Time Out of Joint:

housecleaning

The next two weeks will be irregular for Far Country Tell.

I've just scored my first writing gig (aside from book reviews ... keep a look out in the Religious Studies Review for those). A 2000 word article on J.R.R. Tolkien's poetry in The History of Middle-earth whcih will hopefully be published in the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia from Routledge Press.

I have a major paper which I will present to ITIA at the end of the month titled Panning the Semantic Trace: language, imagination and reality in the works of Owen Barfield and J.R.R. Tolkien.

and I am getting a proposal together to present a paper at this colloquium titled Tolkien's Consolation: Imagining the Reality of Christian Hope

Needless to say, I will be incredibly busy for the next few weeks ... as usual, I will have irregular updates to keep our conversation alive. In the meantime I encourage you to keep up to date on the Palestinian elections, the Iranian nuclear program, my Trace(s) photo album (formerly entitled Textures ), and any one of the issues linked on the sidebar Drinking to the Dregs.

the world is changing rapidly. what will we do?

bubble buzz

My brother just passed this along ...

Check out Terry Gross talk about Steven Soderbergh's new flick Bubble on NPR. (you'll need Real Player or MS Media Player to listen)

Also, catch this great article from the San Francisco Chronicle via SFGate.com here:

"Soderbergh is hardly precious when it comes to his working methods, deftly alternating between crowd-pleasing entertainment such as "Ocean's Eleven" and guerrilla-style experiments harking back to his 1989 breakthrough, "sex, lies and videotape," including the 2002 no-makeup-person-allowed-on-set quickie "Full Frontal."

"Bubble" clearly hews to the more esoteric side of Soderbergh's sensibility. In fact, if the casting for the movie is any indication, the future of digital cinema may rely more on the kindness of strangers like Kentucky Fried Chicken employee Debbie Doebereiner than on the largesse of superstar Julia Roberts, Hollywood's highest-paid actress, who won an Oscar for "Erin Brockovich" and has since appeared in three more Soderbergh films."

... and how the Soderbergh Film May Change Hollywood at TVguide.com

it's a good thing Hamas won ...

This is a must read article:

Hammas Without Veils by Emanuele Ottolenghi

Soderbergh:Bubble

My brother clued me into the new Steven Soderbergh flick in an email yesterday --Bubble. (i'm slipping up in my old age, thanks bro!)

I think Soderbergh --whose Sex, Lie and Videotape put Sundance on the map-- is the most talented (big name) U.S. director around and still has a lot to offer artistically. [Note: Terrence Malick --who is a poetic phenomenom-- aside of course]

Schizopolis, The Limey, Full Frontal, Solaris (a remake), and Traffic have made the last decade of American cinema bearable ... not to mention Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, and Ocean's Eleven.

Bubble is shot in HD (high definition) with an unknown cast. Apparently Soderbergh will make 5 more small budget HD flick under the 2929 movie deal.

If you want to make films, or  If you just enjoy cinema study every Soderbergh pic you can  ...

hamas: the political party Pt. 3

UPDATE  on the Hamas election victory--

To all Bush bashers out there ...  I think this seems perfectly resonable:

“ President Bush on Thursday did not rule out dealing with Hamas, which won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, but said the militant Islamic group would have to renounce its call for Israel's destruction.

'Peace is never dead,' Bush said at a news conference when asked if he ruled out ever dealing with Hamas.

But he added that 'if your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you’re not a partner in peace, and we’re interested in peace.' ”  (source)

In light of the Hamas pre-election bantering (mentioned in pt. 2) I think this is a perfectly legitimate request. Peace is not the destruction of Israel, the destruction of Tel Aviv, nor the expulsion of the "zionists".

hamas:the political party pt.2

So it appears that Hamas has won the election for control of the Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Abbas has stepped down and Hamas will have governmental control  ... I tried to have a fair and balanced view of the whole thing but it seems I spoke to soon. According to one MSNBC reprort,"the result could have a devastating effect on the peace process with Israel. Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas official, said Thursday that recognizing Israel and negotiations with Israel are 'not on our agenda.' ” Terrorists with suits, great.

