#archbishop desmond

[themancorialist]

Piccadilly Approach, Manchester.

[afrotumble]

J.V.Mbulani

[resentful-reads]

Desmond by Ulysses Grant Dietz

[constance-mcentee]

He (Archbishop Desmond Tutu) taught me that prayer is not an escape from real life but a passage toward it.

Bono, in his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs One Story

[cheerfullycatholic]

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[sinceileftyoublog]

Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, & Tyshawn Sorey Album Review: Compassion

(ECM)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The word "compassion" certainly evokes sympathy for the downtrodden. On the similarly titled second album together from pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, songs do pay tribute. Whether remembering victims of public health failures, the lives of human rights activists, or the legend of instrumental geniuses who have left this earthly plane, the trio is appropriately reverent without delving into overt heroification. But what the word "compassion" connotes, or rather implies, is a sense of listening to someone else, to one another. The trio recorded their terrific debut album Uneasy when they first started playing together; though the album was urgent in its themes, it's the comparatively natural Compassion that displays three players truly honed in. On Iyer's 8th release as a band leader for ECM (third with a trio), the group returned to Oktaven Audio in Mount Vernon, New York to work with label founder Manfred Eicher on bringing to tactility Iyer's compositions and interpretations. The result is even more coherent than its predecessor.

Iyer has long had the ability to pull from seemingly disparate influences and inspirations and make something whole by giving it his unmistakable stamp. In the case of Compassion, the steady presence of Oh and Sorey allow him to literally cull from different projects to introduce pseudo suites of material that nonetheless form a collective. For instance, "Maelstrom", "Tempest", and "Panegyric" come from Tempest, a project dedicated to those who died of COVID. Though each song came from the same place, they conjure unique moods. The first builds around Iyer's push-pull, sudden spritely and chaotic piano arpeggios, as well as Sorey's skittering backbeat. The second and third are somewhat funky and sneaky, though they're connected by Oh's jaw-dropping low register bass solos. Stunningly, each has their effective album spiritual sibling elsewhere. "Malestrom" sports a forward sway like "Arch", a song for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, buoyed by Sorey's drums as Oh and Iyer absorb each other. "Tempest"'s hooks set the stage later in the album for "Ghostrumental", which originated in music for the ensemble project Ghosts Everywhere I Go that premiered at the University of Chicago in 2022 to honor the poet Eve Ewing. On "Ghostrumental", Oh's leads are groovy, Iyer's piano is subtly rhythmic, and Sorey delves into something approaching hip hop. Meanwhile, "Panegryic"'s mournfulness previews "It Goes", also from Ghosts Everywhere I Go. "It Goes" centers around Emmett Till, but it doesn't necessarily mourn him as much as imagine the life he could have led had he not been murdered by racists; I can best describe Iyer's left and right hand playing, respectively, as plaintive and soulful.

The most unexpected songs on Compassion are the covers. A two-and-a-half minute play on Roscoe Mitchell's "Nonaah" threatens at times to become divergent, with its breakneck pace, but is somehow just as tuneful as any other song on the album. And then there's "Overjoyed", Iyer's bopping Steve Wonder interpretation that's also a tribute to the late, great Chick Corea, who performed the song on his final livestream during COVID. Iyer actually developed his version on the same piano Corea used, and his soloing evokes feelings of ecstatic fandom atop Sorey's clattering polyrhythms. This time, the tune does break away from the main theme, only to return to it when you think it's been lost. The moment takes your breath away, though importantly, most of Compassion is unshakeable enough to lull you into its world. It's the type of album you think about just as much, if not more, after it's done as when you were actively listening to it.

[robynsassenmyview]

Wrinkles, come with mirth!

"Wrinkles, come with mirth!", a review of 'Sell by Date', performed by Pieter-Dirk Uys at Montecasino until 10 September.

AT 77, Pieter-Dirk Uys is considering his own sell-by date, with a box full of costumes and knees in need of TLC. Photograph by Bridget van Oerle, The Buz Factor. HOW DO YOU look back on close to six decades of incredulity at the caveats and bouquets of humour so off the wall that only politicians could have written them? Pieter-Dirk Uys’s latest theatre production, Sell-By Date, which performs…

[tenth-sentence]

When they became overwhelmed, Tutu would interrupt their testimony and lead the entire audience in prayer, song, and dance until the witnesses could contain their sobbing and halt their physical collapse.

