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by Brenda Patoine on March 22, 2018
Neuroscientists have found that the motor cortex of certain string musicians have exaggerated brain "maps" devoted to the left hand, a consequence of the hand's repetitive handiwork along the fret. I suspect Zakir Hussain's brain holds the maps for at least four very large and finely elaborated hands.
It seems impossible when listening to this tabla maestro that he doesn't have four hands. Like a David Copperfield of drums, Hussain's hands are in perpetual motion, often just a blur of flesh-toned ribbons that the human eye can't quite catch up to. His performance at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts March 19 with bansuri flute master Rakesh Chaurasia was a magic show of divine order. Hussain coaxed and caressed and cajoled a mind-boggling array of rhythms and riffs, blips and broops, tiks and taks, from the trio of tablas that sat before him like an altar. Appropriate, given that the evening was for all intents an offering to the Rhythm Gods.
It's as if each part of this man's hands is its own instrument: Fingers, thumbs, palms, heels of the hand — each part works on its own yet in perfect synchronicity with the others, producing a musical stew that defies the logic of what a single musician can do. Each hand, moreover, plays a distinct role in the composition, separate but perfectly merged in rhythm and timing.
But Zakir Hussain doesn't play his drums just with his hands: His entire body is involved, his facial expressions punctuating every note. Throwing an arm up in a flourish, cocking his head, squinting, glaring, grooving his torso with the tune, raising eyebrows, shaking his full head of wild dark hair, eyeing his flautist with an exchange that requires no words…like his hands, the movement of his body is constant, dynamic. When he goes into a prolonged solo riff, fingers all ablur, eyes ablaze, beads of sweat on his forehead, it's as if he's lifted off to another plane entirely, a place where he and his drums merge like impassioned lovers oblivious to the world of matter and form. Mercifully, he takes you right there with him.
It's challenging to describe this dance among drums without dipping into the language of love and sensuality. And why not? It's perfectly clear that Zakir Hussain is in love with his drums. This is not to be confused with any ordinary human love affair…
At the concert's beginning Hussain was pensive, restrained, allowing the flute strains of Chaurasia to take the lead with a serene meditative raga, the Raga Marwa, appropriate to the pre-dusk hour of the show's start. Tabla is typically an accompaniment, Hussain explained, a rhythmic partner who follows the lead melody. And so he offered the lead with praise to his musical compatriot Chaurasia, a nephew and protege of the great bansuri maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. As the evening progressed, the tikka-takka of the tabla entered like a wave, starting as a mellow swell barely noticeable beneath the undulating sea of bansuri, then gradually rising to mingle with the melodies of the woodwind, and inevitably building to a crashing, whirling crescendo that leaves your head spinning as if caught in the torrent of a big breaker. Formless, fluid, ever-changing ocean of sound, sweeping you along in its waves of bhava.
The 90-minute performance included three distinct works. The somewhat "serious" (in Chaurasia's words) Raga Marwa was followed by a light-hearted Carnatic raga known as Raga Hansadhwani, and lastly, a folk tune based on the Himalayan Raga Pahari, which evokes a melancholy mood, as of love lost. Each was punctuated by the masterful improvisation for which Hussain is famous.
The maestro's playful side was also on display throughout the concert. He cracked subtle jokes and rocked an expressive, entertaining call-and-response riff between tabla trio and bansuri. At one point he surreptitiously added an exaggerated scraping sound effect as he scratched the side of his face. I think most of the crowd missed the gesture altogether, but he chuckled at his own irreverence.
It is no wonder Zakir Hussein is lauded as the world's greatest percussionist and indeed, one of the greatest musicians of our time. Widely considered to be a chief architect of the contemporary world-music movement, his contributions to the genre include a long list of historic collaborations with musicians as diverse as George Harrison, YoYo Ma, Mickey Hart, and Ravi Shankar, to name just a few. You can see his full bio on his website.
We really can't wait till someone does a brain scan so we can get a look inside his brain…
Visit The Bhakti Beat's facebook page to see the full album of photos from the concert.
The concert was presented in association with the University of Vermont's President's Initiative for Diversity.
The Bhakti Beat needs your support! We are non-commercial and not-for-profit, a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you. Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat. Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain. In loving service...
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Dear Lord, kindly engage me in your service.
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'Bhakti Alliance' to Accredit, Regulate Kirtan Artists in Effort to Address 'Bhav Brain' Increase
by Brenda Patoine on April 1, 2017
BREAKING NEWS — A consortium of record companies, event producers, harmonium makers, and chai brewers today announced the establishment of a nonprofit organization that will be responsible for accrediting and regulating kirtan artists from this point forward.
The announcement comes amid growing concern that the practice of call-and-response chanting can induce a rare but rapidly increasing brain disorder called kirtananandanitis, named after the wallah-scientist who discovered it three years ago. (Read our story on the discovery.) The condition, commonly known as "bhav brain," was the subject of an alert by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control last April after cases were discovered in every town and village. Previously, kirtananandanitis was rarely seen outside of chant festivals, Krishna temples, and kirtan retreats, though there have been clusters of cases in Southern California, Burlington, Vt., and parts of Brooklyn. Officials were alarmed by what they saw as a rapid increase in random cases of bhav brain as the practice of kirtan has spread to living rooms across the country, where people gather in community to chant for free.
A key condition of Bhakti Alliance certification will include how to recognize and address kirtananandanitis. Kirtan wallahs will need to show proof that they have mastered the induction of bhav brain as a condition of accreditation.
The Bhakti Alliance will collect dues and certification fees to support its administrative personnel and fund a marketing campaign to promote the importance of a kirtan wallah being "BA-certified," but will not provide guidelines for best practices, offer instruction, or enforce its principles.
"Basically, we just want your money," said Bhakti Alliance CEO Ima Poser.
If you like this, you might also like "10 Signs You Might Be a Kirtan Addict"
How to Build a Bhakti Festival; Unsolicited Advice from The Bhakti Beat
by Brenda Patoine on February 11, 2016
Is it just us, or does it seem like everyone is doing a "chant fest" these days? Or maybe it's a "kirtan retreat." By any name, big, little or in between, in your back yard or Bali, at the local yoga studio or a luxury spa, bhaktified music fests and mantra marathons are popping up everywhere. Which is a good thing. Well, at least we think so…
When is a bhakti festival NOT a good thing, you ask? For starters, if it's so expensive that only the wealthy can afford it, that's a problem. The mantra revolution that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (most famously) popularized in the 1500's was about bringing yoga — which at the time was a means for spiritual salvation reserved only for the highest castes of society — back to the people. Bhakti yoga was the way. Its hallmark was that it was accessible to ALL.
That's still the case of course. Bhakti IS accessible to all. Love and devotion can have no price tag, and all one has to do to reap the benefits of kirtan is open one's mouth and chant. But it's a rare retreat that is offered up free, with good reason of course. These things cost money to run, after all. We get that. But a retreat that is only accessible to the wealthiest yogis has no business calling itself bhakti. There, we said it.
The point is, there's a right way, and there's a wrong way to run a festie. And lots of ways in between. We've seen 'em all. So, even though no one asked us, here are our unsolicited tips for how to do a chant fest right. (See disclaimer at end.)*
Make it affordable. This is No. 1 for the reasons already stated. It shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to get to a chant fest! Build work exchange and scholarships into the business plan. Line up sponsors to defray the costs. Set up systems so people can contribute toward "Kindness Passes" for those with limited financial means. Get creative and make it accessible to ALL, in the spirit of the bhakti tradition. (ISKCON, by the way, has perfected the affordable kirtan retreat, largely by collecting donations to subsidize the costs; the rest of the bhakti world could take a lesson from the Hare Krishnas in this regard.)
Give back. Work in a charity component. Collect donations or have a silent auction, and offer the proceeds to organizations that are making a difference in your community or field of interest, or put them toward scholarships for people with limited financial means.
Pay the artists. Not just the rock stars either. If it's a local community event or a charity benefit and the artists have offered their services for free, at least cover their expenses. Take care of their housing and transportation. And please feed them. Well.
Give them time. Resist stacking a schedule with one band an hour. Two-hour sets should be the norm. (Three if it's Jai or KD.) This goes for festivals of any size, local community to national multi-stagers.
Sound matters. Get it right, whatever it takes. And please amplify the musicians. All of them.
Aesthetics count. Light the artists, not the room. And please don't make them pink or blue. Give them a nice backdrop and a place to store their equipment cases so there's not a bunch of stuff littering up the "stage."
Build in breaks. Have a short guided asana practice or meditation in between sets. Set aside an hour for meals if it's an all-day or multi-day event.
Don't make us choose. Until we all have the siddhis to bilocate, could you please not have two or six things going on simultaneously? Festivals of thousands may need options, but still…the best fests we've been to do things sequentially.
Feed people. Bring in local vendors to offer organic, farm-to-table, ahimsa-principled real food and drink.
Consumerism Lite. Please sell kirtan CD's. And go ahead and showcase local artists, crafters and conscious merchants who sell things of interest to your audience. Just don't let the materialism interfere with the spiritualism. Give it its own space and keep it separate. No one wants to hear people hawking Lululemons in that silent space after a chant.
Don't be a douchebag. Any event that calls itself yoga or bhakti has an obligation to rise above the business-as-usual model of event production and promotion. Treat people right. Keep your promises. Set a new standard for conscious business and marketing practices. Cultivate community. Be nice.
*DISCLAIMER: Not intended to be used in place of a professional event organizer's advice. We actually have no experience in running a chant festival. We just know what works from the participant's point of view.
Okay, that's our two-cents worth on how to build a bhakti festival we can all love. What would you add or change? Tell us in the comments please.
The Bhakti Beat welcomes your support! We are non-commercial and not-for-profit, a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you. Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat. All contributions are used exclusively to cover the direct expenses of bringing you News, Reviews, Interviews and Videos from the kirtan and mantra-music world. Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain, heart and soul. In loving service...
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Mantra Meets Mainstream: NOLA Kirtaneers Blast Bhakti Out of Its Box with Jazz Fest Set
by Brenda Patoine on April 29, 2015
Wait a minute, kirtan at Jazz Fest? THE Jazz Fest?? The one going on right now in New Orleans, featuring Elton John, the Who, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Cliff, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and a long list of luminaries from a genre-blending spectrum of rock/jazz/blues/gospel and more?
Yep, that's the one. You can add Sean Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band to that lineup of musical legends.
So, what's the big deal about kirtan at a mainstream music festival like Jazz Fest?
The Bhakti Beat asked Sean Johnson this in an interview shortly after the band's set. He paused, contemplating the question, then offered this: "I feel like kirtan music gets put into a box by people who are not familiar with it. People who aren't into yoga or meditation don't even really give it a chance; there's a prejudgement about what it is."
Even kirtan artists, Johnson observed, have a hard time describing what they do in words that resonate with someone who doesn't already relate to the bhakti world. Playing a mainstream music festival, he said, "is an opportunity to put mantra music right in front of a general audience, so they can bypass their own judgments about what it might be — to really be able to experience it in their bodies rather than judging it with their minds."
"We in this kirtan subculture create these experiences and events where we can get together and be inspired by each other, but I think there's value in the magic of what we share that can really be a gift to the wider culture," he continued. "Mantras in and of themselves are really powerful, so if we can create experiences that bypass the boundaries that are put around certain cultural experiences, even certain kinds of art, it becomes an opportunity for the labels to become unimportant, to no longer separate us from each other."
Any way you look at it, a kirtan band at the epic New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest is, well, epic. And this little bhakti band from NOLA has been invited back to Jazz Fest three times so far. We're tempted to call them a regular.
Parmita Pushman, the founder of White Swan Records and herself a pioneer in bringing mantra music to the mainstream, had this to say about the Wild Lotus Band's Jazz Fest participation: "Jazz Fest features the colors and creativity of New Orleans; artists like Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band are part of a vital new future for New Orleans. Kirtan music and yoga are bringing peace and music to people, but wherever it happens they also bring along their own musical influences and tastes which are seen in the expression of their song."
The trio of Johnson (vocals/harmonium), Alvin Young (bass/guitar), and Gwendolyn Colman (vocals/percussion) has become somewhat of a legend in their own right, at least in the bhakti world. Their brand of funked-up, bluesy, soul-tingling mantra music is a favorite at chant festivals and yoga retreats, where they never fail to whip the crowds into a frenzy of ecstatic free-dance. But this band consistently delivers much more than rock-out dance mantra. They will take you deep, lift you up, and crack you open with soulful sprinklings of bhakti poetry and tear-jerker gospel classics like their signature set closer, Fly Away. Gets us every time.
Apparently we're not alone. Even at Jazz Fest — a big, boisterous, outdoor, party-scene festival with a dozen stages plus parades, pow-wows and pavilions — the band moved people to tears, Johnson told us. Performing on the first day of the two-weekend Fest, the band had their biggest crowd yet in their three years at Jazz Fest, with lots of kirtan newbies plus a dedicated group of hard-core fans, friends and family, who held the response.
"Many people were crying at one point or another," Johnson said of the band's Friday afternoon set. "I don't know how often that happens at a big music festival, so I was really grateful that even in that outdoor, larger-scale environment with a lot of people who were not familiar with kirtan, people had such an intimate emotional experience."
With less than an hour to play, the NOLA native said it was challenging to find a way to make the experience as accessible and comfortable as possible to people new to kirtan. He told the crowd that the language of bhakti might be a little different than what you're used to, but what happens in kirtan is really not that different from what happens in the gospel tent across the field or even at the main stage.
Connecting Through Music
"I don't want people to think that kirtan is this strange esoteric form of music from another place and time," he said. It's just another way of connecting through music, he said. "The most exalted moments of a stadium rock concert are when everybody knows the song; there is this communion between the band and the crowd. The essence of what happens in that experience is the same thing that happens in kirtan."
Based on the reports we heard, there was a whole lot of communion between band and crowd going on at Jazz Fest's Lagniappe Stage during the Wild Lotus set. The band led just four songs in their 50-minute set, all from their brilliant 2014 CD, "Unity," with a little intro to each to offer some context for the mantras. (You've got "Unity," right? If not, get it here.)
They opened with the exotic, rollicking tribute to the Remover of Obstacles, "Ganesha's Belly Dance," then moved into the CD's title song, a mash-up of original lyrics around the theme of oneness fused with Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu, the Hindu prayer of peace for all beings. Next, their powerful, primal Kali chant, "The Way of Love," had the crowd leaping over hedges to dance in a grassy area near the stage in what Johnson called a "little bit of a Bhakti Fest moment…but with grass."
