Money money money money, Monet.

I recently visited the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore with a colleague. They currently are featuring an exhibit entitled "Déjà Vu? Revealing Repetition in French Masterpieces." The focus is on repetition in 19th Century French painting. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of this is a series of the facade of the cathedral in Rouen, France by Claude Monet. Above are three which I have photographed. The outside two are at the National Gallery in D.C., the middle one is at the Orsay in Paris. Idealistically speaking, Monet was driven by the way that light and atmosphere make the same subject appear very differently at almost all times. As a result, the same subject could yield an entirely different painting. Our tour guide pointed out though that Monet was motivated by something more than just some high artistic ideal. He had to pay his mortgage. I find it refreshing that despite their elevation by cultural elitists to the ranking of "high art," famous painters such as Monet often faced the same pressures as filmmakers and musicians of today. For some reason though this reality, which is often used to discredit the integrity of creators of popular culture, is often overlooked when approaching the arts prior to the 20th Century. I am not saying it should be used to discredit Monet. What Monet did with the Cathedral in Rouen, and with his lily pond in Giverny, have changed the way I look at both art and reality. I just feel that contemporary communicators, despite their repetitive and commercial natures, might just be able to communicate meaning and beauty as well.

An Existential Revolt against Macbeth

The last day, actually 36 hours, of my junior year in college was perhaps the lowest of a long string of personal academic blunders. In the midst of finals, I found myself with 4 papers due, and not as much as a minute of work put towards their completion. Somehow I managed to get them all done on time. Somehow I managed to get no grade lower than a B on any of the four. Now, as my wife and co-workers will attest, I do work better at the last minute. This situation was not, however, due to my waiting for my most productive time. I simply did not want to do them. Since then, I have come to love writing. I would love to have the opportunity to sit and research with the intention of defending my thoughts. Aside from being with my family, there is probably no other way I would want to spend my time. What to make of this? I guess anyone can look back on youth with many regrets. This difference just seems so foundational. It makes me not want to trust my intentions and desires now. Why not just let Macbeth finish this thought?

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-27)

Aah, the pompous ass rears its ugliness once more. What irony, fearing a regrettable existence might just be the thing to give me one. There is one major difference between then and now. That is hindsight. Knowing where I was gives me an appreciation of where I am. If I had not been so thoroughly selfish, I might not be able to be who I am. Perhaps I don't need to fear the future after all. Perhaps it could only get better. I certainly don't want to one day regret who I am today. Never doing this could actually be worse. It would mean that I stayed the same. I am sure much of what I am doing now is regrettable. I guess it would be best to actually realize that one day.

SNL - Lazy Sunday

I had not seen much good come out of SNL in recent years until one of my senior pop culture students brought this video to my attention. I can't stop saying "the chronic...what?...cles of Narnia!"

where am I?

After almost 5 years of parenthood, both of my kids are finally sleeping until about 7 a.m. Yet another milestone has been reached. Parenthood seems to be passing me by in the pursuit of milestones. Sitting up, crawling, eating sold food, facing forward in a car seat, moving to a booster seat, talking, sleeping through the night, going to school; there always seems to be some big event to which I am trying to direct my kids. It is not made any easier by the fact that those with kids older than mine are continually pointing me towards such milestones. Wait until you have kids, wait until potty training, wait until they are teenagers, wait until college, etc... The cultural message I sometimes hear concerning parenthood is that now is never enough. This makes me afraid. I fear that I will spend so much time getting my kids to the next thing that I will never take the time to get to know them. I hope that I am not missing that chance. These milestones are important. In some ways, they are a measure of success in parenting. After all, it is my job to get them ready for life. They are not mine to keep. At the same time, I don't want to rob my kids of their identity like I do with so many other things in life as I continually seek to get to the next things.

