Creative Act

Advent Day 22

2008-12-28T01:18:00.000-08:00

My sleep schedule is pretty messed up. It's after 3 am and I can't really sleep. Last night I didn't sleep at all. Stayed up until 8 am or so... ended up being a blessing in disguise. Spent the morning filming a time lapse of the sunrise for the 22nd advent video. Here it is.

Advent Day 22: Sunrise from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 21

2008-12-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

Advent Day 21: Walk with Me from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 20

2008-12-25T23:24:00.001-08:00

Advent Day 20: Many Sparrows from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Looking Back and Ahead

2008-12-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

It's roughly 11:00p.m., Christmas Day 2008. After a day of family and food, I've returned back to my apartment. Tomorrow I return to work and the monotony that has come along with a college town minus the college kids. I look back on this season of Advent, a bit disappointed I didn't meet my end goal. I'm uploading video 20 as I type. The other 5 I hope to complete and upload over the next week. Better late than never I suppose.

While I look back, I also look forward, planning projects to come in this new year (the completion of a visual book, a new (re)defined, a documentary, and a few other undeveloped kernels rolling around in my head I'm hoping will pop soon...continually seeking ways to redeem the Fall by a creative act. Like many of you I'll be making a long list of resolutions, most of which will last a little less than a week, but am hoping to come up with a few that stick.

Advent Day 19

2008-12-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Advent Day 19: In the Morning from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 18

2008-12-23T10:23:00.001-08:00

Advent Day 18: Mint, Dill, Cummin from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 16-17

2008-12-21T22:55:00.001-08:00

Advent Day 16: Proper Breathing from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 17: A Call to Nonviolence from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 14-15

2008-12-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was quite the day. Didn't work, because of the ice. Shot this from my window.

Advent 14: Icy View from Creative Act on Vimeo.

That evening went to the Oil for a concert. Shot this there.

Advent Day 15: Shout for Joy from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent 13: Ascending and Descending

2008-12-16T10:57:00.001-08:00

Advent Day 13: Ascending and Descending from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent 11-12

2008-12-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Advent Day 11: Eye for Eye from Creative Act on Vimeo.

The upload on this one was a bit of a nightmare... The first version turned out 4:3 and I misspelled the word cheek... How embarrassing. But, all is corrected. All is well with with Vimeo.

Advent Day 12: Divine Snapshots from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Simple, but perhaps one of my favorites so far.

Advent 10: Eucharist

2008-12-11T22:30:00.001-08:00

Advent Day 10: Eucharist from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 08-09

2008-12-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Advent Day 08: The Son of from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Vimeo says the video no longer exists. Lies! Lies, I say! You can view it HERE.

Advent Day 09: Into the World as Light from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 06 - 07

2008-12-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

Advent Day 06: Creation Poem from Creative Act on Vimeo.

I plan on uploading an image of the final piece of paper when I get a chance.

Advent Day 07: Parched Land from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Vimeo only allows 500mb of upload per week. I've got 40mb left which isn't enough for much of anything. My 500mb resets Wednesday at 12am (so basically late Tuesday). I'll upload the videos from yesterday, today and tomorrow then.

A Better Way

2008-12-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

I was a bit cynical and depressed after being sent a forward. It was a link to perhaps the most idolotrous/nationalistic video I've ever seen. You can watch the video HERE.

But, todays Advent reading was Psalm 33. Quite beautiful and a testament to the third way, a better way.

Psalm 33:
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth - he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

Advent Day 04 - 05

2008-12-05T10:22:00.001-08:00

Advent Day 04: Feet from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 05: That I Am God from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 03: A Child is Born

2008-12-03T11:28:00.001-08:00

My friend Aaron and I are exploring the season of advent this year. Each day, Aaron and I are creating some form of art. I'll be making and uploading a video and Aaron some form of design. I'll be uploading my videos here on my blog. To view Aaron's work you can visit our Advent Blog.

Here's today's video:
Advent Day 03 l A Child Is Born:

Advent 03 l A Child is Born from Creative Act on Vimeo.

In addition to creating art, I'm following a reading schedule. I've posted this week's reading schedule below in case anyone's interested. To view the full schedule click HERE.

Week One: HOPE
Nov 30 - Isaiah 40v1-5
Dec 1 - Psalm 42
Dec 2 - Romans 8v18-27
Dec 3 - Isaiah 11v1-10
Dec 4 - Hebrews 6v13-20
Dec 5 - Psalm 33
Dec 6 - Isaiah 35

Advent 02: Ask, Seek, Knock

2008-12-02T03:15:00.001-08:00

The second video I made for Advent. Inspired by Matthew 7:8.

Advent 02: Ask, Seek, Knock from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Advent Day 01: Fourteen Generations

2008-12-01T12:43:00.001-08:00

Yesterday began the celebration of Advent. This year I've decided to celebrate, to try and find some beauty in this Catholic season. Each day I've be posting a video inspired in some way by the life of Christ and his teachings. This one was inspired by Matthew 1 (the genealogy of Jesus). The first video is embeded below or you can click here.

Advent Day 01: Fourteen Generations from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Happy Bird Day!

2008-11-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

I've been cooped up in Searcy all week. My entire day, literally, my entire day was spent watching the Office, cleaning, eating a few leftovers, and researching a documentary I plan on filming later this year. Oh, and a quick trip out to the one place in town actually open, Walgreens. A long exhausting, but fairly productive day. What did you do?

Integration

2008-11-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Three days ago, Canon released the new 'EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR'. It's being called a landmark "first of many all-in-one imaging devices." It's able to capture high quality still images AND HD video. I was going to post the specifications, but they're just too long. You can find them HERE. I haven't read enough about this product to give a comprehensive review, but needless to say, am intrigued by the integration at work here.

Here's a video review of the product.

Heres a video premiered on Vimeo filmed with the 'EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR'.

EOS 5D Mark2 Movi - Prism from chador on Vimeo.

Friday Fun

2008-11-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

I had this application embeded, but the audio was very annoying. You can check it out HERE.
(Shave the Yeti all the way and a video plays.)
h/t: Brian Salter

Tidbits to Share

2008-11-19T15:39:00.001-08:00

A Theology of Guantanamo Bay

2008-11-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

I read an article recently, an article that questions and speaks to themes of politics, creation, purity, racism, justice, terrorism, war, dehumanization, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, torture, human rights, exclusion, love, revenge, retribution, forgiveness, and what it truly means to be the Imago Dei. It was first published November 3, 2007 in the Exerceo Journal. Below I've posted a few quotes from the article to give you a taste. To read the full article (and I suggest you do) click HERE.

