From my Prayer Journal

It's hard not to panic when things look especially dark.  I held on as best I could and allowed myself to reach out for help.  It wasn't easy but it was easier.  Is that how it feels as I get better on our walk together?  That it just becomes a littler easier as we go?  Putting my trust in front of me.

View From the Phlipside - R.I.P. Chet Simmons

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this The View From the Phlipside.

Unless you're really into the names of the folks behind the scenes in the world of sports you probably never heard of Chet Simmons prior to his death.  But if you are a sports fan you've seen the results of Chet Simmons work.  In fact Chet had a great deal to do with the face of sports as you know them today, probably as much or more than any other single person.

Here's a partial list of the sports broadcasting legends that Simmons helped get started: Jim Simpson,  Greg and Bryant Gumbel, Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy, Vin Scully, Dick Vitale, Cliff Drysdale, Jack Buck and Chris Berman.  His career was synonymous with great sports broadcasting.  Simmons started his career in the late '50's at ABC where he helped to create the legend of the original "World Wide Leader in Sports".  Any sports fan of my generation spent hours watching the iconic show "The Wide World of Sports" which took us all over the world and introduced to us to sports and personalities unknown before.  Chet Simmons helped to create that program and the personalities that came with it.  A few years later he would move on the NBC sports and bring that network its greatest years as a sports network.  He would have a hand in the beginnings of instant replay and getting up close and personal with the game during NFL broadcasts.  He brought us the coverage of the AFL (Bills fans owe this guy a lot.  That league would have disappeared without a trace without the TV coverage and taken our team with it).  During his time a the Peacock Network he brought them the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NHL, college football, the bowl games and Wimbledon.

Then at the height of his career, as the president of NBC sports he jumped ship to a start up cable network that nobody thought had a chance.  Simmons would set ESPN on the road to the dominance it now holds.  He decided to cover the NFL draft when even the NFL didn't think anyone was interested.  And if you've spent the last couple weeks wrapped up in March Madness it was Simmons inspired coverage by ESPN that made the tournament the sports monster it is today.

After effectively being forced out at the cable sports network Simmons took on the job as the first commissioner of the USFL.  The only success the league saw was under his brief watch.

If you're a sport fan you know Chet Simmons work.  Quite simply he along with a very small group of others basically created the world of sports you know and love.  He wasn't afraid to take a chance and go for the win.  And isn't that what the very definition of being a champion?  Chet Simmons was 81.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - High Tech Textbooks

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this The View From the Phlipside.

A rare occurrence may be headed our way.  A convergence of old media and new media with new technology that may not only benefit both media industries but just might help the health of our children and generations to come.


If there was ever a dinosaur media industry that was just asking for extinction that wasn't the newspaper business it would be the textbook industry.  We're talking media technology that hasn't changed very much in over a hundred years.  I remember some of the books that I used in school had been around for years.  You'd find names of a half dozen students or more that had used the same text book year after year after year.  The world doesn't turn at that leisurely pace anymore.  When the Berlin Wall fell and took the U.S.S.R. with it shortly thereafter history books, geography books, political science books all became instantly obsolete.  And that meant an enormous expense for cash strapped school districts.  Well that may be changing in the very near future.


A group of some of the top text book publishers are working with software companies plus folks like Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle and netbook manufacturers to put the next generation of textbooks on high tech personal devices.  It's very forward thinking by the textbook folks who unlike TV, music and newspapers are actually paying attention to the writing on the wall.  The move isn't surprising at all for the Apple folks.  Getting their products into student hands has been one of the smartest business moves they ever made.  And the benefit to our kids health?  That's easy.  No more 40, 50 or 60 pound backpacks for kids any more.  All their textbooks on a single device.  Textbooks that can be updated just as quickly as updating software on your computer.  And eliminating the unreasonable influence that large school systems like the Texas schools have on what goes into the nation's textbooks.  The board that controls history texts in Texas recently tried a little revisionist history by eliminating folks that they didn't like. 


The really exciting part is that electronic textbooks could offer many more resources.  Built in media, search engines, glossaries and interactive quizzes would only scratch the surface.  The devices could also offer note taking functions so that everything needed could be in a single device.  The real question is what exactly this digital hand held educational system might look like.  That's why this cooperative effort among the various parties may offer the best chance of coming up with the proverbial "killer app".


After that it's just a matter of figuring out what the notebook manufacturers are going to do and what we're going to put in all these empty back packs.


Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

Sabbatical video check week 4

Forgot to mention what I'm reading this week - Joan Chittester's book "The Breath of the Soul - Reflections on Prayer".  Loaned to me by a friend who had just gotten it and hadn't read it yet herself.  Thanks Kim!

View From the Phlipside - Good versus Bad ads

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the movies and more.  I love 'em and I hate 'em and I always have an opinion.  Call this The View From the Phlipside

I've noted before that I spend a lot of time watching TV commercials.  Part of it is because for a large part of my radio career I wrote advertising copy.  At one station it was even my primary role.  So I have a real appreciation of a nicely thought out concept.  Of course the are two primary goals to advertising.  First, you want the consumer to remember who you are.  Car ads very often fail at this.  You get wonderful visuals and long lingering shots of the smooth lines of the car.  And at the end of thirty or sixty seconds you have no idea who the car maker is.  That's a bad ad.  The other thing is that the consumer should have an increased interest in or desire for your product or service. 

With that in mind I want to take a look at two ads that I see regularly right now.  They jump out at me because both of them go outside the box as the saying goes for their concept.  One is the "Man Your Man Could Smell Like" ad from Old Spice.  You know the one "Look at him, now back at me, now back at him, now back to me, I'm on a horse".  This ad has taken the media world by storm.  I hear it being quoted on TV shows, the video gets played all over the place.  The ad is like nothing else on the air.  It has a little fun with itself and it's product.  Old Spice had an image problem.  For most of us Old Spice meant our dads or granddads.  It was old guy stuff.  Not so much any more.  My grand dad was never that funny or that cool.  You remember the name of the product and it makes it more likely that you'll buy it.  It's advertising that works.

On the other hand we have the ads for "Hotel Planners dot com".  This one is a rip off of the old Saturday Night Live Hans and Franz routine.  You remember, "We want to pump you up".  The company does planning for group trips apparently and the ads are clearly done on a very low budget.  Characters will complain about where they stayed on their last team trip and these two clowns in what looks like costumes from an elementary school play show up.  I suppose the good news is that I do remember their name.  The bad news is that there is no chance I would ever spend any money with such a low rent company.  They are actually working against their own best interests.

A well done ad will make everyone a lot of money.  Whatever ad agency thought up the "I'm on a horse" campaign is getting lots of phone calls right now.  The other guys?  Even on the tiny budget they have to spend, I'm afraid they've wasted a lot of money.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

Reflection - Piety

I began with what I thought was a pretty simple statement for this study - "Personal Piety in an Episcopal Context in the 21st Century".  My hope was to come up with a compact expression of what I was trying to study.  Each of the three parts were given a certain amount of thought. 

21st Century i.e. the here and now, in this time and this place.  Pretty simple.  Good.

Episcopal Context - the tradition within I find myself and to which I have a certain devotion.  A relatively clear distinction historically at least.  Check.

Personal Piety - I actually spent the most time working on this one.  My primary concern was distinguish my area of interest from any corporate worship experiences.  But I didn't want to use worship because I felt that restricted the possible playing field.  Devotions would work but didn't quite feel right.  Prayer just felt like part of the overall category.  So I reached into my vocabulary and grabbed an older word that felt like it was more encompassing. 

I was rather surprised to discover that that word, piety, would be the one that caused the most trouble among the folks who responded to my request for input at the beginning of the process.  Several of them mentioned negative connotations to the word.  Where pious begins to border on self righteous and self satisfied.  So I went and looked it up:

Piety - a reverence to God or devout fulfillment of religious obligation, religious devotion usually indicating humility, a conventional belief or standard.

Oh dear.  That's not really what I had in mind at all. Well the reverence to God and humility parts aren't bad but not what I had in mind.  The problem is that I can't come up with anything that works any better for me.  Personal Faith Practice is probably much closer to the mark while being longer and no clearer.  Personal Devotions.  Still can't get comfy with Devotions.  Smacks too much of pre-packaged portions of prayer.  I guess I must confess to the same kind of negative connotative meaning to the D word that the others were having to the P word.

So perhaps I'm best served by unpacking it a bit more. 

Personal - again as compared to corporate or common worship.  What do you do AWAY from your church or prayer group or bible study group or small group or whatever.  You.  Yourself.  One on one with the Make of All Things (or however you envision the Divine)

Faith Practice -(I guess this is the current front runner for the moment.  Feel free to chime in with other thoughts) The stuff you do.  Sing or be silent, read the Bible or contemplate the work of God in a flower or a bird's song.  Contemplative or Discursive? (See what happens when you start reading theology books?  Do you sit quietly or do get involved in direct conversation?)  Involving which senses and in what form?  I continue to want this to be as wide open as is permitted by the other two clauses of the overall statement.

Now a learned friend of mine asked the more fundamental question of for whom do we perform this actions?  Is there an audience?  If so whom?  Does God require us to make certain magic gestures as we utter the holy words?  Or do we do it simply for ourselves, to make us feel good?

After a bit of thought I think I reject the fundamental assumption here.  That it is a performance.  The history of the church universal certainly shows that it can and does become more about the "performance" over and over again.  But I think that's the perversion of what we're supposed to be doing.  Given my understanding of the interaction between God and Human as relationship then it is through those actions that the relationship is expressed.  I express my relationship with the humans around me by the way that I act, speak, the rituals that I fulfill or decide not to fulfill.  I am not "performing" for them or for myself.  Lacking direct telepathic communication we must find physical and verbal ways of developing a relationship.  (This is one of the great challenges of relationships formed "virtually".  A great many of our routines of relationship are not available to us.  Hence the much more stylized norms of the internet communication style.  The simplest example being the emoticon.)  Relationships are almost never perfectly balanced among humans and inevitably must be out of balance when we reach toward the Divine.  For us the great gift is that the Divine keeps the door open to our stumbling and inconsistent attempts.

In fact one of my correspondents said it so beautifully.  Erika wrote to me from the Isle of Man (how cool is that?)  and said:

...people like me just stumble along trying to draw deeper into God but as often as not making a real hash of it, forgetting to pray or not bothering and then being surprised and delighted when he finds us again saying “I missed you, shall we walk together for a bit?”

Yes, yes, and YES!  So I'm interested in the ways we all have stumbled along and on which paths and byways we have most often bumped into God again.

More thoughts on this subject to come.

Peace

View From the Phlipside - Online ads

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the movies and more.  I love 'em and I hate 'em and I always have an opinion.  Call this The View From the Phlipside

You may believe that no one spins the news more than politicians but there's a new contender in the race.  I could not believe my eyes at the reaction from some folks in the digital media world to a new study from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.  The latest report from this distinguished study took a look at the attempts to find a new business model fornewspapers and magazines.  The big question of the moment is the balance between free content and pay.  Simple ads don't seem to be the answer but putting content behind pay walls has very strong negatives with the consumers.  At least that's what you might think till you hear the spin merchants get a hold of the report.

I began reading responses that talked about "strong" positive responses to paying for content.  And even greater excitement that among those of us who spend a lot of time on web sites the approval rate is even higher.  Wow, I thought maybe this is counter intuitive.  Then I looked at the numbers.  The percentage of folks who click on ads at least sometimes on web pages?  21%.  Among those who surf everyday it goes the whole way up to 28% and for folks who visit the same site once a day, the most dedicated users, it's all the way up to 37%.  That's right they're all excited about numbers that leave 63% or more of the users in the "Keep your ads to yourself" category.  You'll also hear that 81% of people said they don't mind having ads on the website if it means they get the content without an additional fee.  That sounds better right?  Sure till you drill down and discover they told the folks at Pew they don't mind the ads BECAUSE THEY CAN EASILY IGNORE THEM!  Advertising that no one is paying any attention to is a waste of money.  And trust me when I tell you advertisers HATE wasting money.  To be honest a lot of them don't like spending money on advertising whether it works or not.

Let me make it clear that it isn't the folks at Pew that are all rosy about this.  The Pew report goes on to say that no single business model has shown any significant strength and that it may not be a single mode that wins in the end.  Each entity will have to find their own way of staying afloat with whatever creative method of paying the bills they can make work.  Ads, subscription programs that eliminate the ads, some free/some paid content.  And of course you have to get the consumer to buy in.  The problem is that right we the consumers like the system we have.  Mostly free, with advertising we can ignore or block.  Changing that will be the hardest sell.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

To Be Teachers of Prayer

In 1934 William Temple (Archbishop of Canterbury[ABC] from 1942-44) instructed a teacher at a seminary as follows:

You will use it as a basis for what we need more than all else - to teach the clergy to be teachers of prayer

It strikes me that this instruction may be even more vital today.  We certainly need to expand the pool of teachers beyond the clergy as well.  At the very root of my interest in the subject that has become the project for this sabbatical has been a weakness in the teaching of prayer, especially personal prayer, in our tradition.  It first came to me as just a faint inkling in my own life as I realized how little I knew about prayer in the context of that tradition.  So when I read this quote it struck home.  This is clearly NOT a new problem.

I think it's fascinating that the Archbishop to be identifies that particular duty as "...what we need more than all else...".  I'm not sure if you asked most bishops, priests, deacons and/or lay people today to name the single most important thing our clergy should be doing that this would even make the list.  You would probably get some issues skirting around the neighborhood but my bet is nothing this clearly defined.  The local faith leaders most important duty is to be a teacher of prayer.

The church in England in 1934 and in the United States in 2010 are very different in many ways.  So I wonder if the late ABC would protest too loudly if I re-phrased it this way:

You will use it as the basis for what we need more than all else - that the church must be a teacher of prayer

I'm thinking the whole church, ordained and lay alike, dedicated to the idea of teaching prayer.  Teaching prayer in all the forms that make up the foundation of our spirituality.  That would be the Eucharist, The Daily Office and Personal Prayer/Devotions.  To my eye we stand today firmly taught in the Eucharist, barely taught in Personal Prayer and virtually untaught in the Daily Office.  The needs and understanding of the Daily Office (Morning and Evening Prayer) are beyond the scope of my project as they are properly a corporate worship.  But it becomes clear that something needs to be done.  Without endorsing or rejecting his positions I would recommend Martin Thornton's "English Spirituality" as an interesting place to start.  In the chapter dedicated to the BCP he makes some very thought provoking comments about the current version of those services in contrast to the current pastoral needs of the church (as he sees them).  I'm sure there are lots of others sources for this discussion but it was Thornton that opened my eyes to the subject.

In the meantime we need to improve the quality, depth and intentionality of our teaching on prayer.  I didn't realize it when I began but this comment from Archbishop Temple is the simplest answer of the "why are you doing this?" question.  I now believe more strongly than ever before that each element of our spirituality is necessary and strengthens the other two.  My hope is that the work emerging from my study will strength the one aspect to the benefit of them all.

Peace

View From the Phlipside - Politcal ads

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the movies and more.  I love 'em and I hate 'em and I always have an opinion.  Call this The View From the Phlipside

I remember shortly after President Obama was sworn in there was some discussion about how much coverage there should be of his two daughters.  At the time I took the position that the correct answer was "As close to zero as is humanly possible".  I still believe that.  It's one of the few "rules of the game" that continues to be honored.  At least most of the time.

As part of the health reform battle a group fighting the latest bill stepped over the line.  In southern Ohio forces arguing against the bill ran an ad that featured the small children of Democratic Representative Steve Driehaus.  The group, the Committee to Re-Think Reform, was quick to acknowledge that it had been a mistake, apologized publicly, in print and directly to the Representative.  The problem is that it leaves even their supporters with only two explanations.  Either they are vile, cynical ideologues or they are idiots.  But that's not all they have to explain.  More on that in a minute.

I want to take a minute to address the feeling that many people have that politics today is nastier, rougher and more unscrupulous than in ages gone by.  Let me read you a quote from earlier in our national history.  I quote " Can serious and reflecting men look about them and doubt that, if (he) is elected and (his party) get into authority, those morals which protect our lives from the knife of the assassin, which guard the chastity of our wives and daughters from seduction and violence, defend our property from plunder and devastations and shield our religion form contempt and profanation not be trampled upon?"  That's from a presidential campaign.  Elect this man and your women will be ravaged, your property confiscated, religion defiled and our very lives threatened.  The man who would bring about this horrible fate for our nation?  Thomas Jefferson.

American politics have ALWAYS been nasty.  Mary Lincoln was accused of being a spy for the Confederacy.  The first lady accused of treason.  No, our politics aren't any nastier than before.  In fact the argument might be made that they LESS nasty than before.  Frightening concept, isn't it?  However it might be argued that our politics are STUPIDER than ever before.

That's where the last note from that southern Ohio story comes in.  You see the folks who ran the ad not only stepped over the line by using the Congressman's children they overlooked one other very important point.  You see Congressman Dreihaus was firmly AGAINST his party's reform legislation already.  That's right, they ran attack ads against someone who AGREES with them.  Really makes you lean towards the idiot option, doesn't it?

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

The Lorica of St. Fursa

As I move into a new phase with my personal prayer I wanted to share this one, the Lorica of St. Fursa.  I came across it during my reading in Celtic spirituality.  What appealed to me was the images of all the senses being involved in our connection with God.  That total immersion in the relationship is what I believe we are called towards.

Not a lot is known about St. Fursa (also known as Fursey, Forseus and other similar names).  An Irish monk who lived in the early 600's he had visions of the next world and did much to spread Christianity in the British Isles especially in East Anglia.

A lorica is a protective prayer.  The best known to most people is St. Patrick's Breastplate (which you'll find at the link above as well).  They were not only used by the monks but often by knights as well. 

The Lorica of St. Fursa

The arms of God be around my shoulders,

the touch of the Holy Spirit upon my head,

the sign of Christ's cross upon my forehead,

the sound of the Holy Spirit in my ears,

the fragrance of the Holy Spirit in my nostrils,

the vision of heaven's company in my eyes,

the conversation of heaven's company on my lips,

the work of God's church in my hands,

the service of God and the neighbor in my feet,

a home for God in my heart,

and to God, the Father of all, my entire being.

                                                  the Lorica of St. Fursa

Reflection - On the 21st Century

We do not live in the time and place of Thomas Cranmer (seen here), nor is this the time and place of the Caroline Divines or even of William Temple.  We will live out the rest of our lives in the 21st Century.  We will live, work, play, love, pray and finally die in the 21st Century.  You're stuck, there's no other option available.  In computer terms the other options are "grayed out".

So how then does that inescapable fact effect our life in faith?  Working from the basis that our foundational spirituality offers us great (though not limitless) freedom to explore and express our personal faith lives, the fact that we will live it out in this century means that we are faced with even more choices.

And that's good news really.

Some folks will see the future inevitably intertwined with progress and progress as synonymous with change.  Under such an understanding all that came before can and should be swept aside making way for the new, the novel and presumably the exciting.  As a student of history I reject that.  History including tradition carries forward to us things that have worked in the past.  As with each generation we need to carefully assess what is still of value.  It may be fine as is, or it may need to be adjusted.  Some of what is passed along to us will also need to be reverently set aside.  All of that is fine.  All of that is consistent within the spiritual heritage to which we belong.

We have a tendency to believe that the younger brothers and sisters will gravitate automatically to the "newer" stuff and have no interest in the old.  My reading and discussions over the last ten years tell me that often, maybe even very often, exactly the opposite is the truth.  So we must be open to "whatever works" (again there are limits to this but the limits are quite generous).

So what aspects of this 21st Century part of my study call to me?  A couple things:

• Technology - what does the technology allow us to do that is useful or even inspirational?
• Portability - hot word over the last couple years in software circles.  Its meaning is pretty up front.  The ability to carry your stuff around with you.  In many ways the BCP has always been an archetype of portability.  Today we have some new and interesting ways to approach that concept.
• Interactivity -  As Episcopalians we come from a long string of word oriented believers (not to be confused with the Word).  We read and are very print oriented.  Studies have shown that print doesn't work for everyone.  How can we carry our traditions forward in ways that allow interaction in other ways?

That's a kind of top of my head list.  Technology is already a part of this project as in interactivity through the use of the Internet, this blog and the videos I've produced.  My plan is to expand and look at other ways of using them to offer new ways of doing old things.  I have at least one project for each of the items.  If you have other ideas about the life in faith in the 21st Century feel free to let me know (ooooh, interactivity again!)

Peace

A comment on faith and health care

I will admit to being somewhat surprised and appalled at the furor of some of my Christian brothers and sisters over health care reform.  I'm astounded when I hear people of faith arguing against universal health care.

Because it seems to me that scripture speaks directly to this point.  And not in the all too common manner of "needing a bit of interpretation".  I'm talking about a story that addresses the issue virtually point by point.  It's the story of the Good Samaritan.

This is a story about health care.  It's a story about caring for those who are incapable of caring for themselves.  It is a story about caring for the stranger, the unknown, the member of another "tribe".  It is a story about paying for that care and committing ourselves to the cost of that care, now and in the future.

Pious, religious people, members of the same tribe, found reasons why they couldn't stop and help.  In the context of their time and place their arguments were perfectly socially acceptable.  The cost for them was too high.

And Jesus rejects them and their logic out of hand.

Health care for everyone is part of our calling to care for one another.  We ARE responsible for the stranger.  That it will cost us is not an acceptable excuse to avoid the requirements placed upon us by our faith.  Are we truly willing to place our devotion to some idealized vision of a governmental form ahead of our God's expectations?  Our nation has been in a constant state of governmental evolution that began within decades of our founding.  Jefferson changed the form of our government, Jackson changed the form of our government, the Civil War changed the form of our government.  The process has continued since.

If you insist on stating this is "A Christian Nation" (a statement with which I disagree and for which there is no particular historical basis) then you have NO CHOICE WHAT SO EVER but to support universal health care.  To refuse to fulfill this mandate is to affirm that in fact this is NOT a Christian nation.  I would argue that as Christians it doesn't matter whether or not the nation itself is Christian.  What matters is how we work in this world to fulfill the calling of God.

So who is your neighbor?  And what kind of neighbor do you choose to be?

Peace
JP 

Sabbatical video check week 3

An addition to Context

Last week I published my look at what is the foundation of the Episcopal context for spirituality.  When I went over it with one of the folks who are working with me on this sabbatical she pointed out that I had dropped something.  Something very important.  So I have gone back and added it (in italics below) to the original post

• That our spirituality respects and requires both the mind and the heart and action

Our spirituality is not and has never been one that is internal to ourselves.  We are called to work it out in the world.  From the very earliest days our spirituality has expressed itself in a social environment based primarily in the family model.  The early church gatherings among Celtic Christians were very focused on the idea that they functioned as a family.  They were much more accustomed to thinking of family in large group terms something that is a bit foreign to us today.  Consequently their faith was never a "just on Sunday" kind of thing.  That's a good tradition to recall and refurbish.


My thanks to Virginia who has agreed to walk with me on this journey for catching that.

Response - Daily Devotions in the BCP

In my family it's put up or shut up.  So here's a possible solution.  Note - I realized very quickly that I'd positioned the ribbons wrong and they weren't nearly long enough.  Oh well.  You'll find the file (in pdf form) HERE.

Latest reviews - 3 Movies and 2 books

Clerks, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, plus Top Producer and The Mile High Club

Yes, I am absolutely taking advantage of my sabbatical time to get in some serious reading time and movie watching.  This is an interesting collection.  Let's do the easy ones first:

Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy - I read the original novel and enjoyed it.  The first two movies in the series are classic action adventure flicks.  The action is non-stop and high quality.  I was actually pretty impressed by both of these and I'm looking forward to the third in the series.  They have a great look and feel.  Add in the basics of a great concept from the novel and you get a pretty good package.  I try not to expect too much from this genre and these actually deliver a bit more than I expected.

Clerks - Award winning and the movie that made director Kevin Smith.  Let's see, overall the acting is first year drama class, the script is a long string of obscenities intermixed with some gratuitously inflated verbiage, the direction is workmanlike (allowing for the fact that it appears to have been shot with a single camera so you don't get a lot of shot diversity) but doesn't strike me as be too much above good quality film school.  The humor is basically late middle school/early high school.  So color me puzzled by the raves this movie generally engenders.  Is this the slacker generation's great identity movie?  Could be.  It won two awards at Cannes and another at Sundance.  It strikes me as unnecessarily long and self indulgent.  Honestly I'm not convinced.

Books:

Top Producer by Herb Vonnegut.  Have to admit the author's last name jumped out at me (no relation to Kurt apparently).  Looked like a pretty good mystery thriller.  The story of a beloved investment guru who promised massive returns to everyone and seemed to deliver.  If you've watched the news lately you've seen exactly what happens to those investments.  As a thriller it exhibits one of my least favorite tendencies.  The book builds and builds and builds and wraps everything up in about 10 pages.  It always feels artificial and rushed to me.  The story itself was fairly lame.  The big "reveal" was pretty obvious by halfway through the book.  Not bad but not particularly good either.


The Mile High Club by Kinky Friedman If you get the Kinstah you'll enjoy the book.  The stories about a mythical New York private detective named Kinky Friedman and his merry band of "Village Irregulars" - Ratso, Rambam and McGovern.  Kinky meets a beautiful woman (as usual) who might be a terrorist and ends up with passports hidden in his cat's litter pan while the State Department and the "terrorists" chase them all.  This isn't particularly deep or profound stuff but it's fun and comes with a solid dose of  the patented Friedman attitude.  Like I said if you get Kinky, you'll enjoy the book.  I've read about half a dozen of them.

Time to start working on the next batch.

View From the Phlipside - The Poodle vs Glenn Beck

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media. TV, Radio, the movies and more. I love 'em and I hate 'em and I always have an opinion. Call this The View From the Phlipside.

I'm not sure where to even begin with this next story. It involves Facebook, Fox News talking head Glenn Beck and a poodle in a tin foil hat. Do you begin to see my difficulty here? Here are the basics in case you haven't heard about it already.

