Traveling across Asia for 40 days

"Tuk tuk. You need a tuk tuk" is chanted as we walked down the busy streets of Bangkok. People and noise are everywhere.

Tuk tuks are mini taxis with three wheels, and weave through the streets as if on an obstacle race. These dare devil drivers try to attract you in any way possible, and then deceive you. They offer to take you wherever you want for 10 baht (about 30 cents). Too good to be true. But what they don't tell you is the unexpected stops on the way. Tuk tuks have a deal with local shops. If they bring customers, then the owner will give the tuk tuk money for gas.

One of the tuk tuks favorite trick is to tell you the famous sites are closed for the day (it's the king's birthday or national Buddha day) so you will travel with them. They tried it on us, but we were wise to their ways (thanks to some travel book wisdom).

Rachel (my beautiful wife) and I are having a blast.

Our trip is as follows. We started in Tokyo, then to Bangkok, next to Chaing Mai, followed by a trek through the hillside for 3 days, and now back to Bangkok. Next we will travel along the southern coast of Thailand, then to Malaysia, Singapore, and to Indonesia. We have slept in nice hotels, shady hotels, village huts, trains, and traveled on bamboo raft, foot, taxi, elephant, airplane, train, and on a few occasions run like crazy to make our deadline.

Everything is amazing. When it is all over we will sleep for a week, and then start planning our next trip.

Interview with Joshua Wann / deejay essence Part 1 of 3

Matthew Downing from reformedvision.com interviews deejay essence of Lamp Mode Recordings in a three part series. The first part starts with a question about the meaning of Lamp Mode, and how he got involved with hip-hop music.

Interview with Joshua Wann / deejay essence Part 2 of 3

Deejay essence discusses how Christian hip-hop is a context to build relationships and create excitement for theology. He also explains his many roles with Lamp Mode Recordings, as well as his biggest struggle in the music industry.

Interview with Joshua Wann / deejay essence Part 3 of 3

In part three deejay essence describes the key artistic features to hip-hop, and how music gives God glory. He concludes with a demonstration on his turntables.

Honoring Anne d'Harnoncourt

I noticed that June 19th will be the official day of appreciation to honor Anne d’Harnoncourt, who died June 2, 2008. The Philadelphia Museum of Art will be open and free to the public on June 19th from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

At 11:30 a.m., the City Council will issue a resolution honoring Anne d’Harnoncourt’s extraordinary leadership and public service. A tribute ceremony will begin on the East Terrace at 6:00 p.m., which will include the Philadelphia Boys Choir, Ed Wise and His New Orleans Jazz Band, and Michael Nutter.

Throughout the day guest books will be on display in which visitors can share thoughts and memories. A complimentary audio tour of d’Harnoncourt’s Director’s Delights will be available to all guests.

“In the spirit of Anne’s warm and welcoming way, we offer this complimentary invitation to the public, everyone, to join us on June 19th in sharing the Museum and collections that she loved so much here in the city to which she was so completely devoted,” said Gerry Lenfest as quoted in the Philadelphia Museum of Art website.

An official memorial service will be scheduled for Sunday, September 7, 2008, which would be her 65th birthday. Donations in her memory may be made to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the Anne d'Harnoncourt Memorial Fund. The gifts have been placed in a restricted fund to identify a meaningful tribute.

It seems like it always takes death to make us appreciate life. But even when death comes to important public figures or loved ones, a few days pass and life is back to normal. I don’t think we should live in the shadow of death as that would not be a joyful existence. But the important lessons that death teaches are too soon forgotten. For example, life is precious and our time on earth is short compared with eternity. May the death of Anne d'Harnoncourt, a giant in the art community, teach us those lessons and encourage us to invest in our gifts and talents.

We need to remember to pray for Anne d’Harnoncourt’s family and friends during this difficult time.

The Ritz Rules

I love the Ritz. Not the Ritz-Carlton, the Ritz Camera Shop, or the yummy cracker. My love affair is with the Ritz Movie Theatres in Olde City Philadelphia.

I love the available Film Bill with the detailed movie analysis, the fresh coffee, and the almond biscottis. I love that the workers wear uniforms resembling a tux. I love the laid back atmosphere and the lack of crowds. I love the adjacent cobblestone streets with horse pulled carriages passing by.

After the movie I love walking across the street to Positano Coast and getting a Tonica Fresca along with a side of Mussels in Parmesan/Sage Broth. And all of these wonderful aspects of The Ritz Five are apart from their excellent movie selection.

Last Saturday night my wife hosted a bridal shower at our house. That gave me the opportunity to get out of the house and do something my wife doesn't enjoy. The Ritz was my first thought. It's not that my wife hates The Ritz (I don't know how anyone could hate such a wonderful institution), she just doesn't enjoy the total experience as much as I do.

I saw The Counterfeiters, a German made movie in subtitles about the holocaust. It explores the Jews role in counterfeiting the pound and dollar during World War 2. For a great movie review check out Armchair General's blog.

The Counterfeiters wrestles with the holocaust's complexity. It does not neatly wrap up all the issues or conclude with a happy ending. I left the theatre sobered by the unbridled cruelty, which was conveyed through specific artistic decisions by the director. Two apparent artistic themes were silence and music.

The main character, Salomon Sorowitsch, reduced his words as the movie progressed. His silence was an outward sign of his internal despair and a protest against the violence. He did not protest verbally or he would have been killed with the other millions of Jews. There are a few instances of acute silence when Salomon Sorowitsch enters a rage of anger. There was not a sound in the theatre. It forced me to consider the emotions of the character, but before I was able to fully contemplate the intense anger the silence ended, as if reminding me that such a task was impossible.

The soundtrack of The Counterfeiters consisted of classical tangos by Argentinean harmonica player Hugo Diaz and old opera recordings from the 1930's and 1940's. The soundtrack added time period authenticity to the movie while instilling a sense of hope in the viewer. Each song complimented the scene.

It is important to reflect on the use of silence and music within the arts and Christianity. Throughout the Bible silence is used to show God's displeasure with the unrepentant. In the same respect, people demonstrate their hard hearts towards God in their silence towards Him. On the contrary, God's power is made manifest when He speaks. He spoke the world into existence, and His word became flesh in the form of Jesus.

Music is used throughout the Psalms to sing praises to God. And throughout Church history beautifully written hymns have been sung in worship to God. But the opposite is also true. Many songs have been written that blaspheme the name of God. Silence and music evoke powerful emotional responses.

How is silence and music expressed in the broader scope of the arts, and how does that reflect the true character of God?

Romantic Comedy Overdose

My romantic comedy intake has increased 1,000 fold since getting married in December. That didn't take much, because the last romantic comedy I remember seeing was on a movie date in eighth grade.

One of our first joint married decisions was subscribing to Blockbuster Total Access. It was a beautiful moment, not realizing the difficulties ahead.

After registering we headed to our local Blockbuster, 48th and Pine. I was giddy as we entered the store. Movie title after movie title scrolled in front of my eyes - documentaries, mob movies, foreign films, suspense thrillers. Married life will be good.

We had a casually romantic evening planned, which included dinner at Vientiane Cafe and then relaxing at home with a movie. So to expedite the movie picking process and get the romance started (at least that's what I was thinking) we decided to separate, pick a few movies, meet back, and select one. Ten minutes later I had my three - Godfather, Into The Wild, and Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room.

A slight grin was on my face as I showed what I thought to be the perfect movie combination. How could she not like any of those three? Well, she didn't. And with a wider grin then mine displayed her three selections: The Nanny Diaries, Enchanted, and 27 Dresses.

I took a deep breath as I thought to myself how could she not like any of mine, and how could she like those? I didn't want to say anything rude (trying to remember some guidance from our pre-marriage counselor), but I am sure my face said it all (as she confirmed with me later that night).

Is my future movie watching experience going to be filled with romantic comedy after romantic comedy? My stomach sank at the thought.

This seemingly simple process turned out to be quite the opposite. We left Blockbuster without a movie and didn't make our dinner reservation. Tom Yum soup and Sweet Basil Chicken was replaced with a cold sandwich from our fridge. Not what I envisioned.

I am not declaring all romantic comedies bad and foreign films good. But we must acknowledge that we have movie preferences, and those preferences matter. They matter because movies are an influential form of entertainment and will not remain neutral. In light of that it would be wise to evaluate our preferences.

What do you base your movie preferences on? How does the movies artistic expression and content reflect God's character? If God isn't glorified by the content or the artistic forms, then don't waste your time - whether it be a romantic comedy or a documentary.