plugged In" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last night, a
concert fusing spoken word and music. The lineup included the
Vernon Reid Poetry Project, featuring Ms. Sanchez and Ursula
Rucker, as well as Karen Gibson Roc and Fluid, Sydnee Stewart,
and Maritri and Tantra.
"She's the connection to history that young poets don't
have," Mr. Simmons said of Ms. Sanchez. "I think Sonia
has the history of the black struggle in the United States
incorporated into her poetry. And her poetry makes sense of
what's going on now. Young poets learn so much from not just her
poetry but her delivery."
Ms. Rucker, 37, cited Ms. Sanchez as one of her main
inspirations. "It's not just to write and get on
stage," she said of what she has learned from the older
poet. "It's to hip us to what's going on in the world and
change hearts and minds."
Black Arts movement poets like Ms. Sanchez, Amiri Baraka and
Nikki Giovanni produced intensely political work that
"jumped off the page and went to the stage," said
Faraji Salim, who started off as a slam poet and now has his own
label, Soul Digital records, and has been campaigning for a
Grammy Award category for spoken word.
Ms. Sanchez has just released her first solo spoken-word album
with music. "The Full Moon of Sonia," features 18 poems
set to music, including a message to Bill Cosby ("brother,
come, catch your fire"), poems for Langston Hughes and Tupac
Shakur, and a haiku encouraging women not to give in to abuse.
"We have a young band from Atlanta," said Ms. Sanchez,
who is petite, with long, gray dreadlocks. "One of the
things about poetry is it'll take you places you don't want to
go. It's saying to the audience, 'Come, take this journey with
us.' It's possible for a poem and a musical voice to come
together."
Ms. Sanchez's live performances from "The Full Moon of
Sonia" come as she works on a memoir and a new book of
poems.
Ms. Sanchez, who speaks at the rapid clip of a former New Yorker
(she now lives in Philadelphia), is known for both her writing
and the causes she has embraced. She joined and left the Nation
of Islam ("My politics changed"), used black dialect as
a poetic medium, helped get black studies recognized and has
spoken out for women's rights.
Her new album mirrors her commentary in books like "Shake
Loose My Skin: New and Selected Poems" (Beacon Press, 1999)
and "We a BaddDDD People," (Broadside Press, 1970).
"All poetry is political," Ms. Sanchez said, in her
small, sparse office, which is decorated with a poster of W. E.
B. DuBois. "It either maintains the status quo or it talks
about change."
She takes the long view on change. "I never look at things
in terms of a year or two," she said. "You get
depressed. You have to look at a century. The most important
question in the 21st century is 'What does it mean to be human?'
" -read
more-
~ ~ ~
Toltec
author attacks hidden, 'poisonous' belief
The Voice of Knowledge is a mystical guide to inner peace.
By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION WRITER
Don Miguel Ruiz has tapped into the mystical wisdom of his Toltec
ancestors to find antidotes to much of modern humanity's fear and
suffering.
The former surgeon's 1997 book, The Four Agreements: A Toltec
Wisdom Book, has sold nearly 3 million copies, spent more than
four years on the New York Times bestseller list, and has been
translated into 30 languages.
He followed it with a series of books utilizing the spiritual
teachings of the Toltecs - not a race or a nation, according to
Mr. Ruiz, but men and women of wisdom and knowledge who taught
spiritual truths. The word "Toltec," he explained,
means artist, and the Toltecs considered themselves to be masters
of the art of living.
Mr. Ruiz's latest book is The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical
Guide to Inner Peace (Amber-Allin Publishing, $14), which
continues the self-help approach to spiritual and emotional
health by utilizing Toltec philosophy. In this book, he explains
how society corrupts the natural "voice of integrity"
that humans possess, which is evident in the joy and love of
innocent children, by replacing it with "the voice of
knowledge," which pushes people to become
"successful" adults.
This "poisonous," hidden belief system becomes a
self-perpetuating cycle when adults who are unable to express or
understand their true feelings conform to the social norms, then
pass their own "voice of knowledge" along to their
children.
Mr. Ruiz, whose parents were Toltec healers in Mexico, quit his
career as a medical doctor after a near-fatal car accident in
1979, then began exploring his spiritual roots and sharing his
revelations through books.
"What is very interesting," Mr. Ruiz told The Blade in
a 2001 interview, "is that I was healing the body [as a
medical doctor], and now I am healing the mind."
Another book in the series, The Mastery of Love: A Practical
Guide to the Art of Relationship (A Toltec Wisdom Book), which
uses the same strategy of peeling back false teachings to unveil
the true self, will soon be released in audio form.
The print version of the book has sold more than 600,000 copies
thus far.
~ ~ ~
Body,
soul and creation : feminist contributions to another possible
world
“It has always been the women who have refused the decisions
of the powerful and the destruction of mother earth. It has
always been the women who shout out: no more mouths to suffer
hunger, no more hands to remain empty, no more children to became
the target of machine guns.”
In her opening remarks at a 27 January panel on “Women's
spirituality, life and dignity” during the fifth World
Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Rev. Eunice Santana
from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Puerto Rico
emphasized that women have always felt “the interconnection
between human beings, the creation and the wholeness of
life”.
Organized by the World Council of Churches and attracting some
200 WSF participants, the panel presented different views on how
women from their particular perspective can contribute to build
another world that overcomes sexual and racist discrimination,
violence and hierarchical structures.
According to Rev. Dr Wanda Deifelt, pastor of the Evangelical
Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil, Christianity has to
rediscover the human body. “We are concerned about the
well-being of the soul, but not about the body,” she said,
“although our faith proclaims the incarnation of Christ and
the resurrection not only of the soul but also of the body.”
Deifelt stressed that “the human body should be more
integrated into theological thinking and Christian
spirituality,” so that theology might become more aware of
the fact that “the body is a part of the wholeness of
creation” and that “community is also a gift of
God.”
A “spirituality of embodiment” cannot only celebrate
the body in a hedonistic way. “Suffering, poverty and
violence" need to be integrated into a Christian theology of
the cross, Deifelt said, reminding her listeners that violence
against women is an issue “the human body brings to the
churches”.
