A different kind of world. . .

from The Sins of Scripture by John Shelby Spong
©2005 John Shelby Spong

". . . the scriptures that tell his story must be transformed into a universal story, true (as a time- and place-bound story could never be) to who Jesus was and what he said and did. This is why these scriptures can never again be used to denigrate, hurt, oppress, enslave or diminish the humanity of any person. This is why the church must cease its quest for power, authority and that most insidious temptation of all, internal unity, and begin to transform the world to reconcile our differences and to make known a barrier-free humanity. We cannot pray the Jesus prayer, 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' unless we are willing to act as agents of that in-breaking kingdom by giving up our petty divisions, our recessive claims and our symbols of power and begin to devote all our energies to building a different kind of world."





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Small entry . . .

. . . for a musical giant on Wikipedia . . .

"David Murray was born in Oakland, California, USA. He was initially influenced by free jazz musicians such as Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp. He gradually evolved a more diverse style in his playing and compositions. Murray set himself apart from most tenor players of his generation by not taking John Coltrane as his model, choosing instead to incorporate elements of mainstream players Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Paul Gonsalves into his mature style. Despite this, he recorded a tribute to Coltrane, Octet Plays Trane, in 1999. His 1996 tribute to the Grateful Dead, Dark Star, was also critically well received.

Murray was a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet with Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett. He has recorded or performed with musicians such as Henry Threadgill, James Blood Ulmer, Olu Dara, Tani Tabbal, Butch Morris, Donal Fox, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Ed Blackwell, Johnny Dyani, and Steve McCall. David Murray's use of the circular breathing technique has enabled him to play astonishingly long phrases.

He is currently living in Sines, Portugal, and participates every year in the FMM festival, a World's Music Festival."

The list of his recordings is substantially larger. In fact, too large to reproduce here. But you can view it at http://go54321.tripod.com/dm/davidmurray.html

[Note: That's Baltimore/DC's own Lafayette Gilchrist on piano]




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With this kind of news. . .

. . . who needs despair? (Is it me or is something wrong with this statement?)

(from an online MSNBC story about the economy)
". . . Without a clearer picture of where the economy is headed, businesses are going to be reluctant to undertake the kind of hiring that will help the economy accelerate more. . ."

Actually, this is probably spot-on logic in the minds of the "job creators" who choose to pocket the max at this terrible time.

. . . and the music goes round and round.




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Never discuss politics. . .

. . . or related topics with your family. I think, and hope, that although I ventured into that dangerous turf, I may have survived this ordeal 'relatively' unscathed. And I hope that I perceive correctly because I sincerely respect their points of view, although I am still entitled to my own and chose to defend it to the point where my loved one expressed some visible discomfort with the boisterous debate that ensued; even though she thoroughly agrees with me.

I don't understand why some of the 99% do not even realize that they fall precisely within that percentage.

Further. . .the significance of the Occupy movements could eventually rival the impact of the civil rights movement. Not only are many confused members of the 99% missing, priests, pastors and clergy of every kind are conspicuously absent.

The evils that sparked these protests are real and critical to the well-being of lots of people. Instead of feeling proud of giving turkeys to the poor, religious and non-religious alike should be joining in the protests against the haughty rich.

". . . The current crop of national bank leaders are being shown to be just as corrupt as were the temple bankers of Jesus day. If Jesus were present among us today, he would be moving from Portland, to Los Angeles to Kansas City, to Dallas, up to Chicago and on to Wall Street in New York City. He would join the protest in every city. . ."
(from Howard Bess)

Above inspired by writings of Howard Bess
[The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is HYPERLINK "mailto:hdbss@mtaonline.net" hdbss@mtaonline.net]




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More thanks. . .

. . . Continuing with the Thanksgiving theme. . . I knew that ONE day, ONE MEASLY HOLIDAY, would not be sufficient to encompass (or be sufficiently inclusive) of all the thanks that I feel I should express at this time in my life. So I will continue on that theme today so that I do not neglect any significant personages deserving of my gratitude at this apropos time.