"When we turn our eyes to our God, we see his Son who stands in front of the angry crowd, declaring that he came to set the captives free, to restore the sick, poor and sinful, meaning the outcasts, back to human community. We are told he is the one that leaves all of the flock behind to go after the lost sheep and that rejoices when one of the coins which were lost is found and is returned. At the very core of his gospel lies inclusion, restoration and integration of those who have been dehumanized by the religious saints, pure ones, the civilized, ‘we’. Much of his teachings criticise the hypocrisy of those who claim to know and love God when all the while their self-righteousness blinds them from the very core of knowing and loving God."

"We seek him in vain in our modern-day cathedrals of glory and power and higher values. He is in the prison, with those who are hungry, naked and vulnerable. He warns us that he will hold us accountable, not because we have failed to meet him among 'us', but because we have not run to his image, the image of God, which is in prison, naked and hungry."

"If Jesus were caught living the vicious subversive Gospel today, he would not be on a wooden cross, since the wooden cross no longer symbolizes what it did then: the dishonouring and dehumanization of the individual in the presence of the entire city as a punishment. He would be wearing an orange jumper, living in a cage, dishonoured and dehumanized, in the presence of the entire world who behold all this on the TV screen."

Blue Like Jazz the Movie

2008-11-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

The book, a treasure. The movie? Well, honestly I had my doubts, but this is comforting. Below I've posted a video of the film's director walking through a scene in the movie. In the background you can hear Donald Miller.

Also check out the interview with Donald Miller and Steve Taylor. You can view it on the film's website.

Steve Taylor on Blue Like Jazz from Donald Miller on Vimeo.

Apparently the film will be shot this summer in Portland and released in theaters in 2010. Below I've included a quote from Miller on the film.

"Because Jazz is mostly essay, there is little in the movie that is in the book, save the confession-booth scene, which itself is dramatically different. The only characters in the film that are in the book are me, Penny and Laura. My character is not much like my character in the book, and Laura’s has changed a bit, but Penny is pretty much dead on. We also added to major characters that do not appear in the book, one is called “the pope” and the other is “quinn,” a friend of Laura’s that is named after Penny’s daughter. Even though the narrative is different, reviewers have said the story works, and reviewers who are familiar with the book say the film captures the essence of the book. I feel the movie is more moving than the book since it explores the inner-lives of more characters. In fact, I’m not alone. A number of reviewers have felt the screenplay was stronger. I tried not to take that too personally."

Nooma Tomato l 022 Rob Bell

2008-11-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

The 22nd Nooma, Tomato, made it's online premiere today on Facebook. It's available for screening, HERE, until Wednesday. Here's NOOMA's description of the film.

"We all get consumed with ourselves; sometimes we’re not even aware of it. We learn from a young age that life is about winning and impressing. We pick up that our worth and value come from how good, how smart, and how skilled we are. So, we twist things in our favor, making us look like we have it all together. Every day we have the choice to prop up these false ideas about ourselves or to let go of them. Jesus invites these parts of us to die, the parts of us that tell us our worth comes from the things we say and do. Maybe it’s only when we let these things die, that we truly begin to live."

Enjoy!

King & a Kingdom

2008-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Who's your brother, who's your sister?
You just walked passed him
i think you missed her.
As we're all migrating to the place where our father lives
'cause we married in to a family of immigrants.

My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It's to a King & a Kingdom

There are two great lies that i’ve heard:
“The day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die”
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class Republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him

My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It's to a King & a Kingdom

But nothing unifies like a common enemy
and we’ve got one, sure as hell
but he may be living in your house
he may be raising up your kids
he may be sleeping with your wife
oh no, he may not look like you think

- Derek Webb

Winnie the Pooh and Capucine

2008-11-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, Anne or 'Capucha' began documenting the life of her child Capucine on Vimeo. Occasionally I'll get bored and watch a few videos. This one I liked in particularly. In it, Capucine tells a gripping tell of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. I was struck by how many parallels there where between this child's tall tale, social justice, and Christian theology. Watch and decide for yourself.

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

Battle of the Church Signs

2008-11-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

I was on 'Burnside Writer's Collective' reading old posts and found this se pics made with 'Church Sign Generator'. They made me laugh.

Pepsi and Obama?

2008-10-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Pepsi’s rolled out their 2008 logo after five months of redesigning it. The logo will total a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars across the globe. Here are some new bottle samples [underconsideration].

It's thought, however that there may be a reason for the rebranding. Remember their old logo? Look familiar?

To be fair, the logo is undoubtably accidental, but it's thought that Pepsi's PR team took the similarities into consideration and took steps to distance themselves from Senator Obama by adding a tilt and getting rid of the gradients. Perhaps it would have been more profitable to just change their name to 'Yes We Can Soda'.

Zombies Anyone?

2008-10-28T20:57:00.001-07:00

Is it just me or is this the creepiest video ever?

Love_You_More_final.mov

TED Talks

2008-10-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've been fascinated by TED recently. TED Talks, as described by TED are "Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers.

Heres just a taste of what you can expect for a TED talk. This one is from JJ Abrams, one of my all time favorite writer, director, innovator. In the talk, JJ "traces his love for the unseen mystery -- a passion that's evident in his films and TV shows, including Cloverfield, Lost and Alias -- back to its magical beginnings.

Check out the video HERE.
(Sorry, for some reason it wouldn't embed).

Thanks to my friend Dave for Twittering this little piece of magic into my life.

Friday Fun

2008-10-24T22:55:00.001-07:00

Banksy's Village Petstore & Charcoal Grill

2008-10-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

A Banksy show in NYC from earlier this month.

NOTCOT: Banksy's Village Petstore & Charcoal Grill from Jean Aw on Vimeo.

Crossing Political Lines

2008-10-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

"So when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career. We’ve got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities – and we have to take that into account – as well as his substance. He has both style and substance. He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming in to the world, on to the world stage, on to the American stage. And for that reason, I’ll be voting for Senator Barack Obama." -- Colin Powell (This morning on 'Meet the Press')

Foreshadowing Christmas

2008-10-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

There were no classes Friday, in light of Harding's fall break and so most of my friends went out of town for the weekend. Those friends who were in town I couldn't reach. My phone was lost, most likely stolen this weekend (ask me about that story some time). It was nice to have the apartment to myself for a bit. I laid around and watched some television (something I haven't really done in quite some time), listened to lots of music, and cleaned a tad. All this to say, I felt quite unproductive quite quickly. In many ways, I suppose this foreshadows what Christmas break will be like when friends leave and I'm cooped up alone in the apartment. Perhaps I should make a list of goals to accomplish during that month or so.

