Congratulations to the Mendocino Film Festival for an excellent offering of an independent, inspiring and educational visionary feast attracting a huge turn out that filled up the town coffers, hotels, restaurants, and spirits.
Luckily, the strange weather we're having didn't interfere with the festival unlike dozens of other outdoor venues that didn't take into account the fact that the climate has changed. I know we always talk about climate change but I think we can all agree something has definitely CHANGED.
When it's raining we as a species naturally migrate to the theater. Whether it be movie or live, we thrive in the dark chamber tucked in with our clan, a frosty or hot drink, a pastry and or the traditional buttered popcorn.
Sheba and I flew to New York last week to indulge ourselves in Broadway theater as a birthday present to me. We headed to my motherland to celebrate my 51st year here on earth. Talk about change honey, When I was a kid in NYC, Times Square was a Den of inequity. Prostitutes, drug addicts, a lot of crime. Today it is a sparkly clean Megawattage metropolis blasting beams of 50 story high digital images and eye candy including the Hershey Chocolate Cathedral catty corner to the M&M Emporium, and the Disney Store.
We stayed on 49th and Broadway at the Mayfair a classic old hotel , next to the Eugene O'neill theater, where we could see the Actor's church, St Malarky's from our window. Sheba had made a substantial pledge to KZYX and we received the premium of Dinner and a show with Amy Goodman which was our original motivation to go east.
The show was of course, Democracy Now! and dinner well, Amy was uber busy and so we had to take a rain check on that. We did, however, get to go to her new studio at 7:45 am in the Chelsea district. We got to say hi and have our picture taken with Ms. Goodman, but with pitching for pledge drives and the Arab Spring she was spinning in so many directions. You can tell by the speed of her monologues and sign offs, the lady has a lot on her plate.
We sat with other generous donors in the viewing area of the studio with a big screen TV so we could watch all the international video feed. We could see Amy through the glass partition sitting at her round table next to Juan Gonzales and featured guests. (We actually got to ride in the elevator with Juan. He is a very nice guy.)
One of the top stories of the day was the torture and killing of the 13 year old Syrian Boy, Hamsah al Kateeb, as reported by the recently released Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz who had just been released from Iranian Prison. Two intense stories wrapped up into one. These stories were so painfully heartbreaking. Some things never change.
I had to ask myself, how does she do it? How does she carry on day in and out reporting on this insane violence? I know she says, "this is the war and Peace report." But we rarely hear the Peace report. We wanted to hang out with Amy and basically interview her, not about the news, but about her. The first question we wanted to ask, posed by my friend Mickey was, "What do you do for fun?" I hope there's something truly wonderful in Amy's life besides the privilege of being a broadcast journalist.
We wanted to grab her and take her with us to see the Book Of Mormon, the hottest ticket on Broadway. This outrageously funny, irreverent, uplifting musical comedy was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone creators of South Park along with Robert Lopez creator of Avenue Q. If you are familiar with either of these shows you gotta know, there's a lot of cursing, but besides that, this is the most powerful religious and social satire combined with the most fantastic musical score to invade Broadway since I've been going and that's nearly fifty years.
We follow the story of the virtuous egomaniac Elder Price and the simpleton, Elder Cunningham assigned to Uganda for their missionary posts. Naive as well, Mormons, who according to one of 16 pitch perfect Broadway show tunes, "Just Believe" are immediately introduced to the reality of life for the poor people of Uganda where %80 percent of the people have AIDS, female circumcision is rampant,Warlords are killing people at random and their only defense is to dance and raise their voices in thrilling African unity to essentially give God the finger.
The ensuing comedy is scathing, pathetic, obscene and really truly funny. This show has the unique ability to educate audiences about female genital mutilation and bring important focus to the epidemic. I was very impressed. Everyone at the 1st Wed. Matinee where I overheard one woman say she was 91 years old, gave an instant and enthusiastic standing ovation at the final curtain.
I must say that while I did very much love this show, without the obscenities it wouldn't be as funny. It's as though our sense of humor has stalled in the potty stage. When I was growing up, a show like this would never, never make it to the stage. But that's changed now. So it's not just the climate that's changed, it's everything. And while we've been hoping for change, I wish we'd been more specific.
Showing posts with label Democracy Now. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democracy Now. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
God Bless You and Your Children
The whole world is watching, and tweeting as the people of the Arab world are rising up with relentless energy, courage, and strength. The revolution started in Tunisia on January 5th with the strike of 26 year old vegetable seller, Mohammed Bouazizi's match. May he rest in peace.
He went up in flames followed by the government in Tunisia, now in Egypt, and it looks like Yemen, Algeria and Jordan all have tons of kindling.
Our prayers of protection go out to all who risk their lives to bring change where change wants to come. Few know exactly what that will look like, but they are willing to find out. They are willing to let go of the familiar oppression. same old dictatorship and have that leap of faith. May God Bless and protect them. Or should I say Allah? It's all God right, God in a different language. Still in doing so we speak to a God who is beneficent not vengeful.
And while we constantly ask for God's protection. We see the hand of Man, especially the Man of the United States happily vending the arsenal to put down the people's revolution. Amy Goodman on Democracy Now today reported that the major weapons systems for the Egyptian regime from Tanks to tear gas are provided by the US. You knew that didn't you? You knew that the US is responsible for 30 percent of the worlds ammunitions. Our economy hinges on people killing people. As of this moment while the Egyptian people struggle to liberate themselves from 30 years of dictatorship they are being put down by chemical weapons made in the good old USA. (I remember those non-lethal weapons well from our uprising in Seattle back in 99. Especially the tear gas. It makes me cry just thinking about it. Many of you who have stood up to Big Timber and Big government are familiar with Pepper spray, rubber bullets, sonar weapons made right here at home.) Does God Bless this?
