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atruththatyoudeny · 5 years ago

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Favourite Fics of 2019

I read 305 fics this year, reaching a word count of around 7.5 million (yes, I’m notorius like that and keep track) - all thanks to the amazing authors who continuously share their work with us. You are the heart and soul of this fandom! A million thanks to all of you who appear in this list and also to everyone I forgot or whose fics I didn’t manage to read yet ♥ Here are 28 fics posted in 2019 that I loved and that stayed with me; in no particular order: ....................................................................

✧ I Think You’re Already Home by jaerie

Seeing Louis Tomlinson today, it would be hard to guess that he was ever once a member of the world’s most famous boyband. These days he doesn’t even the leave his own house. The truth is he can’t leave his own house. He can’t even remember the last time just standing at an open door didn’t send him into a debilitating panic attack. But, against his friend’s advice, Louis is ready to add meaning to his life again. He’s ready to start a family. So what if he doesn’t have an omega? There are plenty of surrogacy services just waiting to help the rich and famous become parents. He just has to find the right one for the job.

✧ An Aurora Grove Christmas by dandelionfairies

Harry gets lost on his way to St. Louis. The roads are horrid because of the snow and he ends up spinning into a ditch. Lucky for him, he finds a cabin nearby, as well as a cute blue-eyed man who immediately helps him. Unfortunately, his car is stuck for the night, but at least he has a place to stay with Louis. With the snow continuing to fall and another storm front coming through, will he ever make it out of Aurora Grove? Does he even want to?

✧ Godless, Graceless, and Young by kiddle

Seattle, Washington, 1991 It takes a special breed to have a slacker persona and still be a millionaire rockstar. Harry is about halfway there. He’s the guitarist in a Seattle grunge band that could finally be headed somewhere, but he’s also been sleeping on his bassist’s sofa for the last three months and has been fired from every day-job he’s had. Money doesn’t equal success, but it does pay the bills. When a job offer and a new lead singer stumble into Harry’s life, he might be getting a lot more than he bargained for. Like a couple of extra gigs and a boy who can teach him more than just how to mix a few drinks, and it’s gonna take a few band brawls and a whole lot of heart-searching to get there. He’s gotta have one somewhere…

✧ So…how’s parenting going? (series) by thealmightyavocado

vol. i: the case of the imaginary friend Harry and Louis’ three-year-old son has an imaginary friend that is making their life a living, breathing hell. vol. ii: the case of the missing wedding guest Three-year-old Rory just doesn’t understand why he wasn’t invited to his parents’ wedding.

✧ Ferricadooza! by suspendrs

Harry can’t even fathom the idea of surrendering; he’d fight ‘til he died, if he had to, anything to keep from surrendering. Or, the year is 1963, homosexuality is illegal in the UK, Louis owns a gay bar, and Harry’s an underground boxing champion with an unfortunate enemy.

✧ The Little Dog Whisperer by lovelarry10

Louis lives alone with his dog Clifford. When he spots a sign in the neighbourhood advertising dog walking services, along come Harry and his son Alfie into his life…

✧ Pretty Please (With Sugar On Top) by angelichl

Harry is a sugar baby omega who cons rich alphas for a living. Louis is a rich alpha with too much self-control.

✧ Ain’t We Proud by yeehawharry

Louis Tomlinson returned to Manchester in 1945 with survivor’s guilt, no job prospects, and a promise to check on the brother of his wartime best friend who didn’t make it home from the front. Things began looking up when he heard a radio advert for the Tribute to the Troops Song Competition and decided to put together a band of fellow vets, combine their talent and experience, and hopefully rocket to stardom. A Bandstand AU.

✧ ‘Sup by MediaWhore

Gemma really wants her little brother to sign up for a dating app and get back in the game after a messy divorce. Harry thinks he’s way too old to swipe. They compromise to devastatingly embarrassing results. Meanwhile, all Louis wants is to finish the play he’s been commissioned to write, but one of the regulars at his local coffee shop keeps distracting him. ft. older larry, pushy gemma, harry being a disaster gay and silver fox louis.

✧ Waiting for the tides to meet by nauticalleeds (metamorphosis)

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate’s. It’s only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he’ll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis’ workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis’ heart. Featuring a lovely cup of OT5, a road trip down the coast, and a scene where Harry eats a whole head of lettuce. Don’t ask why.

✧ In Your Black Heart (Is Where You’ll Find Me) by graceling_in_a_suit

Louis Tomlinson has been lying for five years. His crew sees him as a pirate, a Captain, and an alpha; only two of those are the truth. He was content to let the illusion go on forever, but an omega named Harry Styles just had to join his crew and get his warm-vanilla stink all over Louis’ best laid plans. Or: the story of The Captain and The Carpenter.

