Third Sunday of Advent - The Celebration

 On the third Sunday of advent, we celebrate the joy of the coming Savior.  This is Gaudete Sunday - Gaudete in Domino semper; Rejoice in the Lord Always.  The exceeding great joy of knowing that you are unconditionally loved by the Father and that nothing - not sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death - can take that love away.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.  Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob."

Phillipians 4:4-6; Psalm 85:1

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:8-14

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:10-11

I love this last one, especially as overjoyed seems to undersell it.  Older translations put that the magi rejoiced "with exceeding great joy."  These were scholars who travelled far and brought expensive gifts simply to worship at the new Messiah.  It’s akin to experiencing the joy of seeing something through to completion.  PhD candidates finally seeing their thesis accepted.  Finding the cure for a disease long fought.  A joy that comes with endurance.  These magi have studied the stars and have read all the books.  They are literally most prepared for this moment.

And it’s from this preparedness that they experience the joy of fulfillment.  They see their preparation pay off.  Their study of astronomy brings them to this star.  Their readings of other religious literature bring them to this child - to the King of the Jews.  

Can you imagine their excitement?

But note, as we look at all the participants, there is another group that is just as prepared.  Perhaps even more so.

These magi told the priests and the scribes, the very people who had been longing for a Messiah, that the signs were in the heavens.  The scribes and priests even pointed the magi in the right direction of Bethlehem, but were not interested enough to go and see what might be going on.

The priests and scribes were prepared to a point.  They had knowledge, but no interest.  They knew the promise, but did not have the faith to see it through this time.  Who knows, perhaps they had been burned too many times before?  Perhaps they were just too busy with other “religious” activity?  Perhaps their pride wouldn’t let them recognize what these righteous outsiders were bringing to their attention?  Perhaps they had grown too accustomed to power to chance their favor with Herod?  

For whatever reason, the scribes and priests heard and were not moved to action.

Because the magi continued onward, their joy was fulfilled.  And they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

So where does your preparedness lead you?  Do you hear and stay still?  Or are you still moved?  Do you find exceeding great joy?

May this be a Sunday of exceeding great joy for you and yours and may the joy of this season carry you forward in your days to come.

The Most Happy Birthday!

 

While her party was a few days ago, today marks the birthday of a very special lady in our family.  Our matriarch. Our cinnamon toast maker. Our harmonizer (I know she’s why I can hear a tenor and alto line so well).  Our boss. Our rock. 

My Grandy. 

Today, Grandy Sheppard celebrates another birthday and another year of memories, life, and love.  These are the times that the distance gets tough for us, because this is where we’d love to be a part of the party.  But we are thankful for the technology that allows us to video in and celebrate. To share our well wishes and love.  And to spread that to all we know.

We hope today was truly a Grand one and hope to physically celebrate together soon.

We love you Grandy Sheppard!  Many blessed and happy returns of the day!

Cinco de Mayo 2023

Today is the fifth of May.  A day marked on the calendar for a Mexican holiday to commemorate the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862.  The victory of the smaller Mexican army over the larger French army was a boost in morale for Mexico.

The holiday has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, and has spread to the greater United States.  It is virtually ignored in Mexico - it is not a statutory holiday, though the schools are closed.  It is an official holiday in the Mexican state of Puebla and the neighboring state of Veracruz.

In the United States, it has largely become a celebration of Mexican food and alcohol.  In fact, in 2013, more beer was purchased for Cinco De Mayo than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick's Day.

It should be a celebration of Mexican culture.  It should be an opportunity to learn about the history, heritage, and culture of our neighbors to the south.  To see how intertwined our histories and destinies are.  To celebrate the music, the art, the food, the dance, and the style of Mexico.  There have been proposals to this end, including a resolution from Congress dating back to 2005.

Hopefully, we will make that official soon.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

To The Bride and Groom

Today we are attending my cousin Sadie's wedding.  It's wonderful to see the two of them together, to know that they have each found someone who complements each other so well. To celebrate such a union, to celebrate two that God has brought together, and who are taking this commitment with the perspective that is appropriate, that is worth celebrating.  

