O'Keeffe "Red Canna"

After this post and the preceding "Mule Deer Skull" post, I declare blog vacation: all week, maybe longer. God bless.

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One of my comments (edited) from this post at Rachel Lucas place

I disagree, in a friendly yet definite way, with your assertion that everything - or most everything - about a religion must be true if a religion is to be truth. I assert the exact opposite: If one miracle of Jesus is truth, then Christianity is truth. If Muhammad rode his flying horse even one time, then Islam is truth.

I also disagree with describing religion as a “system” of beliefs. I tweak a Southpark underpants gnomes scene.

Evangelical Gnome A:
See, "believe in Jesus" is Phase 1.

Stan:
So, what’s Phase 2?

Evangelical Gnome A:
...(looks perplexed)... (shouts out:) Hey, what's Phase 2?

Evangelical Gnome B:
Phase 1: "Believe in Jesus."

Evangelical Gnome A:
Yeah yeah yeah, but: what's Phase 2?

Evangelical Gnome B:
(thinking hard) Well, Phase 3 is "Go to Heaven". Get it?

Stan:
I don't get it.

Evangelical Gnome B:
(goes to chart on easel) You see, Phase 1: Believe in Jesus. (moves right)Phase 2...(shrugs arms out to sides, palms up. moves right again) Phase 3: Go to Heaven.

Cartman:
Oh. I get it.

Stan:
No you don't, fat-ass!

Phase 2 is unique to each individual. It is often too profound to be categorized as a phase, a step, or as anything which can be conveyed. Doing so diminishes in a misleading fashion. Phase 2 is profound truth. It is demarcation. It must be lived and experienced. It cannot be transmitted as a tale or a story.

Maybe I come off as understanding Christianity better than I actually do. But, the comment does describe how I perceive this portion of the Christian experience.

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Bonus, for the road:
MKH tries to match Barack's bowling score of 37. Can she do it?!

Bonus 2:
Brandi Carlile being positively delighted that Shawn Colvin sang with her and liked her song. The video is of "Calling All Angels", and the part not to miss is just a tiny moment in the final 15 seconds of the video. It's just a tiny human moment. But those are the best kind. Brandi says, with feeling: "Shawn Colvin!" as a way of inviting the crowd to acknowledge Shawn Colvin.

You can see that Shawn was into the song, and was thinking something along the lines of "this is a nice arrangement and a nice performance". After, Shawn whispers into Brandi's ear, and Brandi just beams like a puppy. And she says into the microphone, in an unconsciously big and beaming country twang: "Shawn Colvin", and Brandi is just as happy as a girl can be that Shawn Colvin sang with her and liked her song. Way cute.

I esp. like it (and I've now built it up waaaay too much) b/c Brandi fancies herself a 26 year old rock and rollish tough chick who: drops occasional f-bombs during interviews with alternative radio stations, and is some type of true-blue music rebel. But, sometimes, such as when Shawn Colvin sings with her and appreciates her music, Brandi momentarily forgets she is a tough chick, and she unconsciously reverts to a little girl with a big twang. It is funny. At least until she drops the next f-bomb during the next obscure internet interview - which even then reminds of how the little twangy girl is trying so hard to be the tough worldly chick - which is still fun and funny, albeit in an affected cynical f-bomb kind of way. Heh.

And, you know, now I've written 150 words about 1 tiny second of video. And I don't care. I liked the 1 second of video. I like the tiny moments.

I've watched a whole batch of Cayamo Cruise cell phone videos. It seems there were a bunch of veteran musicians booked for the cruise, plus Brandi Carlile. Was she sort of the mascot? Were the middle aged and older musicians tempted to rub her head and to chuck her lovingly on the chin? When they had a set scheduled, were they saying: somebody call Brandi and see if she'll come by and sing with us. ? Here's another view of "The Weight" performance on the ship. The audio is poor, but you can see (50 seconds in) Brandi being cued to come onstage by Edwin McCain's nodding cowboy hat. She has no idea when to begin singing her verse, so he cowboy hat cues her again(@1:54).

from "Calling All Angels", by Jane Siberry:

"But if you could...do you think you would
trade in all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you'd miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving."