re:create

To rekre8 meaning!

2010-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

What is required to recreate a man? To breathe new life into old flesh... I would suggest - with the backing of one of the greatest thinkers to grace the moors (and pubs) of Ireland - we need new metaphors in order for man to breathe new meaning into his oft-assumed meaningless life.

As we celebrate the visual masterpiece that is the adaptation of one of the greatest literary works of the last two centuries, it is a delight to take a look behind the lens at the man who dreamed a new dream of what life can be when we learn to trust our wild and good creator, and allow him to re-create us. Thanks to Relevant Magazine, we also get to take a look at the man who brings these stories to life for a new generation in honor of his beloved adopted dad "Jack".

Douglas Gresham says of Jack, "I think it's pretty obvious when you read the Narnia Chronicles that this man had a very close connection with the Author of all things."

Yet for a world that is slowly denying the existence of any Author, or any cohesive "story" to our existence here, Jack's work requires re-imagining. As Mr. Gresham attempts to stay as close as possible to the inspired work of his father, the visualization of this literary text requires that we breathe new life into it! And that is what the folks at Walden Media and Carrie Underwood have done with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

Miss Carrie loudly proclaims "There's a place for us!" in stark contrast to the post-modern disconnectedness that we cynically accept as the truth of our evolutionary, globe-trotting modern existence:

We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.

It's written in the stars that shine above,

a world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,

exactly who we are is just enough

there's a place for us, there's a place for us.

Interesting that Carrie (or her writers) take aim directly at the post-modern assumption that "exactly who we are is NOT enough". She proclaims that if we believe that there is a story written for us then we can step into the "place for us" just as Lucy and Edmund step into the painting which washes over them with adventure they never dreamed of before.

This is re-creation to the max! Look at the excellence with which the producers weave Carrie's song into this narrative, giving hope to those with "eyes to see" as through the silver screen dimly. My verbage has become indiscernable to most, yet Lewis would likely agree that even in his text or on the screen the glory of the Narnia Chronicles is only a taste of the "place" that he hoped his faith would deliver him unto one day. After 32 years of unbelief, Lewis found new life breathed into his bones, largely through the re-creation of mythology practiced by J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis' "Inklings," a crew of pub regulars who liked to philosophize, smoke and imbibe their favorite brews all the while taking pleasure in the story that started all of this, which we only get "glimpses" of until that day when we find our place.

Keep re-creating stories friends. As Kenneth Burke has said, they are "equipment for living"!

Re-Kre8ing the Auto Industry!

2010-11-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

The auto industry might seem like a weird place for a pop culture commentator to look these days, but consider how so much of our North American "exceptionalism" which has come much under fire in recent months, particularly by our commander-in-chief, is rooted in an ethos that in former times was exampled by the Cowboy Trailblazer, and in the 70's to mid-80's was exampled clearly in the Muscle Car Culture.

So, here we go...

President Obama addressed the nation last Thursday concerning GM's first IPO since becoming the first "government-owned" auto company in history. (Now, I'm sure Ceasar owned some chariot-manufacturing facilities back during the Roman empire, but really that's like comparing a stone wheel to a chrome rim... so do I get a pass on that historically-accurate fact?) First, take a look at the address here:

Taking note of a few of his high points he claims surreptitiously (as this President is seemingly want to do on many occasions) that this is the "first time in 6 years that Ford, GM, and Chrysler are all operating at a profit." This may be true for GM and Chrysler, but the innovative company that brought us the Mustang has been operating at a profit since the outset of 2010, which was the first time in four years for them. Their ability to innovate, trim costs, re-negotiate union wages to more realistic levels, and sure up their cash position set them up to succeed during the downturn. As GM and Chrysler ignored reality and while GM received a bailout, Ford and our Friend Elon Musk at Tesla Motors continued to innovate and grow.

I will now turn to focus on Ford and Tesla's re-creation of the auto industry, but will eventually come back to a critique of this misleading presser that would have us believe that GM is the bastion of hope and change that - should we follow this Government down their proposed paths elsewhere - will lead to a prosperous and widely flourishing populace. Not true, but for now let's turn to look at what Tesla did during the downturn, and how this start-up is changing the imagination of the auto industry and the eco-imagination of the world. (I hope GE won't sue me for using that word. That stinks that they can trademark that by the way!... or maybe it's eco-magination.)

Elon Musk and Tesla made some bold moves during the downturn! Here, my friends, is a perfect example of what a free-market, entrepreneurial framework can bring about when companies compete:

"GM had already pulled out of the plant after declaring bankruptcy in 2009, and Toyota planned to stop production in less than a month. There weren’t too many people interested in buying a 200-acre white elephant of a car factory, so Toyoda opened the door for Musk."

Musk pulled off an incredible feat to make this dream seem within the realm of possibility. Tesla had developed and produced the Tesla Roadster and sold no less than 1300 units in 08-09.

As you may know this plug-in electric whose battery technology has been incorporated by Daimler's SMART division will beat out a Ferrari in the quarter mile. Impressive for a startup in an industry of behemoths with multi-million dollar R&D departments. Yet this is what happens when David is allowed to step on the field against Goliath. (Wired's article on musk is a good read.)

So president Obama wants to credit his own baby w/keeping the auto industry in America strong, but a company that will be re-building based on a new brand in China and more Chinese manufacturing doesn't sound like the American success story he would make it out to be, which raises a question: "Is this president as delusional about his ability to save America's economy as the former president was about his ability to 'free' the Iraqi people from an oppressive, dangerous dictatorship?" I say yes. Or more so.

One thing our president is correct about... the American people. We can and will provide a shot at the American dream to our children's children, if the Government will just get out of the way and let re-creators like Musk and Tesla compete!

As a closing visual to describe the amazing effect that Tesla has had on our economy, the green technology market, CO2 emissions, and "green jobs" check this car and graphic out. Pretty unbelievable what has happened largely without the government's involvement1.

Go forth and Rekre8!

Cheers,

Kyle

1 - The government did give Tesla a 465 million dollar load to produce it's four-seater Model S for which Musk purchased the California Factory.

Re-Kre8-ing Mythology

2010-11-16T13:44:00.000-08:00

The Walt Disney Company is in the interminable and important business of re-creating our mythologies. Why is this business important you ask? To quote Kenneth Burke, "Stories are equipment for living." Without good stories to breathe life into our existence, we wind up with little more than nietzschean, disconnected beings trudging through the warp and woof of life without hope of any greater meaning to the work we do day to day, whether raising a family, leading an international corporation, or making art. With his studio's most recent work, Disney continues posthumously to re-define what it means to be a man, and what a woman out to look for in the proverbial 'white knight' who will sweep her off of her feet and carry her into 'happily ever after'. Check it out:

The artists at Disney have masterfully crafted a 'want ad' for the hero of Rapunzel. This re-creates the story of man and woman coming to be married, as our modern 'liberated' culture finds women taking matters into their own hands, often posting craigslist ads or being the first to reach out on popular dating sites like eHarmony. This example has sadly become the norm in a post equality movement world where men default to waiting, rather than heroism to win their beauty:

I was on eHarmony twice, for 3 months at a time, a couple of years apart. I got a 4 month relationship out of the first time and my current relationship out of the second time. Both times, I initiated contact and it paid off.

Make contact!

The first time, I was the only woman out of (I believe) about 200 matches that had the nerve to contact him. The only one. Absolutely made me stand out, and that piqued his interest, so he replied. We ended up dating for 4 months.

This seems to be the story of the Disney heroine these days. I'm reminded of a picture that I really enjoyed a few years back which was also created by Disney. However, one part really troubled me. At the climax of the film, a love story, the hero has to be prodded by his girlfriend to kiss 'Sleeping Beauty', as he had come to realize he was no longer in love with his girlfriend, but was the one man who could awake his true love from her sleep. Watch the scene here, and comment below as to whether you find this a strange hesitation for a 'hero', or does it slip under our radar since Disney and others have so emasculated our post-modern heroes? (If you continue on in the clip you'll actually see the writers were very transparent w/their desire to emasculate our modern day 'prince charming'.) Conversely do you think it simply reflects back true life, where men wait for one of their 200 matches to reach out to them, because they are too afraid to initiate a relationship. Art imitating life or life imitating art?

While I truly appreciate Disney's ability to create fine art (and Susan Sarandon's performance!), I don't think it breathes new life into our culture. Rather I think it imbibes the draught of post-modern existentialism which would say, "we must try something new. The old stories are so 'traditional'. They can't really lead to life." I'd be interested to meet the writers of this and other Disney films and hear more of their stories to see whether they have a scarred conscience or not. By that I mean that I can totally empathize with someone writing these sorts of stories if they are the heroine who is ignored by men until she takes bold action, and if her father never really affirmed her or told her how beautiful and amazing she is.

We all must re-create from a true place in our hearts, but the greatest challenge and most worthy of recreation is to breathe new life into broken bones.

I'd challenge Disney and others to re-write the story of the hero, realizing that if he regains his strength, boldness, and risk-taking love in his heart, the heroine will gladly follow him to happily ever after.

Cheers,

Kyle

Rekre8-ing the Funny Man

2010-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

With all of the off-kilter, immature funny men pervading our pop culture films how could an actor possibly breathe new life into this art form? All throughout the history of men there have been jesters, and at certain points we like to think our humor is "evolving" or becoming more "fresh". Often this desire for "new material" is fueled by a cynicism that says, "Been there, heard that joke before, done that!" If we're honest with ourselves however, we'll admit that the sort of cynical humor that we see on the rise currently does not give us any life. It simply positions us as more intelligent, witty, or humorous than someone else and offers nothing life-giving to the communities in which we practice this particular brand of humor. Who can save us from ourselves?

This guy? Really? In a word... yes!

Enter Zach Galifianakis. Jester extraordinaire of the moment! Pictured above in his seminal role as a druggie, self-depricating, adolescent brother-in-law to the groom to be... he epitomizes the sensational humor that pervades our workplaces, our universities, and oftentimes our homes.

So you're wondering where I'm headed with this... well, have you taken a look at either one of Mr. Galifianakis' new films? Currently he stars in two films that fall at entirely opposite ends of the comedic spectrum. Due Date finds Zach starring across from Robert Downey Junior for an almost plotless acting tour-de-force that has received a 71% audience rating at RottenTomatoes.com. And while most critics give it low marks for a ridiculously incoherent and unbelievable storyline Peter Travers remarks: "Galifianakis and Downey gift Due Date with something rare in any kind of movie: a soul." Quite a ringing endorsement for an actor that most write off as the court jester of the moment, and little more. If you'd like more evidence of Zach's budding maturity and ability to challenge the mores of our society look no further than his other film currently in theaters: It's Kind of a Funny Story. Starring as the ringleader resident of a mental institution Galifianakis uses his unique brand of humor to help a young man who has checked himself into the institution to realize how normal he really is, and how he can have a great life if he simply comes to terms with being who he is.

This may bring to mind memories of Adam Sandler's shift into more serious roles a la Punch Drunk Love or Farrell's shift into the melodramatic with Stranger Than Fiction. And while there are similarities, this film stands out as a stronger commentary against cynicism. It celebrates the good in our world, and stirs up a bit more hope than 'Punch' did. This may be an unfair comparison of three very different films, but then again what else do we have to hold this one up against? In this one, as opposed to Sandler's and Farrell's, the characters we find most infused with hope are the youth. While Sandler's and Farrell's films saw a middle-aged man and woman find new hope, this one gives hope to a very often hopeless, begrudging class of our society... the youth. Seldom do we find young characters exiting a film more hopeful about the world than when they started.

How does Zach pull off these roles so effortlessly? He self-professes in Relevant's article profiling him: "I'm a graduate of the self-taught acting school in my head, which is hard to get into." And "I think there’s a gravitational pull in the entertainment business toward people who are [messed] up already,” he says, “and the business makes them even worse.” I'd encourage you to read the article. I found him to be a very unassuming, charming, disarming, honest man who is struggling to make sense of his life just like the rest of us. And we're fortunate to read his story along the way to help make sense of ours. You can read an excerpt of it here.

So let's cheer Galifianakis, Boden, and Fleck for giving us a true, beautiful nugget to hold onto in this often dark, cynical world we call home for now. Again Travers speaks endearingly of the filmmakers, "the writer-directors are Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, who did Half Nelson and Sugar and rep the best kind of indie cinema, the kind that doesn't sling bull{edited for the kids}."

I encourage those of you who haven't before to begin writing fiction. Base the characters on truths or stories that you have experienced, but write the piece as if the end of the age will be glorious, not hopeless. Let's join our friend Zach, and act out stories that breathe new life into our homes, our schools, our places of business, and our lives. Let's rekre8 together!

Cheers,

Kyle

Re-Kre8-ing Political Advertising

2010-11-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

As promised this week's re-kre8 focuses on the political side of pop culture. Very apropos since we are electing 37 governors and a large number of congressional and senatorial representatives tomorrow.

(Side note: please take a moment to educate yourself on your gubernatorial candidates, their positions, their character, and order your schedule so that you can exercise the freedom we have been granted at such a dear price to so many who went before us.)

You're getting a special treat this week. Below we'll take a look at my very own contribution to the political spirit of the day! Before we do this let me give voice to what seem to be common concerns about the world of political advertising these days. Many say that we often fall pray to character assassination rather than justly raising issues of concern that voters ought to look into more for themselves. They say we use the power of imagery and aural composition in more coercive ways than most advertisers ("Mad Men's" ploys often being more coy or covertly manipulative). We fearmonger. We mudsling. We distort facts for our own purposes. Now, let me answer some of these charges: You are correct! Often these approaches are par for the course in political advertising. Unfortunately, when we practice this regularly we create a body politik in our nation that is both fed up with political discourse and polarized by extreme imagery which they associate synonymously with whichever party was responsible for the advertising. And it typically lowers rather than raises the level of discourse over the issues facing our country.

But wait, on the horizon their rides a lone white knight with a glimmer in his eye, and a sword in his hand to smite all the political evildoers. What is that knight's name? Sir Kyle Vitasek... and what is that insignia on his shield? The Republican Governors Association crest! [Obviously I've devolved into the realm of lunacy for a moment here.] However, in all seriousness I do believe our organization does better than most in presenting hard facts in a just manner. Sometimes we fall off the horse in one direction or the other, but in the example below you will witness a little bit of political re-kre8-on.

What do I mean by that? Well, if you take the original elements we had to work with for this ad, you wind up with a very boring, very ineffective conglomeration of facts. The gist of the ad is that the Inspector General for the state of Ohio investigated the Governor's office for a number of irregularities in the way they did business, which could have led to criminal prosecution of particular officials the Governor was directly responsible for hiring and indirectly responsible for managing. However, we took a tried and true crime drama theme, and breathed new life into it (and into the facts at the same time) with the effect that viewers will be entertained and enlightened at the same time, and the gravity of the facts will sit a little heavier. It is my opinion that we did not fall off the horse into character assassination because all of the facts we use are true, and we do not take ugly photos and make them look uglier, or facts far out of context. We simply lay out the case clearly, that another has made against this man's administration, in a winsome fashion. Enjoy! -

What did you think? A good re-kre8-on? More of the same we've come to expect from any political org? Something we could use more of in political advertising? Silly? Well/poorly executed?

Please comment, share on facebook, twitter, etc. And please vote tomorrow.

Cheers,

Kyle

Re-Kre8-Ing Music (Videos?)