To Robert and Sadie Bennett, may the two of you be blessed with many happy years ahead. May you be a wonderful reflection of a deep and abiding love. May your love be a witness and example to others. May you make choices that always bring you closer together. May each day be brighter than the previous.

Congratulations and God bless!

Fat Tuesday 2023

"It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans."

Mark Twain

Today marks Fat Tuesday.  The end of Carnival, of Mardi Gras.  The end of Shrovetide.  A day of the feast, for tomorrow brings the fast.  The last day before Lent.

Today is a day of celebration. Of joy. It's time for good music and great food. To embody that special joie de vivre.

So grab another slice of king cake or fry up some beignets.  Put on a little Preservation Hall Jazz Band or Marsalis Family.  Add a little rum to the punch.

Celebrate this wonderful world we live in and make an effort to enjoy as much of it as possible.

Do what you can to enjoy the day today.  Bring a little spice, a little music, and a whole lotta love to the day.

“To encapsulate the notion of Mardi Gras as nothing more than a big drunk is to take the simple and stupid way out, and I, for one, am getting tired of staying stuck on simple and stupid.

Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an alcoholic binge.

Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?

It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.

Now that part, more than ever.

It's mad piano professors converging on our city from all over the world and banging the 88's until dawn and laughing at the hairy-shouldered men in dresses too tight and stalking the Indians under Claiborne overpass and thrilling the years you find them and lamenting the years you don't and promising yourself you will next year.

It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.

Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.”

Chris Rose, 1 Dead in Attic: Post-Katrina Stories.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Happy Thanksgiving 2022!

 "The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added... No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

President Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation of Thanksgiving

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!  I want you all to know that I am greatly appreciative of all of you that are reading.  I pray you have many things to be thankful for and that the list only grows over the coming days, months, and years.  I hope you are able to take the time to be with family today, whether it be the one you are born into or the one you choose, and are able to take the time to reflect on the blessings in your life and to express that gratitude.

Give thanks.

I know this year, as most always, I have much to be thankful for.

I'm thankful to have the time I do with my family.  Working from home creates challenges, but it also has many, many positives.

I'm thankful my office has opened up so that I can go in as necessary and have enjoyed time with my co-workers.  I'm continually thankful for this new employer.

I'm thankful we've been healthy.  

I'm thankful for every time we've been able to see family, especially since we've moved away.

I'm thankful for our home and feeling home in Brownsburg, IN.  To have the church home we do.  To get to sing on that praise team.  For the friends we've made.

I'm thankful Jamie has found opportunities that she loves and that she is enjoying subbing at the kids school.  Getting to see them in the halls.  And getting to experience a lot of different classrooms.

I'm thankful the kids love school as much as they do.

Even in another absolutely crazy year, I'm thankful.  I'm very thankful.

I hope you are able to do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Native American Heritage Month 2022

November is Native American Heritage Month.  Originally declared by President George H. W. Bush on August 3, 1990, the celebration was created in a landmark bill honoring America's tribal people.  The month aims to provide a platform for Native people in the United States of America to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways of life.  It also provides a way for native communities to express their concerns and solutions for building understanding and friendships with the larger community around them.

The celebration has its origins in a turn of the century effort to gain just a day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the United States.  The first such proclamation for an "American Indian Day" was made on September 28, 1915, by President Calvin Coolidge, naming the second Saturday of May as such a day.  The recognition has simply grown from there.  

We must recognize the heritage of our country and land dates back much farther than any date when a European stepped foot on this land.  And when we recognize that, perhaps we can start dealing with the harder issues.

It's a bit ironic that the month is shared with Thanksgiving, a time when we tell a quaint narrative of how the first Americans and the first European settlers shared a feast to mark getting through the long winter before.  A tale that helps us feel better about how the first Americans have been treated throughout our history.  We tell the tale of us getting along, and then turn and paint the first Americans as aggressors for the rest of our history.  We skip over the numerous broken promises, the numerous broken treaties.  And skip over the atrocities we heaped upon them.

We can, we should, and we must do better.

We can start by learning the names and the cultures of the native tribes around us.  By learning the truth of our Thanksgiving story.  By honoring and remembering those who have always been here.  Those on whose land we stand.