"The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma" - Bessel van der Kolk

[delightgroup]

Do your little bit of good

Do your little bit of good

Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Archbishop Desmond Tutu,                                                                                             South African Anglican bishop & human rights and anti-apartheid activist

[tutorz-edu-blog-blog]

Do your little bit of good

Do your little bit of good

Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Archbishop Desmond Tutu,                                                                                             South African Anglican bishop & human rights and anti-apartheid activist

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Sent via email to Ahmed Hussen Minister of International Development:

“Suspension of Aid to UNRWA in contravention of the binding order of the ICJ for all countries to uphold the Genocide Convention”

Salutations,

I’m writing to express my discontent and outright moral opposition to the actions taken by the Minister of International Development against UNRWA following allegations of involvement in the Oct 7 2023 attack on the occupation forces internationally recognized as illegally enforcing a blockade and siege of Gaza. I will remind the Minister in no uncertain terms and with utmost seriousness that every country and any constitutionally responsible ruler, public official, or private citizen is now by order of the ICJ responsible for doing everything in one’s power to prevent the crime of genocide from occurring. To withdraw financial support from a UN humanitarian aid agency servicing a people facing a plausible case of genocide at the same time that more than 80% of all the world’s people who are facing starvation are living in gaza right now under siege because of allegations raised by the state of Israel—accused of genocide and found to be plausibly committing genocide—leveled at the same group of people who this state plausibly committing genocide is accused of targeting for genocide. The UNRWA has cut ties with the alleged perpetrators and has issued a full investigation and still Canada has made the conscious and free decision to punish the Palestinian people in service of a plausible genocide occurring against them.

To repeat; it is morally reprehensible the actions the Minister has taken against UNRWA and in the interest of his international legal duty and responsibility, the actions must be reversed posthaste or else the Minister risks jeopardizing his standing as a person innocent of the crime of genocide.

May Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s words reach you: “to be neutral in situations of oppression is to choose the side of the oppressor.” Please change course before it is too late.

It is our responsibility as citizens of Canada to now more than ever hold our politicians accountable for their actions and inactions with regards to the “plausible case” of genocide of Palestinians. It not only a moral duty but a legal responsibility under the Genocide Convention and we should all be taking this as seriously as possible.

[wastehound-voof]

Seriously, Craig Ferguson was such an honest person among the absolute fake and sanitized late night talk shows. I've been looking at clips of his show and being reminded of how brilliant he was. He took the late night format, called it out for it's awfulness and pushed the absurdity of it all. I mean, his side kick was a gay robot skeleton. No one wants the same tired inane news and political commentary, no one wants to see celebrity worship or condemnation, no one wants extremely scripted interviews. That is why the late night talk show is dying and rightfully so.

Craig Ferguson had a unique connection to his audience and brought them silliness and actual comedy, and at times honestly and vulnerability. Many times an interview with a celebrity was just a chat, not a slobber fest to get out all the talking points about whatever project the guest was promoting. Sometimes the project was barely mentioned because it doesn't matter. He even called it out, that we have a finite time on this planet and his talking to celebrities is going to be just a blip. He had Archbishop Desmond Tutu on simply because he was interested in a theological discussion on good and evil. He did an entire show as a Louisiana alligator hand puppet and everyone just went with it. He was the only talk show host to condemn all the others for making fun of Britney Spears' breakdown and shared his own struggles with alcoholism and how it is very clear that she was dealing with something very similar. When his father died he used the opening of the show as a eulogy to him, sharing memories and coming to terms with death, all the while the pain and heartbreak were apparent in his voice.

The format of network late night talk shows is inherently fake and bland, existing only to promote the media industry. Craig Ferguson was different, unique and authentic. Genuine. A class act. That show was something special. I'm grateful to have witnessed it.

[flowerishness]

Rosa (var: "Archbishop Desmond Tutu")

The "Archbishop Desmond Tutu" rose was released by rose breeder Ludwig Taschner in October 2006 to celebrate Desmond's 75th birthday. Desmond Tutu was the first black Anglican Archbishop in South Africa's history and received the 1984 Nobel Peace prize for his anti-Apartheid and social justice activism. In South Africa the proceeds from sales of this rose are donated to the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital in Cape Town.

You know, if Julia Child gets a rose named in her honor (see Day 2 of Rose Week on @flowerishness) I think it's only fair that Desmond Tutu gets his own rose too.