Recognition of the interconnection between spirituality and
ecology as a feminist contribution towards a better world was
stressed by Rev. Dr Ofelia Ortega, a pastor in the Presbyterian
Reformed Church in Cuba and a vice president of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches. “Feminist theology and
ecology are movements that criticise the patriarchal system that
violates women and destroys nature,” she said. Drawing on
that critique, a “theology of relations” would no
longer consider human beings as the centre of creation but
recognise humanity and creation as a unity.
That the feminist approach is not an exclusively Christian one
was underlined by Korean eco-feminist and professor of theology
Chung Hyun Kyung. “Without knowing others, we will never
know who we are,” Kyung said, noting that, in an age of
migration, people from different faiths may often happen to live
next to each other.
“Our religious tradition, no matter which, is our
power,” she said. “Wherever we are, our tradition is
influenced by different conditions. What is most important is to
make our life-giving tradition alive.”
~ ~ ~
Jerusalem Artist Merges History, Spirituality, and Modern Art
(Israel-Jerusalem) A breath taking
interpretation of the Book of Psalms painted by Andrei Berger on
permanent exibit at the Museum of the Psalms.
Andrei Berger's work “The Psalms” has been honored by
the Government of Israel and the City of Jerusalem with a
permanent museum of its own, The Museum of the Psalms. What is
more amazing is that this great honor is bestowed upon a living
artist. This national historic landmark houses 150 paintings each
inspired by the 150 Psalms.
This interpretation of "The Psalms" is magnificent and
dense with symbolism. One could be totally unaware of the Old
Testament; yet, feel this work so personally. One is drawn to the
colors, the abstract style and the extraordinary contemporary
inner vision these works express. Berger's complete dedication is
to a true "personal art" and this rich and important
example of a New Renaissance.
The work challenges the viewer see a new dawn and as Monet and
his contemporaries forced a different and original voice in their
moment. This stirring exhibit "The Psalms" moves one in
the way, I imagine, the audience felt, when visiting the Atelier,
of Monet, Van Gogh, or Gauguin. An awe inspiring expression of
sensual spirituality reaching into history and rendering a
thoughtful contemporary view into the important historical and
spiritual document The Book of Psalms. These works break beyond
the bounds of subconsciously emulating tried and true subject
matter and bring to light a visual interpretation of spiritual
meaning.
The collection at Museum of Psalms is available for viewing and
purchase online at www.museumofpsalms.com
About the Artist:
Moshe Tzvi Berger studied his craft at the Belle Arte in Rome,
followed by three years at the Beau Arts in Paris. His art has
been exhibited in over 100 one-man-shows spanning three
continents. The largest of his works, a 1988 mural in Brooklyn,
NY, stood six stories high. Having immigrated to Israel in 1992,
Moshe Tzvi currently resides within the inspiring environs of
Jerusalem.
About the Museum:
The only museum of its kind, the Museum of Psalms, located near
Jerusalem's Old City, was founded in 1995, under the auspices of
HaRav Mayer Yehuda Getz, z"tl. Featuring Moshe Tzvi's
paintings on permanent display, the Museum is centrally located
at 9 ha-Rav Kook St. near Jerusalem's old City.
~ ~ ~
Learn to worship the Celtic way
Fran McKendree, an Episcopalian musician with
roots he coins as "Celtic Soup - Irish, Welsh and
Scottish," incorporates Celtic spiritual elements into his
religious practices.
"I was raised Catholic and in my late 30s became an
Episcopalian," McKendree said. "Celtic spirituality
connects with me because of its language, symbols and the depth
of experience of God in this world. God is present in every
moment, not just something separate from work, play or
relationships. It calls one to a richer relationship with all of
creation. It's an organic process."
According to Newell, Celtic spirituality is a modern term used to
describe an ancient phenomenon. Born in the fourth century in
Ireland, Scotland and Wales, it features two main
characteristics: one, the belief that what is deepest in every
human being is the image of God; and two, creation is forever
being born and is an expression of God.
The retreat coordinators chose to utilize the contemplative
components of Celtic spirituality to usher in the Lenten season.
"Hopefully this retreat will stimulate people intellectually
to ask questions of one's self and one's understanding of this
spiritual journey," McKendree said. "We want it to be
very conscious. There will be time to reflect and let it all soak
in." -read
more-
Thursday, January 27, 2005
World marks Auschwitz liberation
World leaders and Holocaust survivors are
gathering in Poland to mark 60 years since the liberation of the
Nazis' Auschwitz death camp.
The heads of state of both Israel and Germany will join those of
Russia and other countries to remember the arrival of Soviet
troops in 1945.
More than a million people, the vast majority of them Jews, were
murdered in the Auschwitz "death factory".
Former inmates and Red Army veterans will lead a candle-lighting
ceremony.
Events to mark the anniversary began in the German capital,
Berlin, where parliament held a special ceremony including an
address by a German-Jewish camp survivor, Arno Lustiger.
German poet and singer Wolf Biermann also took part, reading out
poems by a man murdered in Auschwitz.
At a forum in Krakow attended by members of the Soviet unit which
captured the camp, Israeli President Moshe Katsav said the
history of the Holocaust should never be distorted.
He warned against "negationists who play down the
Holocaust" and called on the European Union to prevent a
rebirth of Nazism in young Europeans.
The BBC's William Horsley notes that since its liberation,
Auschwitz has become a unique symbol of the evil that men are
capable of, and a warning from history.
Remembering the dead
The start of the ceremony will be signalled by a train whistle at
the Auschwitz-Birkenau site, where a railway track brought
hundreds of thousands to their deaths.
Ecumenical prayers will be said as well as the Jewish prayer for
the dead - the Kaddish - and the playing of a Jewish horn - the
shofar - will bring the ceremonies to an end.
Six former inmates and three Soviet old soldiers will light the
first candles at the main memorial there.
Following them will be Israeli President Moshe Katsav, Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Polish President Alexander
Kwasniewski.
Other world figures will include French President Jacques Chirac,
US Vice-President Dick Cheney and UK Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw.
German President Horst Koehler is due to attend in Auschwitz, but
will not speak at the main ceremony, in recognition of Germany's
role as perpetrator of the Holocaust.
'Blood everywhere'
One of the Red Army officers due to attend the ceremony, Anatoly
Shapiro, remembers leading his men into the first barracks as
they entered the death camp.
Mr Shapiro, now 92, told the BBC of the horror that the camp
inspired in his men before they set about washing and feeding the
survivors:
"Just behind the door, we saw naked women's bodies piled up.
There was blood everywhere. The smell was so bad you couldn't
stay in there for more than five minutes. My men said, 'Comrade
major, get us out of here.'"
Eva Kor, who was a 10-year-old prisoner at the camp when it was
liberated, was subjected to medical experiments by the notorious
Dr Josef Mengele.
She recalled for the BBC the moment when the Russians arrived:
"I ran up to them. They hugged us and they gave us chocolate
and cookies. And this was the first kind, human gesture that I
have in Auschwitz from the time we arrived.
"I was in Auschwitz nine months. I had been supposed to be
dead, because Mengele injected me with a deadly germ.
"He stood by my bed and said, 'Too bad. She's so young.' I
knew no matter how sick I was, no matter how hungry I was, I was
never ever going to let them win."
You can watch a BBC News special programme "Auschwitz
Remembered" from 1325 on BBC Two, BBC News 24 and BBC World
on Thursday.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
'What the #$*!' makes 'Bleep' so popular
What the Bleep continues to fly far below the
radar of the mainstream media and mainstream moviegoers. There
have been a few notable blips: Michael Keaton recently praised
the film on the Today show, and USA Today and The Wall Street
Journal published articles on its popularity. But the usual media
frenzy that accompanies such indie triumphs (My Big Fat Greek
Wedding's Nia Vardalos doing her "Opa!" shtick on every
morning talk show) is nowhere to be found.
So what the bleep gives?
"As much as the media and Hollywood like to think they're
hip and happening, they're really conservative," says Mark
Vincente, a cinematographer (Sarafina!) who co-directed the $5
million-budgeted film with William Arntz and Betsy Chasse. (Arntz
-- an Internet millionaire -- reportedly financed the entire
movie himself.)
"This film is just really out there. When you start
discussing the very notion of God, and what reality is, it seems
blasphemous in some way. And people get nervous talking about it.
But I find it interesting that another film -- one that perhaps
would have more violence or more sex -- would somehow be more
acceptable." -read
more-
~ ~ ~
"To The Mountaintop: King's Mission To Save America," by Stewart Burns
In "To The Mountaintop," Burns shows
King in an era as turbulent and violent as our own. Rather than
an icon of complacency, King emerges from obscurity as
"moral warrior and nonviolent apostle; man of God rocked by
fury, fear, and guilt; rational thinker driven by emotional and
spiritual truth."
King struggled to reconcile these divisions in his soul and
intellect. The book offers an intimate narrative of his
intellectual and spiritual journey "from cautious liberal,
to reluctant radical, to righteous revolutionary."
...
"He said things like: 'I want my four children to be judged
by the content of their character and not by the color of their
skin.' Well now that's become almost a slogan of the
conservatives, the anti-affirmative action forces. So everyone
feels fine about celebrating that 'I Have a Dream' speech."
However, it was not long after the time of this speech that King
broadened his agenda and his vision, focusing on issues that
challenged the power structure. He spoke out for economic justice
for the poor and against the Vietnam War, Burns said.
"That's not, certainly, what the Bush administration wants
to hear about now. And most even liberal Americans,
opinion-makers, media people ... they just want to keep King
safe," he said. "They want to keep him sort of
antiseptic. They want to keep him as this icon of greatness who
didn't really challenge the values. At the end of his life he was
calling for a revolution of values, a true revolution of values.
And people don't want to hear about that now." -read
more-
~ ~ ~
Fort
Lauderdale man has become 'godfather of gay diversity'
By Margo Harakas
Staff Writer
January 19, 2005
He was a good kid, a mother's dream -- altar boy, patrol boy, Boy
Scout, athlete, senior class president, recipient of his high
school's Christian Leadership Award. The middle of seven children
in an Irish-Catholic, Detroit family, Brian McNaught's overriding
ambition as a small boy was to be God's best friend.
But in 1974, then a 26-year-old Catholic newspaper columnist and
cable TV talk show host, McNaught drank a bottle of paint
thinner, downed a vial of pills and sat down to die. "I'm
going home to God," he thought. He'd be free at last from
the pain of pretending to be someone he could not be.
Fortunately, he had second thoughts, paramount among them that he
didn't want to hurt his mom and dad.
He rushed himself to a nearby hospital, had his stomach pumped
and went home to tell his parents not of his suicide attempt, but
that he was gay.
"The world is going to be awful to you," cried his
mother, "and there is nothing I can do for you."
His dad, who was head of public relations at General Motors,
concluded the problem was hormonal and that McNaught eventually
would outgrow it.
Never again, vowed McNaught, would he hide who he is.
A few months ago, in London to address a group of high-powered
international investment bankers, McNaught couldn't help
reflecting on his good fortune, thinking how impossible it would
have been to predict the sweet trajectory of his life from that
nether point so many years before.
Today, in a newly built home in Fort Lauderdale, the man The New
York Times dubbed "the godfather of gay diversity and
sensitivity training," the author of three acclaimed books
and five videos, a sought-after speaker who gets $6,000 plus per
appearance, throws an arm over the back of an elegant sofa and
exclaims in sheer delight, "I am so happy with my life
today." -read
more-
~ ~ ~
The
Mississippi River flood of 1927
"The water came up so fast in the houses that some of the
survivors broke shingles out of the roofs in order to get out of
the house because they couldn't get out of the windows and
doors."
Scott Ainslie is a blues scholar best known for his book
"Robert Johnson/At The Crossroads," containing
transcriptions of Johnson's recordings with annotated lyrics and
historical notes.
He appears Friday night at Caffé Lena in Saratoga, where he will
sing and play guitar on both classic blues and original, and
often very political, topical subjects.
If you think history is dull, you haven't listened to Ainslie
bring songs such as Lonnie Johnson's "Broken Levee
Blues" to life in an historical context. The song is about
the 1927 flood, and it can easily be passed off as "a sleepy
little blues tune that's got a nice hook" until Ainslie puts
it in context.
The last verse contains the lyric, "Work, fight or go to
jail, but I ain't tatin' no sacks. I ain't gonna drown in that
river, and you ain't gonna break my back."
Johnson recorded the song weeks after the flood receded from
Greenville, Mississippi, and when you know the complete story
behind it, this "sleepy little blues tune" becomes an
amazingly powerful commentary on a racial struggle that, in 1927
at least, was still as large a powder keg as it had been in the
Civil War.
"They ran out of sandbags at one particular levee,"
says Ainslie, "and law enforcement officials there, the poor
whites, the sheriff's deputies and the deputized landowners who
were there to try and keep blacks in place, had gangs of blacks
there, and they ordered them to lie down on the levee to
stabilize it with the weight of their bodies while they went for
more sand.
"What the blacks were told was that they could lie down now
and get up later, when the sandbags came, or they would be shot
and their bodies would just simply be buried with the sandbags
when the sandbags arrived, but that they were gonna lie down on
the levee now.
"So hundreds of black workers lay down next to and on top of
one another with the water of the Mississippi once in a while
washing over their heads while they waited for more sand to be
delivered and more sandbags to be filled."
"Learning to play guitar in a blues style is not that
difficult," he says. "Learning to sing in a way that
feels authentic and not an imitation is a real spiritual
journey." -read
more-
~ ~ ~
The
Rza To Release Highly Anticipated Wu-Tang Manual
Thursday - January 20, 2005
By: Jay Casteel
Wu-Tang's leader, the Rza, has announced that he is finally
releasing his much anticipated The Wu-Tang Manual book. The book
has been repeatly mentioned on many of the Wu's albums as well as
solo projects including Bells of War and the Gza's Liquid Swords,
but was delayed in the final stages due to the untimely death of
the group's own Ol' Dirty Bastard.
Since the debut of the 9-man super group, the Wu-Tang has
constantly redefined themselves and to most of their cult
following much is unknown. But with the release of the Wu-Tang
Manual, fans and hip-hoppers will finally be able to understand
and grasp the inner-most knowledge of what the Wu refers to as
the 36 Chambers.
Written in a style that is at once personal and philosophical,
The Wu-Tang Manual unravels the intricate web of personalities
(and alter egos), warrior codes, numerological systems, and
Eastern spiritual ethics that define the Wu-Tang dynasty.
The book will be released in into four books of nine chambers
each, for a total of 36 chambers. All together, the books will
provide the breakdown of essential Wu-Tang components.
Book I provides basic information, backstory, and a complete list
of alter egos for each of the nine core members of Wu-Tang Clan:
the RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Ghostface Killah,
Raekwon, U-God, Inspectah Deck, and Masta Killa.
Book II breaks down nine key themes of the Wu-Tang universe:
• Spirituality: the spiritual journey through the Bible to
Greek Mythology to Five Percent Nation to Ch'an Buddhism to a
holistic spirituality.
• Martial Arts: from a fascination with kung fu movies up
through a serious study of martial arts Eastern spirituality.
• Capitalism: from the now-famous original record deals that
allowed the Clan to record together and as solo artists through
the Clan's later diversification, including Wu-Tang Records,
Wu-Wear, the Shaolin Style Playstation, and more.
• Comics: the influence of comic book heroes on hip-hop and
Wu-Tang, including specific discussions of the bestselling Nine
Rings of Wu-Tang comic books and Bobby Digital.
• Chess: the importance of chess to Wu-Tang both as a game
and as a multi-sided metaphor.
• Organized Crime: Wu-Tang's personal, cinematic, and
structural affinities with the Mafia.
• Cinema: includes both kung-fu and mafia movies, but also
the cinematic sound of Wu-Tang music, plus sections on key
filmmakers John Woo, Jarmusch, and Tarantino.
• Chemistry: brief history, anecdotes, and information about
Wu-Tang Clan's experimentation, and how it has influenced their
music.
• Slang: a dictionary-like compendium of Wu-slang.
Book III provides the lyrics and densely annotated explanations
of nine Wu-Tang songs: "Protect Ya Neck," "Bring
Da Ruckus," "C.R.E.A.M.," "Triumph,"
"Hellz Wind Staff," "Impossible,"
"Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)," "Uzi (Pinky
Ring)," and "Rules."
And in Book IV, RZA discusses the art and craft of hip-hop as it
relates to Wu-Tang:
• Wu-Tang Samples: RZA's unique, groundbreaking approach to
sampling.
• Technology: history of key technological components RZA
and the Clan had to master to make their music what they wanted
it to be.
• The Spirituality of Producing: what goes into producing
Wu-Tang's music and what it has meant to the RZA.
• Voices as Instruments: how the nine members of Wu-Tang
Clan function like a symphony, with each member playing an
instrumental role.
• The Art of Rhyme: a discussion of Wu-Tang lyric-writing,
with key contributions from GZA and U-God.
• Live Performances: a brief history of the importance and
the sensibility of Wu-Tang performances, up through their recent
show in Los Angeles.
• The Way of the Abbot: RZA on his role at the center of the
Wu-Tang Clan.
• Wuman Resources: the career management behind the Wu-Tang
Clan and the solo careers of the individual members.
• The Saga Continues: The future of Wu-Tang...
For hardcore Wu fans, The Wu-Tang Manual will be a must and a
definitive guide to the essence of Wu, one of the most innovative
hip-hop groups of all time.
The firs installment of Book I is scheduled to drop in February,
and will sell for $16.00.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
First
Sound Waves Left Imprint on the Universe
SAN DIEGO -- The early universe rang with the sound of countless
cosmic bells, which filled the primordial darkness with ripples
like the surface of a pond pounded by stones. The wave fronts
later served as spawning grounds for galaxies, astronomers
announced Tuesday.
The effect had been predicted by theory. Researchers found its
imprint on the sky in two independent, comprehensive galaxy
surveys presented here at a meeting of the American Astronomical
Society.
The findings give scientists greater confidence that their
limited understand of the universe's structure, contents and
evolution are on track.
Sound waves in space may sound unlikely. Here's what astronomers
back in the 1960s theorized:
The universe was initially a thick, hot soup that trapped light.
About 350,000 years after the Big Bang -- the theoretical
beginning of it all some 13.7 billion years ago -- things cleared
and an imprint of the earlier conditions was left on the entire
cosmos. Scientists previously detected this imprint as the Cosmic
Microwave Background. It is everywhere in the sky and packs
important clues about the structure of the nascent universe.
Something similar should have happened with sound, explained
Daniel Eisenstein of the University of Arizona and leader of one
of the studies, based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
In the dark era, if you pushed on a pocket of hot gas, it would
resist being compressed and bounce back.
"The whole thing sits there and rings like a bell,"
Eisenstein said. The thick hot soup would transmit sound waves in
the same manner that air or water do. When the fog cleared, the
sound waves would have remained as countless ripples of material.
Here's the neat part: -read
more-
~ ~ ~
High-Altitude
Adventure in Pursuit of Leopards
There are bound to be creatures in the ocean depths that human
eyes have never encountered, or microbial beings with intricacies
as yet unexplained. When it comes to mammals, however, the beast
deemed most elusive is the snow leopard, which prowls the
"highest, most hostile of mountain ranges."
That Himalayan description comes from Hugh Miles, a sage
naturalist who narrates and leads the expedition in this
Zen-like, meditative installment of "Nature," which is
being shown on Sunday night on PBS. The
endangered snow leopard is sometimes stalked by poachers, who
prize its pelt and bones, but the 5,000 remaining are now pursued
mainly by shutterbugs. "Nature" filmmakers deploy
hidden cameras with high hopes of detecting the feline prowling
silent, windswept trails. -read
more-
~ ~ ~
Spiritual
connection
Choreographer Shiamak Davar says the movie Kisna showcases his
best moves, a combination of western and Indian styles.
Lopamudra Maitra
Pune, January 10: I BELIEVE the only thing that stops a person
from dancing is his will to dance,’’ says Shiamak Davar
who was in the city on Sunday to attend a presentation of the
winter batch of Shiamak Davar’s Institute for the Performing
Arts (SDIPA).
As a teacher, Davar believes in the spiritual importance of
dancing. “It is not about being fat or thin or tall or
short, dancing should drive your soul. It is not only the mind
and the body, but the spirit is also elevated through
dancing,’’ he explained.
As a child, Davar was not trained in dance. ‘‘Since God
has given me the gift of dancing, I want to share it with
others,” he says of his passion. For Davar, dancing is more
than a mere means of artistic expression. “It teaches you a
lot of discipline and also imparts physical and mental
training,” he avers.
You can see his choreography next on screen in Subhash
Ghai’s Kisna, scheduled to be released next week and Davar
promises, ‘‘It will be as memorable as my earlier work
in Dil To Pagal Hai and Taal.”
In fact, Davar elaborates, ‘‘It is in Kisna that I feel
I have expressed a different form of aesthetically creative dance
in the song Wish comes true by A R Rahman, picturised on British
actress Antonia and Vivek Oberoi. My 20 year dancing experience
comes through in the dances here and tries to blend a Western
form of dancing with a spiritual Indian touch.”
Alongside, what keeps Davar busy are his workshops with
physically and mentally challenged children and with HIV positive
children, which he often personally supervises.
“Under the theme ‘Dancing Feat’ we are making
efforts to bring a new meaning of life into the lives of these
kids,’’ adds Davar.
Speaking about his long association with Pune, Davar concludes,
“Pune is a culturally conscious city. I enjoy coming
here.’’
~ ~ ~
Surfing
was a spiritual thing
By Matt Bond 12.01.2005
THE FRIENDS and family Charlie Folkard, the man who died last
Wednesday in the Newquay surf, have paid tribute to the
21-year-old’s dedication to life and surfing.
Charlie’s body was discovered by friends on Thursday at
around 12.30pm on Great Western Beach, a day after they had all
gone into the water for what tragically proved to be their final
surf together.
Charlie, originally from the Beeston area of Nottingham, moved to
Newquay four years’ ago to pursue his nine-year passion for
surfing. He gave up a French and Spanish degree to spend more
time riding the waves.
While he surfed at every opportunity, his skills were not only
evident in the water. Charlie also shaped surfboards for local
manufacturer Many Returns and was gaining a reputation among his
peers for his quality work.
Charlie's parents, who visited Newquay as soon as they learnt of
the tragic news, have spoke of their son’s dedication to
surfing.
"I am sure surfing was a spiritual thing to Charlie,"
said mother Sheila Folkard, 52. "He did talk about surfing
to us, for him it was about self-sufficiency, freedom and
independence."
Charlie, who had travelled to Morocco, California and Costa Rica
for the surf, was last seen on Wednesday afternoon after going
surfing with friends off Towan Beach. The waves were not very
good and when he was nowhere to be seen his friends thought he
had gone home.
His body was found the next day around 12.30pm by two of his
friends less than a quarter of a mile from where he had
disappeared.
Charlie's dad, Tim Folkard, 55, said: "I think his character
and independent approach may have made surfing attractive to him.
"He was very sociable person and he made friends easily. He
loved surfing from the first time he tried it.
Charlie chose to go to the University of Wales in Swansea because
the Gower Peninsula was nearby and he had surfed there as a
child.
Added Mr Folkard: "He was doing very well in Swansea but he
found it too restrictive."He was very skilled at making
surfboards which he enjoyed doing."
Charlie's body was discovered by two friends Seb Thomas, 23, and
Sam Philpot, 22, who ventured out into the Newquay surf on
Thursday morning.
"Sam snapped the leash on his board and swam over to some
rocks," said Seb.
"I then heard him screaming. I made my way over to him and
saw Sam cradling Charlie in his arms. He was yelling at me to get
help.
"It was obvious Charlie was dead.
"I managed to find someone on Great Western Beach who had a
mobile phone and got him to phone the police.
"I then went back to help Sam drag Charlie out of the water.
The tide was coming in and there was a danger Charlie's body
would be taken back out to sea.
"The police and ambulance crews arrived within minutes and
took over.
"I think Charlie must have died the night before. We are all
completely devastated by his death.
"I'm very proud to have known Charlie. He was a
legend."
Newquay chef Matt White, 25, who had known Charlie since he moved
to the town, said: "He was an experienced surfer and had
surfed all over the world."
Matt was adamant that Charlie’s death was not caused by a
lack of surfing ability.
"We all thought he had disappeared to do his own
thing," he said.
Police have said that the death is not thought to be suspicious
but they are asking for anyone who saw him in the water after
mid-afternoon on Wednesday or during Thursday to contact them on
08452 777 444 – police ref 463 060105.
~ ~ ~
BEING A housewife, closeted within the four walls
of the kitchen amid pots, pans and ladles, dishing out culinary
delicacies for family, friends and relatives need not always be
drudgery. It can end up in something as creative as getting
together a 162-page anthology of poems, as Parvathi
Vaidyanathan's `Kichenette Soul' will show.
The `By-the-stove-pondering by a homebound woman on Life,
Meditation and Spirituality' has been published by Grow books.
Ms. Vaidyanathan attributes the inspiration for her book to her
Guru, Swami Akshara, who encouraged her to drop "scribbling
on bits of paper and get them on to e-mails which took shape as a
book." she says.
She says that waking up at around 4 a.m. to transcribe her Guru's
tapes on to computer files were her most meditative moments.
"Before 7 a.m. each day when my family wakes up, although I
was with my pots and pans, all the creativity happened."The
collection of over 110 poems on topics ranging from the market
place to mindscape has been published in a paperback edition.
Santosh, a II Year BBA student, has done the page setting and
cover design.
Priced at Rs. 55, it will soon be available in leading
bookstores. Phone: 2847 3836/9840 438438.
By Swahilya
~ ~ ~
Zen and the art of plow maintenance
Mike Fitzmaurice grew up in Lexington, where he
still resides, and graduated from Minuteman Tech. He worked at
Millipore for 11 years before joining the Highway Division in
2001. He learned to operate a plow truck by getting behind the
wheel, initially with a partner, then on his own. "When
you're out here for 20 or 25 hours, you get it down pretty
quickly."
Fitzmaurice's personal record is a 35-hour snow shift. "Once
a storm is under control, you can get a coffee or a catnap. You
eat your sandwich on the road," he said. "There is down
time, but not a lot."
Some professors of snow removal populate the Bedford DPW.
Fitzmaurice calls 30-year veteran Al Razzaboni the "snow
guru... He taught me that every storm is different, and you have
to react differently..." Earl Atwood, who heads the Highway
Division, has decades of experience with the Metropolitan
District commission "Everything we're doing, he has
done." Fitzmaurice also praised the skill and dedication of
the DPW mechanics.
"I think it's natural for people to take plow guys for
granted. 'They drive around in circles, how hard could that be?'
Once you're actually doing it, it adds another facet,"
Fitzmaurice commented. He also acknowledged the DPW's
long-standing reputation as tops in the region for winter road
maintenance. "This exceeds any town I've ever seen."
"It's quite a workout. I thought I knew what 'tired' was,
until I started plowing," Fitzmaurice testified. Look at it
this way: "Working a 15-hour storm is like driving a
five-tonner all the way to New Jersey, going 15 miles an
hour." At night, it's particularly challenging as the
headlights reflect off falling flakes. "It's almost
mesmerizing; it's much harder to focus," the driver said. -read
more-
Sunday, January 9, 2005
George
Leduc Spiritual journey
By EMILY CHRISTENSEN, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- Haunting notes reverberate off the Cellar's stone
walls. One by one, tables quiet until the entire bar is silent.
The man on stage captivates with the music coming from a wooden
flute. Nothing moves but his fingers and head. He, too, is
entranced.
"My music is from my heart and in my soul. I don't make the
sounds in the flute. I give breath to the music in the
flute," he says.
The crowd absorbs stories told through melody.
"My wish is that the sounds take people on a spiritual
journey to a world of simplicity."
George Leduc is a regular guy living, at least for now, in La
Porte City. He has spent most of his life roaming this country
and others, settling in places for usually no more than a year or
two. His longest stint, in the late '80s and through much of the
'90s, kept him in California. He owned a scuba shop and was an
insurance broker for about eight years.
He married his wife, Michelle, and the couple moved to
Springfield, Mo., then on to Iowa City and Lafayette, La. When
Michelle's mother was diagnosed with cancer, the family moved to
Oregon to be near her. There, Leduc attended Western Oregon
University and Michelle enrolled in a course studying shaman
beliefs.
The class changed his life. -more-
~ ~ ~
Why
Is Everyone Going to Bhutan?
By JANE MARGOLIES
Published: January 9, 2005
Two years ago, Penny George "couldn't have located Bhutan on
a map." But after hearing friends rave about their trip to
the tiny Buddhist kingdom tucked in the Himalayas, Ms. George,
president of a foundation that promotes holistic medicine, was
hooked. This fall, she and her husband made the long journey from
their home in Minneapolis to Bhutan's sole airport, then spent
seven days on a guided tour, trekking into virgin forests,
tiptoeing into temples and passing through villages where men and
women still go about in traditional dress. "Bhutan has
bubbled up in the collective consciousness," said Ms.
George. "I just felt like I had to go."
Move over, Cambodia. Bhutan is the new must-see destination in
southern Asia. With Tibet in the grip of Communist China and
Nepal deemed unsafe by the United States State Department, this
peaceful nation half the size of Indiana is emerging as a big
draw, attracting those in search of a spiritual journey, a hiking
adventure - or just a chance to experience a place before the
rest of the world gets there. The number of visitors to Bhutan,
as small as a few thousand not long ago, increased to 9,000 last
year, a third of them Americans. Travel agents report an upswing
in interest in Bhutan, and tour operators like Abercrombie &
Kent are adding both trekking and cultural trips to their
rosters. "Among those who have been everywhere, seen
everything," said Rok Klancnik of the World Tourism
Organization, a United Nations agency based in Madrid,
"interest in Bhutan is growing."
But why? How did a place with one main road, and only five months
of prime travel weather, catapult to the cutting edge of high-end
tourism? And how, indeed, does any destination suddenly appear on
the radar screen? Bhutan - a Brigadoon of astonishing beauty -
has done what it takes to become a travel hot spot. -more-
~ ~ ~
From
Heart to Heart: Spiritual practice of being in `now' brings new
life
By Charlie McClain
For The Register-Guard
Five years ago, I realized that when something bad happened to
me, I would return to a "default" part of myself. By
default, I mean I would go back to a place where I had been
before, such as judging people, and being angry or impatient with
others.
I grew tired of always going back to the source of those feelings
- fear. I had a growing desire to learn lessons that could teach
me a way to live without fear and to be truly loving. Little did
I know at that time that I would be where I am today, deepening
my relationship with God and walking a spiritual path.
A book I read literally woke me up. "The Seeker's Guide to
Self Freedom" by Oregon author Guy Finley helped me see that
I could live in the present moment, allowing "the true
Charlie" to receive a kind of real-time guidance from
something higher than my own thoughts and feelings.
At first, the work of being in the present moment was
uncomfortable because I had visited it so little.
However, as I kept working on this spiritual practice of being in
the "now," my awareness and relationship with divine
love became real in my experience.
