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October 31, 2006
You, Me, and Bilbo
I am reading the authorized biography of J. R. R. Tolkien. Written by a family friend, it is dedicated to the memory of the TCBS.
The "Tea Room Barrows Society" was a group of four teenagers who formed a club that involved pranks, lots of tea and food, intellectual stimulation, and great dreams for how to change the world. This group of four young men shaped Tolkien for the rest of his life. Two of them died in the trenches of World War One.
I had a similar experience. The closest friendships of my life were formed during college. Several continue today. A handful of them were roommates (four and five man rooms--quiite the recipe for intimacy) and several more were part of the Hall of eight rooms which was dubbed "The Ghetto" in honor of the members domestic habits.
During my tenure in the Ghetto, an unusual, very ususally high number of artists and comedians populated the hall. The late-night antics were the cause of more laughter than I can remember at any time in my life. But dreaming and praying and scheming up ideastic ways to spend our lives changing the world was also part of the mix, and major choices in my life since then can be rooted to those few years of man-to-man direct contact with those I bonded to in mind and spirit.
A great part of Tolkien's power is his focus on the level of great dreams and ambitions--taking unlikely characters like hobbits (and ourselves) and placing them in wonderful and heroic tales. Tolkien himself felt called as a young man to a great vision of providing a fresh mythology for the anemic Modern world, and his own feeble quest to accomplish this calling is reflected in Bilbo and Frodo's journeys.
Posted by chattabooks at 10:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 23, 2006
The world at your doorstep
The Northeast Corridor definitely places you in a different mindset.
This morning I read an article about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Alito addressing 400 or so people at a public event in D.C. My first thought: dang, I would like to have gone to that!
In the South, particularly in a mid-sized city, you are programmed to understand that the big stuff just doesn't happen near you. If you drive two hours somewhere, you might get a few crumbs from the banquet (one stop of a famous artist's 30 city tour).
Up here, the big stuff is going on all the time. Streisand in concert tomorrow, pro ball players eating at the restaurant, an actor signing autographs as a crowd gathers on the street.
Oh, and right over there is the place the country was founded.
My stock line now for people who ask me if I like this area goes as follows:
"I like the central city (both Philly and Manhattan) but I don't like the suburbs. The suburbs give you the bad side of the North (rushed, unfriendly people, traffic, high costs) without the huge benefits of the cosmopolitan areas."
"If you're going to do suburbs, go South, where it costs so much less, the people friendlier, and the pace of life is more relaxed."
Most people nod their head with that assessment, but the practical realities of life for so many (including me) places them . . . in the suburbs of a large city.
Posted by chattabooks at 11:20 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 20, 2006
New York
In Manhattan for a screenwriting conference.
I read a news headline recently that said over fifty percent of Americans now are single. In New York, it seems to be 75 percent. The people look more like folks from Miami Beach or Southern California than the stereotypical New York look (middle age businessmen, older multigenerational couples, and people of various colors).
The colors are still here, but seem to be drowned out with more young, white, well-to-do professionals.
Manhattan is also an extremely safe place nowadays, in part due to this more wealthy demographic.
The hotels are sky high, but the food is reasonable and phenomenal.
The quote from today's seminar: "The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the unlived life is not worth examining."
Posted by chattabooks at 11:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 13, 2006
Old and OLD
I was driving with my friend Niko and we saw an old house by the road.
You see a number of them around here, where things got going a lot earlier than in Chattanooga, where the oldest structure is from the 1800s. Pennsylvania homes date to thd 1700s and sometimes the century before.
Of course, that's nothing compared to Europe, where a building from the 12th century is not extraordinary.
"I bet you see a lot of old buildings in your country," I said to Niko, who lives in the Republic of Georgia.
"Oh yes," he said, "although it is a newer town compared to many others in the country. It's only 1500 years old," he said. He noted that the wall around the city was built in the fourth century.
"New town?" I asked.
"No, really," he said. "Many of the cities date deep in the B.C. era, up to the time of Noah."
Posted by chattabooks at 12:30 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 9, 2006
Nazis and Christians
Met a guy at the cigar club yesterday who does a lot of business worldwide, particularly Germany.
He said the Nazi party is alive and well there. I was stunned. Out of, say, 15 states in Germany, two are run by a group, duly elected, whose German name is best translated "Neo-Nazi," he said.
And lest you think it's just a matter of translation, they sport swastikas on their watches and cars like rednecks display the Confederate flag down South.
Their public agenda is not anti-Jewish but does entail a strong sentiment against immigrants in general, which are taking over Europe. The Nazi's also tap into the Aryian roots of the Germanic peoples.
My friend who told me this is married to a woman from India--met her at Penn University. Once again, there are a couple of minority states in India that us Westerners don't know much about. His wife is from Mizoram, which is a Christian state run by the Church. These animist peoples were converted by British Missionaries a hundred years ago.
Another, larger Christian state in India is in the South, but much older tradition. These Christians were converted by the Apostle Thomas, who traveled to India after examing Jesus's hands and side in Palestine. My friend said this state is quite advanced and known for being the "Slilcon Valley" of India.
Posted by chattabooks at 10:50 AM | TrackBack
October 6, 2006
Paradigm Shift
"Paradigm Shift" is a tired phrase, and what I am about to share will seem ho hum to a few of you.
But many of you may still not realize that we are on the cusp of a media revolution.
I bought a new Mac last year. If I go to iTunes and select "Radio," I have at my fingertips hundreds of radio stations across the world that play every kind of music imaginable. I do jazz, classical, some oldies and little talk.
But, if you want it, there is bluegrass, Celtic, Reggae and every other ethnic form of sound, along with Religious and many other categories (Wiccan music is listed under religious). There's also oldtime radio dramas, and all shades of comedy (including a religious version called "Serious Comedy." I kid you not.)