If we can do that, we will all be better for it.

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

Chief Seattle, Duwamish

Happy 94th Birthday, Mickey Mouse!

M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse turns 94 today.  Looks pretty good, doesn't he!

Ninety-three years ago today, Disney released Steamboat Willie in New York.  Though the short was the third Mickey Mouse short to be produced, it was the first to find a distributor and be released, causing the Walt Disney Company to use it as marking Mickey's debut to the world.  This short innovated cartoon shorts at the time by being the first cartoon short to have synchronized sound throughout its entirety.  The magic of sound and comedy quickly propelled the mouse to the most prominent animated character of the time.  

In the years since, Mickey has gone on to be a movie star, television star, comic book hero, corporate mascot, and theme park icon.  To the point where the three circle silhouette is instantly recognizable.  And where referring to something as being "Mickey Mouse" has specific connotations.   

From a life long fan, happy birthday Mickey!  Ears to many more years!

Noirvember 2022

It's November again, and in our house that means one thing - Noirvember.

Noirvember is a celebration of the greatest film genre of all, film noir.  Film noir refers to the stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations.  It's the genre that provides us the smooth talking detectives, the hard as nails femme fatales that get them in trouble, and the criminals we love to hate.

It remains my favorite genre of film and of literature.  I've spent the last couple of years reading through the works of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain.  And now that I've finished there, I've switched to the precursor with Agatha Christie and murder mysteries.  I've poured over the film careers of Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell, and Richard Widmark.

To me, film noir is best served in black and white, as only that setting can provide the dark enough shadows to make it so perfectly captured.  This puts the best films in the 1940s and 1950s, which unsurprisingly, is the era I have logged the most film viewings in my Letterbox app.

Like last year, we've seen quite a few film noir new discoveries, a few of which I'd like to pass along as recommendations today:

• The Killing - Stanley Kubrik's tight heist noir.  It breaks the rules in all the fun ways.
• Force of Evil - We saw this at the TCM film festival with a live introduction by Eddie Muller for a live Noir Alley.  A fairly straightforward noir with a fantastic performance by Thomas Gomez, an underrated character actor.
• The Bad Sleep Well - Kurosawa's tale of revenge and corporate corruption.  Tense all the way through and while the ending can be frustrating, it sticks with you.  A great use of black and white and lighting in a famous alley scene. 
• The Hitch-Hiker - Ida Lupino's directorial triumph and the first film noir directed by a woman.  Tight, tense, three person film based on a real life crime.  Keeps you on edge to the end.
• Boomerang - bit more of a court-room drama, but compelling performances, nonetheless, by Dana Andrews, Arthur Kennedy, and Lee J Cobb.
• Panic in the Streets - this one was a trip to watch in the height of the CoVID.  Elia Kazan film with Richard Widmark as an officer of the US Public Health Service trying to stop a pneumonic plague from spreading through New Orleans.  Really interesting parallels.

Let me know your favorites.  Until next year, there's more Noir Alley ahead.

Fat Tuesday 2022

"It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans."

Mark Twain

Today marks Fat Tuesday.  The end of Carnival, of Mardi Gras.  The end of Shrovetide.  A day of the feast, for tomorrow brings the fast.  The last day before Lent.

Today is a day of celebration. Of joy. It's time for good music and great food. To embody that special joie de vivre.

So grab another slice of king cake or fry up some beignets.  Put on a little Preservation Hall Jazz Band or Marsalis Family.  Add a little rum to the punch.

Celebrate this wonderful world we live in and make an effort to enjoy as much of it as possible.

Do what you can to enjoy the day today.  Bring a little spice, a little music, and a whole lotta love to the day.

“To encapsulate the notion of Mardi Gras as nothing more than a big drunk is to take the simple and stupid way out, and I, for one, am getting tired of staying stuck on simple and stupid.

Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an alcoholic binge.

Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?

It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.

Now that part, more than ever.

It's mad piano professors converging on our city from all over the world and banging the 88's until dawn and laughing at the hairy-shouldered men in dresses too tight and stalking the Indians under Claiborne overpass and thrilling the years you find them and lamenting the years you don't and promising yourself you will next year.