But in the long run we have found
Silent films are full of sound
Inaudibly free

Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that
-"Inaudible Melodies"
Jack Johnson

a need for leadership

Vernon Bellecourt died yesterday. Bellecourt was one of the founding leaders of the American Indian Movement, or AIM. Founded in the late 1960s, AIM is a radical activist group that seeks to advance the interests of American Indians (they prefer the term American Indian over Native American for pragmatic and historical reasons). Although controversial and at times extreme, they have been perhaps the most vocal of advocates for the rights of those who are indigenous to this country. Among their more memorable actions have been the Occupation of Alcatraz in (1969-71), the Trail of Broken Treaties (1972), and the Wounded Knee Occupation (1973). Certainly these events are horrific reminders of the continued plight of the Native American peoples. An equally poignant reminder came from a former student of mine. During a lesson in 11th grade US history, this student asked if there were any Native Americans left. All of this demonstrates to me that Native people still live lives that are largely segregated from the rest of society, and that much of the rest of society is largely ignorant of this fact. As I sat in church today, daydreaming as I often do, I couldn't help but wonder why this is the case. Other minority groups seem to have their causes advocated well and continually. With no disrespect meant to the late Mr. Bellecourt, I can't help but think that part of the problem might be leadership and advocacy. One glaring difference between the plight of Native Americans and African Americans is that the former has never had an advocate such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While leading proponents of Native American rights have advocated armed resistance, their leading counterparts in the African American Civil Rights movement have advocated peaceful and civil disobedience. I am not convinced that there is not a place for radical action. Looking particularly at these two examples however, I can't help but feel that the leadership of Dr. King might serve as a more effective, if not ethical, modality for the leaders of AIM. Bellecourt, along with the other founders of AIM, helped bring Native American concerns at least partially into the American spotlight. Perhaps time will provide a better perspective on the merits of their actions. As the next generation of advocates for Native Americans emerges, there is still a long way left to go. It will be interesting to see if change can and will be made. I want to provide a list of examples from history and contemporary society that might serve as a bit of food-for-thought on this situation. Each (in addition to the earlier 3)will be linked to reading on the event. I have purposely tried to vary the types of sources used so as to bring balance. More variety can be found by googling each of these individually. I have also included some personal thoughts on each so as to explain why I included them.

1. Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868
-the US government is still in violation of this treaty that set aside the Black Hills for the exclusive use of Native Peoples. It lasted only until the 1870s when gold was discovered. The Supreme Court awarded the Sioux over $100m in 1980, but can money correct something like this?

2. Andrew Jackson's address to the Creek Indians in 1829
-after evicting them from Georgia to a forced settlement west of the Mississippi, Jackson promised the Creeks that "There your white brothers will not trouble you; they will have no claim to the land, and you can live upon it you and all your children, as long as the grass grows or the water runs, in peace and plenty." I think he broke this promise.

3. The Case of Leonard Peltier
-the conviction of Peltier for the murder of two FBI agents in 1975 remains to this day of one the most controversial in recent American history. I personally go back and forth. I tried to select as objective a link as possible, but particularly encourage cross-referencing on this one.

4. Wounded Knee Creek Massacre
-called a "Battle" by the US military, this slaughter of 300 Indians, mostly very young or old, effectively brought an end to formal resistance to the US government by nomadic plains Indians

5. The Dawes Act
-this 1887 US government action attempted to Americanize the American Indian by introducing more "civilized" social practices into their societies. It was generally a failure.

6. Carlisle Indian School
-similar in theory to the Dawes Act, the goal of this and other Indian schools was to force American culture onto the Native Americans. The results of this were particularly disastrous.

A Title Change

As I often am, I was recently on the blog of the McMullen family. They have a link to my blog on theirs. I was looking at the title of it in that setting, and I was not happy with the title. On their blog, the link reads "Earl's Lonely in the Midst of Tigers and Lambs." For some reason, seeing my name next to my blog made me very uncomfortable with the title. I realized that I was clearly describing myself as being lonely. I don't think that this is a major defining characteristic of my life. In church last Sunday, Dave preached on righteous anger in the light of Jesus in the temple. He said that when your anger is righteous, it is important to remember that you are not alone. Because of all of this, I am removing "Lonely" from the title of my blog. I am keeping the rest, as I still do feel like I am on some crazy journey in which I don't feel comfortable compeltely in either of these groups. Nonetheless, my blog from now on will be known as "In the Midst of Tigers and Lambs."

Hanover Theater

In the main square of Hanover is an art deco movie theater that has been closed since the 1980's. Although now dilapidated, it obviously was beautiful in its prime. The Hanover Evening Sun today ran an article that said the theater has been purchased by a group that is in the process of restoring it with the intent of re-opening it late next year. The group intends to use it as a center to celebrate all areas of the performing arts. I hope that includes using it as a movie house. Classic theaters such as this have had a hard time staying open. Nonetheless, this is very exciting for a town that is growing but has seen little of this affect the center of the community. Here is a link to the website about the project.