[roboticchibitan]

*note, the full title of Love for Imperfect things is Love for Imperfect Things: How to Accept Yourself in a World Striving for Perfection. It doesn't fit in the character limit

Summaries copy/pasted from goodreads

Love for Imperfect things summary: No one is perfect, but that shouldn't hold us back from love--for the world, for one another, or even for ourselves. In this beautifully illustrated guide, Buddhist teacher Haemin Sunim (whose name means "spontaneous wisdom") draws on examples from his own life and on his years of helping others to introduce us to the art of self-care. When we treat ourselves with compassion, empathy, and forgiveness, we learn to treat others the same way, allowing us to connect with people on a deeper level, bounce back from failure, deal with feeling hurt or depressed, listen more attentively, express ourselves more clearly, and have the courage to pursue what really makes us happy so we can feel complete in ourselves. With more than thirty-five full-color illustrations, Love for Imperfect Things will appeal to both your eyes and your heart, offering you comfort, encouragement, and wisdom so that you can learn to love yourself, your life, and everyone in it.

The Book of Joy summary: The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.

From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.

Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life.

[a-queer-seminarian]

For Good Friday, here's a little bit of queer Christian history: In 1993, painter Maxwell Lawton envisioned the crucified Christ with AIDS. Archbishop Desmond Tutu loved and defended Lawton's painting.

ID: a white genderqueer person with short brown hair sits in front of a candlelit altar. A couple other images pop up during the video — find them under the readmore.

"Man of Sorrows: Christ with AIDS" by Maxwell Lawton. This painting depicts Jesus nude except for his crown of thorns, with one hand on his knee and the other cradling his head. His skin is gray and covered in AIDS lesions. A quote from Matthew 25 is written in the background of the painting: "Then the king will reply, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did to me."

ID: A photo of Lawton, a white man with short brown hair, standing next to his painting in the Cape Town cathedral, with stained glass behind him. The painting is very large, so that Jesus is close to life size.

ID: A drawing of Jesus in a crucified position by Carlos Latuff; Jesus’s loin cloth thing is a rainbow flag. Text reads “Queering the Cross, Burial, and Resurrection. Episode 58 of the Blessed Are the Binary Breakers podcast.”

Link to the episode page.

[royal-confessions]

“I **looove** the part where TWICE on this trailer #Netflix uses archive footage of MISS CATHERINE MIDDLETON being hounded by paparazzi, but they take meticulous good care NOT to show her face, so to imply it was about either Meghan or Diana.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Now, I could have sworn during the Oprah interview, Meghan was very adamant that Catherine didn't experience such harsh harassment and treatment by the media like she did. She quickly downplayed Catherine's treatment from the media by saying her being called Waity Katie wasn't as traumatic as her experiences. Well, if that's the case why use footage of Catherine being hounded and harassed by the paparazzi's in her and Harry's multimillion dollar Netflix docuseries then? Why not use her own footage of being harassed and hounded by the media? Oh, that right, she can't! Because it didn't happen to her.” - Submitted by johappilyunique85

“So, I thought the docuseries trailer was supposed to promote and displayed the constant harassment  Meghan supposedly with through with the press? Instead, in both teaser trailers to this docuseries Harry and Meghan used stocked photos of paparazzi's at the 2011 Harry Potter movie premiere; video footage of Katie Price being harassed by paparazzi's outside of a courthouse; video footage of Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, video footage of Catherine being harassed by paparazzi's; of course video footage of Diana being harassed by paparazzi's, and a photographer taking their photo from on top of the building during their South African Tour when they went to go meet the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu (in which the couple themselves approved of the photos.) However, not one single photo or video footage was shown to the either trailer of Harry, particularly Meghan was shown receiving such harassment? If this is supposed to be about the treatment that she somewhat received, why not use her footage? Why not use her experiences? Why use other people's experiences? The answer is simple. The reason they cannot show any footage or photos of Meghan receiving such harassment is because it didn't happened.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“For somebody who was very comfortable downplaying Kate's traumatic experiences with the media during the Oprah interview, Meghan doesn't have no problem monetizing from it for big bucks for her docuseries. All because she realizes she didn't go through half of what Kate went through. Meghan and Harry both, are nothing more than both liars and an agent of chaos who likes nothing more but to cause division.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“The DOS had to use fake footage of being hounded, because unlike Diana and Kate, she was never hounded, and she desperately wants it to look like she had been.” - Submitted by Anonymous