✧ The sanctity of patience by scrunchyharry

When young Lord Harry was chosen by King Louis of Bavaria to become his husband and prince consort, Harry thought all of his dreams had come through. His illusions came crashing down when he understood it meant living in isolation in the alpine castle of Neuschwanstein with a husband who turned out to be far from what he had hoped for. His illusions vanished, Harry will have learn to appreciate what has and even, perhaps, fall in love with his imperfect husband and his castle.

✧ Play Me A Memory by jacaranda_bloom

Louis lives with his nine-year-old son Jake in a peaceful beachside community on the east coast of Australia, working as an entertainment coordinator at the local five-star resort. Harry is a recluse who lives on millionaires row and writes musical scores for blockbuster movies. When the roots of a wayward willow tree create havoc at his home, Harry is forced to stay at the resort while repairs are carried out. Cue matchmaking storms, muffin preferences, laughter, love, and a whole lotta music.

✧ Shine On (You Crazy Diamond) by larrymaybe22

The year is 1974 and Britain’s glam rock scene is in full swing. Enter Louis, a broke and dejected student who finds himself on a tour bus of all places, working as a roadie for the enigmatic “womanizer” Harry Styles. Along the way, Louis discovers the cruelty of fame and that maybe there is more than meets the eye beyond the curls, cocaine, and crazy suits.

✧ Meet Me in Montauk by make_this_feel_like_home

The one where Harry has amnesia, Louis can’t handle the pain and Lacuna Inc provides a unique service: the ability to erase a person from your memories.

✧ Tired Tired Sea by MediaWhore

As a B&B owner on the most remote of all the British Isles, Louis Tomlinson is used to spending the coldest half of the year in complete isolation, with his dog and the sea as sole companions. Until, one day, a mysterious stranger on a quest to rebuild himself rents a room for the winter.

✧ Sisterwives by jaerie

This was it, the moment Louis had been waiting for his entire life. Giddy excitement bubbled up as he held hands and stared up at his soon-to-be alpha and husband and grinned. The ceremony was small and simple, but Louis didn’t mind. Fresh flowers pinned into his hair and a brand new outfit was all he needed to feel special in front of their few witnesses. It was just some members of his family and a few of the church elders in attendance as was customary for any marriage beyond the first wife within the faith. First wives were the ones to have elaborate weddings with the whole community involved. An alpha’s first wedding was a celebration of an their coming of age, his first steps into fulfilling God’s prophecy. There were many glories for an omega that came with being a first wife but also many responsibilities. Louis had never aspired to be a first wife or even a second. He wasn’t experienced enough to be the leader of an alpha’s many wives and children and he didn’t think he’d be up to the task. Louis was just fine in the position he was stepping into as the seventh. Or Louis thinks he’s getting everything he’s ever dreamed of. Harry helps him find what makes him truly happy.

✧ Si Pudiera Volar by messofgorgeouschaos

When Harry’s fiancé leaves him for his cousin, he looks the other way for the sake of his happiness. He’ll do anything to forget about him, including joining a monastery. It isn’t until his cousin’s former lover, a pirate, appears that he realizes everything is not as it appears, and an honest pirate might be the only person worthy of his heart. Or, a fic loosely based on Corazon Salvaje.

✧ Tied to Fate by littlelouishiccups

After his estranged father’s death, Harry inherits a castle in England that has belonged to his family for generations and he knows nothing about. When he breaks up with his boyfriend, Harry decides England is the perfect place for a small vacation. He isn’t prepared to meet Louis Tomlinson, a ghost who once lived in the castle and has haunted it for over five hundred years. He’s even more unprepared to fall in love with him.

✧ His and Mine by glitteredcurls

Harry legally isn’t supposed to meet his soulmate– he’s rendered physically unable to recognize him even if he did– but yet, of course, he does.

✧ Consequences by allwaswell16

Two years ago Harry let his powerful family come between him and the love of his life, something he deeply regrets. Louis has tried to move on from their devastating break up. Sometimes, he even thinks he has. It only takes one moment to freeze them back in time.

✧ And That’s The Tea by 2tiedships2

The one where Louis loses his soulmate before even getting the chance to meet them, and he is in no way prepared for the kind of distraction his new friend Harry proves to be.

✧ Harry Poppins by jacaranda_bloom

When Louis’ best friends pass away he finds himself with an instant family. Maddie and Thomas are wonderful children but take an immediate dislike to every nanny that sets foot inside their house. After nanny number six is summarily dismissed Louis is at his wit’s end, that is until an unusual man arrives on their doorstep. Harry Styles is like nothing any of them have ever encountered before, and perhaps, exactly what they’ve been looking for all along.