So, I just click twice and now have access to every kind of listening genre in the created order.
I am also now one or two clicks away from all things video. Youtube.com and Google video are replacing that thing in the corner they used to call a TV. These days, it's a monitor, and if it's not connected to the internet, it is also passe.
I can watch anything I want by typing it in the search engine: "Today's News Fox" or "Bin Ladin Video" or "James Dobson" or "Curriculum updates" or "Vietnam Footage." You get the idea. I can view whatever my pet interests are.
This new phenom will require some self discipline. I have felt pretty good for years about taming the TV. I've had about one and a half channels the past decade, and that was good. I was forced to spend my time on worthwhile activities. But this computer that offers internet, blogs, chatting with folks, all radio, music, and video at all times. It's darn obscessive.
I don't want to watch TV, I don't want to do anything except stuff related to this computer. My kids love it to (for the online games) and its a fight for who gets it next. I could literally have three laptops for the three of us and they would all get used constantly. (Not gonna do it! Talk about ruining family time.)
Back to the media revolution: what does it mean? Don't know for sure, but what I foresee is less control and more control by the powers that be, but ultimately a strengthening of the forces of both light and darkness.
What I mean is this: in the old days, the three networks could get their message out to the entire population. That doesn't happen anymore. Yet, at the same time, Big Brother has truly arrived now with the announcement by Google that they plan to use the pre-installed mikes and cameras in new computers as a way of monitoring the population.
So, while Big Government and the corporate world now have better technology to control, those who choose a different route no longer have to listen or watch big media. They can select their own items to meditate on each day. (For instance, you can watch a documentary on Michaelangelo's struggle to paint the Cistene Chapel, or, you can watch continuous loops on TV news of school shootings and congressional pedophelia.)
As these two groups grow farther apart, a confontation is likely. My solution? I'm spending a lot of time these days reading the Book of Revelation.
It's not because I'm convinced the Time is near (it could be thousands of years away) but because I am encouraged by how the saints meditate on the glory of Christ and how their total commitment (usually martyrdom) is remembered and appreciated.
Posted by chattabooks at 1:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 4, 2006
Benefits of the Big City
A recent 24 period has brought to the forefront the perks of living 30 minutes from the fifth largest city in America.
First, my kids and I went to an Apple Store. You can only find those in major cities, and the workshops and other amenities are like candy to Mac enthusiasts (which includes my kids).
That evening, it was Independence Mall and a tour of the historic places via the Lights of Liberty show (as detailed in a previous blog). We also visited the City Tavern, where folks dress up in colonial costumes. We all got cider (the non-alcoholic kind).
The next day I received the Eucharist in a 200 person Orthodox Church (you can't find them that size in midsize towns) and later enjoyed a fascinating discussion with Father Chad, who runs the seminary for Native Americans in Kodiak, Alaska.
Mary, who is studying to be a director before she retires, invited me to attend a screenwriting class with her at Ivy League Penn University. Deacon Herman (whose real name is Ray--don't tell anyone) teaches Philosophy and Religion at Eastern University. He and his family are coming over for dinner Friday.
Niko Nikocheli chatted with me about his native country, the Republic of Georgia below Russia. It is one of the world's oldest civilizations. (I could have told him I have a Georgia license plate, but decided to show restraint.) He is a world-class artist, classically trained with two permanent pieces on display at Lasalle University's museum, which also owns pieces by masters like Rembrandt and Picasso. Niko has illustrated seven children's books and it looks like my daughter may have the opportunity to take lessons from him.
That evening I chatted it up with a neighbor upstairs who came here from Estonia, wanting to study English Philology (go figure), but is settling for now on retail sales.
Last night, I attended an exhibit by Nelson Shanks, a renowned artist whose works on display that night included portraits of Ronald Reagan, Lady Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and Pope John Paul II.
This last bit wasn't in the aforementioned 24-hour period, but you get the idea. A lot of cool stuff that is not as likely to be available in the quiet, friendly haven of the South is at your fingertips in the nervy, no-time-to-relax, North.
Posted by chattabooks at 11:00 PM | TrackBack
October 2, 2006
The Story of the Revolution
Saturday night I took my kids to the "Lights of Liberty" show in downtown Philadelphia.
They give you surround sound headphones to wear while walking around historical landmarks like Ben Franklin's house, Independence Hall, and Carpenters Hall. Images are projected on the sides of buildings while the story of America's independence is told.
I was struck by how uninteresting the story was. Except for one scene at Carpenter's Hall in 1774 where the two sides debate the wisdom of breaking off from England, the rest of the show was rather flat in my opinion.
Two reasons, I'm guessing:
1. This one is probably the primary reason: the storyline just wasn't crafted very well. As I'm currently writing a screenplay and studying the art of story, I'm particularly aware of this issue. However, everyone else is too, just not in a technical fashion. So are my kids, the ultimate judges ("That was a stupid story" "That was a good one" etc.).
2. I wonder if modern Americans have a difficult time staying interested in the story of the Revolution because we cannot relate. I heard a statistic that in 1776, 90 percent of Americans had an independent livelihood, mostly farmers. Today, the figure is below 20 percent, closer to ten.
That being the case, the typical American today doesn't really think much about taxation, about land and property rights, about government intrusion in their successful, independent way of life. Instead, government is viewed as something to help them get something.
Therefore, the story most Americans can now better relate to is the "liberating" Union army which frees slaves and ignorant Southerners from their bondage. In this story, Government is coming to bring some goodies--in this case, freedom.
The other story, about an oppressive, taxing, regulating government that encroaches on our self-sustaining, free way of life, just doesn't hit home as much any more.
Posted by chattabooks at 9:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack