“God bless the United States of America…” Thus ended President Obama’s inauguration speech on this beautiful, monumental, and historic day. It’s a new day, and you can feel the change in the air - the hope - the excitement - the joy. We’ve waited a long time for this kind of change to come, and now more than ever is the hour. I noticed something particular in the ceremonies today, though, something which hearkened back to a simpler, humbler time, when going to church on Sundays was the norm and unmarried men over the age of 30 were shunned.
Now I’ve always had my own interpretation of what “God” signifies, but I thought that was sort of a bad word amongst the intelligent and otherwise well-educated folks, at the least something you kind of kept to yourself, or reserved for your intimate friends and family. Throughout the ceremonies of the day, though, I kept noticing the references, prayers and benedictions to God. Is “He” suddenly cool, or am I missing something? Continue reading →
In honor and support of the victims and hostages of the terrorist siege of Mumbai, and all victims of extremist violence around the world and here at home…
Celebrated in India for thousands of years, the Dussehra burning ritual closes the ten days of Hindu Navaratri festivals. Navaratri is a time of worship of the ‘Divine Mother’ - somewhat related to the western concept of mother nature. Honoring the legendary victory of King Rama over the ten-headed demon king Ravana who had abducted his beloved wife Sita, Dussehra celebrates the epic ten-day battle between Rama’s army of gods and men - including Vishnu and monkey-god Hanuman - and Ravana’s army of evil spirits and demons. With his hard-won victory, Rama’s beloved Sita is restored to his side and the forces of Love and light reign on earth again.
Symbolic of the triumph of light over darkness…the triumph of Love. Shot in the holy town of Laxman Jhula, India - just outside Rishikesh - where the Ganges River emerges at the foothills of the Himalayas. Halleluiah!
Believe it or not, Mickey’s Disney-friends are off to join the cause in Iraq. An American development firm based in Los Angeles is spearheading the multi-million dollar “Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience,” a 50-acre amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theater and a museum. The park is being designed by Disney’s “Imagineering” pioneers, Ride and Show Engineering (RSE).
Llewellyn Werner, chairman of C3, the Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms that’s funding the Pentagon-backed project, admits he’s facing certain unusual obstacles - namely, insurgent attacks and looting.
The story hit the news this past April, but a new Facebook group created by Rudy Duboille out of France “Non à Disneyland en Irak - Go Home !” is bound to stir some notice on the social media network.
Nonetheless, it’s doubtful American policy-makers will take much notice, considering the 200,000 American government-sponsored skateboards already shipped to Iraq for assembly to promote the new skateboard park opening in advance of the complete “Baghdad Experience.” Continue reading →
This is my friend Dermot Butterly, the Irish Gandhi aka ‘Gandhi Rolling Stone’, as he prepares to walk across the country from Santa Monica, CA to Washington DC. Departing May 17th from Paramahansa Yogananda’s Lake Shrine Self-Realization Fellowship, Pacific Palisades, CA, where Mahatma Gandhi’s Ashes are enshrined. Meet @ Noon! I will be shooting as we walk to Santa Monica for the first leg of the voyage…
A word on the context…it’s spring of 2003, year two of the Tribeca Film Festival, just blocks away from ground zero and my studio at the time. The bombs have just recently begun raining on Baghdad in the ill-fated Iraq oil war…
“God bless the United States of America…” Thus ended President Obama’s inauguration speech on this beautiful, monumental, and historic day. It’s a new day, and you can feel the change in the air - the hope - the excitement - the joy. We’ve waited a long time for this kind of change to come, and now more than ever is the hour. I noticed something particular in the ceremonies today, though, something which hearkened back to a simpler, humbler time, when going to church on Sundays was the norm and unmarried men over the age of 30 were shunned. 