Banksy in NYC

2008-10-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

I've been writing about Banksy a good deal lately. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I suppose. Banksy made a little trip to the Big Apple recently. Here's the pics he uploaded to his website.

Reverse Graffiti

2008-10-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

For a quite some time I've been a fan of British graffiti artist Banksy. A few month's ago I discovered and then today re-discovered Paul Curtis also known as Moose. Moose creates art by cleaning. Yes, that's right. He creates a stencil, cleans, thereby creating a negative against the dirt and soot caked onto the city walls. A mini-documentary about Moose was created several months ago. An additional six clips can be viewed at the film's website: Reverse Graffiti Project.

A Place to Rest

2008-10-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

This summer, myself and friends Jack Porter, Jimmy Shaw, and Coleman Yoakum entered the 48 Hour Film Challenge. With the exception of a few tweeks, the following film was written, filmed, and edited within 48 hours. To keep you honest, the contest creates some guidelines you have to follow. These were ours.

Character: Claude or Claudette Gascomb - Cook
Prop: Pencil
Line of Dialouge: "What did he say? Tell me."
Genre: Thriller/Suspense.

Jimmy, Coleman, and Jack wrote the film. Jimmy directed our cast. I produced, filmed, and edited the short. Ever since then I've been trying to upload an HD version of this to Vimeo, but to no avail. Last night, I finally succeeded. And so, I present to you, 'A Place to Rest.'

The below version is SD. To watch an HD version click HERE.

A Place to Rest from Crow Productions on Vimeo.

Friday Fun

2008-10-10T09:33:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my friend Dylan, for bringing this treasure into my life.

Yom Kippur

2008-10-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Today our Jewish brothers celebrate the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. A day of rest, fasting, and repentance. Jews observe the day in 25 hours of fasting and prayer. Yom Kippur is set aside as a time of confession and petition. Essentially, Yom Kippur is a day in which the Jewish people make claims to amend their ways in order to live a life more in tune with God. I think that holy days such as Yom Kippur have the ability to rapidly lose their meaning in thoughtless acts of ritual and tradition, however when carefully considered, there is great beauty in setting aside a day for the discipline of repentance, knowing that God has heard your cry, recognized your fast, and smiles on your the way he smiled on your ancestors ages ago. And so I leave you with words from the Hebrew scriptures: Your mercies are new this day.

Dinner with Shaun

2008-10-06T13:15:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Christian ethicist Dr. Shaun Casey spoke on the campus of Harding University to a small crowd of students, faculty, and staff. Dr. Casey is the senior adviser to Barack Obama on religious affairs. He's been touring the country speaking to evangelical groups about faith in the Obama campaign. He spent some time sharing why he supported Obama and then opened it up to questions. Dr. Casey, an Abilene Christian University graduate and a member of the Fairfax Church of Christ, received his Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. Following the presentation, myself and a few others ate dinner with Dr. Casey at Docs Grill. Dr. Casey had a lot of great thoughts to share, particularly on social justice and cultivating a politically independent church. As Dr. Casey put it, no political party has hold of the gospel. For far too long evangelicals have blindly supported the Republican party without giving proper hearing to the issues. Whether you support Obama or not, that's not the point. The point is how you will see your faith expressed through a less than ideal system.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians

2008-10-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the release of Rob Bell's newest book. Rob Bell co-authored 'Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile' along with Don Golden, the senior vice president of church engagement at World Relief in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to his current role, he served as lead pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church from 2005 to 2008. Here's a quick summary of the book provided on the book's website and the back of the book.

“It's a book about faith and fear, wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror, Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity,
It's about empty empires and the truth that everybody's a priest, it's about oppression, occupation, and what happens when Christians support, animate and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from. It's about what it means to be a part of the church of Jesus in a world where some people fly planes into buildings while others pick up groceries in Hummers.”

Here's another product description:

"There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building. Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty. This is a book about those two numbers."

Here's what really caught my attention and what I thought I'd share. On the book's website, you can view the PDF of
The Introduction to the Introduction
The Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

as well as audio of Rob Bell and Don Golden reading these sections. The audio can be heard at the following links:
The Introduction to the Introduction
The Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Banksy Visits New Orleans

2008-10-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

The graffiti artist Banksy has made a trip to the city of New Orleans. I'm not sure when, but recently. I check for updates on his website every few months and when I checked in yesterday was pleased to see quite a few additions. I've posted a few of my favorites. You can check the rest on his website under the 'Outdoors' tab.

Deaths in Reality TV

2008-10-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

I read a blog every once in a while that reports television and entertainment news. Something I noticed this week were the deaths that occurred during the production of two reality television shows. A Survivor crew member drowned recently in Brazil while working on a future season. According to one early news report, he left home for Brazil on Sept. 9 and died Sept. 15, but heres the interesting part. It also suggests he died after being “instructed to go underwater to fix something of the show.”

In addition, production on the third season of Rock of Love has been temporarily stopped following a fatal accident involving a crew member who police say fell asleep while driving, killing two people and injuring others. For the production of Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels, the women live on a tour bus and “[travel] across America following Bret on a month-long tour.” The crew member Dennis Hernandez was cited for "driving with a suspended license and other offenses.” Production on this show has been halted indefinitely.

A Few New Favs

2008-09-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

Brett Dennen: Ain't No Reason

Radio Head: All I Need - Anti-Trafficking Video

An Excellent Trade, I'd Say!

2008-09-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

Each Friday evening I've been filming High School football games. Last week, however, I opted out in order to attend a benefit concert featuring my friends Michael Wright, Daniel Lee, and Travis Kaye. Michael and Daniel each shared a lot of their own music, beautiful incredibly well done stuff. Midnight Oil was packed, literally people crammed from wall to wall. The red bucket for donations filled quickly and a good deal of money was raised for an AIDS clinic in Togo. Thanks to my good friend Kevin Lillis for putting this thing together and to Michel, Daniel, and Travis for sharing their talents. Fun was had by all. Filming football for music. An excellent trade, I'd say!

Friday Fun

2008-09-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

I frequent the blog of Joe Hays, the minister of Christ's Church for Brooklyn. Every once in a while, Joe will post what he likes to call "Friday Fun." And so in that same tradition I present to you the following. A video that caught my attention a while back.