I guess, taking the MSNBC article seriously, we can expect more of this:

Hamas Leaders Speaking at Damascus Rally: We Shall Regain Safed, Beit Shean, Tiberias, Ashkelon, and Lod

Following are excerpts from speeches by Hamas leaders at a rally, broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV on December 30, 2005. Nizar Riyan, Hamas leader in Gaza: We shall return, we shall return. we shall return. We shall return. We shall return - despite the borders, despite the obstacles, despite the Jews. We shall regain Safed. We will regain Beit Shean. We will regain Tiberias. We will regain Ashkelon. We will regain Lod. We will regain our entire country. [...] Crowd: Dear Bashar - destroy Tel Aviv. Destroy Tel Aviv. [...] Hamas Leader Khaled Mash'al: Who can tell, my brothers and sisters, when we will celebrate on this podium, the liberation of the West Bank? When will we celebrate the liberation of Jaffa, Haifa, Safed, and the Negev? When will we celebrate the departure of the last Zionist from our land? Yes. Some people ask when this will happen. Say: It could be soon. Such is our faith in Allah. We have no doubt that victory will come, and that just as we liberated Palestine from the Crusaders and from the Mongols, we will regain it – pure and purified - from the Zionist occupiers. [...] What was our situation like on the eve of the occupation of Iraq? Everyone was afraid that if the American train would reach Baghdad, it would storm all the capitals of the region. But this train crashed into the rock of Iraqi steadfastness. This train will turn back and return to Washington, and all the American and Zionist plots will be shattered.

(source)

hamas: the political party

Kudos to Hamas ... (well, sort of)

They decided to take the road of legitimate politics rather than blowing people up. I congratulate any attempt by the Palenstinians at peaceful talks with Israel (where was hamas during Oslo?). They've suffered a long time because of horrible leadership. No Gandhi, Mandela, Lech Walesa -- only terrorists. For that, I pray God will send them a man or woman of peace.

This is good for the Pal's and something they haven't had before --some form of political balance. The next step is crucial though ... will Hamas step up to the plate and denounce violence against Israel as a legitimate means of negotiation?

What to do next? Read the excellent Recommendations by International Crisis Group here.

Deus Caritas Est

Pope Benedict XVI --the so called Papa Razi (you know who you are.  mainly a militant liberal who thinks it's wrong to judge ... unless of course your judging the right person!)-- just released his first Encyclical today. Basically, an Encyclical is a theological teaching statement which represents what the Pope thinks is important and necessary for the world. The first Encyclical is usually pretty telling of a Pope's theological views.

God is Love --to the shock of all who thought Benedict XVI was a nazi in a mitre his first Encyclical is about Love. Not just Love for the 'right people' but love that is freely given to all. Check out a great article from MSNBC here.

The two part 71 page Encyclical aims at redeeming the broken metaphore "Love". What is it? What does it look like? How does it act? Love is necessary to the identity of the Church and, maybe more importantly, Love is Free ...

“Love is free; it is not practiced as a way of achieving other ends,” he wrote.

“Those who practice charity in the church’s name will never seek to impose the church’s faith upon others. They realize that a pure and generous love is the best witness to the God in whom we believe and by whom we are driven to love.” (source)

The moral of the story is everyone needs to take a deep breath. Listen. Don't be so quick to judge ... now we all have something to work with and dialogue about.

music of the seas

“But the other Ainur looked upon this habitation set within the vast spaces of the World, which the Elves call Arda, the Earth; and their hearts rejoiced in light, and their eyes beholding many colours were filled with gladness; but because of the roaring of the sea they felt a great unquiet. And they observed the winds and the air, and the matters of which Arda was made, of iron, and stone and silver and gold and many substances: but of all these water they most greatly praised. And It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.”

from the Ainulindalë or The Music of the Ainur as recounted by J.R.R. Tolkien

black Jesus: Son of man

I really appreciate it when people take risks with their art and their theology. 'Son of Man' is such an endeavour. Filmed in South Africa, Son of Man portrays Jesus as a non-violent African revolutionary born in a shanty town ...

It seems that the filmmakers have managed to create a well balanced mix of liberation theology and orthodox christology:

"Dornford-May says focus groups of church leaders and ordinary Christians in South Africa, where Christianity often comes in a conservative form, broadly praised the film, which he hopes will prove a hit on the continent and worldwide."

I'm interested in what a Jesus film for a 'world come of age' would look like. After reading Norman Mailers 'The Fight' I'm fascinated to see what the Christ narrative would look like --on screen-- through the lens of the African (not african-american!) sensibility.

"Dornford-May, who says he subscribes to Christ's teachings without necessarily believing he is the son of God, says the Jesus in the film is a divine being who rises from the dead. [emphasis mine]

His resurrection is meant to signal hope for Africa, the world's poorest continent which is sometimes dismissed by foreigners as a hopeless mess of conflict and corruption."

At this point the Christ narrative is losing its ability to 'shock' (but not liberate!). It will be wonderful to see how cinematic contextual appreciation of the Gospel can visually add to our theological interpretations.