Compromise is not Always the Answer

There's much to be said for compromise and it's absence in today's politics.   The political climate today makes us stand firm on our respective sides and hurl absolutes about tax-policy, the ways in which we can better defend ourselves against terrorism and many other issues. Politicians talk about the days when they could argue on the floor of Congress and walk off friends.  John McCain, in a recent interview with Tom Brokaw, talked about how he and Ted Kennedy could duke it out verbally and then talk about how good the debate was when they were offstage.

There is a place for compromise in developing fiscal policy and making government function more efficiently for example.  But there are issues where compromise is not any sort of an answer.

From the New York Times Editorial Board comes a reflection on Gen. Kelly's role as the "adult" in the White House and lessons learned on racism.  He could be seen visibly cringing as the President made a false equivalency of "fine people" on both sides in Charlottesville. There was hope. But this week General Kelly asserted that compromise could have avoided the Civil War.

To Mr. Kelly — and to the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who echoed his view from the people’s podium in the briefing room — the Civil War resulted from a failure to compromise. It might be instructive for reporters to continue to press both of them, as well as the president, about what kind of compromise over slavery they have in mind.

Indeed, General Kelly, et.al, if we made black people 5/6 or 7/8 a person instead of 3/5 would that have been acceptable?  Would it have solved the problems or pushed off the war and set back the civil rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries?  That's a rhetorical question.  The answer is obvious.

Civil rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, HUMAN RIGHTS, will never be achieved by compromise.

Beyond Politics

This morning I awoke to tweets by the POTUS trying to blame Senator Schumer for the terrorist attack in NYC. This is so wrong.  Sadly I was not surprised.

The last year has been very stressful.   What seems obvious to me, seems invisible to others:  Donald Trump is unfit to President of the United States.

As I post observations on Facebook that I believe to be based on observable facts I am challenged as being unable to get over Hillary Clinton's defeat.  I have been told I am angry, mean and accusatory.  I have been told I have to get over it and "grow a set."

When it comes to maturity and the ability to look beyond the personal and take actions that are best for the entire country, Trump's actions come as no surprise.  He laid this out by his own actions during the campaign.  He not only tolerated but encouraged lies, hate and division.  A year into his Presidency that continues.

I would say he needs to stop his "tweet first, think later" approach. That presumes that he is able to think as a leader of this country.  He's not.  Once the tweet is out he will defend it at all cost.  He never apologizes, he doubles down.

This is so much bigger than politics.

I'm moving my political/theological comments to this blog.  It's therapeutic for me and if anyone cares to read it they can come here.

Marriage Equality in Utah

When the SCOTUS decision was announced, I was in Utah at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.  Many Members of our deputations joined the local celebration organized by Equality Utah.  Celebrating this in sight of the Mormon Temple was gloriously ironic.  Here are some  photos...

What Christians SHOULD be doing in Indiana and beyond

I share below a "Letter to the People of Indiana from Jesus" from the website of of John Pavlovitz. It's for any Christian or anyone wishing to understand what Christianity means to many of us.

Dear Christians In Indiana (and those elsewhere, who might read this),

I’ve seen what’s been going on there lately. Actually, I’ve been watching you all along and I really need to let you know something, just in case you misunderstand:

This isn’t what I had planned.

This wasn’t the Church I set the table for.

It wasn’t the dream I had for you, when I spoke in those parables about the Kingdom; about my Kingdom.

It was all supposed to be so very different.

It was supposed to be a pervasive, beautiful, relentless “yeast in the dough” that permeated the planet; an unstoppable virus of compassion and mercy spread person-to-person, not needing government or law or force.

It was supposed to be that smallest, seemingly most insignificant of seeds, exploding steadily and gloriously with the realized potential of my sacred presence, becoming a place of safety and shelter for all people.

It was supposed to be something so very precious, such an obvious, invaluable treasure, that it would make all those who discovered and experienced it, feel like it was worth selling everything they had to hold onto it.

