'people who don't give up on the things they can't have'

I like this OP-ED on Iran from Roger Cohen at the NYT today.

And (random association alert) there was also an NYT article at the weekend on the film $9.99, from short stories by Etgar Keret, which I am intrigued by.

on vali asr

I spent a lot of the day watching Iran.

Most of this came to me through Twitter posts, which Andrew Sullivan has gathered into a feed here. The unfolding story fills my thoughts, prayers and emotions.

Andrew's blog, at the moment, has been entirely given over to what is going on in Iran. He is hopeful for the protesters facing violence and massive opposition to change. I have no idea (really) what it is like on the ground there but seeing pictures like these and reading the information coming out of the country I am hopeful too. And will continue to be so, whatever the short term outcomes of the protests are.

on vali asr

When I drew this yesterday some immediate and positive change in Iran looked a lot more likely than it does today. I am not saying that Mir Hossein Mousavi would necessarily bring the dramatic turnaround that one might hope for but that he, at least, embodies a widespread longing within the country. Now I am not sure what is going on. I think Andrew Sullivan, whose wonderful blog I go to for a lot of online news, sums up well where things likely stand. Yesterday most of the updates I was aware of came from the equally insightful Talking Points Memo and its various news sources.

The Slacktivist quote was not intended as a commentary on the state of affairs in Iran. I left it in because perhaps it functions as such. It was a comment instead on three songs called "Wanderlust": 'Each of those songs, one way or another, aspires to get at the unsettling refusal to settle for anything less [than telling what we want, what we really, really want]. Some people sleep, some people yearn.'

when the boat comes in

In the aftermath of my fish post a couple of days ago I read two sobering articles on the crisis facing the fish population. There was a good editorial in The Independent on trawlers as weapons of mass destruction. And the New York Times had a piece on the many questions we must ask before eating a fish.

On a more buoyant note, there was also a great NYT article on urban food foragers, who have been building networks of people willing to share the harvest from their city trees. That's where I pulled the quote from.

And Kyoto, from 3 posts ago, came up in an encouraging NYT editorial by Pico Iyer on living a simpler life. Some of the piece felt a little too neat and tidy but I need to be reminded about a lot of what he is saying again and again, especially as I try and begin to think about what to do next. And I don't really know how long, or how circuitous a route, he took getting to where he is now.

'Even in Kyoto
Hearing the cuckoo's cry
I long for Kyoto'
Bashō

no laity

A few weeks ago, in the midst of a particularly taxing few days at work, I decided to re-read The River Why. I was looking for something that would not stress me out further, but would challenge me, as it does every time I turn its pages. (My previous read was Darkmans, which I love, but found almost unbearably disquieting - the characters' plights allied with my own, which was a very unhappy collusion.)

Having an end date for work puts me in a strange head space while there; difficult to ignite other thoughts in the midst of it all. So I am once again very glad for this novel and the journey the central character is on.

Another thing, which I meant to post a while ago is this, from the Slacktivist, one of the first blogs that I got really excited about:

'John Howard Yoder noted that that idea of the priesthood of all believers is often misunderstood as -- or is accused of being -- an attempt to abolish the clergy. Actually, he said, the opposite is true. The priesthood of all believers requires the abolition of the category of laity.'

I wish I had had the perspective to summarize this way when I was thinking about the same things.

how then should we live

Came across this here, which was a nice surprise.

The singing started for me when the Ellul quote connected with the one from Moltmann I pulled up the other day. All presents a challenge I have not really begun to grapple with.

'i bring what i love'

We went to see Youssou N'Dour last night at BAM. One of the best, most inclusive, and celebratory concerts I have ever been to. The audience was on its feet, dancing in the aisles of the opera house.

I was very happy (grinning, clapping, dancing), with a wee side mix of sadness...

My favorite haiku:

'Even in Kyoto
Hearing the cuckoo's cry
I long for Kyoto'
Bashō

Some blogging on the concert with photos here.

kitchen post its

I like these. They are probably my best drawings this week. The work saga continues (and will through the end of the month). Then some new story will begin. I suppose it already has.

nothing is wasted

Jim Gordon posted on Gordon MacKay Brown last year. I do not have a clear memory of his poetry, though I know we studied him in school. I love the extracts that Rev. Gordon posted because of the reminder of the holy importance of everything.

We are folded all
In a green fable
And we fare
From early
Plough-and-daffodil sun
Through revel
Of wind-tossed oats and barley
Past sickle and flail
To harvest home,
The circles of bread and ale
At the long table-
It is told, the story -
We and earth and sun and corn are one.

from Christmas Poem

necklace reckless

Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing Video from Brian Rauschenbach on Vimeo.

When I was growing up the 5.35-6pm timeslot on BBC2 was reserved for old black and white classic short films. While I continue to feel a great deal of affection towards Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin, my favourites then and now were Laurel and Hardy. Stan and Ollie worked together so long and hard that it did not look like work any more. I am sure that Zach and Will worked hard on this too but mainly it looks like they had a good time. (A lot of Will's work seems to have been to keep from laughing.) The video reminds me of the films that filled the time between the end of the school day and dinner - and not just because Zach Galifianakis = 2 x Will Oldham. Laurel and Hardy's comedy was a deliberate comment on and tonic for the depression: the heroes were often down on their luck and faced hard times. The rural setting of this video, and much else besides, makes for a pointed commentary on the song. And it is very funny.