Some interesting thoughts about liturgy, based off of a quote by none other than Garrison Kiellor.
An amusing story I once heard in high school speech and remember to this day.
And M Ward is coming to Omaha this fall! He's perhaps one of the best folk singer/songwriters around today. Once again, 1% productions impresses me with the caliber of acts they can bring in to Sokol for an affordable price. If anyone is interested in buying tickets with me and going, let me know.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
A Prairie Home Companion
I went and watched "A Prairie Home Companion" last night. It was a fun movie, and it brought to mind evenings sitting in the kitchen as a family listening to the show (at least until it got shut off by mom for a few too many bawdy jokes).
In some ways, I'm not quite sure what it was about. Ostensibly, it was about the show's fictional last broadcast, and we got a look into both the lives of the characters making the show and what goes on behind the stage at the real PHC. The show's host, a man named GK (and really Garrison Keillor playing a version of himself), and many in the rest of the cast refuse to even acknowledge this as the end. "They're midwesterners," observes Guy Noir (the backstage security man who is an incarnation of the fictional character on the radio show), "And midwesterners believe that if you don't talk about a problem, maybe it'll just go away." However, events both internal and external are conspiring to make these character's last broadcast memorable.
But to recount this plot isn't really to tell what the movie is about. It's more about everything-about life and death, memory and regret, the past and the future. In many ways, it is the story of a bucolic, bygone world which has been subsumed by the drive of modern culture. Everyone on the show is caught between a generation where you looked out for your neighbors and spent evenings and weekends socializing on front porches and at pot lucks, and one which wants to buldoze the theatre for parking space. However, "A Prairie Home Compainion" isn't preachy. It would shudder at the thought. It's not advocating a return to the simpler life that perhaps never was. Instead, it is simply a eulogy of sorts for a midwestern way of life which has been cast by the wayside without really considering what it was being exchanged for was really any better.
As cinema, the show was well done. The writing was brilliant, as one should expect with Keillor sharing screenwriting credit. The acting was also good. The high point here were a pair of sister singers named Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson, played by Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin. Anyone who saw the Oscars can imagine how these two worked together. Kevin Kline also put in a good performance, and Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are a hoot as a roguish cowboy duo. Surprisingly, I thought Lindsay Lohan put in a good performance as well, albiet as a girl who for at least part of the movie was getting laughs purely at her own expense. The movie also featured a host of people from the radio show, which will be exciting for anyone who has listened to the show.
The directing and cinematography are also effective. The camera work does a great job of moving between worlds, from backstage to the audience to the glass-enclosed box, in a way which is subtle bet effective. The setting itself is also great; the old theatre they're in is a self-contained world with a life of its own. And the music, for those who enjoy folk and old country, is great. The fun songs had my foot tapping with the guitar and banjo, and the mournful vocal harmonies moved me in just the ways they should.
All in all, "A Prairie Home Companion" was a great movie. I'd recommend watching it to anyone. If you used to listen to the radio show, however, it is a must see.
In some ways, I'm not quite sure what it was about. Ostensibly, it was about the show's fictional last broadcast, and we got a look into both the lives of the characters making the show and what goes on behind the stage at the real PHC. The show's host, a man named GK (and really Garrison Keillor playing a version of himself), and many in the rest of the cast refuse to even acknowledge this as the end. "They're midwesterners," observes Guy Noir (the backstage security man who is an incarnation of the fictional character on the radio show), "And midwesterners believe that if you don't talk about a problem, maybe it'll just go away." However, events both internal and external are conspiring to make these character's last broadcast memorable.
But to recount this plot isn't really to tell what the movie is about. It's more about everything-about life and death, memory and regret, the past and the future. In many ways, it is the story of a bucolic, bygone world which has been subsumed by the drive of modern culture. Everyone on the show is caught between a generation where you looked out for your neighbors and spent evenings and weekends socializing on front porches and at pot lucks, and one which wants to buldoze the theatre for parking space. However, "A Prairie Home Compainion" isn't preachy. It would shudder at the thought. It's not advocating a return to the simpler life that perhaps never was. Instead, it is simply a eulogy of sorts for a midwestern way of life which has been cast by the wayside without really considering what it was being exchanged for was really any better.
As cinema, the show was well done. The writing was brilliant, as one should expect with Keillor sharing screenwriting credit. The acting was also good. The high point here were a pair of sister singers named Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson, played by Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin. Anyone who saw the Oscars can imagine how these two worked together. Kevin Kline also put in a good performance, and Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are a hoot as a roguish cowboy duo. Surprisingly, I thought Lindsay Lohan put in a good performance as well, albiet as a girl who for at least part of the movie was getting laughs purely at her own expense. The movie also featured a host of people from the radio show, which will be exciting for anyone who has listened to the show.
The directing and cinematography are also effective. The camera work does a great job of moving between worlds, from backstage to the audience to the glass-enclosed box, in a way which is subtle bet effective. The setting itself is also great; the old theatre they're in is a self-contained world with a life of its own. And the music, for those who enjoy folk and old country, is great. The fun songs had my foot tapping with the guitar and banjo, and the mournful vocal harmonies moved me in just the ways they should.
All in all, "A Prairie Home Companion" was a great movie. I'd recommend watching it to anyone. If you used to listen to the radio show, however, it is a must see.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Billy Liar's got his hands in his pockets...
The Decemberists are coming out with a new album! This is perhaps the happiest news I have heard in the last 153 hours or so, and I'm quite excited. If, by some fluke, you don't know who they are, you should listen to them. Or check out their web site. They're one of the few bands which has stuck with me for more than a couple months as recurring favorites.
Wow, I feel like such a fanboy.
In other news, I went to Lincoln's culture festival and enjoyed some reggae and celtic rock last night. It was an enjoyable time.
We bought some new art for the apartment, so it increasingly feels like my home.
I was recently listening to some Okkervil River and was struck by the song "West Falls". I was intrigues by the thesis that "evil don't look like anything", which drives the story about a boy who, seemingly for no reason, ends up murdering a girl and then looks at the public's reaction to the event. I think its very tempting for us to try to make certain people "evil" so that we can console ourselves because we're not like them. I remember hearing a reference to an interview with a man who had killed three people and was in jail for life. When asked if he felt guilty for the act, he responded that in prison "we know who the really bad people are. The child molesters. I'm nothing like them." Everyone has a tendency to find sin in people they're not like so as to console themselves. Whether those people are murderers, child molesters or religious hypocrites, its easy to look at them rather than at ourselves. However, the truth is that any lines we draw among people to make them good and evil end up being arbitrary and false. A Christian view of the world is not to differentiate between ourselves and sinners, but instead to humbly recognize the wickedness in our own hearts and, as a result, to grow in love for our fellow man and revel in Christ's grace. When Paul says "and such were some of you," we ought to meditate on its truth in our own lives. Or, as another song puts it about an infamous murderer, "On my best behavior/I'm really just like him/Look underneath the floorboards/For the secrets I have hid."
Wow, I feel like such a fanboy.
In other news, I went to Lincoln's culture festival and enjoyed some reggae and celtic rock last night. It was an enjoyable time.
We bought some new art for the apartment, so it increasingly feels like my home.
I was recently listening to some Okkervil River and was struck by the song "West Falls". I was intrigues by the thesis that "evil don't look like anything", which drives the story about a boy who, seemingly for no reason, ends up murdering a girl and then looks at the public's reaction to the event. I think its very tempting for us to try to make certain people "evil" so that we can console ourselves because we're not like them. I remember hearing a reference to an interview with a man who had killed three people and was in jail for life. When asked if he felt guilty for the act, he responded that in prison "we know who the really bad people are. The child molesters. I'm nothing like them." Everyone has a tendency to find sin in people they're not like so as to console themselves. Whether those people are murderers, child molesters or religious hypocrites, its easy to look at them rather than at ourselves. However, the truth is that any lines we draw among people to make them good and evil end up being arbitrary and false. A Christian view of the world is not to differentiate between ourselves and sinners, but instead to humbly recognize the wickedness in our own hearts and, as a result, to grow in love for our fellow man and revel in Christ's grace. When Paul says "and such were some of you," we ought to meditate on its truth in our own lives. Or, as another song puts it about an infamous murderer, "On my best behavior/I'm really just like him/Look underneath the floorboards/For the secrets I have hid."
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Varios Ramblings
I bought an espresso machine with eight cups and saucers for $2. Score.
Last night was one of those random, relaxed evenings I adore. The high point was when a bunch of drunk european foreign exchange students splashed us with water from the union fountain and we wreaked wet vengeance on them.
I've been slipping into an alt-country mood lately. Lots of Okkervil River, Neko Case, Elliott Brood and Billy Bragg w/ Wilco.
Work has been excellent; I've really enjoyed it. It's nice to be somewhere that I care about, like the people I work with and can help build the business. Its also nice to drive around all day thinking and listening to music.
The world cup has started; if anyone cares, I think we might have a shot at breaking out of our group; we should be able to beat Ghana, probably not Italy, and maybe the Czech Republic. If we win two of those games, we'd have a shot at going on, although if Italy wins all three (a distinct possibility) it won't matter. Our best bet would be to draw against Italy and win the other two, which would give us seven points and at least a tie for points.
In other brackets, I'm rooting for England and Brazil. England because they've improved a lot and are fielding a good team, Brazil because they always win and I like rooting for a winning team :)
And with those random thoughts, I'm heading out.
Last night was one of those random, relaxed evenings I adore. The high point was when a bunch of drunk european foreign exchange students splashed us with water from the union fountain and we wreaked wet vengeance on them.
I've been slipping into an alt-country mood lately. Lots of Okkervil River, Neko Case, Elliott Brood and Billy Bragg w/ Wilco.
Work has been excellent; I've really enjoyed it. It's nice to be somewhere that I care about, like the people I work with and can help build the business. Its also nice to drive around all day thinking and listening to music.
The world cup has started; if anyone cares, I think we might have a shot at breaking out of our group; we should be able to beat Ghana, probably not Italy, and maybe the Czech Republic. If we win two of those games, we'd have a shot at going on, although if Italy wins all three (a distinct possibility) it won't matter. Our best bet would be to draw against Italy and win the other two, which would give us seven points and at least a tie for points.
In other brackets, I'm rooting for England and Brazil. England because they've improved a lot and are fielding a good team, Brazil because they always win and I like rooting for a winning team :)
And with those random thoughts, I'm heading out.
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