It was supposed to be my very body, here in your very flesh.
You were designed to do this, to be this.

My kindness, my goodness, my forgiveness; you were created to be the method of transportation for all of it.

You were made to deliver the greatest good news to a world so desperate for it.
This wild, extravagant, world-altering love I have for my people, was intended to travel from my aching heart, through your trembling hands, to my hurting people.
This has always been your calling. It has always been your purpose.
It still is. This very second it is.

I have placed you here at this exact place and time in the history of creation, not to defend me, as I need no defense; not to protect me, since I have already willingly laid my life down; not to judge others on my behalf, as this is far beyond your capacity and my instruction.

My beloved, I placed you here, not to defend or protect or replace me, but simply to reflect me.
That has always been my most critical commandment and your most pressing obligation; loving God and loving others. I thought that I was clear on that, when I was asked this before.

I showed you how to move in this world.
I kept company with priests and with prostitutes. I touched lepers and washed feet and dined with sinners, both notorious and covert. I served miraculous free meals to starving masses, and I allowed myself to be touched and kissed and betrayed and slandered and beaten and murdered… and I never protested.

All that is happening these days, all the posturing and the debating and the complaining; does this really look like love to you? 

Do you really think that the grandstanding and the insult-slinging and the side-choosing, that it feels like me?

Do you truly believe that the result of your labors here in these days, is a Church that clearly perpetuates my character in the world?

Is this the Gospel I entrusted you with? 
To be honest with you, I simply don’t see it.

How did you drift so far from the mission?
How did you become so angry, so combative, so petty, so arrogant, so entitled?
When did you begin writing your own script for this story?
When did you turn it into your story?

My children, here’s what you may not realize, being as close as you are to all of this. You may not be able to see it clearly anymore.
 You certainly don’t have the perspective that I do, and here from my vantage point, this is what I do see:

You are driving people from me.

You have become an unbreachable barrier between myself and those who most need me.
You are leaving a legacy of damage and pain and isolation in your path.
You are testifying loudly, not to my love, but to your preference.
You are winning these little violent battles, and you are losing people; not to Hell or to Sin, but to all of the places outside of you, where they go to receive the kindness and decency and goodness that you should be showing them.

This life is not about your right to refuse anyone. If I wanted to avoid serving those I found moral faults with, I would have skipped the planet altogether.

I came to serve.
Your faith in me, cannot be an escape clause to avoid imitating me. 
Asserting your rights, was never greater than following my example.
Your religious freedom, never more important than loving the least. 
Your central cause, should be relentlessly conforming to my likeness, despite the inconvenience and discomfort that it brings.

When I commanded you to deny yourself, I was speaking about the times when it is most difficult to do so, because that is when “self” is the most distracting, the most dangerous, the most like an idol.

Obedience to me, usually comes with sacrifice to you.

I can’t force you to reflect upon these words, and I can’t make you live as I lived or love as I love. This was never the way I worked or will ever work.

I can only tell you that you have surely drifted from the course I started you on, and as often is the case in long journeys, it is a divergence that unfolds by the smallest of degrees, almost imperceptible while it’s happening.

That is why what feels like victory to you, is really another slight but definite movement away from me, and from the reason you are really here at all.

Not long after I walked the planet, as my Church was just beginning to blossom and my Kingdom was truly breaking out, a Greek writer named Aristides, wrote these words about those who bore my name then:

“It is the Christians, O Emperor, who have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others. They show love to their neighbours. They do not do to another what they would not wish to have done to themselves. They speak gently to those who oppress them, and in this way they make them their friends. It has become their passion to do good to their enemies.

They live in the awareness of their smallness.

Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If they see a travelling stranger, they bring him under their roof. They rejoice over him as over a real brother, for they do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they are brothers in the Spirit and in God. If they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed for the sake of Christ, they take care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among them is poor or comes into want while they themselves have nothing to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can supply any poor man with the food he needs. This, O Emperor, is the rule of life of the Christians, and this is their manner of life.” *
                                                                                                                                                                             – Aristides, 137 AD

To the Christians in Indiana, and those beyond who are still listening today; you would do well to hold these words up daily as a mirror to your individual lives, and to the expression of me that you make together in this place.

Is this what you see when you look at yourself?

Is this what the world sees when it looks at you?

In your words and in your ways, Church; do they see me?

If not, then regardless of how it seems to you, you haven’t won anything.

May this be truth, that truly sets you free. 
 

                               * taken from Jesus For President, By Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw

Indiana's Religious Freedom Law - A Neutral Analysis

The legislation that Governor Pence signed into law has thrown the liberal and conservative pundits into a tizzy. It will be no surprise that I believe that law opens the door for discrimination against LGBT people.  In addition the potential for LGBT people to be denied public services or accommodations.

I still wanted to look at the language.  It is imbedded in the legal analysis by Matt Anderson a lawyer in South Bend.  Worth a read! Click Here

Another document to review is this letter form Columbia University signed by many lawyers in Indiana.

On visceral level, watching Gov. Pence refuse to answer George Stephanopolis' direct questions reveals the intent of the law.  "Should it be legal to discriminate against LGBT people?" asked Stephanopoulis. "Come on George" responds Pence.  Clearly "no" should have been his response.

Another Night at the Opera

Last year I coaxed Kyle into joining me for Wagner's Ring Cycle broadcast "Live from the Met in HD."  My passion for Wagner assured that I would love it.  But 16 hours of Wagner, one of the least accessible composers for the novice, was literally baptism by fire. One of the icon parts of the 4 opera grand twisted tale base somewhat on Teutonic mythology is Brunnhilde being surround by a ring of fire and subsequently rescued.  Kyle, like most folks, new Elmer Fudd's take on The Ride of Valkyries, "Killed a Wabbit."  That was all he knew.

He loved it and has attended many of these broadcast since.  Tonight we saw Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman. Drawn from the stories of E.T.A. Hoffman, the opera weaves together 3 stories of failed love into a fourth.  The Met's production put a more surreal spin on this "opera fantastique."  It was another sucessful night at the opera!

Olympia, Hoffman's first love, is a mechanical doll.  His first love is quite literally shattered.

 
The first act. set in the dollmaker's shop, pure fun.  Packed with body parts, including jars of eyeballs in a gelatinous mess, the staging is extremely creative.  The second act, in jarring contrast, is a somber winter scene. Offenbach's top 40 hit "Barcarolle" dominates Act III along with most scantilly clad women I have ever seen on an opera stage.

For anyone afraid of the "opera experience" I heartily recommend it.  The singing is subtitled (even when it's sung in English) and intermission(s) features backstage interviews and a peak at the grandeur that is a the Met. Sets, costumes and the crew that works with the mechanically impressive stage that dwarfs the house (where the audience is seated).

These productions eventually make their way to PBS, but rarely with the intermission features.  Intermissions also give you 10 to 15 minutes to stretch your legs.  It's the next best thing to being there.

Think that opera is trite or boring? Coming soon is Bela Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle. Below is a synopsis. Make's 50 Shades of Grey sound tame.  It's on a double bill with Tchaikovsky Iolanta.  Care to join me?

Bluebeard's Castle synopsis:

Place: A huge, dark hall in a castle, with seven locked doors.

Time: Not defined.

Judith and Bluebeard arrive at his castle, which is all dark. Bluebeard asks Judith if she wants to stay and even offers her an opportunity to leave, but she decides to stay. Judith insists that all the doors be opened, to allow light to enter into the forbidding interior, insisting further that her demands are based on her love for Bluebeard. Bluebeard refuses, saying that they are private places not to be explored by others, and asking Judith to love him but ask no questions. Judith persists, and eventually prevails over his resistance.