So I will add to the thanks expressed previously, I am also thankful (not to some bearded man in a golden chair sitting high in the clouds) to Todd, Rod, Tomy, Doug and Ron who have been in my life for the past three or four years and who have contributed to my artistic development, my confidence in myself, and in my confidence in the process of community, support and artistry which continues to give me strength and courage to continue in my pursuit of success in the musical realm.




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Gee, Thanks!. . .

. . . Most holidays really bother me. It's just me. Many times I feel like we set aside a special day, we give it a name, we develop a tradition involving some specific ceremonial details like fireworks, trees, gifts and always food (one the better parts of the process). But the purpose of the observance is usually to honor, remember, be thankful for someone or something for which honor, remembrance or thanks should be a regular part of our lives. I don't know, it just seems like we pull it out of a drawer or closet every year, dust it off and play with it for a day, then put it away to be forgotten until next time- usually a year later. Is 'contrived' the word I'm looking for.

This is why I have a particular dislike of what I usually call the "Hallmark" holidays. You know them, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Babies Day, Doggie Day and Dog Day Afternoon. . . the list goes on. And my dislike developed in my early adult years. I have (had) no problem acknowledging and thanking my Mother, for example, for all her love, care and sacrifice devoted to me and the whole family. But after childhood and all fun of picking out that greeting card, I began to think that it was a bit shallow, or should I say narrow, to whip out this gratitude only one day a year. I think it diminished the magnitude of the very thing it attempted to honor by confining it neatly to one day and conveniently making the greeting card (and in some cases, a complete industry so money could be made-which is another story completely) to commemorate the occasion.

I'm not saying I ignore these 'holidays' or special days. I would be a complete outcast if I tried. (And my wife would probably divorce me.) They are, as it is said, what they are. I do try to make the best of them but still voice my thanks, gratitude, love, honor etc. to or about the things about which I feel very strongly throughout the entire year and not singly on the 'one' day designated.

And on this Thanksgiving day, since I agree with John Shelby Spong that there is no person-like God who is intimately invested in the minutiae of human life and to whom I am obliged to offer these thanks for fear of punishment or desire of a heavenly afterlife, I offer my thanks directly to the sources to whom I am grateful. First and foremost, my best friend, love of my life, housemate, soulmate, co-parent of our wonderful sons- my wife Pam. Thanks Hon! (Yes, I'm from Baltimore) And this year I am thinking about some old friends who probably not fully aware of the influence they exerted upon me during certain periods of my development, have now re-entered my life and have brought back not only wonderful memories, have brought a new dimension to my present life, Clint and Jay.

Gee, Thanks.





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Yeah, so what!!. . .

. . .$600 million to be cut from the military. I’m no expert on this, but I do know two things. I know my gut and I know how to budget.

My gut tells me that war is wrong. It’s just plain wrong. Now to this, the military consultants, the conservative think tanks, the republican party (and almost half the people I know) will say,“but we must be prepared to defend ourselves.” And maybe surprisingly to them, I actually agree. But invading Iraq, sending troops to Libya and threatening military action against Iran cannot even loosely be described as defending ourselves. Oh there may be all kinds of bad things happening in these places and yes, they may even reach us eventually. But until they reach us, and ONLY WHEN they do reach us, will defending ourselves actually become one of our options. And at that point, it will most certainly be a good choice.

But NOT before!

Fatalistic though it may sound, any world in which we must interpret (or define) the military actions we have taken many times in the past as DEFENSIVE, is not a world in which I (for one?) choose to survive. Any imperialistic entity that believes (in this year of 2011) that they can truly and indefinitely subdue ALL countries, territories or federations with whom they do not agree, or who chose NOT to do the kind of business asked of them, by sheer brute force has not learned ANYTHING from written history.

That’s the GUT part.

The budget part is quite short, simple and to the aesthetically-inclined, sweet. In order to balance a budget some spending must be reduced. Logically, the areas in which the MOST is spent would be the places to begin. Cut, stop, end, fine.




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