I could ask myself, "Who's in the driver's seat driving
Charlie? Is it love or fear?"
I saw that my experience in life is determined by my choice of
what I hold onto and what I let go of. I began to have a new view
of myself and others and to experience a new kind of love for
life. And in that, I became capable of expressing unconditional
love.
Now, as I live my life in the fullest sense of cherishing and
appreciating people - especially those closest to me - without
having to figure them out or control them, I can surrender to
divine love and find and feel that love is all around, infinite,
and it's up to me to realize this and to stay awake to it.
Life gives me constant lessons in love to be learned and I have
the opportunity to accept or deny them daily. I am truly blessed
to now learn from every experience, even if it seems like a
challenge, because now I know my life is according to the rules
of divine love.
In the past, my impatience was coupled with anxiety. I can now
fall silent to this battering of internal impressions. Free from
those thoughts, I can feel awake and tuned in to the present
moment. Daily, I am getting closer and closer to staying there.
In nature, and in life, I believe everything is constantly
filling itself and emptying itself. As I receive this lesson, I
know that by letting go of negative thoughts, I can then allow
the moment to be fulfilled. To me, this is freedom. Without the
ideas from the Life of Learning Foundation, I believe I would not
be aware of all the beauty I now see.
Charlie McClain attends the interfaith prayer services in Eugene,
and is a student of the Life of Learning Foundation based in
Merlin. "Heart to Heart" is coordinated by the Two
Rivers Interfaith Ministries, a network of more than 35 spiritual
traditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information,
call 344-5693.
~ ~ ~
From
Heart to Heart: Conscious parenting fosters spirituality in
children
By Sherry Lady
Having watched my daughter-in-law leave to take my oldest
granddaughter to her baby-sitting job, I cleared breakfast dishes
from the table. I could hear the other four children discussing
plans in another room. One child went out to play. The youngest,
with a book in hand, climbed onto the nearby couch.
Two others went to the dining room table and, being home-schooled
children, began working in their workbooks. This was done without
complaint, without attempts to get out of the task or
disagreements between each other; and, except for smiling at me
when they passed by, did not seem to need my supervision.
I offered my assistance and was told, "No thanks, Grandma,
Mom will check these with us later." So, for me, coffee and
the crossword puzzle.
Except for a couple of sharp words over seating in the car and a
dramatic response to a hurt finger that was soothed by the
14-year-old, I recalled only one heated argument in my five-day
visit, and that was settled by the children themselves. How can
this be, I wondered?
My observation is these children simply haven't been conditioned
otherwise. For them, it is the natural way of being, learned from
the expectation and example of their parents.
I came to see that in this household, accidents are OK, apologies
and respect are expected, chores - everyone's responsibility -
are done with firm reminders that are never derogatory. Bedtime
is unquestioned and accompanied by stories and prayers, trips to
the library are a weekly event and TV is rare. All is supported
by consistent exposure to and participation in faith activities
at their community spiritual center as well as at home.
In her book "Healing Letters," Myrtle Fillmore
(co-founder of Unity) gives us a loving, helpful message to
assist in the work of parenting. "What we want is the effect
produced by faith in God. You represent God as you receive,
nurture and assist this soul that has come to you. God is giving
you needed wisdom, poise and sustenance to meet all requirements.
"Your part is to believe this, to trust, and to keep busy
with the things that are yours to do, without anxiety or concern
about what others are doing ... When negative attitudes or
feelings of lack and worry come, allow God's abundant life to
flow freely through you and order will be restored."
For "the effect" to manifest, it becomes obvious that
inner discernment and insight develop best when unencumbered by
ridicule, fear or disbelief in the viability and beauty of the
child's own spiritual nature. From knowing the truth about
themselves as spiritual beings, they become capable of taking
care of the details of their lives while supporting others. I
certainly saw the results of this in the way my grandchildren are
showing up in the world.
You have this gift to offer your children and grandchildren. It
has been said that in any relationship the most important thing
is how someone is made to feel in your presence. I agree. Happy
parenting.
Sherry Lady has served in Eugene as associate minister at Unity
of the Valley and is now senior minister at the Unity Church in
Ashland. She is also a member of the Two Rivers Interfaith
Ministry steering committee. She is married with two children and
11 grandchildren. "Heart to Heart" is coordinated by
TRIM, a network of more than 35 spiritual traditions in the
Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-5693.
Sunday, January 2, 2005
Around
Japan: Zen priest collects 107,000 icons for A-bomb victims
NAGASAKI
To mark the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki next year, an American Zen priest has collected more
than 100,000 images of jizo, the Buddhist guardian deity for
children.
Jan Chozen Bays, 59, is also a pediatrician.
She serves as a priest at a Zen Buddhist temple in Oregon.
She decided to collect drawings and figurines of jizo in memory
of those killed in the bombings and as a prayer for peace while
visiting Hiroshima in September 2002.
Her goal is to collect a total of 270,000 images, the number of
lives believed lost when the two cities were bombed.
Born on Aug. 9, 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki, she now cares for people physically as a pediatrician
and spiritually as a Buddhist priest in Clatskanie, Oregon.
She has collected 107,000 jizo over the past two years and two
months.
Figurines and drawings were sent to her by people in eight
countries. Many of them came from within the United States.
Others were sent from as far away as Germany, Australia and
China.
About 300 jizo images came from Japan, she said.
``The thought that something has to be done for the victims in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki is spreading among people little by
little,'' she said.
``I hope that I will be able to collect jizo (images) from the
seven continents throughout the world.''
Her collection of jizo items will be exhibited at the Nagasaki
Peace Museum in Matsugaemachi district in August.(IHT/Asahi:
December 28,2004)
~ ~ ~
A
toast to 2004's best religion books and a lament for the worst
By RICHARD N. OSTLING, Associated Press
January 1, 2005
The year past was an unusual one in religious publishing because
some fine books stemmed from Islam and Judaism while Christians
bore the blame for the very worst ones.
Hallelujahs for the top four of 2004:
1. "The Quran" (Oxford University Press) by M.A.S.
Abdel Haleem of the University of London, which fills the huge
need for a scholarly yet readable translation. (Its only
competitor is 2002's stiffer "An Interpretation of the
Quran" by Majid Fakhry.)
