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(h/t: Mike Todd)

Cyborg Mama

Well, another recording by yours truly. I usually come up with music and struggle to find words, but this time the words of the first verse popped into my head as Kay was showing me how she has come to depend on her iPhone. In a rare fit of inspiration, the song was written in a day.

Cyborg Mama. A love song.

Billy Cobham

I feel ancient synapses of musical memory unlocking lately. I formed my jazz tastes listening to Billy Cobham's album "A Funky Thide of Sings" (1975) and the Billy Cobham and George Duke Band "Live on Tour in Europe" (1976).

I just found a video of Cobham/Duke playing together again in 1998. My gosh, Billy Cobham has only gotten better over the years. This one's for my drummer friends; you know who you are.

CALL+RESPONSE

CALL+RESPONSE opens tomorrow, for just one week in theaters. In San Jose, it will be showing at the Camera 3 downtown (showtimes) -- just a short walk from my work, so if you go with me, you can have free parking!

The movie was apparently put together with no studio, no distributor, no corporate backing -- just "open source activism" to fight modern-day slavery, featuring interviews with people like Madeleine Albright and performances by musicians like Imogen Heap.

Fight the power.

Update: CNN reports on the film.

The Missional Sound of Music

Our new "thing" to do as a family is watch old movies together. We had our first clue about old movies a few years ago when the kids watched Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (1955). Then recently, we watched Charlie Chaplin in City Lights (1931), and the kids said something like, "They just don't make them like they used to." That was it -- I decided we should try watching an old movie together every week or two. So we did the original Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) and the sequel Belles on Their Toes (1952), having read the books together. We did Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).

Our last movie was The Sound of Music (1965). And now I know I am getting old, because I felt myself crying -- at the overture behind the opening credits! I had forgotten that as a child, I listened to the album over and over. Although I tend to lean toward strange, ironic movies like Donnie Darko, The Sound of Music is #1 on my all-time list.

I have seen it many times, but it has been, oh, a decade or two since I last saw it, so I have changed. I was surprised to find the movie has changed as a result. First, listening with a more trained musical ear, Julie Andrews blew me away. It's not only her tone and perfect diction, but her evocative phrasing.

I warned our thoroughly postmodern kids that the movie would depict perfect children in an irony-free environment, because I wanted them to be braced for the cute songs like Do Re Mi. What I did not remember was a considerable amount of adult sparring under a veneer of required social politeness, like the subtle tricks of the Duchess or the presence of Nazi supporters at the party.

Then there's the scene where Christopher Plummer's character sings Edelweiss at the song festival. You can see the Captain suddenly grieve for his country, but besides his faltering voice, Plummer somehow makes his eyes go vacant -- you can feel the character's emotions right through his eyes. Terrific acting!

But the thing that was most changed about the movie is I was not expecting a missional movie. Maria wants so much to dedicate her life to the church, but instead is sent out into the world. There is a clear sense of calling reflected in her prayers, though her assumptions about the nature of her mission aren't quite correct. What has been impossible for others is easy for her, because she uses her gifts, and her focus is to serve others (which may mean standing up to them). Do I need to continue? Missional friends, watch again and enjoy, and be renewed in your call to pursue "a dream that will need all the love you can give, everyday of your life for as long as you live"!

Blog martyr

The last song we sang at the service for Kay's father one of his favorites: Once to Every Man and Nation. It's a pretty stark call to Do the Right Thing no matter the cost, and the third verse begins: "By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, thy bleeding feet we track."

This lyric came to mind reading about a Saudi girl who bravely blogged her new faith in Jesus. Her father cut her tongue before setting her ablaze. ++Lord, receive your faithful servant, and the many others around the world who lose their lives for your sake.++ (h/t TSK)

Religulous

This Friday is opening night for the mockumentary Religulous. Anyone want to go with me to the 7:20 showing at CineArts/Santana Row? Let me know!

Kevin will be there, and has interesting thoughts (which he has guest-posted on Dave's blog).

Update: Whoever said The Passion of the Christ is "the greatest evangelistic tool in the last two thousand years" got it wrong. I think this movie has a better shot at that title. Honestly, all your friends who weren't interested in seeing The Passion -- they will go see this with you. If anyone else wants to see it with me, I'll go again!