the sunlight of spirit

Some folks has a lot of things around them that shines for other peoples. I think that maybe some of them was in tunnels. And in that tunnel, the only light they had, was inside of them. And then long after they escape that tunnel, they sitll be shining for everybody else..... Clarice Precious Jones

i'm sure that almost everything to be said about "precious" has already been written or verbalized. i won't try to reinvent the wheel here. but i will say that i have been altered by this film and am completely graced by it as well. i really haven't been listening or reading reviews, more because of available time than anything else, so i wasn't sure what to expect. i had seen the trailers and knew that it would have something to say to me.

and it did speak to me. i could relate to several aspects of the film. growing up an effeminate boy may be very similar to growing up overweight. no doubt there is a constant stream of verbal insults and internal judgements that accompanied precious wherever she went. growing up in what was a single parent household (most of the time) with that single parent being broken and unhappy also rang some bells. when they were weaving in scenes of precious' fantasy life when her real life was bringing pressure, i could understand easily why she "went there" and found it validating.

i think, though, that i most loved when she starts in an alternative school and meets some friends who are struggling with their lives just like her. they don't like each other right away because none of them really like themselves very much, but as is demonstrated to them by their teacher, if they open their hearts a little, they will see a struggle very much like their own. this is an intuitive part of the human psyche, and they take to it like a duck to water. innocent joy and age appropriate laughter visit these teenage girls' lives for perhaps the first time in their lives.

the performances are tender... especially monique. i can't remember feeling so vexed by a performance. i didn't see "acting"  at all here. i'm sure it was there, but i didn't see it. i was watching  a woman who had been bound so tight with fear, pain, and rage that she had forgotten she even had a heart. i can relate to that perspective from a few vantage points. this film gets a very high rating- but with a caution. most likely it will tear at you, especially if you are in recovery from something. the themes of this film are completely related to many of the reasons people embrace addiction. but as it pierces your guard, it will probably let a little sunlight of spirit in, too. a huge bonus in my eyes.

here's to a heart that is drinking in the sunlight of spirit. and here's to the precious star that reflects that light.

today's sound choice is from the film's soundtrack. i had almost forgotten about this one, but it didn't take long for it to come back. it's mfsb(i believe that mother, father, sister, brother) featuring the three degrees with "love is the message". man, do i love vintage disco sometimes..





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dance hall days

the atmosphere was so electrically charged in the "high hair and everything black" 80's that a certain sound can bring much of that back in an instant. the music was rich and abundant, and a "world music" sound was infiltrating dance music on both sides of the pond. but there were many things going on outside the precious dance halls of our very catered-to lives, too. the world was getting smaller it seemed. and there were some new kids in town making a big splash. their names were famine, apartheid, and plague. these n'er-do-wells were not just seen on southern shores, and the connections between ourselves and africa are astounding still. the issues we were dealing with at that time are still with us, although they have evolved. most of our "aids" panic has moved to other coasts. but definitely remains in africa. if only we could mobilize that continent's nations as we have done on northern soil. but some of those nations are still dealing with genocide and hatred. we certainly would have much much more to sing about if these could disappear. still, a thread that connects our lands began then and continues to grow. remember "do they even know it's christmas" and boomtown rats' bob geldorf and his "live aid"? or the clash's "sandinista" album? (i know it's anti-america and about nicaragua, but it helped pave the path to a more social awareness) and even "sun city" by little steven? mtv and my dance hall days broadcast the beginning of my generations' understanding of our own frailty in contrast to the injustices around the globe and in our own backyard, of the world's interdependence, and the beginnings of a higher consciousness and how much impact we could have and how much power we might muster. we didn't need to take life's punches lying down. i believe we began to know ourselves as citizens of the world and the brits were leading the way.

1980s - In 1985, a State of Emergency was declared in South Africa that would last for five years. This was a result of riots and unrest that had arisen in response to Apartheid, the system of racial segregation that had been in place since the 1950s. Apartheid prohibited mixed-race marriages and sex between different ethnic groups, and categorised separate areas in which different races lived. In the same year, the government set up the country’s first AIDS Advisory Group in response to the increasingly apparent presence of HIV amongst South Africans. The first recorded case of AIDS in South Africa was diagnosed in 1982, and although initially HIV infections seemed mainly to be occurring amongst gay men, by 1985 it was clear that other sectors of society were also affected. Towards the end of the decade, as the abolition of Apartheid began, an increasing amount of attention was paid to the AIDS crisis.

just in case

anyone who had a heart

yesterday i went to a meeting, which was really a banquet of emotion. i then went to zaidy's for lunch w/ ruben and alex and we had sandwiches and conversation. actually that made my day. i really love these guys. ruben said something that i will remember for a while. he said- everybody comes with baggage, so being with somebody that has baggage is no big deal. it's just that i would prefer to be with someone that has baggage and is interested in growing rather than someone who just has baggage.

i love this...

they also introduced me to shelby lynne. i guess she has just recorded a dusty springfield cover album. have a listen and see what you think.