The first door opens to reveal a torture chamber, stained with blood. Repelled, but then intrigued, Judith pushes on. Behind the second door is a storehouse of weapons, and behind the third a storehouse of riches. Bluebeard urges her on. Behind the fourth door is a secret garden of great beauty; behind the fifth, a window onto Bluebeard's vast kingdom. All is now sunlit, but blood has stained the riches, watered the garden, and grim clouds throw blood-red shadows over Bluebeard's kingdom.

Bluebeard pleads with her to stop: the castle is as bright as it can get, and will not get any brighter, but Judith refuses to be stopped after coming this far, and opens the penultimate sixth door, as a shadow passes over the castle. This is the first room that has not been somehow stained with blood; a silent silvery lake is all that lies within, "a lake of tears". Bluebeard begs Judith to simply love him, and ask no more questions. The last door must be shut forever. But she persists, asking him about his former wives, and then accusing him of having murdered them, suggesting that their blood was the blood everywhere, that their tears were those that filled the lake, and that their bodies lie behind the last door. At this, Bluebeard hands over the last key.

Behind the door are Bluebeard's three former wives, but still alive, dressed in crowns and jewellery. They emerge silently, and Bluebeard, overcome with emotion, prostrates himself before them and praises each in turn, finally turning to Judith and beginning to praise her as his fourth wife. She is horrified, begs him to stop, but it is too late. He dresses her in the jewellery they wear, which she finds exceedingly heavy. Her head drooping under the weight, she follows the other wives along a beam of moonlight through the seventh door. It closes behind her, and Bluebeard is left alone as all fades to total darkness.

Requiem: Marcus Borg

Marcus Borg has died at the age of 72.  His theological literature has helped me continue to identify myself as a Christian in a world were that word, at the very least, is unwelcome in much of the LGBTQ community.

"Thin places" is part of Borg's approach to spirituality that I often quote.  We find these in the times, places and experiences that are a "porous" encounter with the Divine.  An emotional moment, a musical event, a transcendent work of art and for me beautiful liturgy and the sacrament of the Eucharist.

These thin places can also be the times that we encounter the "other." It can be when we engage and radically welcome those that are not like us.

Borg's book "The Heart of Christianity" explores this. I found this study guide very helpful:

http://www.wesleybakersfield.org/heartxianity/08heart-xianity-studyguide.pdf

Read more about Borg:

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/01/22/marcus-borg-leading-liberal-theologian-historical-jesus-expert-dies-72/

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/breaking-marcus-borg-has-died/

  

Oscar Nominations

 

Here's the list!

√=have seen +=must see ?=might see

As of now: MF=My Favorite, MP=My Prediction

I'll be sharing changes and details as I see all films.

Best picture
+American Sniper
√Birdman
√Boyhood MP
√The Grand Budapest Hotel
√The Imitation Game
√Selma
√The Theory of Everything MF
+Whiplash

Actor in a leading role
√Steve Carell — Foxcatcher
√Bradley Cooper — American Sniper
√Benedict Cumberbatch — The Imitation Game
√Michael Keaton — Birdman MP
√Eddie Redmayne — The Theory of Everything MF

Actress in a leading role
?Marion Cotillard — Two Days, One Night
√Felicity Jones — The Theory of Everything
+Julianne Moore — Still Alice MP
√Rosamund Pike — Gone Girl MF
?Reese Witherspoon — Wild

Actor in a supporting role
?Robert Duvall — The Judge
√Ethan Hawke — Boyhood
√Edward Norton — Birdman
√Mark Ruffalo — Foxcatcher MF
+J.K. Simmons — Whiplash

Actress in a supporting role
√Patricia Arquette — Boyhood MP
?Laura Dern — Wild
√Keira Knightley — The Imitation Game
√Emma Stone — Birdman
√Meryl Streep — Into the Woods MF

Animated feature film
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2 MP
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Cinematography
√Birdman — Emmanuel Lubezki MF MP
√The Grand Budapest Hotel — Robert Yeoman
?Ida — Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
+Mr. Turner — Dick Pope
+Unbroken — Roger Deakins

Costume Design
√The Grand Budapest Hotel MP
?Inherent Vice
√Into the Woods MF
?Maleficent
+Mr. Turner

Directing
√Birdman — Alejandro G. Iñárritu MF
√Boyhood — Richard Linklater MP
√Foxcatcher — Bennett Miller
√The Grand Budapest Hotel — Wes Anderson
√The Imitation Game — Morten Tyldum

Documentary feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Documentary short subject
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

Film editing
+American Sniper
√Boyhood MF MP
√The Grand Budapest Hotel
√The Imitation Game
+Whiplash

Foreign language film
Ida — Poland
Leviathan — Russia
Tangerines — Estonia
Timbuktu — Mauritania
Wild Tales — Argentina

Makeup and hairstyle
√Foxcatcher MF MP
√The Grand Budapest Hotel
√Guardians of the Galaxy

Music original score
√The Grand Budapest Hotel — Alexandre Desplat
√The Imitation Game — Alexandre Desplat
√Interstellar — Hans Zimmer
+Mr. Turner — Gary Yershon
√The Theory of Everything — Jóhann Jóhannsson

Music original song
"Everything is Awesome" — The Lego Movie
√"Glory" — Selma MP MF
"Grateful" — Beyond the Lights
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" — Glen Campbell... I'll Be Me
"Lost Stars" — Begin Again

Production design
√The Grand Budapest Hotel
√The Imitation Game
√Interstellar MP
√Into the Woods MF
+Mr. Turner

Short film animated
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

Short film live action
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

Sound editing
√American Sniper
√Birdman
√The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
√Interstellar
+Unbroken

Sound mixing
√American Sniper
√Birdman
√Interstellar
+Unbroken
√Whiplash

Visual effects
√Captain America: The Winter Soldier
√Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
√Guardians of the Galaxy
√Interstellar MP
√X-Men: Days of Future Past MF (for Hugh Jackman's bum)

Writing adapted screenplay
+American Sniper — Jason Hall
√The Imitation Game — Graham Moore MF
?Inherent Vice — Paul Thomas Anderson
√The Theory of Everything — Anthony McCarten MP
+Whiplash — Damien Chazelle

Writing original screenplay
√Birdman — Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., and Armando Bo MF  MP
√Boyhood — Richard Linklater
√Foxcatcher — E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
√The Grand Budapest Hotel — screenplay by Wes Anderson, story by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
?Nightcrawler — Dan Gilroy

Mohammed, Jesus Christ and The New Cover of Charlie Hebdo

There is reluctance on the part of many news outlets to share this cover lest they become the next victims of radical Muslims.  I cannot speak for the Muslims, but as a Christian, if my faith was used to inflict violence, which it has been repeatedly over the past 2,000 years, I know how I would feel.  A picture of Jesus Christ crying and holding this sign with "All is forgiven" over his head would be seen as an extremely generous response.

The era of forcing people to hold sacred the beliefs of oppressors is over.  Followers of Christ, Mohammed, Vishnu, Zoroaster, Buddha, God and any other deity/spiritual leader must take responsibility for hate exercised in their name.   They must stand up to those who degrade a message of love for all humanity.  If they can't do that they are worshiping a false god.

The New Jim Crow

Hobby Lobby is not a slippery slope, it's greased wall that will now have to be climbed before laws like Mississippi's new "Jim Crow" can be challenged.

The Supreme Court, well the 5 Roman Catholic Men on the Bench, have started to dissect according to particular beliefs of particular denominations.  If people are worried about Sharia law, perhaps the should broaden that to any law that is based on a particular set of religious sectarian beliefs.  That's the real issue in Iraq. America was not established as a theocracy. Separation of Church and State was particularly meant to avoid a theocracy.  It has struggled to hold it's own amidst many challenges. It has been eroded by "In God We Trust" and the addition in the 1950's of "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.  Prayers, specifically Christian, are now allowed in public meetings thanks to those 5 Roman Catholic men.