2010-10-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Daft Punk is continually pushing the envelope in terms of how much life you can pack into a particular musical space. These masters of re-kre8-on have left heads spinning again with this gem:

If you're like me, you finished this piece with jaw dropped and fingers scratching your noggin, wondering, "did I just see a music video or a movie trailer? Or was it neither?" This hybrid is something of a first. And it has simultaneously expanded the horizons of movie trailers and music videos, and music itself by association.

What do I mean?

In the world of "mash-ups" or most of the current hip-hop/rap scene, we would call Daft Punk's use of all movie scenes, and re-mixing them a "sample." Now, more accurately it would likely be deemed a mash-up, because it uses very substantial portions of both works in concert, not simply as an element of a chorus or a melodic break. A brief search for mashups found me on a top ten page, with this amazing work as the top ranked video:

There is a beauty in knowing that despite how different our musical tastes are as humans, we can still bring new life to one another through our own expression of music. Now, sometimes it will take a mash-up in order to open the communication channel between two formerly exclusive clubs, but it is a risk worth taking.

Thank you Daft Punk and all mashup artists out there. You teach us how to love our neighbor.

Keep re-kre8-Ing. And keep an eye out for a special election day Re-Kre8 on "recreating politics". It might even have an original Kyle Vitasek work featured in it.

[Please be sure to vote in your elections this fall. We have this liberty because of men and women who risked much to free us from taxation without representation and many who died defending our Constitution and our people, so please honor them by taking a few moments to educate yourselves on the issues and candidates and vote. And if you have a gubernatorial race (there are 37) please consider your Republican candidate. We've got some good ones.]

Until then, check out my friend who experiments with mashups and is the DJ I hope will do my wedding some day (hey, guys can dream about their wedding day too!): http://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-WesternFront/21498901989

Cheers,

Kyle

Pay Attention! - Rihanna's latest 'Rated R' Album

2010-10-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to see if you were paying "attention" to the title of the blog! Re-creation requires attention. We cannot breathe new life into old bodies, old cultures, old institutions without paying attention. This is an increasingly difficult in the YouTube generation, which also suffers from the highest diagnosed percentage of ADD yet. (http://bit.ly/9ONmeU p.4 from the CDC; if the trend continues 20010 would top 2004)

In a world where even the old guard think that there is something to be gained from the millenial generation's proclivity to multitasking (http://bit.ly/d9AT4A), we face a tall order convincing people to slow down and draw their attention to focus on one mission for a moment, however brief it may be. Yet this is increasingly important if we want to forestall the decline of our culture, and begin cultivating a new world in which people of all races, economic classes, and faiths flourish. And not only do we suffer a lack of attention during re-creation, thus hampering our ability to truly breathe new life into cultural artifacts and our friendships; we also suffer from a mild half-attention to all of the cultural artifacts that give or take life away from us, and fail to recognize the lifestyle they promote.

(Shield your eyes children, this content only appropriate for audiences 18? and older?)

This image from Rihanna's latest album exhibits a trend in re-creation in the pop stars of my generation. (For our purposes here let us consider that pop culture has a subtler, yet stronger influence on our ways of living than even academia, doctors, lawyers, and yes, even politicians.)

What does Rihanna say with this image, and even more subtly with her album? (Listen here: http://amzn.to/9fVCT1 Read Todd Martens' LA Times review here: http://lat.ms/2hCpnI)

The heroine wraps up 'Russian Roulette' (video here: http://bit.ly/aHAObd) this way:

You can see my heart, beating

Oh you can see it through my chest.

I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving.

Know that I must pass this test.

So just pull the trigger.

The message is, as much of our pop culture communicates, that vulnerability - wearing one's heart on one's sleeve - and emotionalistic hedonism is the only hope for healing in this world of hurt. If I put myself out there - naked and vulnerable - maybe my savior will come. So... Rihanna appears naked, bound, and damaged on her album cover, President Obama responds to the culture's desire for "transparency". What would happen if we breathed new life into this culture of hurt, and required character over vulnerability? Character is the choice to walk in integrity when no one is watching, and to put the love of others who are hurting in front of loving yourself when the situation demands it.

Let's spend some time considering how we may become better "attenders". The latin root of attention is "ten", or "to stretch". We must flex, or stretch our intellectual muscle in a regular "liturgy" or "ritual" of attention, or else we will continue to fall prey to the "spirit of our age" and be incapable of re-creating the artifacts and relationships that lead to human flourishing. We must stretch ourselves to set our care on important matters, or we will constantly be playing with Lewis's "mudpies". Lewis says (forseeing Rihanna's play), "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

For those who find all of this disheartening, and need a little re-creational lift from the hip-hop world after the pummeling brought about by Rihanna's heart-wrenching story, check out Nas and Chrisette Michele's "Can't forget about you" (Nat King Cole's masterpiece, reworked w/permission from Natalie Cole). They take the classic art form we know as Jazz and breathe new life into it w/modern hip-hop/rap. Enjoy! - http://bit.ly/x4n4p Also, be sure to check out Nat King Cole's Re:Generations Album, published posthumously w/great artist homages to the King: http://amzn.to/bN6xSt

Cheers,

Kyle

The Dark Knight of DC Skating

2010-10-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

This week's re-kre8 comes to you courtesy of Melissa Bell, and the Washington Post Magaine. They just put together a very interesting piece on the re-creation that was... in a previously un-gentrified Northeast DC warehouse district.

The following video depicts what humans are capable of when we decide to reclaim something that is broken; when we decide to breathe new life into a dying neighborhood. The ringleader of this effort, a 'Dark Knight' of sorts, is a young man by the name of Dan (apologies to Dan for calling you Mark) Zeman who looked at what others saw as an eyesore and instead saw an opportunity to breathe life into a place that would provide young District skateboarders a place to escape the daily grind and grind it out on their own terms.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/10/07/VI2010100705674.html?sid=ST2010100705728

Unfortunately the article stands as a history of the paradise that was, but it can stand as an encouragement to those of us who mourn urban blight when so many among us live in the midst of the hopelessness that typically accompanies the sort of squalor chronicled here. Let us be encouraged that when a person, and then a group, and hopefully an institution (if they had become an institution, it may have survived) decide that the world they live in is not the way it ought to be, and decide to do something about it.

Bell magically chronicles Zeman and a small group of radicals that were looking to put down the roots of a new, vibrant community, where the community that was included drug dealers, prostitutes, the destitute and forsaken of Northeast DC. Radical, as I have learned from Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution, means "going to the root or origin". And radicals are typically those who go outside of themselves to address the root of a problem of "is" not being what it "ought" to be. Zeman saw the "is", and somehow was able to imagine an "ought" few have eyes to see, and began to explore what "could" be done about it. And the result was nothing short of noteworthy. It even grew to the point of notoriety that Tony Hawk stopped by Zeman's experiment after a visit to the White House, in order to escape the media hound dogs and cut loose for a bit.

Most folks see skaters largely as a nuisance but Zeman was able to see youngsters who live in a world that is not what it ought to be and need an outlet to explore the glory of their acrobatic bodies, the joy of a board, some trucks, bearings, wheels, and reclaimed barn wood that propelled them up a wall into the air for a fresh breath that few in this life get to experience. (Yes, do have the opportunity to longboard from time to time, and I miss it. It is true re-creation... taking raw materials and making something altogether new, joyful, and restorative that brings new life to bones that are slowly returning to dust.)

At it's zenith the "Fight Club", as it came to be known by its members for the number one, and maybe only rule of "not telling anyone about fight club" was a social hub, serving as gallery for artists who would rather have the public adore their work while sliding across coping than adorn the walls of elites, playing host to many local and national rock bands, and offering a place to hang out for social outcasts. In order to make all of this reality Zeman chose to enter the muck, the warp and woof, and live in a studio above the space, constantly pouring water on prostitutes and their "clients," and even setting up a closed circuit camera system of his own that recorded drug deals on his corner and gave police the information they needed to set up stings that would clean up his block for his "parishioners".

In the end, sadly Zeman's selfishness was the downfall of the "Fight Club". (Dan has posted below and informed me that the spot was eyed for re-development years before it closed down, and that the co-investors were brought on just to get the extra time that it did.) When his co-investors and the landlord realized that he had no intentions of sharing credit for or decision-making responsibility for the property and it's fate, his landlord asked him to leave, citing months of unpaid rent. When the project failed, Zeman's cohorts moved on. You can read more about what they're up to now on page four of the Post Article here: http://wapo.st/aLwD5k

At the denouement, this story stands as a moment of inspiration... a spark of the future that can be if we all give ourselves in our personal and public lives to re-creation.

We must start small, but when we learn like Zeman to let our personal recreation pour out into others lives the result can be nothing short of extraordinary.

Cheers,

Kyle

Re-Creating Post-Modern Friendship

2010-10-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Phillip Seymour Hoffman has re-created our contemporary understanding of what it means to be a good friend. His directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating has been called, "Refreshing" by Variety magazine, and New York Post writer Kyle Smith has called it "dryly hilarious". I must agree with both. Having been given the opportunity by my good friend and realtor Andy Musser to go see a flick for free this past Friday, I asked a friend to join me.

Watching the trailer one might expect Hoffman's first directorial work to be a romantic comedy, of which it mostly fits the bill. However, the heaviness which is found in the dramatic moments of heart-wrenching distress over love lost would almost put it in the realm of Oxygen-network drama. Now, before you go writing off the artistic integrity and cinematic beauty of this film, watch this clip. I am not saying it is on par with Oxygen's junk in any way, but simply that it is a heavy film that will equally appeal to women for it's honest dealing with betrayal and loss in relationship and to men for it's honest, refreshing example of a true, bold male friendship where the supporting male tells Jack, "You know I love you, right?".

http://www.jackgoesboatingmovie.com/

The scene pictured above is where we reach the climax of the film. (I'm not going to spoil it, just set it up) Jack has been wooing his love interest (also Michael Scott's love interest from the last season of The Office), and part of that has been an invitation to a dinner which he has been practicing for months to perfect. As you saw in the clip above he has also been learning to swim with his friend for months. The tenderness that comes through in the way his friend teaches him to swim speaks to a true masculinity that is strong but also finds vulnerability in relationship with other strong men that we have almost totally lost in Western Civilization today. But back to the point... this scene is the climax.

Jack's food is almost done, a crusted pork loin in the frying pan, a wonderful au gratin potato in the stove, and wine in every glass. Unfortunately, at the same time his best friend is imploding over the fact that he has tried for so many years to overlook his girlfriend's indiscretions with other men (and she has done an admirable job putting his one indiscretion behind them too). While imploding he decides to "check out" for the evening, smoking some pot on his way back to the house after a "walk, to clear his head", then he busts out the hookah with the special weed. And he asks everyone to "smoke a toast" to Jack, and to his beautiful girlfriend, and to friends. At this point, we begin to get the impression something terrible will happen.

And something terrible does. Not irrecoverable, but enough of an unraveling that everyone begins to question their commitment to their significant other. One couple makes it, and one we are unsure of... it seems as if they don't. But in the midst of it, Jack and his friend remain close, continuing to learn to swim, and Jack completes his mission by the end of the film.

I cannot recommend this film to everyone, but for those of you interested in a commentary on our modern dating culture, commitment in long term relationship in our post-marriage culture, and what it looks like to have a best friend among men in a post-male culture, take a look. It is worth getting to know Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a director. He has some worthwhile things to say.

And... he has re-created friendship, breathed new life into our modern understanding of what it means for men to be friends, in a way I find simultaneously magical and motivational. Enjoy!

Kyle

Re-Creating Music: MIck Foley Falls for Tori Amos?

2010-09-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

So, I realized thanks to Anonymous, Drew, and Stat that my posts the last two weeks have tried to make logical, factually-backed arguments, and as Michael Scott proves below... not all of us are blessed with the gift of sound reasoning skills. Mine are ok, but for the time being, I'll stick to making appeals to the heart about recreation, not to logic... for the time being. Before I jump into my appeal about the value of music in breathing new life into people I offer you a short entertaining clip.

While my argument was not quite so full of fallacies last week, we'll move on to other matters today.

This week I was browsing through new tweets and came across an article from Slate Magazine that tickled my recreative sensibilities. I hope you find pleasure in my review of it. (Original article can be found here: http://www.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2267815)

Mick Foley, you may remember him as 'Cactus Jack' or more recently as "Mankind"- purveyor of all things sock puppet, is a bit of a Renaissance man. This may come as a surprise to most of you, as it does me, since professional wrestlers typically come off as, how do you say it, 'trailer trash'. Cactus Jack was certainly modeled after such a person. Most wrestlers, like other athletes, have a warm-up track that they dial up in their Ipod when they need a particularly testosterone-rich pump-up before a match. Not Mick Foley, he prefers Tori Amos' winter to any number of death metal mixes. You may be asking yourself, "really, Kyle?" Yes, really (read the article above if you don't believe me).

Now we all know that a glorious Beethoven symphony or an Italian Aria, or Kanye set to an orchestra can touch us in a place few know how to reach, but humor me as I tell you how that same thread connects all humans, not just those with a penchant for high culture. Or conversely, let me tell you how there is a desire for flourishing in each human being that demands something approximating high culture.

Mick Foley found himself in a strange position. Having left a low six-figure contract with the formerly great World Championship Wrestling and embarking on a tour for a smaller outfit which emphasized matches with props including barbed wire, fire, thumbtacks, and blood he found himself in a peculiar situation. "On the tour's final night, I was set to compete in a barbed-wire match with Terry Funk. Despite being 20 years my senior, Funk—a mentor and something of a father figure to me—was a wild man in the ring... As ridiculous as it might seem to me now, my aim that night was to have the best barbed-wire match ever. There was only one problem: I was terrified."

This is where things get interesting. Mick turned on Tori. And he put on the best performance of his career. To this day, Mick still has a special place in his heart for the song that got him through his own personal winter. He explains, "I've listened to 'Winter' so many times over the years, and I have never failed to receive that tingling in the scalp, that magnificent rush... 'Winter' is different. I remember the times. I remember the places. I remember the shows."

Eventually, Mick lets us in on the real magic the song has over him, "the question in the refrain always appealed to the scared part of me, the part that believed I wasn't strong enough, or big enough, or good enough. It never made me think of doing wild and dangerous deeds inside a wrestling ring. It helped me believe that I was strong enough to do the things I already knew needed to be done."

Mick went on to Meet Tori at Comic-Con in 2008. Before he could reach her booth to thank her for her song, he found himself wrapped up in the singer's arms. Mick describes the moment, "this is how I remember it—I was a child, and she was an angel." How can a hulk of a man who's goal in life is to beat up other men on a worldwide stage say this? This, my friends, is the recreational power of music.

And the transformation didn't stop there! Believe me, you'll be surprised what Cactus Jack is up to these days. Mick goes on, "every time I've heard the song in the last two years I've felt like I could change the world." "Since February, I have been a weekly volunteer for RAINN's online hotline, doing my best to help victims of sexual violence piece together their lives. Last week, I was named RAINN's volunteer of the month. It's a tremendous honor, and it's amazing to think that it might never have happened if I hadn't heard that haunting voice in the back of Maxx Payne's car. So many years after that first listen, Tori Amos still inspires me every day. Most of all, she still convinces me to believe that I'm strong enough to do the things I already know need to be done."

What? Are you kidding me? No... this is the power of music. It breaks down barriers. It breathes new life into washed up wrestling stars. It changes father's relationships with their daughters, it helps us grieve the loss of a loved one... it motivates us to change the world.

