Existential Punk

VCU Annual French Festival

It's my birthday on Sunday, April 2nd, and I will be attending the annual French Film Festival here in Richmond, VA. I love French cinema even though i don't speak any languages other than English. They are so beautiful, creative, and they move me. One of the films premiering in the USA at this year's festival is Mon Ange and stars Vanessa Paradis, longtime girlfriend of Johnny Depp. Not sure if he will be attending, but it would be a sweet birthday gift to catch a glimpse of one of my favorite actors!

Last year was my first time to attend. If you did not have a a festival pass, you had to wait in a ticket line then move to a separate line waiting to get in for a seat. With a pass, you can go in  and out and have a better chance at better seating. This year i decided to purchase a pass since i get a student discount. i think it will be worth it to save on the hassels of line waiting and then i can see all the films i want. Last year was incredible and this year's schedule looks awesome. Can't wait!

Even during all the hoopla where people in the USA were calling for a boycott of all things French a few years ago, the French Film Festival carried on proudly, not bowing to public pressure to conform. I am so glad!

Here is a little history from the French Film Festival's site:

Founded in 1993, the Virginia Commonwealth University French Film Festival located in Richmond, Virginia is an American-led initiative to: (1) promote French language cinema and culture in the United States and (2) create a tradition of Franco-American corporate and cultural partnerships.

Richmond, the capital of the state of Virginia, has a population of just over one million inhabitants. A political center and administrative city, Richmond is home to one of the 13 U.S. Federal Reserve Banks, in addition to numerous multinational corporations such as Philip Morris, Reynolds Metals and DuPont. The city boasts several universities, the largest being Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), with a student body now exceeding 28,000 students. Only 110 miles from Washington, D.C., and less than an hour away by plane from New York, Richmond is at the crossroads of the East Coast.

CAPS

Thanks to Relevant Magazine for this heads up about a petition for Christians Against Pat Speaking. It beseeches PRO to retire or refrain from making "unfounded, insane-sounding comments and trying to pass them off as mainstream Christian thought." i don't know who is responsible for this petition and if it is even legit. It just warmed the cockles of my heart!

Condolences

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mark Palmer but i knew about him through blogs
like Alan Creech's. Many blogs post his photo with a request to donate to his medical fund. I don't know the whole story, but my heart goes out to his wife, children, friends and community who are grieving, sobbing, hurting, wondering, and the gamut of emotions that flow when something devastating like this happens.

The details of the Wake are here if you are in the area and would like to attend. Thank you Alan for the heads up.

Lord, I beseech you to comfort the Palmer family and friends. Allow them to have space to grieve and scream. Strengthen them and be a still small voice in the midst of confusion, pain, anger, and emptiness. Amen.

Palmer, may you rest in peace.

"The Church That Doesn't Exist"

My friend and fellow blogger, Adam Cleaveland from pomomusings has an article published in the online version of Relevant Magazine. Thanks, Adam, for the heads up!

The "Real" Simpsons

This is HILARIOUS and COOL. Check it out here. See the show this Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on Fox. In other news, the show has signed on its 18th and 19th seasons! D'oh!!!!

Cell Phone DJs

My friends Ray and Lacey from Seattle are quickly making a name for themselves as
Crank Callers spinning great music on your cell phone voice mail. Sign up and have music to liven up your day with some fun DJ commentary! You guys ROCK!!!!

How (Not) to Speak of God

Ok, my good friend, Pete Rollins has his first book coming out in a few months. I was honored to receive a pre-published version and have read through part of it. It is excellent so far and very accessible for both the intellectual and those fearful of engaging philosophy. I think it hits a happy medium, especially being familiar with Pete's teachings and lectures. i am really excited for Pete and for the release of his book. He is a really down to earth, talented, passionate, intelligent, kind, ethereal, and sublime Northern Irish guy. I am honored to have him as a friend. What follows is the synopsis from Amazon UK:

Synopsis
"Church Times" article on Greenbelt 2005 described Peter Rollins as 'holding a seminar spellbound', and Ikon's 'gentle, symbolic, and creative multimedia act of worship' as 'weird but wondrous'. The emerging church is still an embryonic movement, yet it currently faces a serious challenge. How it responds will reveal whether it is little more than the latest re-imagining of the evangelical tradition, designed to address the decline in church attendance, or a radical re-envisaging of faith. Having been born out of a post-modern sensitivity, Peter Rollins believes the emerging church is in a unique place to acknowledge the long forgotten insight that revelation embraces concealment; that our various interpretations of revelation will always be provisional, fragile and fragmentary; that we speak always with wounded words about a wounded Christ. The emerging church thus has the potential to leave aside the security blanket of certainty and recognize that what is important is that we embrace the beloved rather than somehow agree about how we understand this beloved, acknowledging that the God we follow touches us in deeply personal ways that are singular and which cannot be dissected via some universal understanding. "How (not) to Speak of God's" sustained exploration of the theory and praxis of emerging church is firmly anchored in an analysis of twelve Ikon services, on topics such as: 'The Prodigal Father', 'Risk' and 'Advent'.

Water Advance 2006

Spent this past weekend on the Orcas Island with Len Sweet and Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia in Houston, Texas. "Remember Never-Never Land from Peter Pan? Orcas Island served as its inspiration!" It was a beautiful place, awe-inspiring, and relaxing. A much-needed get away for my weary bones. I have known Chris for a few years from visiting Ecclesia when visiting Houston. i really enjoyed getting to know him and his family more this weekend.

Some highlights from the weekend together include:

"We need sacred spaces in the city." - Chris Seay

Change/transition is really difficult for churches. Many pastors hold on so tight for control and strangle them to death.

Sweet says a time is coming where the mentor seeks out the one to mentor rather than the one wanting mentoring seeking out the mentor.

Sweet says orientation towards beauty is a radical shift. A form of art called Judaica. No beauty in warehouse churches. Image for Boomer Generation is "The Purpose Driven Life". Song "Let the Beauty of Jesus be Seen in Me". IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BEAUTY! It's not about pretty but about provoking something within you that is real and resonates with you, whether good and bad things are happening. This is good art! It's real and calls us into tension.

"Don't measure church by consumption but conception" - Sweet

Blemishes are beauty spots.

Teach young people to think and engage them in the tension of life. Teach them to remain true to the ONE TRUE GOD.

Some great stuff to chew on. Hope you enjoy this!
                         

Gee, 20 years . . .

Wow, dad, March, 15th, 20 years ago today, you left me, mom and the land of the living. I know your battle with the cancer was only 5 months from start to finish, but it must have felt like forever. I am sorry we did not have a great relationship and for my part of contributing to the dysfunction.

I miss you. So many times I have wondered if we would have worked things out as i grew into adulthood? We have several things in common - love of beer, tattoos, Harley Davidsons, and cigars. Today i am sitting in an Irish pub in Seattle, Washington, wishing we could be here together, sharing a Pabst Blue Ribbon, or PBR, as you called it, and a stogie, or ceegar, as you called it! BTW, PBR has made a resurgence in popularity in the past few years and i know you'd be proud! You died before the age of digital cameras and i don't own a scanner so i can't scan your photo onto my computer to post here. So, in honor of you, i posted the PBR and cigar pictures!

I admit i was relieved after you died and dealt with some guilt over this for a few years. i think what it really came down to i was relieved to be out of the emotionally painful part of the relationship. i never wished the cancer on you and i am sorry you suffered so much. i hope you are at peace. I have done a lot of work in therapy over the years to be at more peace with you, our relationship, and your death. Today as i was on my flight to Seattle i realized it was your 20 year anniversary. It hit me in a way it hasn't for a very long time. Maybe the hurt and sadness i am experiencing in your absence is a healthy thing, a sign of growth, of moving on, maturity. I seriously wish you were here today with me. Thank you God, for the healing you have brought me from my pain and heartache.

i haven't drunk alcohol in nearly a year due to my treatment for Lyme Disease and all the meds i am taking. But, today i am going to have one PBR in honor of you. CHEERS!!!!!!! Here's looking to you, Dad! i LOVE you. Peace! Adele

Throwing gasoline on the fire

Thanks to my friend Adam for reporting the latest crackpot comments from Pat Robertson. "Robertson recently told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he makes his comments off the cuff after watching news segments. He later told the Christian magazine World that he's being more careful and reviewing news stories before going on the air." Duh!!! He sure is not practicing this. How are we to have dialogue with Muslims when he is being so fanatical and fundamentalist in his actions and words? He is no better than the radical Islamic terrorists. I think he is a big hypocrite and should retire to a nice retirement village with his wife, DeeDee. Oy Vey!!!!!!!!!!