2. "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" (Eerdmans)
by K.A. Kitchen of the University of Liverpool. He provides bold
conservative responses to Jewish and Christian scholars who've
whittled away at Scripture's historical credibility, making the
complex combat understandable.
3. "The Five Books of Moses" (Norton) by Robert Alter
of the University of California, Berkeley. Without extremes, his
new English translation of the Pentateuch conveys Hebrew's
distinctiveness. The elaborate footnotes stress literature over
religious tradition.
4. "Life After Death" (Doubleday) by Alan Segal of New
York's Barnard College. Another Jewish blockbuster, it explores
the history of Judaism, Islam and Christianity on this central
belief (with analysis that invites some Christian dissent).
Also notable:
— The Southern Baptist Convention's "Holman Christian
Standard Bible" translation. The case for yet another
English version seems questionable, and ultimate assessment of
this work's worth will require years.
— "The Twilight of Atheism" (Doubleday) by Alister
McGrath of Oxford University. Quirkily fascinating. He sees
plummeting credibility for atheism, which he formerly embraced.
— "Who Are We?" (Simon & Schuster) by Samuel
Huntington of Harvard University. Equally idiosyncratic. He
celebrates multi-ethnicity but contends that America's cultural
glue remains the founders' "Anglo-Protestant" outlook.
— "A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W.
Bush" (W Publishing) by David Aikman, former senior
correspondent for Time magazine. Well-informed, and remains
timely for obvious reasons. Aikman scored only months before with
the more important "Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is
Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power"
(Regnery).
— "A Stone of Hope" (University of North
Carolina), another late 2003 book of significance. Historian
David Chappell tells how the faith of Southern Christians, black
and white, made America's civil rights revolution possible.
The year's most embarrassing books all emanated from Christian
auspices:
— "Sanctity and Male Desire" by lay Catholic
Donald Boisvert, published by the United Church of Christ book
house, leered with "homoerotic longing" at the body of
Jesus Christ and various saints.
— "Same-Sex Marriage?" by Presbyterian Marvin
Ellison, also from the United Church's press, was a lamentably
superficial liberal argument on the year's hottest topic. Notable
mostly because Ellison mused about accepting threesomes and
abolishing marriage altogether.
— "Why Bush Must Go" by Episcopal Church Bishop
Bennett Sims, an apocalyptic left-wing ideologist attacking
"apocalyptic right-wing ideology." Sims spread rumors
that the Bush administration's "calculated" neglect
produced the Sept. 11 attacks.
— "The American Prophecies" by evangelical Zionist
Michael Evans preached an unsavory biblical scenario in which
Sept. 11 was God's retribution upon America for supporting
Islamic terror against Israel while forging an "unholy
covenant" with "barbaric" Arabs.
— "The Shadow of the Apocalypse" by TV evangelist
Paul Crouch combined belief that the End Times will occur
"any moment" with silly "Bible code" games.
— "Good As New" by British lefty John Henson was a
loose, loopy paraphrase of the New Testament that deleted books
the writer disdained. At Jesus' baptism a voice from above
exclaimed "That's my boy!"
— "The Word on the Street," by British evangelical
Rob Lacey, similarly reprocessed chunks of the Old and New
Testaments. At the start of the Ten Commandments, Lacey's Lord
announced, "No other god's worth squat."
~ ~ ~
The
Dark Side of the Moon
Doug Giles
January 1, 2005
I’ve got to be honest with you. I know it’s odd for
someone to be honest nowadays, but it’s the New Year and
I’m having a Diane Sawyer moment, and I have to come clean.
My devotion to God, for the past twenty-one years, hasn’t
really been all that hot. My faithfulness to Him and His Word has
had all the consistency of Papillon’s prison gravy.
My life with Christ can be characterized as … let us say
… “muddled” at best.
To be frank—I’ve flunked more spiritual tests than Joey
Tribbiani has flunked calculus exams.
I’ve snapped under pressure like a weathered rappelling rope
with a Mrs. Klump on the other end. And I’ve hit levels of
frustration that are only eclipsed by the angst a white
16-year-old Baptist boy feels while watching the Victoria’s
Secret special on TV with Tyra on the catwalk.
Yes, indeed … that’s me.
Instead of a TBN-type party, I’ve often experienced an
MTV-like dirge. Instead of singing on the mountaintop with
Carmen, I’m frequently singing the blues to an old Creed
song in a valley. Instead of emitting world-conquering faith all
the time, I’ve had epochs where I’m drowning in
life-rattling doubt. Far from being the perfect poster child of
the upright citizen’s brigade, more often I personify the
“T” in Calvin’s “TULIP” acrostic,
namely, totally depraved.
In my spiritual journey to the celestial city, I’ve spent
about as much time in spiritual darkness as I have in
heaven’s sunshine. This being my normative experience, and
being very different from the “stuff” you see on
Christian TV, I began to wonder what the heck is wrong with me?
How come my Christian existence doesn’t resemble that of a
game show host? What am I doing wrong?
Am I missing something?
Is it because I don’t give money to Benny Hinn?
What gives?
Trying to find some kind of solace in the scripture, some
reassurance that what I’m plowing through is somewhat
normal, I began to go through the Bible looking for times when
God’s heroes went through major crapola and were hammered
with setbacks and frustrations. I was looking to see if they
spent as many moons as I have under divine darkness. And guess
what?
I found huge, mondo chunks of scripture where the saints’
lives and walks with God sucked worse than an airplane toilet.
That’s right! There are large blocks of time when our loving
God allowed unlovely things to happen to those He loved. And,
some of these dark time periods went on longer than Ben Stein
singing “Inna Godda Davita” in Pig Latin.
My ClashPoint is this: sometimes … a lot of times … God
ordains darkness for His people whom He’s going to greatly
use. This is not darkness that’s a product of our sinful
constituent nature. It’s not the darkness that comes through
stupidity, and it’s not the darkness that’s the product
of demonic interference. Instead, it’s a biblical blackout
where God tests the heart of the one who professes His name.
Darkness tests our calling, convictions, courage and commitment.
You know—all the stuff that we have and say we’ll never
lose when the birds are chirping and we just got a raise at work.
Darkness, or the extreme testing of our spiritual mettle, is the
precursor to light and major use in God’s economy. It is
coming to each one of us who is truly called by His name. How we
handle it when it comes will determine whether we’re
benefited by it or battered beyond repair.