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| Monday, October 27th, 2008 | | 12:17 pm |
The Scarlet Avenger Triumphs!
The Scarlet Avenger, a screenplay about a masked Canadian Mountie who fights both Nazis and an evil overlord known as the Skull, beat 300 screenplays this weekend to become the winner of the prestigious "WILDSound Film & Sound" Screenwriting competition. Why do I care? Because Scott C. Clements, the scriptwriter, cites my essay " Reconstructivist Art" as a shaping influence on the script. | | Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | | 9:43 pm |
Hero For Christ - Book Review
Hero For Christ received a great review in this month's Midwest Book Review
How do Christians model themselves after the leaders they respect the most? "Hero for Christ: 30 Ways You Can Be More Like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Twenty Other World Changing Christians" is a self-improvement manual that gives people hope and advice for emulating the positive qualities of great men and women. With tips on defending one's beliefs, leadership, charity, and maintaining one's ethics in a world that can be surprisingly hostile to the devout Christians, "Hero for Christ" is a must for anyone who wants to make themselves more like their heroes.
| | Monday, May 19th, 2008 | | 5:50 pm |
A new arrival
For anyone who reads my blog and hasn't heard the news: My wife and I welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world last week. He sleeps all day and stays up all night, but he's very cute and lovable and we couldn't be happier! Current Mood:  ecstatic | | Thursday, May 1st, 2008 | | 12:15 am |
| | Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 | | 1:16 am |
This is a very interesting video --it shows that you don't need a lot of money or power to make a difference for the environment. Barefoot Solar Engineers | | Monday, December 31st, 2007 | | 12:26 pm |
Columbus
Wow! One of the New York Post columnists named his top five destinations for the year: Budapest, Ontario, Venice, New Orleans and Columbus! [ Read Article] Even as the biggest Cbus fan, I find that a bit shocking. It just shows how far our cred has risen this year. Walker's blog has more good Cbus press for '07. | | Monday, December 3rd, 2007 | | 12:11 pm |
I'm Not There: Film Review
I knew even before the house lights went down that I needed to approach this film in the right frame of mind. I knew not to expect a rational or linear plotline, that my disbelief would need to be firmly suspended, and that I would have to forgo any spirit of antagonistic criticism. All that said, I found it a brilliant piece of work. Let me state, for the record, that I've never been the world's biggest Dylan fan. I respect him as a titanic figure in American music, and my personal favorites list contains a decent sampling of some of Dylan's hits ("Like a Rolling Stone", "Lay Lady Lay") and rarities ("One More Cup Of Coffee", "Million Dollar Band"), but I'm no Dylan cultist. My interest in the film came less from a love of Dylan and more from an interest in what the film would say about art and life. I think the best way to approach the film is with an understanding that none of the six Dylanesque main characters is meant to present a factual account of Dylan's life. Rather, each represents an extended meditation by the filmmaker on aspects of Dylan's history, mythology, and songwriting. More... | | Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 | | 1:32 am |
| | Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 | | 1:27 am |
Good stuff in the news
It's very rare that I read something that makes me feel positive these days, but this past week there were two wonderful articles in the New York Times Magazine that brightened my day. The first was about political changes among evangelical Christians --caused by the death or diminishment of prominent conservatives like Falwell, the disillusionment of many Christians with the Bush administration, the rise of the religious left and an increased concern with issues like poverty and the environment as opposed to abortion and gay marriage. While the slant of the article was about the "crackup" of the so-called Moral Majority, I read instead as a sign of a renewal, a recentering on values better aligned with what I perceive as "true" Christian morals. I also couldn't help noticing that it means my timing is just right for my forthcoming book "Hero For Christ". --- The second article was about a young Venezeulan conductor already viewed as one of the best in the world. But the most interesting thing is that he is the product of an innovative program where the Venezeulan government basically guarantees a education in classical music to ever interested child, regardless of income. It's the brainchild of a single person, and it's been wildly successful, especially now as the first graduates are coming into their prime. It's a shining example of social change through the arts. | | Monday, October 15th, 2007 | | 12:44 pm |
Across the Universe
Julie Taymor is one of my artistic heroes, and the Beatles are the Beatles, so I had high hopes going into this film. Of course, sometimes the best-seeming combinations can go horribly awry, so I also had a fair amount of trepidation. Let me start by saying that the film was gorgeous both visually and aurally. It had moments in it that were as exhilarating as anything that I've ever seen on film. So the quibbles I have with it are minor. However it's clearly not a film for everyone. You have to like musicals, be able to suspend disbelief, and yes, have a high tolerance for cheese. But the movie is a great ride for those with the ability to appreciate it. ...While the film started in a way that was worrisomely close to the beginning of "Moulin Rouge", this film improved on its predecessor in many ways, not the least of which was the absence of (Moulin Rouge director) Baz Luhrmann's hyperkinetic cuts. In addition, while both films are essentially long strings of music videos, Luhrmann's film could have been reduced to two scenes without much loss (the deeply powerful "Tango De Roxanne", and the hysterical "Like a Virgin"), while Taymor's film had a much deeper pool of worthwhile numbers to pull from. Nevertheless, certain scenes managed to stand out: the slow-motion chaos of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", the Ivy-League fraternity antics of "With a Little Help From My Friends", the heartbreaking beauty of "Let it Be", the visual intensity of "Strawberry Fields Forever", and most notably, the revelatory "I Want You/She's So Heavy". I also loved, loved, loved, Joe Cocker's triple performance during "Come Together" as a bum, a hippie and a pimp (welcoming Martin Luther McCoy's Hendrix-like "Jo-Jo" to town), and while I was a little disappointed musically with Bono's "I am the Walrus", I thought his Jim Jones/Timothy Leary parody was terrific. Furthermore, the psychedelic visuals of his magic bus were so vivid I felt like I was having a hallucinogenic experience simply watching it in the theater. [More...] | | Saturday, October 6th, 2007 | | 1:28 am |
Logic in Action
I managed to finally get a letter to the editor published --although only in the local student newspaper. I was a bit of an ass in the letter, but I felt the target deserved it --also have to admit I was showing off a bit for my students. A little background. About a month ago, a student writer at the post published a somewhat clumsy and heavy-handed satire that quite rightfully offended OU's Latino/Hispanic population. Following a firestorm of protests, another student wrote in to defend the original article. Unfortunately, the logic he used to do so was critically flawed. Since I teach logic, I felt compelled to respond with the following: My LetterThe Letter I Was Responding ToThe Original Satirical Editorial | | Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 | | 11:16 pm |
Fisherman Back in Print
Aladdin Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is issuing a new paperback edition of "How the Fisherman Tricked the Genie," a critically acclaimed picture book by author Christopher "Kitoba" Sunami and illustrator Amiko Hirao. "Fisherman" was named a Notable Book by the International Reading Association in 2003 and nominated for the Georgia Children's Book Award in 2006. It received starred reviews in Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal, on its way to selling nearly 10,000 copies and going through 3 printings in hardback. Signed copies of the original hardback edition are available directly from the author. Email writer@kitoba.com for details. There's actually a kind-of funny story attached to this. "Fisherman" went out-of-print about a year ago and was remaindered. So I wrote to S&S and asked for my rights back, which is what you do when your book goes out of print. And I didn't hear from them for months and months, and then they finally wrote and told me we're back in print in paperback! Very exciting! | | Monday, October 1st, 2007 | | 10:18 am |
| | Friday, September 21st, 2007 | | 2:18 am |
New Grow Game (Grow Island)
The gentle genius known as "On" has gifted the world with another amazing "Grow" game. http://shingakunet.com/special/10054301/0285/index.htmlNOTE 1: There is a bug in the game that causes it to freeze on certain paths, but the correct ending bypasses the errors NOTE 2: There is a "secret" alternate ending that is utterly different from the regular one. For those of you who don't know "On" his games are found at http://eyezmaze.com , and are some of the most creative, entertaining and original puzzle games on the web. | | Monday, September 17th, 2007 | | 2:30 pm |
Mother Teresa's Dark Night of the Soul
A recent article in Time Magazine ("Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith") focused on private writings of Mother Teresa recently released by the church. Those writings detailed the internal struggles Mother Teresa felt as a result of ceasing to sense the presence of God in her life. ... The article notes that many religious figures and mystics have had similar experiences, to the point that the phenomena has a recognized name, the "Dark Night of the Soul". It also offers several contrasting opinions on that dark night's significance. These range from the claim of atheist journalist (and outspoken Mother Teresa critic) Christopher Hitchens that Mother Teresa simply realized she was living a lie, to the suggestion by her own spiritual advisor Reverend Joeseph Neuner that her sense of emptiness was itself a form of redemptive suffering. To me, however, it seems that there is a third way to view the situation. [ More...] | | Friday, August 17th, 2007 | | 2:26 pm |
White Hat Charter Schools
A few years ago, I headed a group of local activists looking to start a charter school. After forming a board and going through the complete application process, we were turned down by the state. That same year, over half of the applications approved statewide were all run by one for-profit company, White Hat -- the same company cited for fraudulent practices in Wednesday's Columbus Dispatch:The whole thing exposes the real agenda of the charter schools movement --not to create better or more innovative education, but to privatize the public schools and funnel government funds into businesses. [ More...] | | Friday, June 8th, 2007 | | 10:28 pm |
| | Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 | | 8:58 pm |
| | Thursday, April 12th, 2007 | | 4:15 pm |
Kurt Vonnegut dies
I was sorry today to hear of the death of Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut was a true friend to humanity. For myself as a religious humanist, I found Vonnegut to be one of the few people who seemed to actually live out the "humanism" that is supposed to underlie "Secular Humanism." He spent his time trying to make the world a better place for people to live, rather than in attacking religion. Rest in peace, Kurt. Back to the Kitopedia | | Thursday, April 5th, 2007 | | 2:07 am |
COMMENTARY: Ten Things Wrong With Sprawl
By James M. McElfish, Jr.
In just the next 34 years, the Census Bureau tells us, we 300 million Americans will be joined by another 92 million.(1) Where will all these people—mostly us and our direct descendants—live, work, play, worship, buy, sell, and serve? Where will 40 million additional households be located? What sort of built environment will we produce, and what will be the results for the nation’s and the environment’s well-being?
Read the ArticleThis is a subject I'm passionate about. Suburbs are immoral parasites on the inner cities. The suburbanites work in the inner cities, but take their paychecks home to their plastic paradises. Plus, so many suburbs were created through "white flight" (i.e. racial prejudice and race-baiting). Meanwhile, we all pay the environmental and societal costs. Little Boxes, on the hillside... |
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