Among the many, many, many ways to waste your life on Facebook there are fan pages. These are pretty much exactly what they sound like. Pages dedicated to the breathless swooning by fans of actors, singers, bands, what have you. But recently there has been a blizzard of fan pages dedicated to concepts like "Can this onion ring get more fans than Justin Bieber", "Can Ryan Miller get more fans than Sidney Crosby?". And of course the "Can This Poodle in a Tin Foil Hat Get More Fans Than Glenn Beck?". Then you try and attract more people to sign on as fans of your page than the other guy.

Sounds pretty harmless right? Rather insane in a "Don't you have anything better to do with your time" kind of way but harmless. Yet somehow Facebook has decided that Bob the Wonder Poodle, that's the canine in question, is an offense...to something. The original page is the brainchild of one Dale Blank who is still rather surprised about the fuss. Facebook has put a "publish block" on the site meaning that no new members can join and the page can't promote itself on site. The social media giant claims that he has violated some obscure part of the guidelines for pages. Obscure because Facebook still hasn't managed to produce any kind of clear explanation of the rationale behind the block. Actually they're starting to resemble a certain southern tier congressman because their story keeps changing every time they tell it. Blank thinks that it may simply be that the site grew so fast that it triggered a security check to make sure it wasn't a hate site. He's quick to note that he doesn't much care about Glenn Beck one way or the other he was just a convenient target in a campaign to promote rational thought. There are lots of these sites out there. It didn't take me long to find two that use President Obama as their punching bag. The goat versus Obama site has been blocked but the squirrel versus the President hasn't. Likewise the Onion ring versus Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper site is still open.

So what then to make of all this? I've looked at the sites and I don't see hate speech. I don't see great political satire either. As a First Amendment issue this is...interesting. I mean come on wouldn't you love to see the Supreme Court looking at Bob the Wonder Poodle plus assorted vegetables versus Facebook? Do some people have way too much time on their hands? Check. Does Facebook need to stop being such a prissy little snot about this? Check.

Call that The View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - The Hurt Locker

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media. TV, Radio, the movies and more. I love 'em and I hate 'em and I always have an opinion. Call this The View From the Phlipside.

You make a movie. It's intelligent, challenging, visually stunning. The critics rave. Audience response is good but not great. You make more money than it cost to produce the film and that's always good. You win a bunch of awards from critics and film festivals. When the Oscar nominations roll out you get one and then a bunch more. When Oscar night rolls around you win Best Motion Picture, then a bunch more. What normally happens now is that movie theaters all over America decide to put your movie back on their screens. More people come out to see the Oscar winning film and you get the "Oscar bump". It's a bunch more money for the theaters and the producers. It's a nice little reward at the end of the day for a movie.

But in the new media world "The Hurt Locker" the brilliant Oscar winning film about the war in Iraq, the movie that earned Kathryn Bigelow not only the Best Director award but a place in history as the first female to win that particular award probably won't get that bump. Theaters don't want to take up space on their screens because they don't think the audience is there. Not because the R rated movie is too intense, not because they disagree with the Academy on the selection. They don't think folks will shell out to see it on the big screen because the audience can watch it at home. You see the DVD went on sale in mid January. Some experts say the movie might rack up millions more in revenues if it were on about a thousand screens nationwide following the big win. As of the week of March 5th is was showing on less than 300 screens nationwide.

So what exactly happened here? It looks like millions of dollars were left on the table by pretty much everyone because no one knew quite what to do. "The Hurt Locker" comes from a small film company Summit Entertainment (the same folks who brought you the Twilight movies). Smaller companies sometimes feel compelled to jump the gun to try and make as much money as possible. So despite the critical raves for the movie they pushed DVD sales a mere 6 months after it was released. DVD sales were pretty good. They ranked 13th in sales on Amazon prior to the Oscars and jumped to third after. But some figures go as high as 40 million dollars for additional ticket sales if they put it back in the theaters.

It's a new world for the movie industry. A world where dollars are certainly much harder to come by. Making decisions that leave even a fraction of that kind of money on the table is just bad business all round. Too bad the marketing wasn't as intelligent as the movie was.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

Reflection - On the Episcopal Context

For me the first step of this study has been to determine what the "Episcopal context" is.  That meant finding the roots of the spirituality and seeing how we have grown from those roots.  Along the way I was sure that I would find continuous threads that lead from then to now.

So I've been looking into the history of our spiritual family tree. What we call The Episcopal Church (TEC) has roots that stretch back to the Celtic and Anglo Saxon spiritualities into the third or fourth centuries. In my reading I saw concepts and understandings recur and be reinforced. There are certainly more than I list below but I've tried to restrict myself to those I think weigh most heavily in the areas of personal faith (as compared to corporate). They are (in no particular order):

• That personal prayer/devotions/spirituality is part of an overall approach to a life in faith
• That both corporate and personal worship are valued
• That our spirituality is based in a profound care for the life of the individual surrounded and supported by a larger community of faith (as compared to the other way around)
• An openness to individual variation - not a rigid or formulaic approach to personal worship
• That our spirituality respects and requires both the mind and the heart and action
• A deep respect and attention for tradition as the basis for ongoing development and change
• A deep love and study of  Scripture but not to the exclusion of other works
• That our spirituality is based in an optimistic theology

 No small list and several of them clearly related to one another.  I felt that each of them needed to be examined and considered so I have given each one it's own point.  Let me expand my thinking on each one a little bit.