Then, with the revelers securely in the palm of their hands, the trio knocked it out of the park with the soulful song of hope that they wrote for the city they love in the wake of the hurricane that nearly destroyed it. "I Will Rise Again" is a moving tribute to the band's beloved NOLA rising from the floodwaters of Katrina. It gives us goosebumps, and we're pretty far removed from the Big Easy…
We imagine there wasn't a dry eye in the crowd.
Jazz Fest photos courtesy of Bonnie Gustin Photography.
Krishna Das Goes to Prison for Call and Response (Video Interview, Photos)
by Brenda Patoine on November 24, 2014
Video interview at the bottom.
Yes, it's true. Krishna Das went to prison for Call and Response. The Call and Response Foundation, that is.
For the least few years, the nonprofit foundation has been arranging for kirtan wallahs to chant in prisons, psychiatric facilities, children's hospitals, and other places where people might benefit from the healing power of mantra music. This time, it was the Chant Master himself serving a little time in prison.
(You can support this important seva by contributing now to the Call and Response Foundation's Prison Outreach Program.)
It was a gray, frigid Monday afternoon in northern Vermont, vexed by a drizzling rain that threatened to turn to snow. Krishna Das and his drummer, Arjun Bruggeman, arrived at the Chittenden County Regional Correctional Facility for Women early, after a double-header weekend of kirtan+ workshop that were partial benefits for Call and Response.
They were at the medium-security prison in South Burlington to fulfill the pie-in-the-sky request of an inmate named Lucinda. Six months earlier, Lucinda had picked up a Krishna Das CD in the prison library. Apparently, she couldn't get enough of it, and she wondered aloud to her counselor, Philip Pezeshki, if Krishna Das would come chant with them. Long story short, here he was.
They brought nothing but a harmonium and a Naal drum.
Bruggeman's usual tablas were left behind because the little metal hammer that he uses to tune them was a security risk. The six of us — including C&RF director Jen Canfield and local wallahs Patrick (Yogi P) McAndrew and Jeanette Bacevius — dutifully stashed wallets and cell phones and jackets and scarves that could present a choking hazard into the lockers in the waiting room, then traded our driver's licenses for visitor's passes. Krishna Das and Arjun opened up their instruments for a thorough search by a serious but pleasant enough security guard. I presented my Nikon to the guard, hoping for a miracle, but it was not to be, so I reluctantly stuffed it into the locker with everything else. At least he let me keep my little reporter's notebook (after leafing through it thoroughly) and a pen to take notes. Then we all took off our shoes and filed through a metal detector, their instruments and my notebook set to the side.
We were led through a series of security doors to a windowless, concrete-block room off a main corridor. There was a whiteboard with a hand-written list of stress-relief strategies on one wall, and on another wall, a single poster exhorting viewers to "end the silence" about sexual abuse. A few rows of yoga mats, folded in thirds, were set up in a semi-circle, with a row of mismatched chairs at the back.
KD and Arjun set up their instruments underneath the "End the Silence" poster. Then KD wrote out the words to five chants on an easel. Shree Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram. Om Na-moh Bhag a vah tay Na ma ha. Om Na-mah Shee vy ah. Jay a Jagat Ambay. Om Ay-eem Shreem Sara swa ty yay Na ma ha.
Lucinda, the inmate responsible for all of us being there, came in and sat with KD for several minutes to interview him for the prison newsletter. Soon enough, about a dozen or so inmates — most appearing to be under 30 — began filtering into the room. They looked somewhat bewildered, even gruff, like they didn't know what they were getting into. Several prison staff members also came in, with serious faces. Honestly it was hard to tell who the inmates were, until I realized they each had on a dark blue scrub shirt over their street clothes. The chairs in the back filled up quickly, and the seats in the front, closest to where KD and Arjun were now seated cross-legged on yoga blocks, remained empty.
No, this was not going to be your average Krishna Das kirtan.
KD started by telling the group what kirtan was not. "This is not a religious practice. There is no blind faith required," he said. "This is not a missionary trip. I'm here because I was invited."
(In the waiting room, KD had told me that the last time he chanted in a prison, it was with a group of 100 or so men in a maximum-security facility in the South. "Everything was going along great," he recalled, "until I started singing the Maha Mantra." As soon as the prisoners heard Hare Krishna, they started scowling and fidgeting, looking at one another and shaking their heads. Every one of them got up and walked out. Every. Single. One. He hadn't been back to a prison since.)
Kirtan, Krishna Das told those gathered in the cold cement room, was "a way to quiet the mind, to kind of short-circuit the stories we tell ourselves."
"We mostly don't get a vote about our thoughts," he said. "Chanting is a means of winding down the mind and training ourselves to let go of thoughts."
He initiated the singing as he always does, with an opening prayer, which he described as "a prayer to that place within us that is looking for true love." After the prayer, he paused in the silence of the room, a silence that was routinely interrupted by a loud slam of the security doors in the hallway outside. Looking out at the women prisoners in the back, he said quietly: "These mantras are sounds that have a magnetism to them. By repeating these mantras, we bring the mind to a quiet place. When the mind is quiet and the heart is at peace, your life can take a different course."
Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram…
And so it went. Not unlike a typical Krishna Das workshop. Talk a little. Chant a little. Talk a little more. Chant a little more. Yet this one was verrrrry different. We were reminded of that about halfway into the session. KD had just finished saying something about how to "find some peace no matter what the outside world was throwing at us" when a beefy security guard pushed through the door loudly, with a list in his hand. KD stopped talking and simply said: "Come on in." The guard peered around the room, unsmiling, checking people off his list. He called out a few names — not the Names that had been ringing in the room a few moments before, needless to say. Then with a slam of the door, he was gone.
"We're all still here," KD joked self-consciously, with an awkward chuckle. Then he picked up the thread, saying there were all kinds of practices — chanting among them — that one could use to "find a way to chill yourself out no matter what's going on." It was an appropriate lesson for the moment, and you could feel it resonating with the folks seated in the room.
A couple times during the session, Krishna Das asked if anyone had questions. It wasn't until the end that one woman spoke up, asking him if he had always known that this is what he would do. He told a story he has told many times — of how devastated he was when his guru Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji) told him to go back home to America; how he had asked Maharaji: "How can I serve you in America?" and Maharaji laughed at him with a look "like he had just bitten a sour pickle;" how he, Krishna Das, was walking across the ashram's courtyard later on and was suddenly struck by the answer: "I'll sing for you." That was 1973, KD said. It took him 21 years, until 1994, to finally start singing.
Then he told the inmates a story I had never heard. He said he didn't think they were even going to let him into the jail for today's session because he was a convicted felon. Say what? Yep, Krishna Das told us he had been charged with money laundering after a criminal investigation involving the IRS and the FBI. He told the group that it was an "insane story" that they would never believe. One woman replied, "Oh yes we will," and they all laughed. So he related how he thought he was going to end up in prison, but instead — due to a somewhat remarkable series of graces involving the judge, prosecutor and parole officer in the case — was sentenced to six months of house arrest. He spoke of the period as a blessing, a relief, a much-needed opportunity for rest after a grueling tour schedule.
More importantly, he said, "Being convicted freed me from the secrets of my past. Now everybody knew. I didn't have to hide it anymore."
When there was only time for one more chant, Lucinda, the inmate responsible for KD being there, requested 'Amazing Grace' with the Maha Mantra. I held my breath, remembering KD's story about all the men walking out when he started singing Hare Krishna. "We cooooould," KD replied hesitantly… "Let's sing the third one," he deflected, pointing to the whiteboard where the chants were written out phonetically.
Om Namah Shivayah.
A long silence — blessedly uninterrupted by doors slamming — followed. Then KD looked out at the women and said simply: "Take good care of yourselves, okay?"
Afterward, many of the inmates lined up to thank him, to shake his hand or receive a hug. Most were new to chanting. One woman, Chelsea, said she found the session to be "really inspiring and cleansing." She told us she felt energized, and definitely wanted to chant again. Another, Sarah, confessed that at first she thought it was "a little weird," but by the end, felt that "it really worked. I absolutely loved it." Adrienne said she felt relieved: "The stress is gone. I'm more relaxed. I hope he comes back." A group of them milled around, smiling, chatting, not wanting to leave. Somehow, the cold concrete room was warmer, softer…
"Come back every week!" a young blond inmate named Suzi exhorted KD.
When all the staff and inmates were gone, our little group walked back down the hallway and through the double security doors . We gathered our belongings, traded our visitor's passes back for licenses, and bundled up to face the frigid Vermont evening. Outside, a cold rain was still falling, and darkness had descended. None of us seemed to notice.
Before we disbursed, Krishna Das agreed to a short video interview outside the prison door. I dare you to not be moved by what happens midway through it…
"Everybody's a prisoner, sweetheart. Prisoners of our own minds."
Support the Call and Response Foundation's Prison Outreach Program here.
View the Photo Journals of Krishna Das' prison visit in Vermont 2014, and his kirtan and workshop, on The Bhakti Beat facebook page.
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Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe Show How Juicy You Can Get at Shakti Fest (Photos, Set Review)
There is nothing traditional about Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe. And that's just fine with us.
Larisa and the Tribe deliver unapologetic Mantra Rock. Quite unlike anything we've seen anywhere else. The first time we experienced their edgy urban-laced brand of bhakti, our jaw dropped, and they just keep get juicier each time we see them. Quite possibly the tightest little shakti band in the West, they never fail to fill your cup with lovelovelove and take it right over the top — and then bring it back down to earth with something authentic and grounding like Larisa's now-signature LOVE-IN with the crowd.
This year's set at Shakti Fest was no exception, as love goddess Larisa snuggled up close and personal at the front of the stage with adoring fans pouring out their affection. She reflected it right back, singing them a heart-felt love ballad laced with advice for living fully from one who knows how. "We need to embrace all the parts of ourselves," she said. "Even those wild parts." It was like group therapy in the bhav!
"How juicy can we get?" Larisa asked the crowd at one point. "How much can we open up in this moment?"
They set the tone for their set right off the bat, with a Maha Mantra rock-out that proved why they call this music mantra rock. Then it was time to "wake up those heartlines," as Larisa implored the obedient bhaktas before her to put hands to hearts as she launched into an electrified ode to Tara, the Buddhist goddess of compassion who is always ready to spring into action to relieve suffering. This was like no Om Tara you've heard before; the seed mantra Om Tara Tuttare Ture Soha was fused with the English chorus "Om Tara, wake up in my life…" and driven by rich rhythmic layers of horns from the Wizard of Woodwinds Richard Hardy, bass, guitar, violin, and percussion. Oh, just watch the video…
Then things got really juicy.
With Tara sufficiently awakened in our hearts, the Tribe turned our attention to the Goddess Who Takes No Prisoners with a powerful seed mantra to invoke Kali. We were also treated to a brand new song based on the Sanskrit mantra Ahem Prema, which means "I Am Divine Love." The Tribe's version featured Bethany Folsom's exquisite violin amidst original lyrics reminding us that "The universe is in my womb" and "I am the love that I seek."
Just when you thought you couldn't get any more love from the Love Tribe, "Whatcha Gonna Do With All That Love?" poured forth. The song, already a signature anthem for this Long Beach-based band, is now immortalized on Shakti Tribe bumper stickers that were given away freely from the stage.
But they weren't through with us yet. They hit us with another version of the Maha Mantra that shook the ground with its high-energy must-dance vibe (trust me — I just shook my whole neighborhood blasting it in my apartment…). If you weren't dancing by now…well, I don't think anyone wasn't dancing. The set ended, fittingly, blessedly, with the title track from their epic CD "Rock On Sat Nam," officially sealing the Tribe's place as the Bhaktas Most Likely to Rock Your World.
What are we gonna do with all that love? Pass it along of course! Larisa made us promise.
Shakti Tribe is Benj Clarke on bass, Richard Hardy on woodwinds, Bethany Folsom on violin, Keith Larsen on drums, and of course, Larisa Stow holding court center stage on harmonium and vocals. Bray Ghiglia played guitar at Shakti Fest, and Mirabai Devi held space energetically throughout the set.
So go ahead. Pass on the love.
See the full Photo Journal from Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe's set here.
Too Much Talking from a Kirtan Wallah? Hmm. Bhakti Quotes Worth Repeating from Shakti Fest 2014
Top 12 Bhavalicious Moments at Shakti Fest 2014 (Photos)
"Shakti Fest Moments" Photo Journal on The Bhakti Beat's facebook page
"Shakti Fest Finale" Photo Journal on The Bhakti Beat's facebook page
"Jai Uttal" Photo Journal on The Bhakti Beat's facebook page
'We Need a Bus!' Kirtaniyas Kick Off Shakti Fest Kirtan and Take Bhakti to A 'Whole Other Level'
Like what you see here? Help us keep The Bhakti Beat flowing! Consider donating today, a one-time contribution or a recurring contribution — any amount is so appreciated and will help us continue to bring you the bhav. The Bhakti Beat is a labor of love, completely self-funded by Brenda Patoine (moi), who is a freelance neuroscience writer by day. Every little bit helps! THANK YOU! Donate Here.
'Too Much Talking' from a Kirtan Wallah? Hmm. Bhakti Quotes Worth Repeating-Shakti Fest 2014
by Brenda Patoine on May 25, 2014
At one point during the weekend-long love feast that was Shakti Fest 2014, I ran into Vijay Krsna and his beloved, Sarasvati Devi, the couple who lead the Kirtaniyas. It was the day after their late-night set, and I was gushing to them about how deeply touched I was by their kirtan and teachings (I despise gushers, frankly, but there I was, gushing…) Vijay asked if he had talked too much. I was perplexed by the question. He said that he had "gotten into a little trouble" for talking too much during his set.
Really? I was dumbfounded. I mean, I know we're here to sing, to chant the Names, to raise our voices in unity, to dance and clap and twirl in ecstatic joy. I'm all for that. But really, too much talking? Kirtan is, after all, more than just another live-music concert like you can get at any bar or nightclub on a Saturday night. It's the core practice of bhakti yoga, an ancient discipline of devotion and service. There is so much joy and wisdom in the teachings of bhakti yoga! Personally, I love it when kirtan wallahs pause from the chanting to offer little bits of wisdom or profound teachings from this tradition, or simply personal reflections from their own bhakti path. Am I alone on this? I don't think so.
Here, in honor of the "talking" part of kirtan, are a few of our favorite quotes — at least the ones that we had the presence of mind to write down — from the bhakti feast in the High Desert at Joshua Tree:
"It's no longer enough to perform kirtan. We want to inspire kirtan. We want to be inspired by kirtan." Vijay Krsna of The Kirtaniyas, Thursday night's pre-kirtan.
"We are the way heaven shows up." Akahdahmah Jackson of Aykanna (an Aramaic word from the Lord's Prayer meaning "as it is in heaven"), Friday afternoon.
"Our true nature is whole and complete. You are infinite joy. When you realize you are one with Krishna, you realize you are whole and complete." ~Manoj, the Deity Wallah, speaking between sets on Friday.
"We need to embrace ALL the parts of ourselves — even those wild parts." ~Larisa Stow, Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe, Friday evening.
"It's half English, half Sanskrit, and 100 percent ecstasy," ~Dave Stringer, Friday night, speaking of his forthcoming collaborative CD with Donna De Lory interpreting the Radiance Sutras in mantra music.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm dangling from a thread. The mantras are all I have to hold onto." ~Simrit, Kundalini chantress, Friday afternoon.
"You've got to give love in order to receive love. With every step you take, give love, receive love. Give love, receive love. Give love, receive love." ~Wah!, Saturday evening
"Every day I wake up with the a feeling of being completely lost. How can I function in a meaningful way on this earth? The answer is that I get to sing God's name. Without that I'm basically a lost cause." ~ Jai Uttal, in his "playdate" (aka workshop) Saturday afternoon.
"I love that silence at the end of the chant. It's almost as if you work the whole song to get to that point of silence. Then it's just you and the Divine for a moment." ~Cooper Madison, The Gandharvas, Sunday afternoon.
"Hanuman is the embodiment of grace. The Chalisa opens up our hearts to that channel of grace." Govindas, of Govindas & Radha, during the Sunday morning Hanuman Chalisa session.
"It takes a lot of people to make a kirtan revolution." Kamaniya Devi of Prema Hara, Sunday afternoon.
"Unconditional love. It's really the only thing we should be practicing all the time. But it's hard, isn't it? Singing is the most powerful way to unconditional love. " ~ Masood Ali Khan, Sunday morning.
"The only way to get back home is to fall in love with God." ~Saul David Raye, putting to song a quote from Italian musician Alex Cigolini, during Monday's Post-Intensive.
"Because the one I love lives inside of you, I lean as close to you as I can." ~Gina Salá, singing one of her signature love songs during Saul David Raye's Post-Intensive.
So then, the question is: Whatcha gonna do with all that love, Bhakti Beaters?
Pssst…Pass it on.
Top 12 Bhavalicious Moments at Shakti Fest, Bhakti Fest's Spring Fling in the Desert (Photos)
No, this is NOT a blog professing to proclaim the "best wallah" or the "best music" or the best anything at Shakti Fest, the Bhakti Fest franchise's spring fling in honor of the Divine Feminine. Choosing a best kirtan artist would be like proclaiming azure blue or burnt orange to be the "best" color in the rainbow. Like the vast palette of hues on Earth, there is a vast range of kirtan "moods," from soft and prayerful to raucously ecstatic, from pared-down and traditional to full-on electrified rock-out. Who am I to say what's "best"? That's a deeply personal opinion based on what resonates with any one of us. I know what I like, but that doesn't mean it's "best" for you…
And besides all that, I never met a kirtan I didn't like, so picking a few "best" ones is nothing short of impossible for this chanthead.
Instead, I'm focusing on a few of the many moments during the course of Shakti Fest when my heart was touched deeply enough to fill this old softie cynic's eyes with salty tears, or make me laugh out loud, or simply smile inwardly at the sweetness of it all. So here are my top 12 bhavalicious moments from Shakti Fest, in no particular order…
1) Meeting bhakti friends for the first time and getting hugged like they were your best friends for life. Does that ever get old?
2) The little pod of princesses who climbed up on stage to dance and prance about during Dave Stringer's set and summarily stole the show. And Stringer's "let it flow" response when asked if it was okay if they stayed. (Personally, my only problem with the adorable little girls was that they were blocking my view of Steve Postell; how could I ogle my guitar hero with a 7-year-old sweetie in the way?)
3) And since we're on the subject, Steve Postell. Period. Because when a celebrated electric-guitar rock star from L.A. comes out to Bhakti Fest to play with every headliner plus a few others, that's worth crowing about (and yeah, even ogling over). Stay in the bhav, Steve, we need you here. Please.
4) Manoj, the Deity Wallah, offering his humor-laced teachings about God and gods during the set changes. "God is not external," he said, "He is not some old bearded guy in the clouds with an anger-management problem." LOL.
5) Vijay Krsna welling up with tears on stage when he started to talk about his guru. Unable to continue speaking, his beloved wife Sarasvati Dasi, with a pump of the harmonium, seamlessly stepped into the silence while her husband composed himself. Divine union.
6) Wah! shimmering like the Bhakti Goddess of Love that she is in an iridescent plum-colored Gopi skirt and a big black bad-ass bass, reminding us all that if we want love, we have to give love. "Are you loved?" She yelled out, then answered with another question: "Are you LOVE??" (This simple exhortation is what unleashed the tears in me for the first time — but not the last — of the fest.) The crowd swooned.
"You've got to give love in order to receive love. With every step you take, give love, receive love. Give love, receive love. Give love, receive love…"
7) Story time with Jai Uttal during his "playdate" (his answer to a "workshop"), when he told of chanting at Maharaj-ji Neem Karoli Baba's temple in India in the 1970's. Each time the chant faded to silence — even after 6 hours of chanting — Baba's voice from a back room would chime in, yelling: "Keep singing!" and the chanters would start anew. Jai's playdate ended with a long, exuberant Radhe chant, which eventually slowed and faded to blessed silence. That is, until a voice from somewhere in the back yelled out: "Keep singing!" Wait, was that…?
8) Larisa Stow, Shakti Tribe Goddess, sitting at the edge of the stage and gathering her adoring fans close around her like a mother gathers her children to her chest, palpable love flowing in all directions. Whatcha gonna do with all that love?
9) Cooper Madison, extolling the virtues of the space between the chants. "I love that silence at the end of the chant," he said from the helm of his new bhakti band, the Gandharvas. "It's almost as if you work the whole song just to get to that point of silence. Then it's just you and the Divine for a moment." mmmmmm, yes.
10) Saul David Raye, pumping a harmonium with a bumper sticker on it that proclaimed LOVE WINS, staying gracefully composed and present despite the sound problems that plagued his set (and others). His mike was out for a good half of his set, cutting in and out loudly much of the rest of the time. He never lost his focus, never once lashed out in annoyance at the sound guys who seemed to be taking their sweet time getting the problem fixed. He just kept singing and smiling and pumping the harmonium we could barely hear. Yep, Love Wins.
11) This scene, from Jaya Lakshmi and Ananda's luminescent love-feast of a set:
12) Gina Salá raising her hoarse-from-the-desert voice (she was on stage a lot) one final time during sivasana at Saul David Raye's Post-Intensive to lull us all into sweet oblivion with a little diddy that went like this:
"I Love You, I Love You, I Love You….Just as You Are."
And with that little love song came the tears again for this bhakti-fried chanter. Could there be a more perfect way to end this Shakti love Fest than a reminder that we are all love? Just as we are.
Now there's something to take home with you…
OK, your turn. What was your favorite part of Shakti Fest? Or of any Bhakti Fest you've ever been to… The Bhakti Beat wants to know!
Jai Jai Shri Radheeeeeeeeee!
'We Need A Bus!' Kirtaniyas Kick Off Shakti Fest Kirtan & Take Bhakti to a 'Whole Other Level'
Shakti Fest 2014 — the first of the three bhakti yoga "love fests" by the Bhakti Fest franchise — kicked off with a little pre-show Thursday night with the Kirtaniyas, the progressive Krishna Kid bhakti band that is pushing the kirtan movement into new ground.
The leader of the pack, Vijay Krsna, paused midway through the high-energy kirtan to tell a story of something that happened in Las Vegas a week or two prior (yeah, forget that old maxim that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — does not apply here). The band was in Vegas for Holi Festival of Colors, the spring ritual in India where people throw brightly colored powder on one another which is swiftly spreading in the U.S., with at least a dozen color festivals at last count in the States. If you've seen any of the videos of these festivals, you know how high the energy is…
Witnessing the exuberance of the festival in Vegas, Vijay said, he realized "Bhakti is going to a whole other level, a level beyond ourselves individually or collectively. We've entered a new phase of this kirtan movement."
Sitting with a group of other devotees in Las Vegas after Holi Festival, Vijay exclaimed: "We need a bus! We need a bus so we can drive wherever we want to sing and dance and share the Names."
A few days later, the band of wandering bhaktas was in Santa Monica leading a street kirtan on the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian mall in the heart of the city best known for its amusement-park pier and wide sandy boardwalk-lined beaches. Less well known is Santa Monica's rich bhakti history — Krishna devotees have long gathered on the city's promenades to chant the mahamantra accompanied by bells and drums. (The Third Street Promenade was in fact, where this writer/bhakta first experienced the "Hare Krishnas" many years ago as they danced and chanted their way down the street.) Since 1977, the city has hosted the Festival of Chariots, a parade of elaborately decorated coaches in celebration of Lord Jagganatha, with devotees, locals and tourists alike jubilantly dancing and chanting all along the route.
Today, Santa Monica is home to a rich "California-ized" bhakti community, a city where you can get your sankirtana fix just about any night of the week. Ground zero for this community is Bhakti Yoga Shala, a shaktified refuge in the heart of the city founded by Govind Das and Radha, a kirtan couple who are mainstays on the Bhakti Fest schedule. The Shala infuses yoga classes with chanting, holds weekly kirtans, conducts kirtan trainings and workshops, and regularly hosts bhakti wallahs from out of town for roof-raising sankirtana.
So, back to the Kirtaniyas…Here they are, chanting the Names on the Third Street Promenade just like their predecessors in the Western bhakti movement, just days after putting out the intention for a bus, when one of their extended family comes forward to announce jubilantly: We have a bus!
"Give thanks to Krishna: WE HAVE A BUS!" Vijay exclaimed to the group that had gathered around the little band of bhaktas.
Recounting the story of intention-turned-to-manifestation in a matter of days with an air of awe and gratitude, Vijay reflected: "This has been the mystery of my life: Would you like to live a life of your heart's desire? We have been vortexed into this intention of leading a life of chanting and dancing."
At the end of the evening's session, which began with a prayerful "Jai Guru Dev," built expertly up to a rollicking rendition of "Sri Krishna Chaitanya" followed by a high-energy Maha Mantra/Hari Bol medley, and finished meditatively with Vijay singing "No Ordinary Name," the charismatic young kirtaniya offered this nugget:
"It is not longer enough to 'perform' kirtan. We want to inspire kirtan and be inspired by kirtan."
To which we say, HARI BOLLLLLLL!
Stay tuned for more coverage of Shakti Fest 2014, here (TheBhaktiBeat.com), there (facebook) and everywhere (twitter, Google+, YouTube, yadayada!
Hari Bol Y'All: Fifth Annual Chantlanta Breaks the Mold for Regional Chant Fests (Photos)
There are regional chant fests, and then there are Regional Chant Fests. Chantlanta proved once again how to "do" a Regional Chant Fest in the best possible way that we've seen. Anywhere. So far.
How'd they do it? Well, perhaps not how you might have thought…
'Unknown' Bhakti Bands Take the Spotlight
For starters, there were no "big names" at all. There was no Krishna Das headlining, in contrast to last year. Nor were David Newman or Wah, or even the South's favorite bhakta, Sean Johnson, on the bill, as they were two years ago. In fact, if you didn't live in the Southeast, you probably wouldn't recognize any of the 7 bands who played this festival. All home-grown, all from the region, all up-and-coming and deserving to be more widely known. The Unknown Bhakti Bands of the South, you might say.
Secondly, it wasn't held in a typical chant fest location (if there is such a thing). It was held at a big ole Baptist church, one built early in the last century in a traditional style: big soaring sanctuary, tall stained-glass windows, wooden pews fanning out from the altar, balcony full of benches hovering overhead. It must be said that little else about this congregation, the Druid Hills Baptist Church, is traditional — the church was kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention a few years ago for having a woman as a co-pastor. There's an experimental theatre in the basement. Oh yeah, and kirtan. They host kirtans regularly. That's kind of unconventional for a Baptist church in the South.
Then there's the cost. Nothing. As in, zero, zip, zed. FREE. That's right, one full day plus two half-days of mantra music and sound-healing magic for free. We're talking non-stop kirtan on a main stage, plus ongoing workshops and classes in two other rooms. Plus a Friday night kirtan jam and drum circle. Plus a Sunday afternoon mantra marathon and pot-luck. All for free. How often can you say that?
Did we mention the seva? Chantlanta raised more than $7,000 for two locally based charities. Seven thousand dollars. That's no small potatoes, and can make a real difference if channeled to the right charity — in this case two that will make that money go a long way to helping 1) impoverished girls in India (through The Learning Tea) and 2) rescued cows outside Atlanta (through the Sacred Cows Sanctuary).
So, let's review. A group of local bhaktas in a city that's not exactly known as a kirtan hot spot puts on a 3-day chant fest with no "headliner" — just a bunch of unknown local bhakti bands, charges NOTHING to get in, and walks away with seven thousand bucks for good local charities. How'd they do that again?
Chantlanta founder Ian Boccio, at the center of the community kirtan jam.
Ian Boccio, who co-founded the first Chantlanta five years ago and continues to be the lead organizer (he also co-leads the mantra band Blue Spirit Wheel, with Stephanie Kohler), readily admits that they took a Hanuman-sized leap this year. They let go of having a "big name" after having the big name to end all big names (Krishna Das) front and center last year. The approach caused more than a little hand-wringing, Boccio said, but the Chantlanta organizing committee members were all in agreement. Boccio is convinced the leap of faith paid off: the event raised more than twice the money for charity that last year's event did. He figures it's because people didn't have to shell out 35 bucks for KD, so they were more generous at the donation box. Makes sense to us.
The other key to this event's success was the Program Guide. A simple, black and white booklet that Boccio had copied at Kinko's. It included not only a schedule of events and descriptions of the workshops and bands (complete with Sanskrit words for novices to follow along), but — and this is key — advertisements from a slew of local businesses interested in reaching a sharply targeted, conscious-living, yoga-oriented community. The ads are primarily for local yoga studios, upcoming kirtan events, and healers like Jaguar Healing Arts and Louise Northcutt Hypnotherapy. Between the ad sales in the program and table fees for vendors exhibiting in the Conscious Living Marketplace, Chantlanta could meet its expenses and devote all donations to its charity partners.
Building a Kirtan Nation
But really, what we love more than anything about this festival is that its primary goal is simple: expand the local kirtan community. It gives local chantaholics a fest of their own to gather at; it gives local bhakti bands a much bigger audience for their practice than they would ever have at a one-band show, AND it gives kirtan newbies no excuse not to come check out the scene — it's free! The strategy is working — Chantlanta is attracting more people each year, more national kirtan bands are putting Atlanta and the Southeast on their tour schedules, and local bands are getting bigger crowds at their regular jams throughout the year. What's not to love?
The event officially started Friday night, with a community kirtan jam where everyone was in the band and anyone who wanted to lead a chant did — there had to be 200 people there! The jam was followed by a full-on drum circle that had the natives dancing and grooving. Saturday's kirtan line-up included Mantra Ma, LoveShine, Cat Matlock & Japa (from Asheville, N.C.), Kirtan Bandits, and a three-band "headline" evening that featured Phil McWilliams, Blue Spirit Wheel and Rahasya, three of the best regional bhakti bands we've experienced anywhere. Workshops went on throughout the day, everything from Sufi chanting to sacred harp singing to an hour-long gong bath that pretty much sent us straight to the moon after a day of chanting the names. But wait, there's more. On Sunday, Ian Boccio closed out the festival with 1,008 (no, that's not a typo, it's 1,008, not 108) repetitions of the Hanuman Mula Mantra. More on all that and each of these bands in a follow-up post with videos, so stay tuned to this space!
Can anyone adopt this formula for their own festival?
Well sure, why not? With caveats. Atlanta is a big city, 5 million or so strong. That's a big population to draw upon. The Chantlanta organizing committee of 11 people, along with a cast of dozens more or so, were all unpaid volunteers offering their time as seva to the cause of building the local kirtan community. The Druid Hills Baptist Church offered their space — a labyrinthine layout with places for a main stage, two workshop rooms, a vendor's hall and a kitchen where food was served — at a cut rate, because the event was a charity fundraiser. Dozens of local businesses also donated wares or services to a Silent Auction, which boosted the money raised for charity. Expenses were kept to a minimum, but important corners were NOT cut. For example, an expert sound guy (Matthew Hufschmidt) made sure the bands sounded just right and the lighting was favorable for video and photos. This is important stuff.
So, what do you think of the Chantlanta formula? Could this work for a kirtan fest in your home town? How might you change things up? We'd love to hear about other regional fests: what works, what doesn't, what's needed…? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
Please visit The Bhakti Beat's facebook page for the full Chantlanta Photo Journals.
Stay tuned to The Bhakti Beat's YouTube page for new videos posting from Chantlanta.
Read about last year's Chantlanta and its 'Unknown' Bhakti Bands.
Follow The Bhakti Beat on twitter, facebook, Google+ and YouTube.
Get the Bhav!
Jai Uttal's Latest Release Goes Back to the Future to Show a Gentler Side of Jai (Review, New CD)
Ten Signs You Might Be a Kirtan Addict, From a Self-Proclaimed Chantaholic (Just for Fun)


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A symposium on China's Art held at the MdM Mönchsberg in Salzburg in conjunction with the exhibition Mahjong: Chinese Contemporary Art from the Sigg Collection. Here, gallerists, collectors, and curators debate the hype that surrounds contemporary Chinese art within the arenas of both the market and the museum. The decisive challenges that face contemporary artists and gallerists, among them catering to a hungry market or making history, are tackled in candid and thoughtful ways.


9-11 came and went with hardly a stir. True, President Obama and the First Lady led a national remembrance for the nation accompanied by a powerful time of silent prayer. Other less publicized but no less relevant memorials were held.
Still, 11 years later, words don't capture the pain, loss and agony unleashed upon the world by the fall of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the assault on the Pentagon and its inhabitants by a highjacked American jet and the crash of a United jet in Shanksville, Pa., aided by the heroic last stand of passengers over highjackers.
Time seemed to stand still as did life in the world. Death and carnage were omnipresent. Churches were jammed. Families drew near. Athletes bowed in prayer before the action began. People watched news until its sheer madness and violence required turning away for some peace of mind. We wept with those who wept. We rejoiced with those who rejoiced. To an imperfect degree, we walked and prayed for those whose lives and challenges were eternally stamped with reminders of that fateful day. And yet, our most recent 9-11 came with hardly a stir.
The aftermath of 9-11 has taught us many lessons. Among them is this: "Hope springs eternal." God keeps reminding us that resurrections are real and somewhat commonplace. They are without end and somewhat commonplace, personally and corporately. A saying of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., makes the point, "for every Good Friday, there is an Easter." New York City chose not to succumb to protracted lament acknowledging, "Gee, ain't it awful." Rather, NYC has kept busy with the work of resurrection. From the dust, the ashes and the downtimes, New York City has sprung to new life.
Sometimes I wonder if we United Methodists have sung, said, preached, lectured, reported and/or repeated, "Gee, ain't it awful" ad nauseam regarding our 40-year membership decline. Is it not time to fully give ourselves to the work and publicity of resurrections, big or small? What happened during 9-11 was not a permanent state. Neither was Good Friday. Both of them were followed by resurrections.
Going out the door, they reminded me that my passionate quest for disciple making had not fallen on deaf ears. Would I have ever known had I not been reassigned? I don't really know. Nevertheless, I am expecting a continual harvest from every single church in the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference. Need I say "making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," is our main thing.


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Ralph Dale Carlock
Ralph Dale Carlock, age 75, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on June 24, 2020. A Godly man, he was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend! Ralph was born on June 28, 1944 to Charles and Maude Carlock in Richmond, California. On April 8, 1967 Ralph married his best friend Bonnie Jean Carlock in Peoria, Illinois and raised 4 children together. They were side by side for 52 years. His untiring devotion to family was always evident as he shared the message of Gods' love with them. Bonnie Jean Carlock passed away onJanuary 16, 2020. Ralph was a faithful servant to the Lord and his community. He served as a deacon and treasurerfor the Durant Family Worship Center for many years. Ralph is preceded in death by his parents, wife Bonnie and his daughter -in- law Shannon Carlock. He is survived by his children: Kevin Carlock and wife Carla of Durant, OK, Timothy Carlock of Durant, OK., Christopher Carlock and wife Chelsea of Denison, TX., Dawn Mills and husband Jeramy of Wills Point, TX.. His grandchildren: Chelsea Carlock of Durant OK., Jordan Carlock of Durant, OK., Alex Carlock and wife Cara of Pauls Valley, OK., Regan Lane and husband TJ of Durant, OK., Nathan Carlock of Durant, OK., Jayden Bengtson of Denison, TX., Elizabeth Carlock of Denison, TX., KC Richardson and wife Megan of Calera, OK., CJ Richardson of Durant, OK., Savanna Mills of Wills Point, TX., Izzy Mills of Wills Point, TX., as well as six beloved great grandchildren. Ralph also leaves behind his brothers Paul Carlock and Calvin Carlock, a beloved special niece Roselynn Behrends, and his close friends Don and Judy Brown. He will truly be missed! Services to honor Ralph Carlock will be held at the Durant Family Worship Center located at 430 W. Tennessee Street, Durant, OK 74701 on Thursday July 2nd at 10am. Public is welcome to attend.
Ralph Dale Carlock, age 75, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on June 24, 2020. A Godly man, he was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend! Ralph was born on June 28, 1944 to Charles and Maude Carlock in... View Obituary & Service Information
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Tag: Yu Feng
The Reviews Are In For CCM's 'Turandot'
In case you missed last Friday's concert performance of Turandot, both the Cincinnati Enquirer and Music in Cincinnati have posted reviews.
UC's own News Record also reviewed the concert, which you can read here.
CCM's Mainstage Opera Series resumes Feb. 10 -13, 2011 with Mozart's timeless opera buffa The Marriage of Figaro, followed by the Studio Series production of Offenbach's The Island of Tulipatan in March. Visit CCM's website for more information on these upcoming productions.
The Enquirer Previews 'Turandot'
The Enquirer's Janelle Gelfand recently attended Turandot rehearsals at CCM and provided a preview of the upcoming concert performance in Sunday's paper. You can read her thoughts online here.
CCM presents Puccini's Turandot at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 28 in Corbett Auditorium on the University of Cincinnati campus. Tickets are $20 reserved seating, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE. UC student tickets are available day of performance only. Contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for more information.
CityBeat Previews 'Turandot'
In this week's issue of CityBeat, Anne Arenstein takes a closer look at CCM's collaborative concert presentation of Puccini's Turandot. Click here for the full story.
The story of the beautiful but cold princess and the prince who wishes for her love is presented at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 28 in CCM's Corbett Auditorium on the University of Cincinnati campus. Tickets are $20 reserved seating, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE. UC student tickets are available day of performance only. Contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for more information.


Belew now on the Crimson Tour????
Wayside coming soon list questions?
Any update on Phase - Midnight Madness?
Kayak - What albums are worthwile?
Did Hackett ever play a double neck?
What's everyody's go-to source for prognews?
Any love for A Curious Feeling?


text:
/**
 * @file ui_quest.hpp
 * @brief Handles UI elements related to quests.
 */
#ifndef UI_QUEST_HPP_
#define UI_QUEST_HPP_

#include <quest.hpp>
#include <ui.hpp>
#include <vector2.hpp>

extern vec2 offset;

namespace ui {
	namespace quest {
		/**
		 * A flag to determine if the UI should be drawn.
		 */
		bool _toggle = false;

		/**
		 * Toggles displaying of the UI.
		 */
		inline void toggle(void)
		{ _toggle ^= true; }

		/**
		 * Draws the quest UI to the screen, if enabled.
		 */
		void draw(void) {
			if (!_toggle)
				return;

			float z = Render::ZRange::Quest;
			float top_y = offset.y + 200;
			ui::drawNiceBox(vec2 {offset.x - 200, top_y }, vec2 {offset.x + 200, offset.y - 200 },
				z);

			FontSystem::setFontZ(z - 0.01f);
			UISystem::putStringCentered(vec2(offset.x, top_y - 40), "Current Quests:");

			const auto& titles = QuestSystem::getQuestTitles();
			auto y = top_y - 100;
			const auto x = offset.x - 180;
			for (const auto t : titles) {
				UISystem::putString(vec2(x, y), t);
				y -= 20;
				//ui::putText(x + 40, y, q.desc.c_str());
				//y -= 40;
			}
			FontSystem::setFontZ();
		}
	}
}

#endif // UI_QUEST_HPP_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Cataract Steel Industries, a worldwide leader in heat transfer equipment is pleased to announce its new custom shell and tube manufacturing facility. The new 10,000 sq ft manufacturing facility located in Hamburg, NY is in addition to the 100,000 sq ft location in Niagara Falls, NY. Cataract Steel has opened this facility to keep up with growing market demand.
The new facility gives Cataract Steel the ability to reduce lead times, deliver equipment quickly, handle large shell & tube projects and reduce costing. The facility is a testament to the company's commitment to growth, quality and customer satisfaction.
About Cataract Steel Industries, Inc.
Located in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Cataract Steel Industries, Inc. (CSI) has been a leader in providing heat-transfer equipment for more than 35 years. CSI is an ASME code and Korean KGS shop, and the Company holds a Chinese Safety Quality License. With a full staff of heat-transfer specialists and a state of the art manufacturing facility, CSI provides heat transfer equipment to customers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.cataractsteel.com or call (716) 282-0845.


Creepy illustration of Retro styled Businessman who's shadow reveals him to be somebody quite sinister in the form of a Dancing Devil..
A number of new stories hitting the wires in recent weeks provide another opportunity for a cautionary look at what the lure of big commissions can encourage the unethical life insurance agent to undertake.
As pointed out in the first "Agents Behaving Badly: 4 cases of caught in the act" piece back in November, the vast majority of agents behave ethically and always act in the best interest of clients. But there are always a few out there who – lured by huge commission payments – are willing to scam clients and insurance companies, thinking they can cash in and get away with it. Fortunately their misdeeds are often brought to light by law enforcement and their own local media, effectively ending their insurance career.
A 73-year-old life insurance agent in New Jersey was charged along with two co-conspirators in a scheme that netted them more than $200,000 in ill-gotten commissions from Allianz Life.
Arthur Sinuk allegedly recruited James Vasiloff, 55, and John Jansen, 52, to apply for life insurance policies from Allianz Life under the premise that Sinuk would arrange for premiums to be paid for each policy, according to N.J. Attorney General Christopher Porrino.
Vasiloff and Jansen were charged with conspiracy, insurance fraud and theft by deception. Sinuk was charged with two counts of conspiracy, insurance fraud, theft by deception, money laundering, insurance fraud and theft by deception.
Vasiloff's policy was for $5 million, Jansen's was for $2 million; all three misrepresented to Allianz that Vasiloff and Jansen would be paying for their own policies and that no "free insurance" or rebates were offered, Porrino said.
Sinuk allegedly took out loans to pay the policy premiums — $108,000 for Vasiloff's and $42,000 for Jansen's; Allianz then paid Sinuk $151,000 in commissions, which he allegedly used to repay the loans.
The policies lapsed after premiums were not paid on them for 18 months, Porrino said.
A Durham, N.C. woman is accused of signing people up for life insurance – including one woman who was already dead – without their knowledge.
According to a March 28 story on WRAL.com, the North Carolina Department of Insurance charged Monica Jubert, 45, with 16 counts each of identity theft and obtaining property by false pretense.
According to arrest warrants, Jubert obtained people's birth dates and Social Security numbers last October and November and then signed them up for policies with Transamerica Life Insurance. One of the alleged victims was a deceased woman, authorities said. Jubert pocketed $19,285 in commissions from Transamerica on the bogus policies, warrants state.
This case spurred a recent thread on Insurance Forums as well: $19,285.00 Chargeback!
• Fraud investigation nets $11 million in refunds for elderly in N.C.
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced March 29 the conviction of two retired insurance agents, Milton Hooks, 72, of Rocky Mount and James Mangum, 69, of Tarboro on six counts each of obtaining property by false pretense.
The case was the result of an extensive seven-year investigation in 14 counties conducted by the N.C. Department of Insurance's Criminal Investigation Division. Hooks and Mangum targeted senior citizens in a regional scam that involved the reallocation of money people had in savings and insurance policies.
Department of Insurance criminal investigators brought the case against Hooks and Mangum for influencing 77 victims across North Carolina to remove money from their 401(k) and other life insurance policies and put it into Fixed Indexed Annuity products unsuitable for their situations from 2004 to 2011. Hooks and Mangum used their credibility as fiduciaries to move approximately $11 million into various annuity accounts with three companies – American Equity, AmerUs and North American – that sold the FIAs and garnered over $620,000 in commission payment for the sale of these products under false pretense.
As part of a plea agreement with the court, these victims were refunded their initial investment plus interest by the companies to the victims. The companies agreed to this after the scheme was uncovered.
It was discovered during the investigation that Hooks and Mangum also influenced four victims into making individual $316,000 investments which they directly diverted into their bank accounts and laundered the money for their own personal use. These four victims were repaid the money directly from Hooks and Mangum as an additional part of their plea agreement.
Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock dismissed 100 counts of obtaining property by false pretense across Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Chowan, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Hoke, Martin, Mecklenburg, Robeson, Wake and Washington counties and suspended Hooks and Mangum's sentence because all the victims would be repaid the money that was defrauded from them.
An estimated 10 cents of every dollar paid in premiums goes toward the payment of fraudulent claims. The NCDOI employs 20 sworn state law enforcement officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud.
For more details about this case, see this March 29 article from the Charlotte News & Observer.
A March 14, 2017, article in the San Jose Mercury News tells of three former Bay Area life insurance agents being convicted of wire fraud and identity theft in connection with a scheme to submit phony applications for policies and splitting the subsequent commissions and bonuses.
Following a month-long trial early this year, a federal jury found Ernesto Magat, 35, and Behnam Halali and Karen Gagarin, both 32, guilty of charges carrying a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The maximum statutory penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison.
While working for the American Income Life Insurance Co., the trio submitted applications for policies on behalf of people at least some of whom did not know that a policy was applied for or issued, or did not want a policy, according to prosecutors.
The trio then shared commissions and bonuses issued by the Waco, Texas-based company in connection with the policies.
Prosecutors said personal information used to apply for the policies was collected through various means, including paying recruiters to find people to take medical exams and paying people to participate in a fictitious survey of a medical exam company.
The trio opened hundreds of bank accounts to fund the premiums on the policies and typically paid the premiums for one to four months before letting the policies lapse, according to prosecutors. They also returned verification calls to the company purporting to be the applicants.
Magat, Halali and Gagarin are scheduled to return to court July 28 for sentencing.
Back on December 23, a former New Jersey insurance agent was charged with assuming the identities of former clients to fraudulently apply for new life insurance policies in order to collection commissions on the policies.
Marta Cristina Cunha, 36, of Union Township, N.J., was charged with second-degree insurance fraud, second-degree identity theft and third-degree theft by deception in the alleged scheme that involved at least seven individuals she submitted policies for while working with American Income Life Insurance Co.
According to the indictment, after Cunha left American Income she used various insureds' personal information she had obtained while working as an agent for American Income and applied for new policies for these individuals with American Memorial Life Insurance Company (American Memorial) without the authorization and knowledge of these individuals.
Prosecutors said that American Income paid Cunha about $1,752 in commissions and bonuses for policies she submitted on behalf of about eight individuals between December 2012 and November 2014, according to the news release. After Cunha left American Income and began working with American Memorial in April 2015, she allegedly contacted American Income and impersonated or pretended to be several insureds in order to direct the insurance company to change an insured's contact information, cancel an insured's policy or change an insured's billing method.
Cunha then allegedly used the information of those insureds to fraudulently apply for about seven policies with American Memorial.


text:
package org.apache.camel.component.resilience4j;

import javax.management.MBeanServer;
import javax.management.ObjectName;

import io.github.resilience4j.circuitbreaker.CallNotPermittedException;
import org.apache.camel.CamelExecutionException;
import org.apache.camel.builder.RouteBuilder;
import org.apache.camel.test.junit5.CamelTestSupport;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;

import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertInstanceOf;
import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;

public class ResilienceRouteRejectedTest extends CamelTestSupport {

    @Override
    protected boolean useJmx() {
        return true;
    }

    protected MBeanServer getMBeanServer() {
        return context.getManagementStrategy().getManagementAgent().getMBeanServer();
    }

    @Test
    public void testResilience() throws Exception {
        test("direct:start", "myResilience");
    }

    @Test
    public void testResilienceWithTimeOut() throws Exception {
        test("direct:start.with.timeout.enabled", "myResilienceWithTimeout");
    }

    @Test
    public void testResilienceWithThrowException() throws Exception {
        try {
            test("direct:start-throw-exception", "myResilienceWithThrowException");
            fail("Should throw exception");
        } catch (CamelExecutionException e) {
            CallNotPermittedException ce = assertInstanceOf(CallNotPermittedException.class, e.getCause());
            assertEquals("myResilienceWithThrowException", ce.getCausingCircuitBreakerName());
            assertEquals("CircuitBreaker 'myResilienceWithThrowException' is FORCED_OPEN and does not permit further calls",
                    ce.getMessage());
        }
    }

    private void test(String endPointUri, String circuitBreakerName) throws Exception {
        // look inside jmx
        // get the stats for the route
        MBeanServer mbeanServer = getMBeanServer();

        // context name
        String name = context.getManagementName();

        ObjectName on = ObjectName
                .getInstance("org.apache.camel:context=" + name + ",type=processors,name=\"" + circuitBreakerName + "\"");

        // force it into open state
        mbeanServer.invoke(on, "transitionToForcedOpenState", null, null);
        String state = (String) mbeanServer.getAttribute(on, "CircuitBreakerState");
        assertEquals("FORCED_OPEN", state);

        // send message which should get rejected, so the message is not changed
        getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedBodiesReceived("Hello World");

        template.sendBody(endPointUri, "Hello World");

        assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
    }

    @Override
    protected RouteBuilder createRouteBuilder() {
        return new RouteBuilder() {
            @Override
            public void configure() {
                from("direct:start").circuitBreaker().id("myResilience").to("direct:foo").to("log:foo").end().to("log:result")
                        .to("mock:result");

                from("direct:start.with.timeout.enabled").circuitBreaker().resilience4jConfiguration()
                        .timeoutEnabled(true).timeoutDuration(2000).end()
                        .id("myResilienceWithTimeout").to("direct:foo").to("log:foo").end().to("log:result")
                        .to("mock:result");

                from("direct:start-throw-exception")
                        .circuitBreaker().resilience4jConfiguration().throwExceptionWhenHalfOpenOrOpenState(true).end()
                        .id("myResilienceWithThrowException").to("direct:foo").to("log:foo").end().to("log:result")
                        .to("mock:result");

                from("direct:foo").transform().constant("Bye World");
            }
        };
    }

}


Cannabis has a long history of traditional use as a botanical medicine. The term medical marijuana refers to the use of whole, unprocessed plant and pure extract to treat disease or improve a symptom.1 To qualify, the product must be sourced from a medicinal grade cannabis plant meticulously grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers.
The cannabis plant has over 400 chemicals and at least 60 different cannabinoids2 — chemical compounds the human body is uniquely equipped to respond to. The two primary ones are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the latter of which is the psychoactive component in marijuana.
An as yet unidentified 81-year-old patient, believed to be from Stoke-on-Trent in the U.K., was reported in the Daily Mail6 as having experienced remarkable tumor shrinkage after consuming CBD oil each day. Reportedly, the 81-year-old was an ex-smoker who had been treated for prostate cancer 15 years previously.
Another chest X-ray in July 2017 demonstrated the disease was still progressing, yet a CT scan in November that year suddenly, and surprisingly, revealed a "near-total resolution of the tumor. The patient had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and also reportedly used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day throughout his 20s and 30s.
After spotting the significant reduction in tumor size and progression, physicians asked the patient about his lifestyle to understand what may they have triggered these changes. According to the patient, he started taking CBD oil two months before his last CT scan.
The Daily Mail11 published the patient's scans, showing how the size of his tumors halved. Although experts have warned this is just one case, other data also support the use of cannabis on the treatment of cancer.
Although CBD and THC are both cannabinoids that interact with receptors found in the human brain, they have dramatically different effects. CBD is nonpsychoactive, which means you don't experience the "high" you do from consuming or smoking marijuana. THC is the chief psychoactive component in the plant primarily responsible for creating the "high" associated with recreational use.
While the unidentified 81-year-old patient in the U.K. experienced a reduction in tumor size using just CBD oil, an in vitro study from the University of London, published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics,12 used both THC and CBD to yield impressive results in alleviating pain, restoring the appetite and shrinking brain tumors.
The study found THC and CBD in combination with radiation were able to shrink tumors to a greater extent than radiation alone. Interestingly, using just one of the compounds or radiation alone had a negligible effect on the treatment of the brain tumors.
"We think that the cannabinoids are hitting a number of cell signaling pathways, which primes them to the effects of irradiation. Pretreatment with the cannabinoids seems to interfere with the ability of the tumor cell to repair the DNA-damaging effects of irradiation.
In this short video, Carl Germano, Ph.D., touches on the importance of the endocannabinoid system and its role in human health. Cannabinoid receptors were discovered in the 1990s, leading to the realization the human body makes compounds that influence these receptors.
While CBD and THC have received the most attention and research, the cannabis plant contains at least 58 other cannabinoids and 400 other chemicals, and many of these other phytocannabinoids and terpenes are needed to fully support your internal endocannabinoid system (ECS).
"Your body produces cannabinoids similar structurally to the cannabinoids found in cannabis; your body feeds off of them and if you don't produce enough to feed every single receptor, various conditions, various illnesses will ensue.
The history of cannabis use for medicinal purposes dates back at least 6,000 years.22 It was first introduced to the West by W.B. O'Shaughnessy, an Irish surgeon who learned about it while working in India. His research was first presented to scholars at the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta in 1839.23,24 Initially it was primarily used for its analgesic, sedative, antispasmodic and anticonvulsant properties.
According to the National Cancer Institute,25 the U.S. Treasury Department introduced the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937, imposing a levy of $ 1 per ounce for medicinal use. Interestingly, physicians were the principal opponents as it required doctors to pay a special tax, use different order forms and keep special records.
Caffeine — Regular caffeine consumption regulates and enhances the activation of cannabinoid receptors.38 Remember the added caffeine may also disrupt quality sleep, so it's important to forgo any caffeinated substances after 2 p.m.
Reduce stress — High levels of emotional stress have been shown to downregulate endocannabinoid levels in your body.39 High levels of cortisol also reduce binding to your endocannabinoid receptors.40 I recommend my previous article, "How Stress Affects Your Body, and Simple Techniques to Reduce Stress and Develop Greater Resilience," to help you find methods that work for you.


Seaco Global is a global leasing company for sea freight containers and swap bodies ( containers that stand on their feet and do not require any special loading equipment to move). Maintenance and repair work on the swap bodies is carried out by authorized workshops and depots. The aim was to make the previously time-consuming, individual verification of such repair processes much more efficient by digitizing the processes.
Connecting the workshops to the central system and the associated opportunity to create detailed cost estimates quickly and easily with recourse to the spare parts database meant that the repair process has become more transparent. Since the data is now standardized, Seaco Global can oversee the process more easily and approval is faster. Last but not least, statistics on maintenance and repair costs for all Seaco Global Containers used can be generated at the push of a button. The transparency of all processes has resulted in significant cost reductions and higher efficiency for Seaco Global.
The underlying contract and business partner data is transferred via interfaces from the ERP system to the swap body repair system.
The costs of the repair services and the cost unit information are transferred to the existing SAP architecture. The order number is returned fully automatically.
Workshops can electronically access the repair services for their invoicing system or alternatively have their invoices generated directly by the system.
It is also possible to import the repair services into the system.
New rentals and return deliveries are digitally compared with the ERP system and further processed on an automatic basis.
Both the cost estimates and the repair service are subject to an approval workflow - in the event of rejection, the service provider can simply adjust its services and request approval again.
Maintenance intervals are saved on the system and the necessary activities are displayed to the service provider.
When a leasing contract expires, the responsible depot is informed which containers are to be returned and the return delivery number belonging to a container is automatically stored in the system.
After the container has been returned, the depot confirms the receipt by means of the return delivery number. The information is automatically transferred to the ERP system.
The depot then checks for damage. If no damage is determined, an availability message is sent to the ERP system and the container is again made available for rental.


text:
Child actor Karolyn Grimes on the back of Jimmy Stewart, in a scene from the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life." (Paramount Home Entertainment via AP)
5 Favorite Christmas Movies and the Hope of Renewal and Redemption
Mark Hendrickson
As we approach the end of another jarring year, we come to two traditional holidays spaced just one week apart—Christmas and New Year's. One is sacred and one is secular, but they have in common one very important theme: renewal, a fresh start, the hope that life will look brighter going forward.
One staple of the Christmas season is the wide range of movies about Christmas that are televised every year. There are movies for every taste, ranging from cartoons about Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, the Peanuts gang, etc. for kids (including grown-up kids) to feel-good sentimental Christmas season movies churned out by the Hallmark Channel. My personal preference is for heart-warming stories that dramatize the phenomena of renewal and redemption. The possibility of renewal can appeal to people of all faiths and no faith; the gift of redemption is explicitly part of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but it has universal potential.
Let me share with you my five favorite Christmas movies. If you haven't seen them before, I encourage you to retreat from the hustle and bustle of your life to refresh yourself with some of these messages of hope and grace.
1. 'The Bishop's Wife' (1947)
In this enchanting fantasy, Cary Grant plays a charming and very human angel who visits Earth to help a bishop (played by the superb David Niven) and his wife (played by the beautiful Loretta Young). The bishop has allowed the responsibilities of church office to overwhelm him, and this distressed his devoted wife. The supporting characters—an old professor, a friendly taxi driver, a prickly millionairess, and the bishop's little girl, cook, and secretary—are delightful. The movie is a reminder to keep material concerns from eclipsing our spiritual priorities. This story is engaging, sweet, and profoundly wise. The scene in which the debonair Grant recites part of the 23rd Psalm is beautifully unselfconscious. It's hard to imagine such a scene in a contemporary movie.
2. 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946)
I have to confess that I didn't particularly enjoy this movie the first time I saw it, but after viewing it a second time years later, I plead "temporary insanity." This Frank Capra classic, starring Hollywood icon Jimmy Stewart, invokes the spirit of Christmas to defeat two of the greatest enemies facing humanity—discouragement and the awful belief that an individual's life is insignificant. As in "The Bishop's Wife," an angel plays a key role in the redemption of a human in need, but Clarence the klutzy angel in "It's a Wonderful Life" is the antithesis of the suave angel played by Cary Grant. (Interesting trivia: the child actress who played the bishop's daughter plays one of Jimmy Stewart's daughters in this movie.)
3. 'Home Alone' (1990)
This movie is primarily known as a comedy, and for good reason. Certainly, the slapstick battle between young Macaulay Culkin and the bumbling bad guys, hilariously played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, is the heart of this movie, but it also portrays poignantly the unwelcome frictions that sometimes disrupt the harmony of family life. The theme of renewal comes through loud and clear in the touching subplot in which young Kevin teaches his formerly mysterious elderly neighbor to press the "reset" button and reconnect with his estranged son and his family.
4. 'A Christmas Carol'
There are multiple renditions of Charles Dickens's classic story of the spiritual awakening of one of the most memorable characters in fiction—the grouchy old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge. In my humble opinion, the older the version, the better the movie (at least, in the era of "talkies"). The best, then, is the 1938 version, starring Reginald Owen. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future in this rendition are the definitive portrayals. Second place goes to the 1951 film, starring Alastair Sim, which is somewhat longer and goes into greater but nonessential detail about Scrooge's youth. What makes "A Christmas Carol" a timeless classic is Scrooge's glorious rebirth. After decades living a desiccated life of self-absorption, a magical Christmas Eve night liberates Scrooge's heart from its stony prison. Transformed, he begins to pour out love for others, and as he does, he finds joy and fulfillment in his life. He learned the vital lesson that one of the most effective ways for a person to find happiness is to focus on how to bring happiness to others.
5. 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' (1980)
There have been multiple cinematic adaptations of this old Frances Hodgson Burnett novel, but the one that really captures the spirit of the story is the 1980 version, starring Ricky Schroder and the incomparable Alec Guinness, known to my generation for his Oscar-winning role in "The Bridge on the River Kwai," and to younger movie-goers for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The willingness of the title character—an American boy of about 9 or 10—to always see the good in others has a transformative, healing effect. Somewhat like Scrooge, the spirit of the boy's English grandfather, a wealthy earl, had withered. The pure, innocent love of the boy touches grandpa's heart and redeems his life, with the climax coming most fittingly on Christmas Day. This movie evokes the Biblical prophecy "and a little child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). I bet I've seen this movie close to 20 times, and I never tire of it.
Any of these five movies can help to kindle the Christmas spirit within you, whether you're Christian or not. Birth, rebirth, and renewal are what Christmas is all about; more generally, they are what life is all about.
Merry Christmas, everyone. May you feel as a palpable presence the holy benediction "on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). I hope you will have time to warm your heart with some of these classic Christmas movies.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Mark Hendrickson is an economist who retired from the faculty of Grove City College in Pennsylvania, where he remains fellow for economic and social policy at the Institute for Faith and Freedom. He is the author of several books on topics as varied as American economic history, anonymous characters in the Bible, the wealth inequality issue, and climate change, among others.


From LED light bulbs to water efficiency, what makes a building "green"? A new course at UC Irvine intends to teach students the answer.
UC Irvine is offering a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Construction Management Course through its Extension program, which will educate students on the requirements for LEED compliance and an understanding of LEED documentation.
"I originally thought it would be good for contractors," instructor Kenneth Howe said. "The interest has been beyond that."
Howe has been in development and real estate for 20 years. He's worked on LEED certified buildings in Orange County and Los Angeles, such as Park Virdian apartments in Anaheim, which received a LEED Gold certification.
Although the 10-week class is focused on the construction elements necessary for certification and how to work with LEED, it's also helpful for anyone involved in the documentation processes, such as city staff or developers.
"When [a city] approves a project, the planning department gives conditions of approval," he said. "In the conditions there has been — more and more lately — design requirements that are energy efficient."
California mandates energy efficiency through Title 24, which sets the code and energy requirements for buildings, Howe said. Cities draft their own set of criteria as a complement to Title 24 or adopt their own standard (such as LEED), which uses its own criteria.
Students will walk away with an understanding of construction compliance standards and the coursework provides them with a binder of documents they can use when applying for LEED certification.
The online class is from Jan. 10 to March 20. For more information, visit unex.uci.edu.


text:
The U.S. Honors Late Astronaut With Lebanese Descent
Souad Lazkani·
An American of prominent Lebanese descent who perished on the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger will be honored by the United States Mint, keeping her memory and legacy alive.
In honor of Christa McAuliffe, the U.S. Mint has announced that it will issue a commemorative coin, the 2021 Christa McAuliffe Silver Dollar.
U.S. Mint
McAuliffe was a social studies teacher who was the first to participate in NASA's 'Teacher in Space' Program that aimed to find an "ordinary person" to experience space travel.
Her maternal grandfather was of Lebanese Maronite descent and she was the great-niece of the renowned Lebanese-American historian and Harvard professor Philip Hitti.
On January 28, 1986, at 37 years old, she was one of seven who tragically died in the launching of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident.
A post shared by Rob Buchwald (@robbuchwald)
Surcharges from the sale of this coin ($10 for each silver dollar) will go to funding the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics program.
Total815


A member of Digital Watch, this blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl, also going by the nickname of Nat, arrived at Mari and Ryder's apartment just before Rayleigh Thompson's plan against the Digimon Tamers came into effect in Book Seven. Because she reminded him of Ivy in appearance and he believed she might be connected to him, Ryder brought her along on their escape to the park. She started out curious about the various mysteries surrounding the Tamers and decided to ask her questions in person instead of stalking them, but was not ready for the dangerous life was dragged into against her will when the apartment was raided (although she was given a few potential opportunities to leave in the subsequent escape).
She ended up in the Digital World with the others, where she suffered a slight break-down because of the stressful events, including one of Ryder's 'deaths' and her perceived idea that he wants something from her (only heightened by being called 'Ivy' by both Mari and Ryder upon first meeting them). This frustration, fear, and confusion led to an escape attempt, but Jeri and Leomon were able to find her before the Digital World's many dangers did, and offered a beacon of friendship in the unfortunate circumstances.
Natsuki appears to exhibit an ability for telepathy. No one, including herself, seems to be aware of this development yet.