Thanks to Shaun for finding this

Read it and weep

The York (PA) Daily Record today ran an article about the Kentucky Governor's race. Apparently the candidates, both of whom proclaim themselves to be Christians, have turned to Christian radio to run attack ads about one another, The gist of it seems to be that each claims to be a better, more consistent Christian. On his facebook page, my friend Jeff lists his political leanings as "apathetic." I wonder if garbage like this might just have something to do with that?

Parole Arrested Development! (apologies to Scott)

I am, as ever, desperately seeking confirmation of the production of a film version of the late Fox show Arrested Development. IMDB currently lists the project as "in production" but that is the closest thing I have seen to confirmation.

I think I will update occasionally with any progress on this issue. It seems as though the further away from the end of the series, the less likely it gets that the film will happen. I would love any comments with any other info. Save Our Bluths! Free Annyong!

The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson is my favorite director. Tomorrow his newest film, The Darjeeling Limited, will be released. Click here to watch the trailer, or watch it in high def by following the link, scrolling down the page and selecting that option. If you don't know Wes Anderson, he is the writer/ director of Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums, and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Though some might find his films a bit on the quirky or eccentric side, I appreciate his willingness to probe the depths of the human spirit. I am particularly excited to see him work with Adrien Brody and also to work again with Jason Schwartzman.

once again I am unsettled by Anabpatists

I returned to my Alma Mater recently to hear a lecture by Dr. David Weaver-Zercher. Dr. Weaver-Zercher recently co-authored a book entitled Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. He is also a recognized scholar on the Amish. Following the tragic shootings in the Nickel Mines, PA Amish community last year, he was repeatedly approached by the media for insight into Amish life. He also published a great article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the subject titled The Amish Are Not Ours. Certainly the story received significant attention in the news because it was so shocking and tragic. What gave it particular staying power however was the extreme steps the Amish community took to forgive the killer and communicate this to his family. The book seeks to explain a bit about why this radical forgiveness was possible by examining it through the lens of Amish community. To paraphrase Dr. Weaver-Zercher, they sought to show that this was an Amish, rather than an American story. I am very intrigued by this story. This willingness to act on one's faith seems so distant from the Christian bubble in which I regretfully exist. One incident from this story that was mentioned was of a 13 year old girl who said "shoot me first." I absolutely don't know what to do with that. One mother had two daughters die in her arms in separate hospitals in the same night. Yet at the funeral for the killer, 1/2 of the attendees were from the Lancaster Amish community. In addition, they gave to a fund created for the family of the killer. It is now a year since this happened. Once again the media is inundating us with coverage of this story. More than ever, they are focusing on the forgiveness aspect of the story. I am certainly not the first to be shocked by it. I guess I am just perplexed by this dichotomy. So often I have heard Christians cry for revenge following a tragedy. How could people who lay claim to the same faith practice it in such different ways? I don't want to sound naive. Obviously a religion which admits the inconsistencies of its followers can not be expected to be a model of consistency. As Dr. Weaver-Zercher said, this is an Amish rather than American story. Much of the response of the Amish can be attributed to their abilities to act as a community. The disjointed nature of the rest of American Christianity can hardly be expected to model this. Still, most all Christians do acknowledge the oneness of God's true church. We do this when we recite the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed. I can accept subtle and even some significant differences. This one is much harder for me to accept. Why can I not help but look at this story and expect that it should be only one of many. Why can I not read this story and doubt if I would do the same? I wish that I could such swallow this, but I can't. This is truly agonizing. It makes it hard to be a part of a church. Even more so, it makes it hard to take my children. If I can't reconcile these things, how can I introduce my own children to this dilemma?

Darling when I was your age
I could do anything
I could be a restless heart
A social force
Or just genuine
And baby don't our dreams die hard
In the ashes of destiny
I wish that I could lay to rest
The bitterness that keeps telling me

About another good lie
Coming down like a freezing rain
From a hot blue sky
Another good lie
Coming in like a crosstown hurricane on fire
Another good lie
Coming down on your Daddy's soul
'Til it made him old
Another good lie
-Another Good Lie (Mark Heard)

Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere

We listened to this song in my pop-culture class, and I wanted to post the video for my students. Here it is. Great little film.