I think of the Presidents SOTU address and every speech that he makes for that matter because it always ends with God Bless America. Does that mean that God should make America stronger than other countries or does it mean safer than others. Does it mean that God should ignore the 194 others or curse them. Does it mean that God will give us the courage and strength to come to our senses and disarm? What is God blessing? The second amendment? Guns. Don't weapons interfere with God's job? Isn't it up to God when we die? Or is it up to General Petreus, Jarrod Loughner, Mark David Chapman or Dylan Klebold?
They say President Obama is about to address gun control in a speech. I look forward to it. Because everyday we see almost a hundred people killed by guns in this country. We see a new rash of police killings too. Michele Bachman may be pleased to know the people are armed and dangerous. Here and abroad. Yes, by this measure, We're number one and growing stronger every day. We need to stem the rising tide. Just a couple of days ago a mother shoots her two teenage kids in their heads because they were mouthy. So it is imperative that we follow the connection between anti-depressants and homicide. The combination of Pharmaceuticals and guns can lead to death. We're talking major side effects here.
Two weeks ago President Obama spoke at a memorial for the victims of the Tucson massacre. I was moved by his compassion and his call for civil discourse and the idea that our country to live up to the expectations and trust held by 9 year old Christina Taylor Green before she was gunned down. Even the first lady composed an open letter to express her feelings about the tragedy in Arizona. And yet neither of them went beyond our borders with their final blessing. How about extending that prayers to the children of the world who are killed on a daily basis? How can they be so empathetic toward one little girl in Tucson and not the thousands of children in Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Ivory Coast? How 'bout living up to their expectations and calling for an immediate moratorium on the manufacturing and sale of all weapons? While I do appreciate their prayers for the dead and wounded, actions speak louder than words. And If the President is going to invoke the Lord. Perhaps he could say instead of God Bless America. God bless you and your children. That way any one who is listening, Here or across the world, the sane or crazy, will be given a blessing.
Here's a few of my favorites
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10
He went up in flames followed by the government in Tunisia, now in Egypt, and it looks like Yemen, Algeria and Jordan all have tons of kindling.
Our prayers of protection go out to all who risk their lives to bring change where change wants to come. Few know exactly what that will look like, but they are willing to find out. They are willing to let go of the familiar oppression. same old dictatorship and have that leap of faith. May God Bless and protect them. Or should I say Allah? It's all God right, God in a different language. Still in doing so we speak to a God who is beneficent not vengeful.
And while we constantly ask for God's protection. We see the hand of Man, especially the Man of the United States happily vending the arsenal to put down the people's revolution. Amy Goodman on Democracy Now today reported that the major weapons systems for the Egyptian regime from Tanks to tear gas are provided by the US. You knew that didn't you? You knew that the US is responsible for 30 percent of the worlds ammunitions. Our economy hinges on people killing people. As of this moment while the Egyptian people struggle to liberate themselves from 30 years of dictatorship they are being put down by chemical weapons made in the good old USA. (I remember those non-lethal weapons well from our uprising in Seattle back in 99. Especially the tear gas. It makes me cry just thinking about it. Many of you who have stood up to Big Timber and Big government are familiar with Pepper spray, rubber bullets, sonar weapons made right here at home.) Does God Bless this?
I think of the Presidents SOTU address and every speech that he makes for that matter because it always ends with God Bless America. Does that mean that God should make America stronger than other countries or does it mean safer than others. Does it mean that God should ignore the 194 others or curse them. Does it mean that God will give us the courage and strength to come to our senses and disarm? What is God blessing? The second amendment? Guns. Don't weapons interfere with God's job? Isn't it up to God when we die? Or is it up to General Petreus, Jarrod Loughner, Mark David Chapman or Dylan Klebold?
They say President Obama is about to address gun control in a speech. I look forward to it. Because everyday we see almost a hundred people killed by guns in this country. We see a new rash of police killings too. Michele Bachman may be pleased to know the people are armed and dangerous. Here and abroad. Yes, by this measure, We're number one and growing stronger every day. We need to stem the rising tide. Just a couple of days ago a mother shoots her two teenage kids in their heads because they were mouthy. So it is imperative that we follow the connection between anti-depressants and homicide. The combination of Pharmaceuticals and guns can lead to death. We're talking major side effects here.
Two weeks ago President Obama spoke at a memorial for the victims of the Tucson massacre. I was moved by his compassion and his call for civil discourse and the idea that our country to live up to the expectations and trust held by 9 year old Christina Taylor Green before she was gunned down. Even the first lady composed an open letter to express her feelings about the tragedy in Arizona. And yet neither of them went beyond our borders with their final blessing. How about extending that prayers to the children of the world who are killed on a daily basis? How can they be so empathetic toward one little girl in Tucson and not the thousands of children in Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Ivory Coast? How 'bout living up to their expectations and calling for an immediate moratorium on the manufacturing and sale of all weapons? While I do appreciate their prayers for the dead and wounded, actions speak louder than words. And If the President is going to invoke the Lord. Perhaps he could say instead of God Bless America. God bless you and your children. That way any one who is listening, Here or across the world, the sane or crazy, will be given a blessing.
Here's a few of my favorites
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10
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