One of these songs for me is "I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight" by U2. The video is sweet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q_AHAMVQ9c&ob=av3e Comment w/your "change the world song". Let's start a playlist. Who knows, maybe we'll inspire some great things.

Cheers,

Kyle

Re-Creating Stories

2010-09-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit of a response to 'Anonymous' from the "Recreating Faith" post. He/she/it said: "the Gospel does not need new life breathed into it - it simply needs to be LIVED and not discussed. Those who don't yet know God are tired of us wasting time deciding what kind of art we should have around us - they'd be much more interested in us sharing our lives with them, really living out the Kingdom Jesus talked about in our neighborhood. When they can participate in something with us - that's when the Gospel comes alive." On some points I agree. On others I differ. People do need to live out the faiths they profess, or else their faith is dead, and not very desirable to others. But, have you heard of Clive Staples Lewis? He wrote some amazing stories that I would say are one of if not the best re-creation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in existence today... and have helped many young men and women come into the faith who otherwise would be left to stale felt-boards for their imaginings of the Gospel of Scripture.

In his book, Lewis re-casts the fall of man not as a serpent tempting a husband and wife, but rather as an adventurous child who has been sent on a mission and is enticed by a mysterious, beautiful queen who poses the question of whether he could drop his mission in order to save his mother, who is on her deathbed.

The child Digory is presented with a mission to pick a fruit that promises eternal life, and Aslan the Lion (an allegory of Jesus) gives Digory a response that elegantly summarizes the Gospel's definition of human nature, subtly sliding by our "plausibility structures" filter which is our built-in subconscious reaction to truths that seem so opposite to the bedrock truths that we each hold personally. Aslan tells us about the nature of the queen, and the way the world works, "Things always work according to their nature. She has won her heart's desire (having eaten the fruit); she has unwearying strength and endless days like a godess. But length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery and already she begins to know it."

Lewis has undone our plausibility structures. My friend Mike hammers home the point in his blog that almost all of the choosing is already over by the time we come to a moment of decision. When we are presented with a choice, we are seldom acting consciously, but rather the 95% of cognition that occurs without our knowing it (subconscious) has done most of the choosing for us. We are creatures of habit, and in order to have the Gospel break through that habit, we must re-package it. We cannot simply recite a chapter of Luke and expect people to keel over slain in the Spirit and awake a new person. This is simply almost impossible in our "been there, done that" culture. If we say Scripture, or Gospel, or Jesus, we're rebuffed at the stoop, we haven't even gotten our foot in the door. However, if we take Lewis's route, we might get somewhere. Let's keep re-creating the Gospel.

If you're intrigued by Mike's input into this blog, check his out at: http://doggieheadtilt.com/the-tip-of-the-iceberg/#more-309

And check out this video on the lost art of storytelling in the church: http://vimeo.com/14969953

If our re-creations peter out at felt boards, we're not even scratching the surface.

If you like this blog, please feel free to post the link on your Facebook. I'll be getting a "like" button soon, and a re-design a bit after that.

Cheers,

Kyle

http://doggieheadtilt.com/the-tip-of-the-iceberg/

Re-Cre8ing ToyMaking

2010-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

This powerful piece by none other than American favorite Norman Rockwell illuminates the power of play over cultural drift towards entertainment. A power that I hope comes home to roost in America this century, as we have become inundated by mind-numbing entertainment from every corner.

According to the person who wrote this Smithsonian information snippet about the work, "The Toy Maker is a nostalgic reminder of old-time toy making, which almost disappeared when industrial manufacturing began replacing hand-work in the early years of the twentieth century. By 1920, a revival of toy making by New England woodworkers reflected a desire for simple toys that encouraged children to invent and imagine. The red, white, and blue whirligig in Rockwell's picture suggests that its creator was one of these American woodcrafters." It seems that during the first decade of the 21st century, we could use a bit of the spirit of moms and pops from the 20's, giving our children, and ourselves, toys that require imagination, not simply unplugging on a sofa. Play, my friends, is a key component of re-cre-8on. (you'll see why i keep spelling re-cre-ate weirdly in a month or so when i get my logo up on the page)

If we take an honest look at what we do with most of our "leisure time". Do not be deceived, leisure and recreation - while often used as synonymous terms - are not the same thing. (See http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1944/How-Americans-Spend-Their-Time-DEFINING-LEISURE-RECREATION.html) Setting our children in front of a TV often does little to restore them to health, and often accomplishes the opposite. A similar point could be made for how most of us Adult Americans spend half of our leisure time. Don't believe me, look at this: http://www.productivity501.com/how-much-time-do-you-actually-have/38/. If we're spending half of our leisure time watching television, we're doing little or nothing to restore ourselves to health, which is often necessary after waging life's little wars at work and on our errands, etc.

Let's take a lesson from Rockwell's re-cre-8on of play. Put down the Iphone or the remote and find a toy or activity that requires some imagination in order to play with it. Re-cre-8on heals our bodies, minds, and souls in ways that Television can't, so let's get to it.

Re-Cre-8-ing Faith

2010-09-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

The Roman Catholic tradition knows a little sum'n about breathing new life into old institutions, and old art forms. As evidenced by the collection of oil renderings of the martyrdom of a number of early church saints, and the inscription over the entrance of the Nelson-Atkins museum in Kansas City, the ideal trumps the real, whether our post-modern context agrees or not.

The words of French poet Victor Hugo greet visitors to the Kansas' greatest art collection with beautiful, thought-provoking prose, creating an experience that begins before the connoiseur enters a single gallery. The chiseled stone reads, "The soul has greater need of the ideal than the real. It is by the real that we exist. It is by the ideal that we live." And the Roman Catholic church fathers who found their religion withering in the wake of the Protestant reformation took this very much to heart. As the evangelical enlightenment took root across Europe, a church that formerly had no intellectual opponent from fellow Christians now found the need to distinguish itself, and breathe new life into its faith. And they tacked directly into the wind that would carry them to many subsequent centuries of prominence worldwide.

Hendrick Terbrugghen's "Beheading of John the Baptist" is a good example. Simultaneously strengthening the patron saint's martyr status, exampling the good works necessary for a Catholic parishioner to achieve a heavenly end, and bolstering the church's relevance to the age, Terbrugghen's work stands in contrast to the iconoclasm of the new protestant tradition.

How can the church find balance between not creating graven images, yet also breathing new life into the Gospel. Men's rendering of the Gospel often needs new life breathed into it; primarily new forms or a creative approach to an old form. We often need distinctive, bold images to reframe our perception of religion. Religion, maybe more so than most other areas of life, tends to get stale, or warped rather quickly, and constantly needs re-creating.

The Protestant tradition could learn something valuable from the Catholic brethren of yore. Forsake imagery, and you forsake a great venue of vision-casting.

And, on a side note, playing with infants or helping them eat at the dinner table is a great form of recreation. I've never felt so rested and at peace than when I've been doing either of these things with Walker and Claire in Kansas City or Kate in Leesburg, VA. (See responses w/pictures below to get to know these awesome kids.)

Re-Creating Settling Down

2010-08-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

As most of my blog posts do, this one centers around a film. So the subject of this week's post is the film Peter Travers calls "the best and boldest American comedy of the year." (http://bit.ly/aoQCgM) Jason Reitman's poignant film about the proverbial "baggage" that relationships bring to our lives is simultaneously stirring and haunting. And it relates well to a post my friend Amy wrote about "settling" into adult life. You should read it sometime. It raises good questions about whether we are meant to life life "up in the air" or not. (http://bit.ly/d6WuJp)

Interestingly enough Ryan Bingham (Clooney) realizes after about his 500th time delivering his motivation speech line "the slower we move, the faster we die" that he wants his life to slow down. He wants to fill his proverbial "backpack" with people that are important to him, even though it will weigh him down. Deep inside, this is what we all want in life. To be consumed with the "weightier things". We can trick ourselves way into our adult life that we want to be entertained with the trivial and light, and get as much fun out of this thing as we can, but eventually our self-delusion will catch up to us.

Reitman masterfully re-creates a world where "weighty" things are important things. And he beautifully draws us into a story that through its caricature opens our eyes to our own need for more weighty things. A particularly poignant scene finds Clooney and his love interest sitting down with his young protege Natalie to console her over her recent breakup. Natalie complains about not wanting to "settle"... which Amy describes well in her blog... (check it out). Clooney's love interest, who at the time we think may "settle down" with old George, replies to Natalie with this gem, "By the time someone is right for you it won't feel like settling. The only person left to judge you will be the 23 year-old girl with the target on your back." She's right. A re-created view of "settling" doesn't see it as settling. A good heart accepts that life, like fine wine, gets better with age, and the thinner hair, larger beer belly, or many other things that might cause the 23 year old Natalie to feel like she is settling, grow dim in light of the weighty things that make a man worth joining in the journey of "settling down".

As we follow Clooney, Reitman keeps pushing us to hope that he will become a dynamic character and settle down with his newfound love interest. Natalie gets in George's face during a scene where he has employed her in helping photograph his sister and brother-in-law's cardboard cutout in front of particular landmarks near which he has business (These scenes are comical). George tells her that his newfound relationship is 'casual', to which Natalie replies with this stinger: "You have set up a way of life that basically makes it impossible for you to have any kind of human connection. And now this woman comes along and somehow runs the gauntlet of your ridiculous 'life choice' and comes out on the other end smiling just so you can call her 'casual'? I need to grow up? You're a 12 year-old." Wow. Natalie hits the nail on the head.

Just after this Clooney's carboard cutout of his sister, which is a great visual reminder that his relationship with her is paper-thin, blows into the water next to the dock he is standing on. Clooney, dressed to the nines, pauses for a moment and then takes the biggest plunge of the movie, beginning the dynamic change in character that helps us understand the re-creation of "settling". He dives in the water after the cutout, takes it back to the hotel, carefully blows it dry w/the hotel hair dryer, and carefully packs it in his bag for its next destination.

Natalies turning point, after Clooney continually tries to get her to cut free of her relational baggage, occurs when she has to fire someone and in the midst of not knowing what to say pulls out Clooney's trademark line about all of the world's greatest leaders having sat where the laid-off employee is sitting, but the leaders decided to "keep going" or something like that. She sadly continues to take on more and more of Clooney's philosophical code.

As Clooney continues to be less and less "up in the air" he invites his love interest to his sister's wedding, which he serendipitously chooses to attend. His invitation is very telling of his evolving philosophy: "Look, I'm not the wedding type, right? But for the first time in my life I don't want to be that guy alone at the bar. I want a dance partner. I want a plus one, and if you can stomach it, I want it to be you." Any girl would melt w/George Clooney delivering this line, right? And so, his love interest accompanies him to his snowy northeast hometown, where they find his old high school and have their "first kiss", occurring long after a kama sutra hotel sexual romp of a first "date", at the makeout spot in Clooney's alma mater... the hallway steps just past the lockers.

Finally we find out that Clooney's secret and seemingly only goal in life is to hit the 10 million skymile mark, for which he will get to meet the captain of the plane, get a free concierge service with a dedicated phone line and sterling silver "10 million club" card. As Clooney decides to drive to his love interest's home in Chicago unannounced and tell her that he wants to settle down with her, we hit one of the most important and simultaneously funny situations of the film. As he wraps up protocol at the Hertz Gold Club desk at O'Hare airport, he runs away from the reservation desk like a giddy schoolboy, and the attendant yells out, "Sir, you forgot your gold miles!" Clooney is gone, no looking back. He has given up his "airy" goal for a much more "grounded" one.

Unfortunately, we find out that his mistress has been leading a double life, which finds her home with a husband and kids in Chicago. She quite literally leaves George out in the cold of a snowy Chicago street. It becomes obvious in a subsequent phone call that their relationship is over, and George is crushed.

The films denouement is what really makes it. It is very not Hollywood. It honors us as the glorious ruins Steven Garber reminds us that all humans are. George has started a journey, but he is not perfectly "grounded" just yet. The change is not so easy, as exampled by his unrequited love, and it is not so complete, as evidenced by his return to the skies. However, it is a true change. The first thing he did with his silver card is call the concierge and reserve an around-the-world ticket for his sister and brother-in-law so that they could have a real honeymoon which they had foregone for financial reasons, this being the reason for the pictures of a honeymoon with the cutouts all over the US.

Re-creation lesson? Re-creation doesn't happen all at once, and it isn't easy. But it is good. And it is worth struggling for. If Clooney can do it, surely the rest of us can join him in his journey.

Feel Great, Work Great

2010-08-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Can we breathe new life into dead corporate bodies with green building design? Richard Cook argues that we can. And his proof is the Bank of America Building in New York. http://bit.ly/cwQNy0

Most would look at this glassy spire and assume that it is an energy hog, due to an exterior surface made almost entirely of windows. Not so, claims Richard Cook.

The building, according to Brandon Thomas Baunach, was built with concrete "made with 45% recycled slag which dramatically cuts down the energy used to build the structure." (http://bit.ly/bxce8N) And the recreation doesn't stop there. As noted in Cook's interview, and Baunach's article, the building freezes giant ice cubes during off-peak hours so that they can be melted to cool the building when energy is at a premium. Talk about being a responsible neighbor.

When we think of recreating a building we don't often think of smell, but Cook posits that if a building smells good, it will feel good. If it 'feels good', then the people inside of it will work well. I suppose we would need a control case, but it would be interesting if the HR folks at Bank of America can compare notes from before and after the structural makeover/green takeover.

To bring the point about 'feeling good' home, Cook mentions the recreation of his own office space. As they were redesigning the space, they realized that they had a boiling tar roof just outside the window. And the realized that if they were truly committed to the green cause, their design choices ought not just contribute to a LEED rating, but will need to be consistent with their values. So, they made a green roof of what was once boiling tar. Within just a few years, they tall grass bring butterflies, butterflies bring birds, and birds even bring predator birds.

Imagine what that inescapable feeling of 'life right outside your window', or even 'life in your office' can bring to the warp and woof of Corporate America. Talk about bringing new life, literally... infusing our offices with something new, that we never knew before. This is recreation.

Design from Raw Materials

2010-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Re-creation can be understood as taking raw materials, and making something new from them, a which has a life of its own... a life that it did not have before the designer set his hands to it.

shinya kimura @ chabott engineering from Henrik Hansen on Vimeo.

My favorite line: "I don't draw either."

I think that Shinya Kimura understands the relationship between creator and creation more than most recreationists do. When he speaks about the metal, and how he forms it, he doesn't go about it like the West Coast Chopper boys do (although they're artists in their own way). He doesn't draw, doesn't hammer an odd-shaped part until it fits, and doesn't make use of a waterjet to cut his frame. (at least I didn't see one in the video. No, instead he feels the energy of the metal as he works it, and responds to the life he calls out from it. He seems to believe in the potential of new life in all things, and works toward it with everything he has in him.

It is from this view, having slid on the horn-rimmed spectacles for a minute... or better yet, his aviator goggles, that we begin to understand what it means to breathe new life into a design.

As only an artist can put it, Shinya concludes, "For me a motorcycle is more than art. It's something that brings out my instincts, the wildness and vulnerability in me.

I have never heard a more beautiful description of the power of a mortorcycle to help a human being understand his humanness better. In our modern society of cubicles and neck ties, we experience little of wildness and vulnerability, both of which are the stuff of flesh and marrow.