This stuff scares me...

Mississippi's Religious Freedom Restoration Act now allows businessowners to turn away LGBT customers if they claim their existence conflicts with their religion.
The law passed in April and was quickly signed by Republican governor Phil Bryant; it went into effect July 1. Several cities in Mississippi, including Jackson and Hattiesburg, are challenging the insidious law by passing resolutions affirming all patrons are welcome. Equality Mississippi is distributing stickers that proclaim, "We don't discriminate: If you're buying, we're selling."

The American Family Association has found a way to take umbrage with the stickers.“It’s not really a buying campaign, but it’s a bully campaign, and it’s being carried out by radical homosexual activists who intend to trample the freedom of Christians to live according to the dictates of scripture," AFA's Buddy Smith stated, according to Pink News.

Local merchants and professionals like chef John Currence bristle at the law's effect on the state's already inhospitable reputation. “We are not going to sit idly by and watch Jim Crow get revived in our state," he said, vowing to fight the law. Similar legislation is wending its way through Kansas.

From The Advocate July 6, 2014

Where's the Beef? In the PROUD Whopper!

It's been a while since I have tended this blog. Here's a great reason to get back into the swing of things!

 

5 Second Long YouTube Video

You have 5 seconds, right?

Rating the Cosmos

Being in a household without kids, I rarely think about the rating code.  This evening I was watching Cosmos, the reboot of Carl Sagan's series with Neil DeGrasse Tyson: pure science and presented with the latest digital graphics.  It is awesome in the true sense of the word.

So why is it given the TV rating of PG?  The sub ratings tell the story.  "V" for violence and "D" for suggestive dialogue.  I suppose nothing is more violent than a super nova (except a hyper nova), but that rather distorts the intent of protecting the innocents from Game of Thrones type brutality.  But "challenging dialogue," usually reserved for talk about sex?

Of course you know the reason this is challenging dialogue.  It challenges the Biblical literalists. Evolution and an earth 4.5 billions years old rather than 6,000 is too much to discuss with the kids.  I wonder how old a child must be before PG does not apply?  Ratings are applied by the network.  How must you be before Fox thinks you must be before you "question everything?"

Facts? Who needs facts when you are talking about the ACA?

If you ever thought that the Kochs’ attack ads weren’t full of egregious lies, take a look as the non-partisan Washington Post Fact Checker debunks some of their recent attacks against Democrats.

Claim in Koch Attack #1: “I found this wonderful doctor and a great health care plan. My insurance was canceled because of Obamacare. Now, the out-of-pocket costs are so high, it’s unaffordable. If I do not receive my medication, I will die.”

Washington Post Fact Check:
FACT #1: “[She] suggested she had lost her ‘wonderful doctor’ when in fact she could keep that doctor in the new plan.”
FACT #2 “Her premiums were cut in half, from $1,100 a month to $571.”

Lie Detector: “One cannot claim that a plan is ‘unaffordable’ when over the course of the year it will provide you with substantial savings.”

Claim in Koch Attack #2: “Our health insurance plan was canceled because of Obamacare...This new plan is not affordable at all. My husband is working a lot more hours just to pay for these new increases.”

Washington Post Fact Check:
FACT: “The family qualified for Medicaid, but she was opposed for philosophical issues… So the family opted for a more expensive plan”

Lie Detector: “It is [the family’s] right to choose a more expensive plan. But it makes her claim of ‘unaffordable’ harder to swallow.”

Claim in Koch Attack #3: “Health care isn’t about politics. It’s about people. And millions of people have lost their health insurance, millions of people can’t see their own doctors, and millions are paying more and getting less.”

Washington Post Fact Check:
FACT #1: Many have not lost their health insurance -- “Many [have been] rolled into new plans, and Obamacare has reduced the number of uninsured.”
FACT #2: People don’t lose doctors because of Obamacare -- “This was true before Obamacare; employers changed plans all the time.”
FACT #3: People aren’t getting less for more -- “Obamacare mandates many new benefits.”

Lie Detector: “Once again Americans for Prosperity makes sweeping claims about the health-care law that lack context or offer a misleading picture.”

OSCAR: Best Picture

For the second year in a row I have seen all the nominated Pictures.  My impressions...

American Hustle:
Totally entertaining. Great ensemble cast. How fun it is to find out the background behind an event that happened when you were alive.

Captain Phillips:
Best Picture? Really? Give me back 5 nominees.

Dallas Buyers Club:
Must see. A story that is little known, but should be well known. Best Actor to to Matthew McConaughey, hands down.  The rest of the cast is amazing. Kyle's pick for Best Picture.

Gravity
Stunning visuals. This will win every special effects award and probably best director, though the later challenges my understanding of director.

Her
Great concept.  I bit full of itself.

Nebraska
THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!  Understated everyman exceptional study of small town middle America.  Funny, touching.  What i missing in movies is back.

Philomena
Fantastic.  All "Christians" should see this.  Chritianity is summed up in one line in this movie.  You WILL know it when you hear it.  Live it.

12 Years a Slave
Slavery is bad.  It's really, really bad.  We know that.  Good flick.  Not great flick. Lupita will win.

Educating Prisoners: A Reponse to Congressman Chris Collins

In his irregular email newsletter, my representative, Chris Collins (R-NY 27th) let me know that he was sponsoring legislation to stop Gov. Cuomo's plan to allow prisoners to take college courses at state expense. 

My note to the cogressman:

Representative Collins:

I recently received your email stating that you are sponsoring legislation to stop Governor Cuomo's funding of College Education for Prisoners.  There are many of the Governor's policies and initiatives with which I disagree.  This is not one of them and I believe that your efforts are short-sighted.  We no longer have penal colonies, we have correctional facilities.  While recidivism is a problem, it can only be reduced by attempts to release prisoners who are more prepared to be released into society equipped to cope and become employed.  What the Governor proposes is actually the fiscally responsible thing to do in the long run.  It is consistent with the society in which we live that only looks at the here an now to take your position.  But we owe it to the future of New York and the US to invest in the future. Education at all levels and available to all is that sound investment.

Thank You for taking the time to read this.  I hope you will thoughtfully reconsider your position.

Regards,

Neil D. Houghton
3873 Rush Mendon Road

Mendon, NY 14506

OSCAR: Short Subject - Animated

Feral
The tale of a wild child brought from the forest to the city, where to no ones surprise he does not fit in. The charcoal morphing surreal rendering is fun to watch.  The story is nothing new. 

Get A Horse
We missed this. Released with Frozen, apparently we are among the few that haven't seen it.  Although our cable on-demand offered "the Oscar nominated short films," this was not included.  Some snarky jokes about Mickey Mouse by the animated hosts explain its absence.

Mr. Hublot
Am intricately engaging visual environment tells a simple, but heartwarming story.  The juxtaposition of intricate visuals with the simple story makes for a charming cinema.  This is my pick. 

Possessions
Beautifully flowing animation and a tale of healing.  This is Kyle's pick.

Room On The Broom
Here's sweet old fashioned animation of a children's story.  Lots of visual humor added to engae everyone. A close second for me.

OSCAR: Short Subject Live

Helium
Beautiful Poetry.  Moving. What a short film can say with so much more style and without the fillers that a feature film would demand.  With nods to "The Red Balloon" and even Spielberg, this was our favorite. Called sappy by many, it had me blubbering.

The Voorman Problem
The ubiquitous Martin Freeman is this short tale of solipsism gone wild.  Worth seeing.

Just Before Losing Everything
An important subject is dealt with in several new ways.  The abused are center stage and the abuser is given little focus.  The workplace as a support community was positive. A contrived parking lot encounter and non-ending made it less effective to my eye. This is LA Times Martin Tsai's pick to win.

That Wasn't Me
Here's an example of subject matter that needs more in depth exploration that short film can offer.  Perhaps the complete stripping of humanity from the characters was the point. It didn't work so well for me.

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?
Humorously injecting slapstick into an everyday setting, this is fun film.  Too close to home, but fun.

Helium is our pick to win.

Bishop Smith of AZ Reponds to Jim Crow's Return

It's another day to be proud to be an Episcopalian.  Members of my LGBT community who shun the church for thousands of years of persecution certainly are justified. But there are so many wonderful leaders in this church who have finally returned to the fundamental message of Jesus Christ.  All are welcome in this church.  We are a place to find refuge from the sin of churches that divide, devalue and reject the humanity of any group.  Today's example:

The legislature of Arizona has passed what can only be described as 'Jim Crow' laws aimed at the LGBT community.  Based on "sincerely held beliefs" any person can deny another person service. A legislator appear with Anderson Cooper last night appears not to know what he signed, saying it was just to prevent a clergy person from being forced to perform a same-sex marriage.  He was either ignorant or lying.  NO CLERGY PERSON can be FORCED to MARRY ANYONE.  No church, mosque or temple can be forced to offer their worship place for an event that they don't want. 

Bishop Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona issued this statement on their website:

Who among us doesn't want to support religious freedom? This argument seems to be the tactic of some arch-conservative lawmakers, who have convinced our Arizona legislators that it is fine to deny people basic human rights under the guise of religious freedom. Lawmakers in other states and members of both political parties have been astute enough to see what bills like this really are – a wolf in sheep's clothing that masks discrimination under a veneer of piety. Arizona, however, with its propensity for making itself into the political laughing-stock of the nation, has been duped once again. One can only pray that our Governor will, as the Arizona Republic said this morning, “get out her veto pen.”

From the Very Rev. Troy Mendez, an outline of the law and its effects:

What is being proposed?  Actually, several things are being proposed in this bill, including the following:

a)         Enables Discrimination based on “sincerely held beliefs.” The bill expands the term “exercise of religion” to include elements of practice and tacit “observance” of the religion (i.e., enacted beliefs). A person’s “religious practice and liberty” could be used under this bill as an excuse to deny people fair housing, job opportunities, and any kind of equal protection under the law. The framework of the bill is state-sanctioned discrimination.

b)         Expands the legal definition of personhood. In the current legislation, a “person” by definition becomes any and all entities, including “any individual, association, partnership, corporation, church, estate, trust, foundation, or other legal entity. Personal morals could therefore apply to the way commerce is conducted, theoretically denying access or services to another group, under the grounds that offering them would be religiously reprehensible.

c)         Overrides any municipal non-discrimination legislation. The ordinances of local governments would be subject to the state’s legislation, thereby nullifying the will of the people of a community, including recent legislation passed in the City of Phoenix about a year ago.

Read the entire post here.

Philomena and Christianity

We are now only short seeing one nominee for Best Pictures for the Academy Awards, 2014. Last night we saw Philomena.  When one knows the basics of a story, it is always wonderful to be as completely surprised by a film.  Without any spoiler, the film is a must see and is now tied with Nebraska for my personal best picture selection.

These two movies, in totally different ways, take an everyday person through a journey of faith, one secular and one religious, but both very personal.  Both put a brilliant actor in the role.  Both resolve these journeys of hope in ways that the audience can relate to, both subtle and with a powerful message.

As a Christian following Philomena's relationship with her church was also a personal journey.  There was no personal trauma on the scale of hers in my life, and I have been much less faithful. But after an hour and half living with two people whose views on faith were very different, one line summed up the core messages of Christianity. Don't worry you won't miss it and you won't forget it.

Philomena far surpasses the cinematic attempts at portraying the life of Christ thus far and I suspect it will be the same with the upcoming Son of God in delivering what Christianity, and indeed every religion, should be about.