Project Pedal

2008-09-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a new indie-doc that is currently in post. It's called For Thousands of Miles and it's part of the Pedal Project. The project, in addition to the film consists of a production-blog, and series of behind the scenes episodes entitled 64 days (the number of production days). The final goal for "64 Days" is that they will be edited into an hour long making-of film.

For Thousands of Miles chronicles the journey of a 23 year old as he rides his bike from the West to East Coast, focusing on the internal struggle as well as the relationships established on the road. To watch 64 Days, following the links below. Episodes 1-5, while somewhat important in understanding the films coming to be are not a part of 64 Days. Episodes 1-5 can be found on Vimeo. Link to one of the following and backtrack.

Episode Six: 64 Days - Part 1
Episode Seven: 64 Days - Part 2
Episode Eight: 64 Days - Part 3

Book by Committee

2008-09-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

The Visual Book is moving at a somewhat rapid rate. I've never been more excited about this project than I am today, as I sit here, writing this post. The design team, what was once vague and formless is taking shape, the infrastructure is finding a framework through which the ideas of our writers will be expressed. Heading the team is my good friend Aaron Landry. My friends Jimmy Shaw and Jonathan McRay are two of the most gifted thinkers I know. I'm thrilled that they have come on board as writers for this project. I've also been speaking with a third individual I am hopeful will find time to join us as a writer in our efforts. She's a gifted individual and I'm sure will only aid the creative process already in place. Today's meeting was marvelous. Ideas that were once scattered and somewhat random have found an outline of sorts. What was once a series of thoughts, in many ways still are, but those thoughts have found a structure. I’m excited to see what adventures lay in our future as we enter the writing phase and beyond that the design phase.

So, how can you help? I'm glad you asked. The book will be exploring the use of metaphor as a way of understanding God, but in addressing that we must also address the ways in which our metaphors become perverted and expressed as idolatry. God made man in His own image. Is it possible that mankind is more than willing to return the favor? One of the ways we want to tackle this idea is by referencing some satirical metaphors for God. For example, God as an American, a warlord, or a Republican/Democrat. So? Your ideas. How have you seen the image of God perverted in your own life or the lives of those around you?

Thirteen Paradigm Shifts

2008-09-18T16:54:00.001-07:00

I've never really been a fan of the word evangelism. Too me it's always held negative connotations, but I found these under the resources section of Donald Miller's website. Worth your time as they all deal with teaching the gospel in a pagan world. The article is aptly titled "Thirteen Paradigm Shifts we encountered doing Christian ministry in a pagan environment."

1. Other People Exist: Simply coming to the understanding that the world does not revolve around “me” but that everybody is having an experience, created by God, loved by God, and that we needed to repent of showing partiality…

2. Nobody will listen to you unless they know you like them: We began to understand that people, subconsciously, merit a religious or philosophical idea not on logical conclusions, but on whether or not the idea creates a “good person”…the definition of a good person being whether or not a person is kind to them, tolerant and understanding, able to listen without arguing and so on.

3. Nobody will listen to God unless they know God loves them: We came to believe there was usually a hidden pain behind hostility, that many people have been hurt by the church, or people or perspectives they believed to represent God. Many times its as simple as an interview they saw on CNN, but an apology and kindness went a long way in helping people understand God was loving.

4. Other people have morality and values: We came to understand that Christians do not own morality, that everybody lives by a moral code, not always informed by an ancient text, and yet it is there. Calling people or even thinking of them as immoral was, then, inappropriate. In fact, we often found that people who did not know Christ lived a morality close to his heart in many areas we had ignored, ie; community, tolerance, social justice, fairness and equality, freedom, beauty and so on and so on.

5. Find common ground: Often the morality of others overlapped Christian morality, and we came to understand that in these cases, we would focus on the overlapping issues. We came to see this as kindness, just as though we were on a date or making friends, we did not focus on what we didn’t have in common, but rather on mutual feelings about life. We would not say or do anything to combat people unless they knew we loved them, and this takes a great deal of time.

6. Define terms in their language: We were careful about Christian sayings and phrases that might be offensive: Crusade, sin, immorality….we came to understand that concepts were more sacred than terms…

7. Telling somebody about the gospel is about them, not us: We were careful not to try to “build our organization” and respected peoples freedom and space. Sharing the gospel became an exercise in friendship, rather than an attempt to grow a machine. Often, people feel used if they feel they are being recruited. The gospel, we learned, is really about them, their feelings about God and truth, about sin, about life

8. Don’t let spreading the gospel feel any different than telling somebody about a love in your life, about your children or a great memory: We realized that in telling somebody about Jesus, we were telling them about somebody we have come to love and need, and about something that had happened to us, an encounter. This keeps us from sounding preachy, and allows us to share part of ourselves in a friendship.

9. Include lost People in Your Community: Our organization was not exclusive. We invited non-believers into the community if they wanted to be invited. We were careful not to not be ourselves with them, but they were certainly invited and enjoyed being a part of the group. We explained terms that we used, what we believed, but other than that, continued as normal.

10. Apologize for what you represent: We discovered that many people have been offended or hurt by what they perceive Christianity to be. We allowed ourselves to stand in the place of “Christianity” and apologize whenever necessary.

11. Be authentic: We discovered the need to be as honest about our lives as possible. We did not feel the need to sale Jesus, as much as share what He has done in our broken lives. We had no problem sharing our doubts and fears about faith, along with our commitment and appreciation for what God had done.

12. Pray for the Salvation of others: We discovered the need to pray for others. This would insure God was working in peoples lives, as we asked Him to. We discovered the work of evangelism is something God lets us watch, but very little of it is what we manipulate. We repented of not believing evangelism was a spiritual exchange between a lost person and God, rather than believing it was a series of ideas we were supposed to convince others of.

13. Ask people if they would like to know Christ: We decided to initiate, whenever the relationship called for it. We were not afraid to ask people if they would like to know God."

He's done it again!

2008-09-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

J.J. Abrams, writer of Armageddon and Joy Ride, director of Mission Impossible 3 and the upcoming Star Trek, producer of Cloverfield, a creator of hit shows Felicity, What About Brian, Six Degrees and my two personal favorites Lost and Alias. For quite some time J.J. has been one of my favorites. Well, my friends he's done it again, this time for the Fox network. The show is called Fringe and it's quite amazing. Sort of a modern day X Files. The cinematography is stellar, the score impecable, and the graphics edgy. Very cool show. In case you missed the first two weeks, you can watch the episodes online at Fox.com. Enjoy, and welcome to the world of Fringe.

Litany

2008-09-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've always been a lover of liturgy, most recently a liturgical reading by Shane Claiborne. You may recognize the reading from the Ordinary Radicals trailer. I've posted the complete reading here as well as the full text. It's long, but definitely worth your time. I suggest watching the video and using the text to read along.

ONE: Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
ALL: Have mercy on us
ONE: Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
ALL: Free us from bondage to sin and death
ONE: Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
ALL: Hear our prayers prince of peace
ONE: For the victims of war
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: Women, men, and children
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The maimed and the crippled
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The abandoned and the homeless
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The imprisoned and the tortured
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The widowed and the orphaned
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The bleeding and the dying
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The weary and the desperate
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: The lost and the forsaken
ALL: Have mercy
ONE: Oh God have mercy on us sinners
ALL: Forgive us for we know not we do
ONE: For our scorched and blackened earth
ALL: Forgive us
ONE: For the scandal of billions wasted in war
ALL: Forgive us
ONE: For our arms makers and our arms dealers
ALL: Forgive us
ONE: For our Caesars and our Herods
ALL: Forgive us
ONE: For the violence that is rooted in our own hearts
ALL: Forgive us
ONE: For the times that we turn others into enemies
ALL: Forgive us
ONE: Deliver us oh God
ALL: Turn our feet to the way of peace
ONE and ALL: Hear our prayer, grant us peace
ONE: From the arrogance of power
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the myth of redemptive violence
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the tyranny of greed
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the ugliness of racism
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the cancer of hatred
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the seduction of wealth
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the addiction of control
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the idolatry of nationalism
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the paralysis of cynicism
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the violence of apathy
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the ghettos of poverty
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the ghettos of wealth
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: From the lack of imagination
ALL: Deliver us
ONE: Deliver us oh God
ALL: Turn our feet to the way of peace
ONE: We will not conform to the patterns of this world
ALL: Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds
ONE: With the help of God's grace
ALL: Let us resist evil wherever we find it
ONE: With the waging of war
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the legalization of murder
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the slaughter of innocents
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With laws that betray human life
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the destruction of community
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the pointing finger and malicious talk
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the idea that happiness must be purchased
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the ravaging of the earth
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With principalities and powers that oppress
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the destructions of peoples
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the raping of women
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With governments that kill
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the theology of empire
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the business of militarism
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the hording of riches
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: With the dissemination of fear
ALL: We will not comply
ONE: But today we pledge our ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the peace that is not like Rome's
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the gospel of enemy love
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the kingdom of the poor and the broken
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the King who loves His enemies so much he died for them
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the least of these with whom Christ dwells
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the transnational church that transcends artificial borders of nations
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the refugee of Nazareth
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the cross rather than the sword
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the banner of love above any flag
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the one who rides a donkey rather than a war horse
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the way that leads to life
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: To the slaughtered lamb
ALL: We pledge allegiance
ONE: And we together proclaim His praises from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power: ALL: Long live the Slaughtered Lamb

My Yearbook Photo

2008-09-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

A new trend has developed among my Facebook friends.

The website www.yearbookyourself.com allows visitors to upload a photo of themselves and use it to create a seventies yearbook photo.

Here's mine. Check it out.

Wall Posting Power!

2008-09-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

I woke up Friday morning to find out my account had sent SPAM to all of my friends. Unless they were in fact looking for their "SECRET LUV" I understand how unbelievably annoying it is to be SPAMMED. Today is a good day. Apparently, I exceeded the amount of wall posts allowed in one sitting and was blocked from writing on others walls until now. The block has been lifted and I am free to wall post another day!

Dempsey Film Group

2008-09-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

Dempsey Film Group was on campus today filming some commercials for Harding. I interned for Dempsey summer of 2007, so I decided to take off a bit early from work and go see old friends. It was a pretty bare bones crew, but I was able to see the guys I worked along side. Dempsey is a pretty high class, high quality production and so I set up camp and watched them film their final spot. It served in many ways as a reminded of how different my life was even just a year ago. I sit loving life and film as I drink coffee from my Dempsey mug. Good times.

More Contest Info

2008-09-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Who: Anyone
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What: A design contest to help select an individual to add to Creative Act's design team. Applicants are to design a 6 inch by 6 inch pdf interpretation of 1 John 4:8. All mediums welcome.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When: Submissions due September 23rd by 10pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where: Email submissions to Aaron Landry at lovealways13@mac.com. Atten: Visual Book 08
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Why: The Visual Book is a collaborative process

Designers Wanted

2008-09-08T22:48:00.001-07:00

Creative Act is searching for a designer to add to the creative team of the Visual Book. In order to do so, we've created an interview process of sorts where applicants will submit a design of a particular scripture. Here's a flyer Creative Act's head designer produced promoting the opportunity. Tomorrow, our head designer will be meeting with Redbrick, an on campus design club about the project and the opportunity. We are both quite excited about adding an extra designer's eye to the crew. I'll keep you updated on the process and post the winning design as soon as we select a winner.

Creative Theology

2008-09-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine and the founder of the celluloidhope, a blog about Christianity and filmmaking asked me recently if I'd be interested in contributing. I just uploaded a post on Creativity and Christian Theology. You can read it HERE.

Football Fridays

2008-09-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

For the next few months, I'll be following the Beebe Badgers at home and on the road, filming for KTWN. Tonight was the kickoff, an away game at Greenbrier. A long drive and technical difficulties make for a frustrating evening. However, tomorrow is another day. Perhaps the season will improve and I'm sure next weeks home game will be less trying.

More Split Screen Inspiration

2008-09-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

Creative Act has put together a pretty All-Star cast of designers, creatives, and Christian voices and is moving full steam ahead on the Visual Book. It's slowly coming together. Although, we've been taking a break from brainstorming the Split Screen Project, I did a little bit of digging today on Vimeo and found this jewel of a split screen. Quite non-traditional, but enjoyable all the same. Hope you enjoy.

Regarding the Nature of Luminance in Ubiquitous Darkness from Karen Abad loves Dinosaurs. on Vimeo.

(Re)defined 006

2008-09-03T08:57:00.001-07:00

(Re)defined 006: Every Bush Aflame has been uploaded to Vimeo. Enjoy the video here or all six over at the (Re)defined blog.

(Re)defined 006: Every Bush Aflame from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Creative Extremists

2008-09-02T00:59:00.001-07:00

One of my new favorite quotes comes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And it reads..."The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."

The quote has also led to my re-discovery of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Quite gut-wrenching and utterly beautiful.

The Ordinary Radicals

2008-08-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, September 4 the Ordinary Radicals will go on sale via the film's website. The documentary features interviews with Shane Claiborne, Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, and Rob Bell just to name a few. I'm quite excited about this film. Perhaps a screening party at my apartment is in order.

Below you will find the film's trailer:

The Ordinary Radicals - Trailer from Jamie Moffett on Vimeo.

Here are a few one minute clips/interviews from the film:
Shane Claiborne Interview:

Brian McLaren Interview:

Jay Beck (Psalters) Interview:

Thoughts and Prayer Courtesy of Donald Miller

2008-08-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

On Monday evening, Donald Miller led the prayer at the Democratic National Convention. Quite beautiful. I've posted a video of the prayer. As you will notice, the audio drops for a few seconds so HERE is a link to the prayer's full text. In addition, I've posted an interview between Donald Miller and Christianity Today. Miller does a great job tackling abortion as well as the relationship between politics and Christianity. Both the prayer and interview are worth checking out.

Also, HERE, on Donald Miller's blog, Miller provides an email exchange taking place between himself and the Obama camp. Quite comical and worth checking out.

(Re)defined 005

2008-08-27T21:27:00.001-07:00

(Re)defined 005: Not My Homeboy has been uploaded to Vimeo. Enjoy the video here or the first five over at the (Re)defined blog.

(Re)defined 005: Not My Homeboy from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Postmodern Bible Stories

2008-08-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

A new book has been on my radar for a while now. Relevant recently released a book of postcards. Here's a description as described by Relevant Books:

"This ain't your grandmother's big honkin' coffee-table Word of God. Nope. This is what happens when some of the best illustrators and designers in the world take on the Sunday school classics. From the Garden of Eden to the End of Days, this is the intensity and drama of the Old and New Testaments like you've never seen. It's visually stunning. It's spiritually challenging. It's Scripture with street cred."

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Brian Mclaren Quote

2008-08-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

Brian McLaren recently spoke at Mars Hill. You can listen to the sermon HERE.

Here's a quote from the sermon:
"I actually believe it is stories that make the world go round. Maybe you've never thought of it this way, but people don't act based on reality. They act based on the stories they believe about reality. So if you hear a story that somebody said something about you then you get all upset even if the story isn't true. So we live based on the stories that we believe about reality and that's true for us as individuals, but it's also true for nations and its true for races and its churches and it's true for religions. And this is very important to understand, because some stories are truly dangerous. Millions of people have died because of stories that were told. The Nazis told stories about Jews. The Hutus in Rwanda told stories about the Tutsis. Whites told stories about blacks. Stories are being told today about gay people. Stories are being told about immigrants. Stories are being told Muslims... lots of stories about Muslims. And if people believe some of these stories, thousands, maybe millions of people will die. This business of stories, it's not just bedtime stories, it's lifetime stories. It's life and death stories. And there's one story I believe that has the power to heal and transform."

Arts Conference

2008-08-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

For quite some time Willow Creeks Art Conference has been on my radar. Here's a few snippets from the Conferences. The first is Donald Miller in 2007 and the second Brain McLaren from this year's conference. The 2009 Conference is taking place June 10-12. Who knows? Perhaps next summer merits a road trip to Chicago for some pizza, art, and Jesus time.

Ways of Understanding God

2008-08-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Creative Act had its first meeting yesterday. One thing we are exploring for the Visual Book are various ways of understanding God. Another thing we really want to pursue is the way in which other cultures view God. We want to discuss ways mankind relates to God and the ways Jesus went about referring to God. Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about.

God is a father; we are His children.
God is a male lover; humanity (or the Jewish people) is His female lover.
God is a shepherd; humans are His flock of sheep.
God is a vineyard-keeper; humans are His vineyard.
God is a watchman; humans are the treasure He guards.
God is a potter; humans are His clay.

Other ideas, from scripture or your head?

Creative Act Meeting 1

2008-08-23T13:00:00.001-07:00

The idea of Creative Act is and from it's conception has been to create a community of people, all sharing the desire to express the truth of Jesus creatively. Well my friends, I just returned from the initial meeting and must say I'm quite pleased to see where this thing goes from here. Following the first meeting, a seventh (re)defined, visual book, and split screen project remain on the radar. More information as timelines and ideas progress.

(Re)defined 004

2008-08-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

(Re)defined 004: Back to Shalom has been uploaded. Enjoy the video here or the first four over at the (Re)defined blog.

(Re)defined 004: Back to Shalom from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Walter Wink Quote: Musings on Popeye and Redemptive Violence

2008-08-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

"I began to examine the structure of cartoons, and found the same pattern repeated endlessly: an indestructible hero is doggedly opposed to an irreformable and equally indestructible villain. Nothing can kill the hero, though for the first three quarters of the comic strip or TV show he (rarely she) suffers grievously and appears hopelessly doomed, until miraculously, the hero breaks free, vanquishes the villain, and restores order until the next episode. Nothing finally destroys the villain or prevents his or her reappearance, whether the villain is soundly trounced, jailed, drowned, or shot into outer space.

Thankfully, not all children’s programmes feature explicit violence. But the vast majority perpetuate the mythic pattern of redemptive violence in all its brutality.

Few cartoons have run longer or been more influential than Popeye and Bluto. In a typical segment, Bluto abducts a screaming and kicking Olive Oyl, Popeye’s girlfriend. When Popeye attempts to rescue her, the massive Bluto beats his diminutive opponent to a pulp, while Olive Oyl helplessly wrings her hands. At the last moment, as our hero oozes to the floor, and Bluto is trying, in effect, to rape Olive Oyl, a can of spinach pops from Popeye’s pocket and spills into his mouth. Transformed by this gracious infusion of power, he easily demolishes the villain and rescues his beloved. The format never varies. Neither party ever gains any insight or learns from these encounters. They never sit down and discuss their differences. Repeated defeats do not teach Bluto to honour Olive Oyl’s humanity, and repeated pummellings do not teach Popeye to swallow his spinach before the fight."

Read Full Article HERE.

NOOMA She l 021 Rob Bell

2008-08-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

The newest Nooma will be streaming via the NOOMA Facebook Group page from Noon today until Noon on Wednesday.

Description of the film:

We didn’t have anything to do with our birth. We are all here because some woman somewhere gave us life. Her pain, her effort, for our life. And when a mother gives like that to a child, she is showing us what God is like. But sometimes this part of God’s nature is overlooked. A lot of us are comfortable with male imagery for God. But what about female imagery for God? Is God limited to a gender? Or does God transcend and yet include what we know as male and female? Maybe if we were more aware of the feminine imagery for God we would have a better understanding of who God is and what God is like.

Split Screen Inspiration

2008-08-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

As many of you know myself and a few close friends are working on a split screen project. The initial idea is to use split screen video to trace scripture from Genesis to Revelation... A dounting feat, yes. Possible, we'll see. For more info on the project reference my previous post called Split Screen Jesus.

I've been researching the art of split screening. Here are few videos that I've learned from and/or been inspired by. Tell me what you think... What works? What doesn't? What do you like?

texture from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.
Californie from manu somot on Vimeo.
Textures 2 from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.
Death of a ZR500 from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.
Collaboration from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.

Fresh Start

2008-08-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

Well, tis Patrick's last evening in the apartment. Tomorrow my roommate for the fall returns to Searcy and takes the spot. Sad in some ways... Exciting in others. I've been rearranging... switching rooms... It's time for a fresh start. Pics to come as the apartment takes on a more permanent shape. We've all been so transient and have had so many visitors the place seems cram packed... often cluttered and we've never really found the time to make the apartment feel like a home. Much more packing / cleaning remains... Don't plan on sleeping much tonight.

(Re)defined Calamity

2008-08-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

I've been uploading one (re)defined to Vimeo per week. Vimeo, while in my opinion far superior to Youtube only allows 500MB per week. Somehow the file I uploaded this week became corrupted therefore I'm sorry to say those who've been watching the vids online will be forced to wait.

New Posting Schedule:
Wednesday August 20, 2008: 004: Back to Shalom
Wednesday August 21, 2008: 005: Not My Homeboy
Wednesday August 28, 2008: 006: Every Bush Aflame

In other news, I'm happy to publicly announce (re)defined 007 is currently in pre-production. Plans are underway for a 7th (re)defined premiering sometime at the end of this fall semester. John McRay plans to speak.

Change

2008-08-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

This summer started off a little rocky but all things considered it's been a good one. I started the summer living with guys I didn't really know that well and for the first summer in a long time I felt somewhat alone. Usually the void of school is filled with family, friends from home or travel, but this summer provided none of that. However, the new friendships I've made are wonderful and will last a long time to come.

But of course, now that I finally feel comfortable, the summer is coming to a close. I'm looking forward to the return of friends and getting to know my roommate for the fall a little better, but in many ways I'll miss this summer. Twas quite an adventure. Change isn't always easy and I suppose only time will tell.

Seeds of Compassion

2008-08-09T16:11:00.000-07:00

I listen fairly regularly to a church podcast online... The church is Mars Hill where Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis and Sex God as well as the first speaker in a series of videos known as NOOMA speaks. Recently, Rob Bell shared his experience at a Seeds of Compassion conference.

Rob Bell shared a story from the event... He said at one point, the Dalai Lama asked Bishop Tutu to pray for him and that Bishop Tutu went into this little mini sermon about Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego... and then Bishop Tutu said "Our God is not a god who stands at a distance... our God is a god who joins us in our suffering." Rob Bell said as he was sitting there and it became quite clear this was one of those moments you knew without a doubt you would never forget. He said there was this other moment when the Dalai Lama and Bishop Tutu started tickling each other... Now that's great stuff.

The culmination of the event was an interspiritual panel discussion dialouge on spirituality and youth. Panelists included the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rob Bell, Sister Joan Chittister, Jasmit Singh Kochar, Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Rabbi David Rosen, Pravrajika Vrajaprana, Roshi Joan Halifax, Sheikh Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar, Bishop Stephen Charleston, Linda Kavelin-Popov, Samuel B. McKinney, Doug Pagitt, Father William Treacy, Shelia Evans-Tranumn, and Steven Shankman.

I've been watching the discussion online... its been without a doubt the highlight of my day. I highly encourage you to check it out. You can watch the panel here.

Scroll to the very bottom of the event guide and play the video from Tuesday April 15, 2008.

Quotes I Love

2008-08-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

“We must not, that is try to behave as though the Fall had never occurred nor yet, say that the Fall was a Good Thing in itself. But we may redeem the Fall by a creative act.” -- Dorothy L. Sayers

"[Grace] can be dissected as a frog, but the thing dies in the process, and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind." -- Philip Yancey

"I know nothing except what everyone knows -- if there when Grace dances I should dance." -- W. H. Auden

“It's like God is saying, in the flower, in the tree, in the mountain, in the stream, in the waterfall, in the sky, in the stars… It doesn’t matter. Everytime you look, it’s an invitation to know me, to worship me.” -- John MacMurray

So what quotes do you love?

Weddings Galore!

2008-08-07T13:32:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: Thursday August 7, 2008 at 9:19 PM:
Wedding One Complete... well mostly, just gotta build a menu and burn. Do a victory dance for me.

My first freelance gig this summer was a wedding I filmed for my friend Dave Condolora, followed by a pair of weddings I shot for my friends Brian Salter and Jacque Fredendall (now Brazas). Summer 2008 quickly became the summer of weddings. I feel a little overwhelmed... swamped in hours upon hours of archive footage, searching them for the best shot...

In addition to these weddings, I just recieved a job for a slide show that is rapidly evolving into more of a mini-documentary. This, of course, all packed onto my job at KTWN. I'm quickly learning what my upcoming semester will be like with all of the projects I'm taking on (the book and split screen project)

I feel as though I'm coming into my own as a wedding videographer. I've learned a lot about what it takes to film a wedding and make it look good. And on a brighter note am wrapping up work on Salter's wedding... All I lack is a little audio sweetening and the departure. By Sunday I should be done and able to fully concentrate on my other projects. the remainder of the second wedding and slideshow. I feel a little like an insomniac, but as I'm quickly learning... time is money. I guess this is what I signed up for when I got all business savvy.

(Re)defined Wednesdays

2008-08-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a lover of quotes. One of my favorite quotes comes from CCFB's website.

"Where you come from says a lot about you, but it doesn't say everything. While we share a commitment to the values of our tradition, we also seek to express our faith in new ways, in our relationships with each other and in service to our community, and to maintain an attitude which embraces the challenge of exploring how contemporary issues force us to (re)define our faith anew for today."