So, I think it is safe to say we have discovered that recreation brings new life both to the created and the creator. Beautiful! Thanks Shinya!

Elderly re:creation

2010-08-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

So how does a cartoon teach us to be better retirees? And why in the world would a 28-year old be thinking about how he's going to be spending his retirement? That would be thanks to Ed Asner and the team at Pixar Studios bringing to life a story of love lost, and life re:created at retirement age.

Today Carl Fredericksen dropped into my afternoon unexpectedly when my family and I were looking for ways to belatedly celebrate my mom's birthday. Ed Asner and the animation team did a fantastic job voicing and giving expression to Carl in a way that drew us in without being overt. It is amazing that a cartoon can be so subtle with emotions over a lost lover or empathy for a young boy whose father's career has stolen him away from any meaningful interaction with his son.

As we watch Carl slowly let the young boy Russell into his adventure, and finally set the tone of their journey, we are witnessing a person doing the most amazing thing they can do for another human being. Carl chooses to lay down his life's ambition, and the adventure which he thinks will bring an intimate closeness with the memory of his late wife, in order to help Russell pursue his goals. And in so doing, he finds new life.

So... in watching Carl, I decided I don't want a retirement full of golf, good reading, and long walks on the beach. I will certainly take those as they come after 55, but give me some young men to mentor... give me a cause to champion; give me people to serve. If I should become free of the economic necessity of working to earn a living some day, I hope to spend my days as Carl does finally in this film. I want to re:create a retirement that looks altogether different from the American ideal.

Thank you Disney, for giving us an education in re:creation.

Shakespeare's Stars Uncrossed

2009-12-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Re:Creation is happening all around you. You just need eyes to see it.

Maria Aitken breathes new life into Shakespeare for hundreds of viewers a night in a posh, but cosy theatre in Chinatown, DC. For someone not very well versed in Shakespeare, I feel I have a new understanding of the man. And this thanks to Maria and her amazing cast and crew.

In dusting off Shakespeare's collection, you will mostly find star-crossed lovers. However 'As You Like It' is something different for the "Bard of Avon". The one who seems to suggest we give all to Love - despite the fact that it will bring us ruin - turns that on its head here. Two lovers who reinvent themselves over many years (the heroine changing herself into a man), somehow wind up winning one another's affections, and trumping the will of the gods. In this story humans will not remain ultimately confused by love. They will against all odds live in the blissful tranquility of love requited.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company interpreted Shakespeare's work in light of our postmodern context, and drew parallels between exiled Rosalind and Orlando and the exiles of many of our forefathers that brought them to the 'Land that we Love', America. The story starts in a dark and cold England with an even darker and colder Duke. Soon enough however, we saw Rosalind and Orlando's love take shape over hundreds of years of American History, spanning the late 1700s to early 1900s. This pays homage to Shakespeare's belief in the transcendence of love, and also helps the audience understand the re-invention of culture that has marked our heritage since its inception.

The actors were incredible, as were the sets and costume. The entire storytelling experience made me want to be a playwright, and caused me to question my own assumptions of love, as I was drawn into the transcendence of a story close to the hear of one William Shakespeare.

As a Shakespeare play may collect dust if not re-invented by a modern theatre company, so too will our culture decay if we do not re:create it.

We must all become re:creators... or we, like Shakespeare's volumes un-acted, will languish.

http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=181&source=l

Re:Creating The Automobile Industry

2009-12-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

Re:Creation can look a lot like doing business. Ford has "brought new life" to a decades-old company, while most of its domestic competitors have continued doing business the same way. Sync may not swim, but he sure does look like he knows what he's doing with that radio. As cars become more and more an extension of their drivers' personalities and commutes become longer, the ability to "sync" our own playlists, etc. has become increasingly important to my generation. (Keep reading below the photo)

There may be many reasons that Ford began turning profit precisely as the other American Automakers were receiving bailout money. Having ridden in my dad's Taurus just recently - a car that I loathed as a teenager - I can tell you from first hand experience that Ford has begun paying attention to details. On my dad's "not-so-new" Taurus, they even have lights under the side view mirrors so that you can watch your step when exiting the car at night. I don't believe you will find this feature on very many "entry-level" GMs. Probably because they're too busy figuring out how to "brand" themselves out of the image of "the car company that received a bailout".

Moving on, a brief look at Wikipedia will show why Ford is doing so well. They began "re:creating" themselves in 2005.

"In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly-appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to profitability. Fields previewed the Plan, dubbed The Way Forward, at the December 7, 2005 board meeting of the company; and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" includes resizing the company to match current market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, and shutting fourteen factories and cutting 30,000 jobs.^[31]
These cutbacks are consistent with Ford's roughly 25% decline in U.S. automotive market share since the mid-late 1990s. Ford's target is to become profitable again in 2009, a year later than projected."

To put all of this in Context, Richard Sennet writes in his book 'Corrosion of Character' this of Ford's early days, "As Ford Motor industrialized its production process, it favored the employment of so-called specialist workers over skilled craftsmen; the jobs of the specialist workers were those sorts of miniature operations requiring little thought or judgment... By 1917, 55 percent of the work force were specialist employees..." Doesn't exactly sound like a hot-bed of innovation or "re:creation".

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't believe every Ford employee is now a fountain of creativity thanks to Fields' restructuring plan. However, I am impressed with a company that found it's character among a morass of companions heading full steam ahead toward insolvency, and made the hard, but necessary steps to do business well again. They are reaping the benefits.

And GM and Chrysler are simply dumping our "bailout bucks" into better "Marketing". Get with it.

Kudos to Ford for "re:creating"

Thanksgiving Recreation

2009-11-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in one of my earlier 'Recreate' newsletter's, recreation takes on far more different forms than simply sport or leisure. On thanksgiving, recreation may mean to breathe new life into old family relationships. Or it may mean the NFL taking a new direction with their halftime show performance. (Remember the Janet Jackson debacle?) So, in the interests of sharing my Thanksgiving recreation experiences, here we go.

Today the NFL chose to do something very different with their Turkey Day halftime show. Now, I know that the SuperBowl and Thanksgiving day games are very different matters, but the audiences for both include many families, which is part of the reason we witnessed such an uproar over Ms. Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction'. Today in Detroit we saw beautiful women in modest, beautiful dresses and handsome men with a full complement of equally beautiful dancers pay tribute to Motown legends, and get a head start on music careers of their own. No big names, no 'flashy' wardrobes, simply uplifting music and a good message: 'Detroit will come back better than before, and we will do it with a vibrant group of young men and women who will honor the past and embrace the future.' The halftime show was a beautiful work of art, an inspiration to many men and women who hunger for hope amidst a city quite literally crumbling from lack of repair, and a great moment of redemption shared by millions via the FOX Television Network. That's what I call some thanksgiving recreation. They took an old halftime show dog and taught it some new tricks, if you will. And I think I will on this fabulous thanksgiving day. I am thankful for the NFL, and their new approach to halftime shows.

On the family side of things, the troubles of life are spiraling. It's not that God has not been good to us, it is simply that if left unchecked the worries of life can suck all of the joy out of our family time together around the dinner table. As the years have progressed our celebrations of thanksgiving with extended family have been fewer and further between. And to top it off, the two older women who had joined my father, mother, brother, and I this last year were not able to make it this year due to various circumstances. Somehow, with four places set, and a little bit of teamwork we had one of the most delightful dinnertime conversations I can ever remember having. New life has been imparted to the relationships between my mom, dad, brother, and I. And the food was awesome. I guess good cooks are continually learning how to do it better, but my mom knocked it out of the park today. Every single dish was spectacular. Full stomachs echoed the joy of full hearts, and here I am telling the joys of the day.

Well, I wish you all a happy thanksgiving, and I hope you can find a way to recreate with you family. You could go out and throw a football, and that would certainly bring new life to your muscles. But why not bring new life to your heart with a little inside recreation.

Esquire is a Great Read!

2009-08-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

You may be scratching your head, wondering how a magzine some people know better for their "Women We Love" stories or their "Why Men Shouldn't Wax Their Chests" stories gets the nod from Kyle Vitasek.

Well, prepare to be suprised...

After reading three articles from esquire over the past two weeks, I can comfortably say they have one of the best, most intuitive and intelligent pop culture journalistic/editorial staffs in the world. Just so that you don't scratch any hair out of your head the articles were an interview with Jeb Bush, one with Judd Apatow, and a film review of Apatow's latest "Funny People."

With a nod to Stephen Marche for his great review and insightful commentary on Apatow, and a genuine recommendation that you read any Esquire articles that show up when you google a pop culture icon, I will move on to offer my own insights about Judd and "Funny People".

Judd Apatow may just be the herald announcing that post-modern friends who have joined together to seek the transcendent have claimed their place in the mainstream of society. If you want evidence of this, check out his box office draws, or IMDB him. Apatow is the golden boy of Hollywood for the moment. Yet, he couldn't seem to care less.

Yes, he is enthralled by the fact that he gets to make the stories he wants to. Yes, he is pleased that corporate execs have finally given his work the recognition that it deserves. But mostly, he cares that his wife and daughters have stability, a great dad, and an ever-present cheerleader. Even though he spends a great deal of time working on films, he makes every effort to karate chop the wall that the baby boom generation so effectively placed between "work life" and "home life". Could he be the new poster-boy for living an integrated, wholistic life? Maybe... he's made an admirable start.

And have you noticed that while some of the content of his movies is stuff he would never want to hear come out of his daughter's mouths, some of it is quite insightful and full of moral gravity? Take a deeper look.

"Step Brothers" while outrageously over the top funny at moments, also deals in a very heartfelt, endearing manner with the issues that spin from divorced parents, which many forty year-old men still haven't worked out. So, does it seem ridiculous at first glance? Yes. Are the dick jokes a bit much at moments. Yes. But does the film cause an entire culture to question why things are the way they are? Yes. Does it ask us what we're willing to do to remedy the situation, and in fact offer a wild, yet poignant solution? Yes. Apatow challenges us each to re-discover the childlike wonder and ability to take risks that we all long for. There was another cultural icon that did this back in the first century A.D. You can draw your own conclusions about whom I speak.

And now, finally, "Funny People". Judd's hit 41, one year older than his 40-year old virgin, and he's starting to feel the weight of his years a bit. He's willing to pour on the gravitas a little bit more. He wants to make a mark on the society he holds dear. He's teamed up again with one of his favorite actors from "Freaks and Geeks," the much thinner Seth Rogen. Rogen and Apatow have formed, in real life and in their films, a fun sort of 21st century family. And this unfeigned, unfettered intimacy flows freely in "Funny People." Sandler's terminal illness causes him to question what he's done with his life, and why he never pursued the one person he truly loved. He employs Rogen to help him through the final stages, so he doesn't have to be alone. Apatow takes aim, as he does in "Step Brothers," at the absolute insanity of the possessions we have accumulated as Americans, and the fact that it doesn't come anywhere close to giving us happiness. Adam Sandler's character asks Rogen to help him give all his "stuff" away, so we think he's turning over a new leaf. As Sandler begins to pursue his one true love from many years back, Rogen slowly realizes that Sandler hasn't changed at all. He's more manipulative and selfish than ever. One of the most suprising elements is that the character Apatow normally slates for all-out ridicule gets a subtle nod from the director. The husband of Sandler's love interest is first portrayed as a successful, macho, totally clueless guy who has no idea how to love his wife. Yet by the end, we see that he cares for his girls admirably well, even at some of the highest points of tension with his wife or Sandler. And, when faced with the option of flying the coop when things got really rough with his wife cheating on him with Sandler, he chose to stay. He chose to tough it out. Apatow, far from being the funny man we give him so much credit for, is turning a corner in his directorial skill-set. His characters (relatively continuous from film to film) are beginning to genuinely grow. They are walking the path to transcendence alongside Apatow.

Apatow the spiritual guide? Maybe. He sure has caught the attention of an entire generation who can't seem to find the truth about life from their original families, as he so ironically noted with his George W. Bush quote at the beginning of Step Brothers. [Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.] That is an actual quote. Spelling is correct, the way our president said it. And this is why Apatow put it in there. He seems to feel that there is something very spiritually off about a generation who don't know their fathers, either through physical or emotional absence. He thinks that there is also something off about this culture where our President can't use proper grammar, or even put together a cohesive sentence about something so important as the family unit. Wings can't take dream, not even metaphorically. Dreams might be able to take flight.

Unfortunately Apatow seems to have searched and found that the only comfortable philosophy for him is that of nihilism. He is quoted in Marche's review as saying, "comedy... is a way to point out that nothing makes sense." And he makes this point very well with the final scene of "Funny People". As the camera makes a very elegant zoom and track out from Rogen and Sandler, we see a display of champagne conspicously placed in the foreground... and lit well. This is no mistake. Film producers and directors leave nothing to chance. Their works of art are moving images, and therefore everything in that moving image must fit their vision for the world they want to paint. Apatow points out poignantly that for Sandler all there is is comedy. He doesn't even apologize to Rogen for making him party to breaking up a family. He simply comes to Apatows crummy grocery store work and tells him that he will help him write his jokes... something he previously refused to do, saying something to the effect of "I pay you to write jokes for me. That's how this works." While we see that Sandler now wants relationship, which he didn't before, his character has not grown nearly as much as Rogen's. Rogen sees a world that consists of serious right and wrong actions, with even more serious implications for either of those. And he wants desperately to be right.

Is Apatow trying to go back and start over? Has a world where "nothing makes sense" other than the fact that it's all very ironically funny left him wanting more? For sure. And I don't think he's given up yet. Pay close attention. I fully expect, if his genuine search for truth continues, to see his work mature and his influence expand over the years.

It would be great to get to work with him someday... minus the dick jokes.

Hope you enjoyed,

Kyle

the symmetry of green

2009-07-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

blades whipping,
up-lifting
bending

feet follow
turn green
and stand still

fresh columns
re-peated
repeated

dusk glory
lawn mower
and bare feet

It has been so long since I mowed the lawn. Being waited on hand and foot as a fellow has its advantages and disadvantages. One of those disadvantages is the joy we miss out on when we fail to practice the soul-stilling art of lawn-mowing. All the worries of Washingtonian life fade as row after row soft summer blades fall down. I didn't get to go barefoot this time, as I'm new to the yard... but once I learn it, we'll see about that. Enjoy mowing your lawn. It's glorious!

Surprised by Culture

2009-05-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

From Andy Crouch's Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling... "Once we are awake and thankful our most important cultural contribution will very likely come from doing whatever keeps us precisely in the center of delight and surprise."

Awesome! I need to be awake and thankful more often. Delight and surprise. Can you think of a better way to experience the world, or a better way to create culture? I can't. And Andy suggests that if we're uber-serious and directed and too self-absorbed to be thankful, then we won't create anything of cultural value.

On a similar note, the wonderful laptop from which I designed reCreate was stolen... my car window got bashed. Thankfully my solid renter's insurance policy covers the computer w/out requiring me to pay the deductible. Unfortunately the majority of my Fellows experience (at least the digital form of it from class notes to pictures, etc.) was on that machine. Somebody just learned their first backup lesson. So, time to get creative again. I've got some ground to make up. Spring is still upon us. There is much to be explored outside. Check back soon for more finding.

re:create Newsletter 2

2009-03-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I need to do this every now and then. I need to write. As I look ahead, I wonder if I need to get into a vocation where I write more often. If you have thoughts on my post, please comment.

re:create Newsletter 1

2009-01-19T14:01:00.000-08:00