_awakening

The Age of Stupid.

At a recent global premiere of The Age of Stupid, Thom Yorke performs an acoustic version of Reckoner. It's flat out amazing. The mark of a great song is to be able to alter the arrangement and still have something of substance and beauty. Enjoy.

Nooma 024 Whirlwind.

The latest Nooma offer, Whirlwind, has been posted by the good people at Flannel on their website to watch in its entirety. It beautifully explores suffer and Job. If you have ever gone thorugh difficult times, this is a much watch. Don't know how much longer it will be up, so swing by and enjoy.

[HT: Mike Todd]

Another Way To Die.

Can't wait for the new Bond. Until then...

Traitor.

Barry Taylor, purveyor of all things culture and cultural, has a great post on the the film Traitor. Here's the money quote from his post:

Samir Horn (Don Cheadle) is a Sudanese born, American special forces operative so deep undercover that even the FBI knows nothing of his existence. "Seems like every religion has more than one face," is a line that comes fairly early in the film from the mouth of terrorist expert Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce), who thinks he is hot on the trail of an international terrorist. Is he or isn't he? Is a central question in this cat and mouse chase that races around the world paralleling the world of a committed group of radical extremists and their pursuants.

The title of the film is intentionally ambiguous, and Cheadle as the conflicted Horn, keeps us guessing until the very end. Ultimately this film asks the question of whether or not it is possible to be a 'good' Muslim in this complex world of international politics and terror, and even more asks what a good Muslim looks like. To most religious people the answer would probably be a resounding 'yes' but events in globo-religion since 9/11 have constantly challenged the possibility. Horn is a deeply religious man, whose faith is tested by both politics and terrorism in the name of god, his desire to live a life pleasing to good stands in tension with everything else in his life and the weight of that is effectively carried by Cheadle.

Yeah, sounds like a must see. To read more of Barry's thoughts on the film, go here.

NOOMA Shells | 020

The good folks at NOOMA are premiering the latest offering, Shells, online at their Facebook page. They will be live streaming the entire film starting today at 12:00 noon EST though Wednesday at 12:00 noon EST. You can check it out here.

Odds and Ends.

Here are a few little nuggets to brighten your day...

Collide Magazine recently ran an interview with Zach Lind about a whole host of issues - from music to spirituality to "the third way". It was incredibly refreshing and I loved what he had to say. I just wish there were more people out there like Zach. You can download the article here.

The good people over at NOOMA are premiering the latest NOOMA offering, Name, over at their MySpace page. It'll only be up for another 24 hours or so. Be sure to check it out... it's pretty amazing.

Jason Evans and Matt Casper [of the book Jim and Casper Go To Church] recently spoke at a young adult meeting at Saddleback. Here's the link to the audio. It's entitled Conversations With an Atheist and it is brutally and beautifully honest.

The Bible Isn't Safe.

A few weeks back, we went to see Bridge to Terabithia as a part of Megan's 10th birthday party. I really had no preconceived ideas about the movie, and had never even heard of the book - although the kids knew about it. Sitting next to Josh [us being the only guys on this excursion and deciding we needed to stick together], I settled in with my popcorn. I was pleasantly surprised.

Christianity Today recently did an interview with Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia. I loved what she had to say about "story" and about the scriptures. Here's the money section...

Terabithia and Gilly Hopkins were on the American Library Association's list of most frequently challenged books of the 1990s.

People say, "Aren't you proud?" and I say no, because it means some teacher or librarian is in trouble because of me, and I can't enjoy that. But the sad thing is, I think it's because people don't understand what a story is.

What is a story?

A story is open-ended. A story invites you into it to make your own meaning. If you look at Jesus' parables, most of the stories he told were very open-ended.

I mean, even with the Parable of the Prodigal Son, you get to the ending and you think, Well, did the big brother come in or not? Jesus left it open deliberately for you to answer.

That's what a story does. It's inviting you to identify yourself as a part of it and to come into it from where you are—and if you hear the same story after a period of years, you'll be in a different place, and the meaning is going to be different.

There's a trend lately to provide books and films for Christian audiences that are "safe for the whole family." Perhaps your books have been challenged because they're not necessarily "safe" for children.

Well, don't give them the Bible, because it's certainly not a safe book. Safety and faith are different things. If you want everything to be safe, then you can do without imagination. If you're so afraid of your imagination that you stifle it, how are you going to know God? How can you imagine heaven?

You can read the entire interview here.

Movies and More Movies.

Through the amazing technology known as Blockbuster Online, movies keep appearing in my mailbox... and I am happy. Here are a few jems we've watched lately...

A few years back we had Rob Bell in to do a week long teaching series at our church [and yeah, it was amazing]. Anyway, the Bell and the DeVries tribes went out to dinner one night and Rob recommended this film. His take was that the film [which is a behind the scenes look at the stand up world] had some amazing connections with the role of teaching. So I finally got around to seeing and... he was right. If you wrestle weekly with bringing forth what God is doing in your heart and mind... you need to see this. To see Seinfeld emotionally wrestle with his craft is amazing. So many connections between stand up and teaching... who would have thought?!?

Jamie was the one who picked this one out... and a nice call it was. It's an independent film by filmmaker Rosemary Rodriguez - and was the talk of the Sundance Film Festival in 2001. Set in New York's Lower East Side, it portrays the raw reality of heroin addiction. The film's reality is wrought due to Rodriguez's own personal experience as a heroin addict. The film is heart-breaking, visually disturbing, and emotionally engaging. If you want glimpse into the reality that is herion addiction - this is the film. It is not a feel good film, but a real one. Not for the faint of heart.

I had been wanting to see this film for quite some time. I had heard the film was thought provoking, yet at times was hard to follow as it weaved in between storylines. As adverstised... a great movie. Quite thought provoking, and not nearly as partisan politcally as some make it out to be. It simply asks - to what extend would we as a country go in proclaiming that we were about "freedom" for the middle east, yet behind closed doors act in a way that would move against "freedom" because it was more beneficial economically for our country? Not a timely question at all, is it?!?

Intriguing.

I've been wanting to see V for Vendetta ever since it came out, but somehow missed seeing it in theaters. So through the magic of Blockbuster Online, we came home from Kauai to find the movie on our mailbox. So last night I finally had the opportunity to settle in and watch the film.

I've always been drawn to movies that are psychological or speak to social issues. In other words, I love it when a movie makes me think. Anyway, V did not dissapoint. It was incredibly thought provoking [not to mention disturbing] on so many levels. Terrorism. Totalitarian government. Fear-based control over the masses. The movie definitley pushed the boundaries, leaving you to ponder, evaluate, and make some pretty profound connections with the current politcal climate.

What else would you expect from the Wachowski brothers?

Date Night.

My honey and I took in Superman Returns tonight in Aliso Viejo [we wanted to go see Pirates, but every showing was completely sold out for tonight... you could've made a killing scalping tickets!] Anyway, after a little stop over at Stadium Brewery for a Chicken Sandwich and an Amber Ale [quite a nice micro brew I might add], we headed over to take in the film. The verdict? Good, but not great. The first three-fourths or so was done well, but the last fourth or so was pretty shaky. Beginning - good, ending, not so much... as the story kinda lagged near the end.

Yet all in all, the date night was wonderful, just nice to be out alone with the wife. [Perhaps Pirates some other time...]

Next week, I'll be teaching at the Youth Leadership Institute TEAM Conference with the likes of Mike Erre of RockHarbor and Scot McKnight. Should be good times. I'll be posting more from the conference next week.