Part of an overall life in faith - From the very earliest times personal prayer was seen as one part of our overall lives.  Our faith and the practice of it has never been seen as separate from our "real lives".  It is all of a single weaving, interlocked and continuous.  We throw around the phrase "life in faith" pretty casually in the 21st Century but that idea of our entire lives immersed and enmeshed in our faith stands at the very foundation of our spirituality.

Corporate and Personal Worship - This was a challenge to the mindset I brought into this sabbatical.  I thought that I could discuss personal prayer as a thing independent from the rest of a practice of worship.  It's become clear that the idea is incorrect.  Personal prayer needs the corporate and the corporate worship needs the personal.  While Jesus regularly took time to pray by himself he also regularly calls us into community.  They are all of a part and always have been.

Both Individual and Community are valued - This may seem like a repetition of the above but it was something that jumped out at me.  From the earliest days there has been a clear understanding that each member is not some faceless part serving the larger good.  We have individual needs and gifts and the larger community is best served when the individual is allowed to grow.  Neither part is subservient to the other but functions in a continuous loop of support and growth for both.

Openness to individual variation - The third aspect of this concept.  In our personal prayers we should find and use the technique, style or liturgical form that works best for us.  Sing and dance or lie prostrate, work in the garden or kneel in the forest, write epic poetic prayers or sit wordlessly in the Presence.  All the way back to the Celts and St. Columbanus (who apparently could be pretty strict when he wanted to be) it has been acknowledged that room needs to be left for the Holy Spirit to move as it will.

Heart and Mind - My least favorite epithet thrown at TEC is the "Frozen Chosen", a perception that we exist entirely in the rational mind in our spirituality.  My second least favorite is "Happy Clappy", used to dismiss the more charismatic portion of the community.  I dislike them because I think they're unfair, elitist and arrogant.  A look at our history shows that in fact we are called to both an intellectual and emotive approach to spirituality.  The balance may lean one way or the other but BOTH are needed for a fully developed spiritual life.  In this day and age the impulse has been to put people into one camp or the other.  That's inconsistent with our historic values.

Respect for History and Tradition as a basis for  Growth and Change - Another place where today we are often told it's either/or.  Yet repeatedly through the history of our spirituality we see people taking the best of what has gone before and weaving it with new approaches and ideas that are consistent.  It means that our practice has deep roots and has passed the test of time.  At the same time it has shown flexibility to adapt to the changing needs and gifts of the societies within which it exists.  This is the glory of the BCP in England, TEC and New Zealand for example. They share common roots but speak to the people of each community.  Any attempt to nail down a "permanent" version for all time would be a stake through the heart of our historic spirituality.

The Bible at the center but not alone - The consideration of scripture at the heart of our spirituality goes back to the earliest days.  Yet there has always been room for study of other sources that offer wisdom and insight into the life of the follower of Christ.  Consequently our tradition is filled with great writing from within the tradition and an openness to contemplate those outside.  It offers us a depth of thought that is thousands of year deep and of great, though not limitless, width.  Of course the BCP itself is filled with either direct quotes from scripture or phrases inspired directly by it.

An optimistic theology - In simplest terms our theology focuses on the redemptive nature of Jesus rather than the judgmental.  That is not to say we dismiss or disregard the time of judgment.  Rather  we are joyful at the gift of prevenient grace (meaning grace that has been given in advance) and place our eyes on the prize that is waiting for us.  This focus allows us to build a life in faith that works to place ourselves in the best possible situation to hear God's voice rather than an attempt to flee condemnation.

Those were the things that kept popping up for me.  I'm sure a greater scholar than I would say that I've missed things or want to combine several into one.  Yet each of them struck me as an important individual thread in the weaving of what it means to be an Episcopalian standing on the path of our historic spirituality.  Each is important and needs to be held in our hearts and minds.  To lose any of them results in something that is not quite that which has gone before.  At the same time it gives us an instrument of faith of astounding depth and potential variation.

This then is my understanding of the "Episcopal context" portion of my study.  Everything else must be able to grow from these roots.

Peace

Sabbatical video check week 2

Still struggling with the audio. Not sure what the solution is but we'll keep working on it.

View From the Phlipside - "Stuff" My Dad Says

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the movies and more.  I love 'em and I hate 'em and I always have an opinion.  Call this The View From the Phlipside.

I have absolutely no idea what to make of a sitcom that the folks at CBS into a pilot episode.  First of all I can't even tell you the name of the show.  Well maybe I could but I really don't want the angry mail that we'd get if I did.  The show is based on a big hit Twitter account and the closest I'm willing to come to the title is "STUFF My Dad Says".  And no, stuff isn't the word in the original.  Seriously, that's the name of the Twitter account.  CBS is working on the pilot and the latest word has William Shatner in the title role as the dad.

So what's the story behind all this?  Justin Halpern is a 29 year old guy who lives with his 74 year old father.  Halpern apparently is an editor at the men's magazine Maxim and started a twitter account where he quoted his father's, shall we say, rather earthy witticisms.  The word spread and he suddenly had a hundred thousand followers, then three hundred thousand, then seven hundred thousand and as of last week one point two MILLION followers.  Not surprisingly he started getting mentions in all kinds of media including the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times.  Next came a book deal (the book is scheduled for Father's Day) and now the TV show.  It is the ultimate blogger's dream come true.  You put your own personal little twist on the world out there and suddenly fame and fortune are yours.  It should be noted that a lot of guys would have considered it a lottery win just to work at Maxim but hey each to his own.

So what do we do then with this show?  I checked with my sources in Hollywood (yes, I have real sources in Hollywood.  Believe it or not) and they tell me that obviously the title will have to change.  To what is still up in the air.   I wonder how much of the "franchise" of this concept is wrapped up in that title (by the way my sources tell me that "Stuff My Dad Says" is actually one of the alternate titles under consideration.  I wrote that BEFORE they told me).  The other problem is how do you translate the obscenity filled quotes to the small screen?  Halpern's father is a cranky old man with a bit of a potty mouth.  In fact we've already seen this character on TV.  He's George Costanza's father from the Seinfeld show.  I can see the concept working as a book, maybe as a movie where you have more lee way.  But it's going to take some very clever writing to convey the spirit of Poppa Halpern when you can't use a quarter of his vocabulary.  You also have to wonder just how long any of us are going to be willing to watch such a cantankerous character?  Archie Bunker lasted a long time with a great supporting cast.  On the other hand we have the old Dabney Coleman series Buffalo Bill that just became lame in very short order.

We'll have to see if this 21st Century version of Father really knows best.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

Pizza and People of the Book

Just so everyone is clear that I'm not all work and no play on my sabbatical. Just saw an interesting movie and read an interesting book.

Pizza(2005): Saw the promo for this and was intrigued. It's the story of "the weirdest girl in school" (I've known LOTS weirder girls than her. But that's for another post) who spends a day riding around with a pizza delivery guy (Ethan Embry). They get to discover somethings about themselves and each other. It's a lot of fun and funny and poignant. Sadly it falls just short of being a really great movie. Every half an hour or so the director feels compelled to add in some sophomoric, teen movie cliche moment. In the end it leaves the movie feeling a little shallow and under developed. I really wanted to fall in love with this movie and ended up just really good friends. Well worth the time to watch however.

Pizza film
by azmovies

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks(2008) - A fascinating fictionalized look at the history of the factual Sarajevo Haggedah. This is one of the earliest Jewish books with illuminations (beautiful color pictures). The actual Haggadah has survived amazing travels and large portions of its history is unknown. Brooks tries to offer some insight into what might have happened to this marvelous book. Well written with characters you'll enjoy (well except one) it offers a wonderful insight into the ways that Christianity, Islam and Judaism have at times found ways and places to live together. Gives me hope that maybe we'll find a time of conviviencia again. I was desperate for something to read and saw this sitting on a shelf. I'm glad I grabbed it. Brooks is a past Pulitzer Prize winner and a pretty fair story teller.

Reflection on the Book of Common Prayer

I will start with a disclaimer that won't help with some folks but I'll try.

I LOVE the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). In my humble opinion it is the crown jewel on the Anglican church. It still amazes me with it's depth and beauty and relevance to the entire life and lifetime of a believer. I know I'm not alone in those feelings both inside our tradition and outside. I love the story that author Steven Case tells of falling in love with the BCP during his time as an Episcopal youth minister (Case grew up in a very different tradition) and wrote "The Book of Uncommon Prayer" because he wanted a way to bring the beauty he found in this denominational worship book to a larger audience.

So you may safely categorize me as a "BIG FAN OF THE BCP".

But if you think it's a great resource for a newbie at personal worship, you're nuts. This book should come with an instruction manual.

I can feel the blood pressure rising in some out there in reader-world. Take a deep, cleansing breath before you start kindling the auto-da-fé.

In an earlier post I chronicled the trouble I ran into using the Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families. Remember I've been an Episcopalian my entire life (wait, do you know that? I was baptized into our tradition at 28 days of age. Outside of those 28 days and a 15 year gap when I attended only infrequently I've gone to Episcopal services with some regularity. This is what I know) and I still got turned around.

It began with the Canticles. First, what IS a canticle? Ten seconds to come up with an answer. (Jeopardy thinking music plays - Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo...)

My bet is that the clergy came up with an answer and the more hardcore lay. The rest of us? Some probably have never even heard the word.

Canticle - a song or hymn from the Bible (generally excluding the Psalms). The Te Deum an ancient Christian hymn is also included.

Now more questions - Where do you find them? How many are there? How do I use them? None of these questions are complicated, there are 21 of them, you'll find them in middle of Morning Prayer (but split between Rites I and II) and some guidance on which to use can be found on pages 144/145.

NONE OF WHICH IS OBVIOUS. In fact if you go to where they're found (beginning on p.47 and p.85) you have to read the small print to even know that these ARE the canticles! Given the format they look like Psalms (which, as we ALL know, are found elsewhere).

If you're pooh-poohing right now remember that I'm talking about anyone who has little or no experience with the BCP beyond the Eucharist. Which is probably a fairly large percentage of us. While Morning and Evening Prayer were much more common a generation or two ago they are not anymore.

My friend Liz, in her comment to my previous post, asked if the BCP was "...written for the insider only?" I think that's an excellent question. We've all heard for years the critique of the "Episcopal Juggling Act" of bulletin, Hymnal and BCP during worship, the last requiring that infernal flip-flip-flipping back and forth. If you're trying to begin a private practice of prayer and are faced with the really unnecessary difficulties presented at times by the BCP you might certainly give up or go elsewhere.

Morning and Evening Prayer aren't much better. You're faced with all kinds of choices, some obvious, some not, plus there is an expectation that you know how to do some things. Like know which Readings are indicated or which Psalm. It's intimidating and that stands as a barricade in the road toward the Divine.

And that's just not right.

Peace