It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.

Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.”

Chris Rose, 1 Dead in Attic: Post-Katrina Stories.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Noirvember 2021

 

In November, our house celebrates Noirvember, a celebration of the greatest film genre, film noir.  Film noir refers to the stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations.  It's the genre that provides us the smooth talking detectives, the hard as nails femme fatales that get them in trouble, and the criminals we love to hate.

It's my favorite genre of film and of literature.  I've spent the last couple of years reading through the works of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain.  I've poured over the film careers of Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell, and Richard Widmark.

To me, film noir is best served in black and white, as only that setting can provide the dark enough shadows to make it so perfectly captured.  This puts the best films in the 1940s and 1950s, which unsurprisingly, is the era I have logged the most film viewings in my Letterbox app.

This year, we've seen quite a few film noir new discoveries, some of which have quickly jumped to the top of my favorites list.   We have a few more to go, so I reserve the right to update this list, but I've included a few of my favorites below in case anyone needs any recommendations.  The first four films on this list are also on my top 10 favorite films of all time.

• The Thin Man - Endlessly quotable.  Nick and Nora Charles are definitely couple goals, minus the alcoholism.  Comedy with a touch of noir.  The movie that defined gathering all the suspects in a room to identify the culprit.  I love the book and I love this movie.
• Maltese Falcon - Noir at its finest.  A wonderful collection of character actors.  Bogart, Lorre, Greenstreet, Astor.  Truly the stuff that dreams are made of.
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - I saw this at just the right time and it blew my mind.  All those characters together at once.  Interacting in inventive and appropriate fashions.  A touch of noir, and a lot of cartoon greatness.  Still technically impressive.
• Se7en - Again one that hit at the perfect time.  Great performances by Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey.  The seven deadly sins motif.  It led me to following directors, particularly Fincher.  Neo noir with an incredible hook.
• The Third Man - Has the coolest shot of any in film ever made with Orson Welles' introduction.  The zither soundtrack, a great speech about German innovation versus Swiss innovation.  One of the best films of all time.
• In a Lonely Place - Perhaps Humphrey Bogart's greatest performance (as well as Gloria Grahame's).  The best trick that it plays is that you truly do not know what to believe until the very end.  Heartbreaking and wonderful.
• Sunset Boulevard - If it's not evident with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and In a Lonely Place, some of my favorite noir films take place in Hollywood.  This is no exception.  An incredibly memorable opening where you start with the dead body and he explains how he got there.  Probably the best film about Hollywood ever made.
• Nightmare Alley -  A new discovery this year.  Tyrone Power's darkest role as a con man who reaches the top and falls to the bottom.  Haunting and deeply moving.  
• Out of the Past - Quintessential Mitchum, who along with Bogart, was made for noir.  Kirk Douglas, in only his second role, plays the heavy well.  Perfectly lit by director Jacques Tourneur and his cameraman Nicholas Musuraca.
• Mildred Pierce - James M. Cain's seminal noir brought to the screen, with a tour de force performance by Joan Crawford, as the mother who will do anything to provide her daughter a better life.  It goes wrong as only noir can.  A true classic.

And a bonus recommendation

• Woman on the Run - A great B noir, that keeps you off balance for the entire film.  Ann Sheridan provides a superb performance as a harried wife, seemingly unconcerned by the danger her husband is in as a witness to the central crime.  The film follows her journey to find her husband and avoid the police at the same time.

One day, I will get to go to Noir City, the annual noir film festival.  Until then, I'll settle for Noir Alley on TCM and our Noirvember celebration.  Lost in the shadows, and enjoying every minute of it.

Indigenous Peoples Day 2021

Today marks Indigenous Peoples Day.  A day to celebrate and honor Native American peoples and to commemorate their histories and cultures.

Today we remember America wasn't discovered.  Not by Columbus, not even by the Vikings who beat him here.  Yes, they opened up trade, they made the contact between Europe and the Americas, but there wasn't anything to discover.  There were always people of this land here.  And sadly, the European contact with the land came largely at the expense of those already here.

Today is a day we remember the tragedies the indigenous people have endured and find inspiration in their overcoming ongoing struggles today.   It should be a day most of us remember that we still have a lot to wrestle with in our history. 

Sadly, our education system is failing in teaching us history.  It has been has been so undervalued for so long, we cling to problematic myths and struggle with the wrong parts of our heritage.  And we can see this in the battles over whether today should be Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day.

It's time to have a celebration that recognizes the heritage of our country and land dates back much farther than any date when a European stepped foot on this land.  And when we recognize that, perhaps we can start dealing with the harder issues.

Perhaps a great way to start today would be in learning more about the native peoples of Texas, or for your particular region.

"Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn’t have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn’t afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We didn’t know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white men arrived and I don’t know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society."

John Fire Lame Deer

WDW@50

"Walt Disney World is tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney...and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true.  May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place...a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn - together."

Roy O. Disney, October 25, 1971

Yesterday, Walt Disney World celebrated its 50th anniversary.  On October 1, 1971, the Magic Kingdom opened its gates for the first time.  At that time, Walt Disney World was a lot smaller than we would think of today, consisting only of the Magic Kingdom theme park, the Ticket and Transportation Center, and the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts, all located on the monorail line circling Seven Seas Lagoon.  

With the success of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney began exploring several options for a second theme park location.  Primarily, Walt wanted to find space to combat the encroachment of motels and shops that had sprung up right next to Disneyland.  

"The Florida Project", as it was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of attractions. While a theme park would be included as an attraction, it was only a small portion of Walt's vision.  His original plans also called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT).  Instead of the theme park we know today, this EPCOT was a master planned community intended to serve as a testbed for new city-living innovations. 

Walt's death in 1966 during the planning phase of development left the company wrestling with the idea of whether to bring the Florida Project to fruition. However, Walt's older brother, Roy, came out of retirement to make sure Walt's biggest dream was realized.   And it was Roy who insisted the name of the entire complex be changed from Disney World to Walt Disney World, ensuring that people would remember that the project was Walt's dream.

Though the pandemic put a damper on a lot of the celebration plans, the company is still celebrating in true Disney fashion, with two nighttime spectaculars, EARidescent decorations and costumes, and lots of nostalgic food and souvenirs.  The pandemic also didn't stop massive crowds from arriving yesterday to celebrate the anniversary, with the Hub area filling to capacity in early evening for the new fireworks show.

The celebration will be continuing for the next 18 months in typical Disney fashion, and we will look forward to celebrating this December.  

Happy Birthday, Disney World!  Here's to 50 more magical years!

National Hispanic Heritage Month

Today marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, running from September 15 to October 15.  The celebration has its roots dating back to 1968, with the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Week.  The week was first proclaimed by President Lyndon Johnson, with the month long celebration being first proclaimed by President George H. W. Bush in 1989.

Today is particularly significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua from Spain.  The month also includes several significant dates in Hispanic heritage.  Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively. Further, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, falls on October 12, within the month-long celebration.

The month serves as a great encouragement to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.  In particular, United States Military recognizes the longstanding and remarkable contributions that Hispanics have made in building and defending the nation, dating back to the Civil War.

This month is the perfect time for exploration.  For discovery.  Read Hispanic American authors, watch television and film from Hispanic American artists (which we are doing).  Google "Hispanic and Latinx History you should know" and explore - there are dozens of articles that could provide a great springboard for education.

There's a wealth of information out there to make this month an enriching experience.  All you have to do is be willing to learn.

We know the future of the United States is Hispanic growth.  Citizens of Hispanic heritage account for nearly 20% of the United States currently.  Or 1 in 5 Americans.  That number is growing.  Half of the population growth in the United States has come from the Hispanic population.  

They are America.  And it's time we celebrate their contributions to and place in our shared history.

Oscars, in the time of COVID-19

Sunday night marked the 93rd Academy Awards.  The ceremony was definitely impacted by the ongoing pandemic in more ways than one.  The location had changed from the traditional Dolby Theater in Hollywood to the Los Angeles Union Station.  A much smaller gathering of those nominated filled the limited space that they had, separated at tables by groups.  There were other "hubs" for Oscar nominees at theaters in locations like London for other nominees to be able to virtually appear from.  Still, several nominees were not able or comfortable attending at any location.

The production of the ceremony was likewise off.  They showed very few clips of the films that were nominated; those that were shown seemed random and sporadic.  There was no live orchestra, just QuestLove serving as DJ.  That meant no live scores, no live performance of the songs nominated, no live performance for the in memoriam montage.  

For the third year, the show had no single host, just a passing of the baton from presenter to presenter.  This was particularly noticeable with the poorly conceived "name that tune" bit asking if songs had won the award, were nominated, or were neither.  Given how little the ceremony ran over time this year, had they cut the "name that tune" bit, it would have landed right on time.

Most curious, the order of the ceremony was completely upended.  Best Director, which is usually awarded closely before Best Picture at the end, was awarded first.  Best Picture was not the last category awarded, but rather followed by the acting awards.  Even there, they forwent the tradition of last year's best actress giving the Best Actor award and vice versa.  This year, the previous winner in each category gave the award for that category.

This last bit seems to have garnered the most attention and controversy.  It seems to many that they were building to the Best Actor award as the finale, expecting a posthumous award to Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.  Instead, Anthony Hopkins was awarded for The Father. Hopkins had not attended. He had asked to stream in from his home but was denied.  So, the Academy accepted the award on his behalf, causing the ceremony to close with a whimper. 

I can’t subscribe to the rumor that the choice was deliberate, in the expectation of the posthumous award.  For one, there have been posthumous awards in the past and ones that have come so closely to the actor’s death that the impact was still being felt.  Heath Ledger’s posthumous award comes to mind.  And in those instances, the order of the proceedings was not altered. 

The rumor I have heard and lend more credence to, is that Joaquin Phoenix was running late. In an ordinary ceremony, he would have presented the award for Best Actress.  With him running late and not being present, they would have delayed both the best actor categories, as they usually go in pairs. This would explain the seemingly rushed Rita Moreno presenting Best Picture early and the visibly uncomfortable Phoenix who completely eschewed the format that had been established for presenting. 

A stage manager issue, as opposed to a producer issue. 

The result made the Oscars incredibly underwhelming. The lack of real surprises , the unconventional format, the weird structure issues, all made the broadcast land with a thud in a way that it has not done so before. 

The viewership numbers were not a surprise. The ceremony dropped below 10 million people for the first time in a long time, with viewership down 57% from the past year. This has led some conservative commentators to claim a Hollywood backlash finally paying off. As if America was finally done with Hollywood once and for all. 

The reality is a lot more mundane.  Despite this years films being largely more accessible to the general public through early access video on demand and streaming platforms, the individual films nominated were not that well known.  Unless you were following the award seasons and buzz, it is very likely the average American would jot have heard of any of the nominated films, much less have seen them. 

It’s a problem that has been plaguing the Oscars for years. Gone are the days when blockbuster films like Rocky or Star Wars are nominated for Best Picture. The films of today are still largely niche films primarily released in the late fall and early winter.  Oscar bait films. Until that changes, viewership of the ceremony will also remain a niche event. 

I still wish they’d just embrace it. Lean into the niche aspect of it and make it a true celebration of Hollywood and film. Bring back a host that makes it an even longer and grander celebration. Own what it is. 

Or at least do something interesting and make the Muppets the hosts, complete with running commentary by Statler and Waldorf. 

Whatever it is, next years ceremony just can’t be this dull. 

Happy Birthday, PapaRock!!

A happiest of birthdays to the best father, best grandfather, the best mentor anyone could ask for.  The hardest part of the move has been in not being there for celebrations, but we make the most of it when we can.  We hope you enjoy your day to its fullest and hope you appreciate the little bit of Indiana we've sent your way.  We especially look forward to getting to celebrate with you in just 33 days from now.  

I've taken, over the past couple of years, to using an older colloquialism for birthday greetings - Many happy returns of the day!  I love the sentiment of it.  Not only wishing that the person would have a great day, but that it would occur over and over and over again. 

We love you and can't wait to see you soon! May the blessings of this day spill over, and over, and over again.

Happy birthday, Dad!

Fat Tuesday 2021

"It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans."

Mark Twain

Today marks Fat Tuesday.  The end of Carnival, of Mardi Gras.  The end of Shrovetide.  A day of the feast, for tomorrow brings the fast.  The last day before Lent.

Today is a day of celebration. Of joy. It's time for good music and great food. To embody that special joie de vivre.

So grab another slice of king cake or fry up some beignets.  Put on a little Preservation Hall Jazz Band or Marsalis Family.  Add a little rum to the punch.

Celebrate this wonderful world we live in and make an effort to enjoy as much of it as possible.

I realize for many, that looks very different this year and celebration may seem very difficult.  Covid for one has changed everything.  The parades have changed to 'home floats' where New Orleans residents have decorated their yards.  Recommendations against partying, a different kind of mask requirement - all things that make even a warm Fat Tuesday very different.

This year, we also have a once in a lifetime blizzard across the south that is hampering the celebratory spirit.  Thousands without power, sheltering in the cold, and facing the potential of more to come and a long haul ahead.  Enough to dampen even the best revelers.  

Do what you can to enjoy the day today.  Bring a little spice, a little music, and a whole lotta love to the day.

“To encapsulate the notion of Mardi Gras as nothing more than a big drunk is to take the simple and stupid way out, and I, for one, am getting tired of staying stuck on simple and stupid.

Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an alcoholic binge.

Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?

It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.

Now that part, more than ever.

It's mad piano professors converging on our city from all over the world and banging the 88's until dawn and laughing at the hairy-shouldered men in dresses too tight and stalking the Indians under Claiborne overpass and thrilling the years you find them and lamenting the years you don't and promising yourself you will next year.

It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.

Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.”

Chris Rose, 1 Dead in Attic: Post-Katrina Stories.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Valentine's Day 2021

Though we recognize it everyday, today is a special day that we have set apart to celebrate love. All kinds of love - brotherly love, familial love, and romantic love. Particularly romantic love. 

We refer to people as our Valentines. Our pair, our date for the day, now matter how we celebrate. 

Our dinner may have been on Thursday, a rare time in this environment where we can have a dinner just the two of us. Our day may have been spent a little apart with the guys small group meeting. And the day may have been a little overwhelming with Jude’s early birthday party today too. But there is no one that I would rather spent the day with. 

I love you gorgeous. 

Bigger than Godzilla. 

All the way to the moon. 

To infinity and beyond. 

To the ends of the earth...

Until you read this and correct me, I love you more!

National Pizza Day 2021

It's National Pizza Day!  Always a worthy celebration for the Keeler household.  I've definitely eaten more than my fair share, particularly during law school.  And it is one of the dishes the kids will consume happily.

Pizza has to be nearly the perfect food.  All food groups in a single delicious dish.  It can be a single filling deep dish slice or a perfect binge food.  Crust to your preference, zesty tomato sauce, melted mozzarella cheese, and virtually unlimited combinations of toppings. 

I love it all.  From thin neopolitan to Chicago deep dish.  From the authentic pizza we got in Florence to the cheap oven bakes.  As an 80s kid, nothing beats Pizza Hut for nostalgia.

I like white pizzas with alfredo sauce.  I like buffalo or barbecue chicken pizza.  I'll even take pineapple on pizza with a good Hawaiian style.  With the kids, I'm growing to appreciate just a classic cheese pizza.

I do miss the buffet.  I know Cicis still offers it, but I miss the Pizza Hut buffet.  Or Mazzios.  Or Gattis.

I think the best we've had has been a quattro formaggi in Florence (Jamie cried over this one) and The Malnati Classic Chicago at Lou Malnati's. 

This has to be one of the benefits of moving to Indiana.  Not that we didn't have good pizza in Texas, but we've moved close to several great pizza parlors.  We have our favorites here in town like Rockstar Pizza, and we're really close to Chicago to get Lou Malnati's when it strikes our fancy.  

So, grab a slice in celebration today.  And this year in particular, why not support your local pizza place and show them some love.  We want to make sure pizza is here to stay and not just at the national chains.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

To the best Mom and Granna anyone could ask for.

I wish we could be together today and cannot wait until we can all be there.

We love you, we miss you, we are thinking of you, always!