It's from this quote that the (re)defined series took it's name. (Re)defined is a series of videos based after Flannel's NOOMA format. So far six videos have been make. Speakers include:
001: Church Meets Here: Aaron Landry
002: The Nobodies: B Chris Simpson
003: Spirit+Truth: Kevin Lillis
004: Back to Shalom: Heath Howard
005: Not My Homeboy: Michael Wright
006: Every Bush Aflame: Heather Mitchell

I've been published the videos to Vimeo a website similar to Youtube. The catch is Vimeo only allows you to post 500mbs a week and because the files are all around that size, I've only been able to post one a week. Here are the first three. Others coming soon.

(Re)defined 001: Church Meets Here from Creative Act on Vimeo.

(Re)defined 002: The Nobodies from Creative Act on Vimeo.

(Re)defined 003: Spirit+Truth from Creative Act on Vimeo.

Project 2: Visual Edition Book

2008-08-06T13:24:00.001-07:00

A few years ago my friend Aaron Landry turned me on to a few books.
What's So Amazing about Grace?: Visual Edition
The Ragamuffin Gospel: Visual Edition
The Case for Faith Visual Edition

I absolutely love these books. Inside me beats the heart of a designer and although I occasionally try my hand a graphic design, it's definitely not my specialty. One of the projects this year is the idea for a split screen video. I suppose it's out of a desire to live vicariously through my design friends that I put together the idea for this next project. The plan is to write and design a book. My friend John McRay will be doing a lot of the writing for this project. My friend Aaron Landry will be heading up the design team. Lots of other designers, voices, and perhaps more writers will be a part of making this project a reality. Below I'm posting a some artwork from The Ragamuffin Gospel: Visual Edition to give you an idea of the type of work we'll be embarking on. Enjoy!

So... any book ideas?

Facebook Comments

2008-08-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hello friends. One of the benefits of Facebook is the ability to "tag" friends in a message. Essentially, your able to say "hey you! read this." Blogger, although I love it, does not have such a useful feature. I've been keeping this blog, importing the notes into facebook, and then tagging friends. A few of the comments to the previous post intrigued me. I must share them with you.

Deanna Mitchell: Relationship is a big theme found in scripture as well a justice. Forming a community where "the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the yearling together; and a little boy will lead them." Isaiah 11:6 All throughout the Bible, God looks after the less fortunate. To me, I think this scripture could sum up what God has been telling us all along. The powerful rich oppressors need to commune with the prostitutes, drunkards, homeless, and the sick. I think that's what we've been overlooking all this time!

Michael Wright: I would like to see a little mystery surrounding the man. We need to make sure to paint Jesus not like a kind kindergarten teacher walking freely from town to town spouting off parables and healing people. People hated him, people didn't understand him, he would leave at weird times to pray in desolate places, he would refuse to heal for people's lack of faith, he would heal the people who were annoying the apostles, he would diligently tell others not to talk about him... and yet people were coming to him. They were breaking social rules and yelling his name out until he walked over. They were squeezing through the crowds just to touch his clothes. They were whispering "who is this guy?", and they were ripping apart houses to get closer. And once the religious leaders had enough, they hobnobbed with the Romans and killed him. But that didn't stop his followers...in fact they were claiming that he wasn't actually dead... That's a portrait of Jesus that maintains some mystery-that doesn't allow for him to be easily understood and controlled.

Project 1: Split Screen Jesus

2008-08-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

This semester myself and fellow creatives will be working on several media projects. The first is a video project. The idea... to walk the viewer through scripture, from Genesis to Revelation... Explore the Bible's major themes and do it is a visually interesting way. Creative Act has put together a core group of people dedicated to seeing this project to it's completion. Some are designers, some are writers, some are filmmakers... others are just Christian voices whom we value and respect.

Our goal, to complete this journey through scripture in 30 minutes... The journey will require ten on camera speakers as well as a split screen effect. Our inspiration is a movie called The Tracey Fragments Lots of layering of video... multiple audio sources at any given time. In many ways sensory overload... Something that can be watch and explored over and over again. This fall myself and a group of creatives will be writing, story-boarding, and doing some initial filming. We will finish filming this spring and edit through the summer. It will be a long journey, but one we're getting excited about taking... The first step will be getting this core group together and brainstorming script ideas... sitting in front of a white board we we map out major themes found in scripture...

So my question to you... What are these themes? What stories or verses have to make the cut? What can we not overlook?

Business Savvy

2008-08-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

I've recently purchased some equipment and started doing a little freelance on the side... a couple of weddings here and there... a slideshow or two... nothing too big yet. The plan is to eventually own my own company... make enough money to be my own boss... Until that day it remains a side venture. The business model is two fold.

Crow Productions: The first side... purely business... And so I'll film weddings, make slideshows, build websites... so on and so forth. The goal... to bring in enough money to fund side two.

Creative Act: Side two... Named after that beautifully poignant quote by Dorothy L Sayers. In this side rests my passion... my heart. The dream, to pump continual creative Christian content into Searcy. The (re)defined series will tread on as a part of Creative Act. In addition, a variety of other content... ranging from film to graphic design. Thus far we've set in place four projects for this coming school year. Information in following posts.

That we may redeem the Fall...

2008-08-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Dorothy L Sayers... What more can I say... Poet, author, advertiser and theologian. One of Sayers most famous advertisements was actually for Guinness... ads that are occasionally even seen today. Recognize the Toucan ad?
Sayers wrote around the time of CS Lewis... writing murder mysteries... poetry... and musings on Christian theology... one of her most famous books... The Mind of the Maker contemplates the subject of creativity in light of Christian doctrine and the nature of the Trinity. The book houses Sayers Trinitarian theology...
dividing the creative idea into three stages: the idea, the implementation, and the interaction... Take for example a creative act... perhaps the writing of a book. The comes into existence as an idea, realized in time and space when written and complete only when read... It's as if she's saying the power is directly in the influence. One of my favorite quotes comes from this book...

"We should not act as though the Fall never happened, but rather redeem the Fall by a creative act."
Tell me what you think.

Where Art meets Commerce

2008-07-31T14:19:00.001-07:00

I've been working part time at KTWN18, a local station in Searcy. I've learned a lot and like a good number of the people I work with, but it's draining. Art was more fun before editing and advertising guides... before it was driven by a letter grade or money. I suppose it's a fine line that all artist tread... a thin tightrope with a 200 story fall lingering below. Perhaps that's is why we are deeply disappointed with cinema today. A little too much product placement and not enough film for the sake of film.