✧ That’s What I’m Here For by taggiecb

Louis Tomlinson is a dairy farmer on a tiny farm in eastern Canada. His wife of nearly thirty years has left him and his children are all grown up and out of the house. Louis needs help running his business but has no idea where to even start looking. Luckily for him his children know just the man for the job.

✧ An Unbalanced Force by FullOnLarrie

Harry has the rest of his life planned. Marriage. Career. Kids. Happily ever after. But sometimes plans don’t work out. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

✧ Fondre ton absence by scrunchyharry

Harry had never really given much thought to the future. He preferred to let life steer him forward and to follow in the footsteps of Louis, his best friend from as far as his memory went, his lover, his everything. Louis knew better than he did what was good for him. It changed drastically when Louis was ripped away from him, drafted and sent to the front to fight in a war that Harry had always been sure would never reach him. Too young and too sickly to follow, Harry was left on his own for the first time in his life. When he thought things could not possibly get worse, Louis went missing at the Somme and was declared dead. While everyone buried and mourned him, Harry never moved on. If Louis were dead, he was sure that he would know it. Their lives were too entwined, he would know if half of his heart had died. Determined to find Louis, Harry did everything he could in his quest to be reunited with him, except prepare for the state Louis might be in. He did not prepare for the harsh truth he would have to face: was love possible without memories?

✧ All we can do is keep breathing by thealmightyavocado

A fated story of two broken and battered boys who barely survived the unimaginable and how the love of one little brave girl defies all the odds and somehow puts them back together.

✧ Fool For You by flowercrownfemme & starpoweredradio

In which Harry is a brooding prince who’s scarcely smiled since the death of his mother and Louis is the dashing jester hired to change that.

#fic rec #2019 faves #my reads #larry fics #my fic rec

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dfroza · 4 years ago

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To keep the faith.

to conserve spiritual truth is what Paul writes to his friend Timothy (and to each of us)

Today’s reading from the Scriptures begins the Letter of First Timothy:

[Introduction]

From Paul, an apostle in Christ Jesus, for it was Jesus himself, our living hope, who sent me as his servant by the command of God, our life-giver.

Timothy, you are my true spiritual son in the faith. May abundant grace, mercy, and total well-being from God the Father and the Anointed One, our Lord Jesus, be yours!

As I urged you when I left for Macedonia, I’m asking that you remain in Ephesus to instruct them not to teach or follow the error of deceptive doctrines, nor pay any attention to cultural myths, traditions, or the endless study of genealogies. Those digressions only breed controversies and debates. They are devoid of power that builds up and strengthens the church in the faith of God.

For we reach the goal of fulfilling all the commandments when we love others deeply with a pure heart, a clean conscience, and sincere faith. Some believers have been led astray by teachings and speculations that emphasize nothing more than the empty words of men. They presume to be expert teachers of the law, but they don’t have the slightest idea of what they’re talking about and they simply love to argue!

We know that the moral code of the law is beautiful when applied as God intended, but actually, the law was not established for righteous people, but to bring conviction of sin to the unrighteous. The law was established to bring the revelation of sin to the evildoers and rebellious, the sinners without God, those who are vicious and perverse, and to those who strike their father or their mother, sinners, murderers, rapists, those who are sexually impure, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, those who break their oaths, and all those who oppose the teaching of godliness and purity in the church! They are the ones the law is for.

I have been commissioned to preach the wonderful news of the glory of the exalted God. My heart spills over with thanks to God for the way he continually empowers me, and to our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, who found me trustworthy and who authorized me to be his partner in this ministry.

Mercy kissed me, even though I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor of believers, and a scorner of what turned out to be true. I was ignorant and didn’t know what I was doing. I was flooded with such incredible grace, like a river overflowing its banks, until I was full of faith and love for Jesus, the Anointed One!

I can testify that the Word is true and deserves to be received by all, for Jesus Christ came into the world to bring sinners back to life—even me, the worst sinner of all! Yet I was captured by grace, so that Jesus Christ could display through me the outpouring of his Spirit as a pattern to be seen for all those who would believe in him for eternal life.

Because of this my praises rise to the King of all the universe who is indestructible, invisible, and full of glory, the only God who is worthy of the highest honors throughout all of time and throughout the eternity of eternities! Amen!

So Timothy, my son, I am entrusting you with this responsibility, in keeping with the very first prophecies that were spoken over your life, and are now in the process of fulfillment in this great work of ministry, in keeping with the prophecies spoken over you. With this encouragement use your prophecies as weapons as you wage spiritual warfare by faith and with a clean conscience. For there are many who reject these virtues and are now destitute of the true faith, such as Hymenaeus and Alexander who have fallen away. I have delivered them both over to Satan to be rid of them and to teach them to no longer blaspheme!

The Letter of 1st Timothy, Chapter 1 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 18th chapter of 2nd Kings that documents a threat issued by the king of Assyria:

[Hezekiah of Judah]

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz began his rule over Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. In God’s opinion he was a good king; he kept to the standards of his ancestor David. He got rid of the local fertility shrines, smashed the phallic stone monuments, and cut down the sex-and-religion Asherah groves. As a final stroke he pulverized the ancient bronze serpent that Moses had made; at that time the Israelites had taken up the practice of sacrificing to it—they had even dignified it with a name, Nehushtan (The Old Serpent).

Hezekiah put his whole trust in the God of Israel. There was no king quite like him, either before or after. He held fast to God—never loosened his grip—and obeyed to the letter everything God had commanded Moses. And God, for his part, held fast to him through all his adventures.

He revolted against the king of Assyria; he refused to serve him one more day. And he drove back the Philistines, whether in sentry outposts or fortress cities, all the way to Gaza and its borders.

In the fourth year of Hezekiah and the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked Samaria. He threw a siege around it and after three years captured it. It was in the sixth year of Hezekiah and the ninth year of Hoshea that Samaria fell to Assyria. The king of Assyria took Israel into exile and relocated them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in towns of the Medes.

All this happened because they wouldn’t listen to the voice of their God and treated his covenant with careless contempt. They refused either to listen or do a word of what Moses, the servant of God, commanded.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the outlying fortress cities of Judah and captured them. King Hezekiah sent a message to the king of Assyria at his headquarters in Lachish: “I’ve done wrong; I admit it. Pull back your army; I’ll pay whatever tribute you set.”

The king of Assyria demanded tribute from Hezekiah king of Judah—eleven tons of silver and a ton of gold. Hezekiah turned over all the silver he could find in The Temple of God and in the palace treasuries. Hezekiah even took down the doors of The Temple of God and the doorposts that he had overlaid with gold and gave them to the king of Assyria.

So the king of Assyria sent his top three military chiefs (the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh) from Lachish with a strong military force to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool on the road to the laundry commons.

They called loudly for the king. Eliakim son of Hilkiah who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the court historian went out to meet them.

The third officer, the Rabshakeh, was spokesman. He said, “Tell Hezekiah: A message from The Great King, the king of Assyria: You’re living in a world of make-believe, of pious fantasy. Do you think that mere words are any substitute for military strategy and troops? Now that you’ve revolted against me, who can you expect to help you? You thought Egypt would, but Egypt’s nothing but a paper tiger—one puff of wind and she collapses; Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but bluff and bluster. Or are you going to tell me, ‘We rely on God’? But Hezekiah has just eliminated most of the people’s access to God by getting rid of all the local God-shrines, ordering everyone in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at the Jerusalem altar only.’

“So be reasonable. Make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you think you can provide riders for them. You can’t do it? Well, then, how do you think you’re going to turn back even one raw buck private from my master’s troops? How long are you going to hold on to that figment of your imagination, these hoped-for Egyptian chariots and horses?

“Do you think I’ve come up here to destroy this country without the express approval of God? The fact is that God expressly ordered me, ‘Attack and destroy this country!’”

Eliakim son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please, speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand Aramaic. Don’t speak in Hebrew—everyone crowded on the city wall can hear you.”

But the Rabshakeh said, “We weren’t sent with a private message to your master and you; this is public—a message to everyone within earshot. After all, they’re involved in this as well as you; if you don’t come to terms, they’ll be eating their own turds and drinking their own pee right along with you.”

Then he stepped forward and spoke in Hebrew loud enough for everyone to hear, “Listen carefully to the words of The Great King, the king of Assyria: Don’t let Hezekiah fool you; he can’t save you. And don’t let Hezekiah give you that line about trusting in God, telling you, ‘God will save us—this city will never be abandoned to the king of Assyria.’ Don’t listen to Hezekiah—he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Listen to the king of Assyria—deal with me and live the good life; I’ll guarantee everyone your own plot of ground—a garden and a well! I’ll take you to a land sweeter by far than this one, a land of grain and wine, bread and vineyards, olive orchards and honey. You only live once—so live, really live!

“No. Don’t listen to Hezekiah. Don’t listen to his lies, telling you ‘God will save us.’ Has there ever been a god anywhere who delivered anyone from the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? And Samaria—did their gods save them? Can you name a god who saved anyone anywhere from me, the king of Assyria? So what makes you think that God can save Jerusalem from me?”

The people were silent. No one spoke a word for the king had ordered, “Don’t anyone say a word—not one word!”

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, and Shebna the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the court historian went back to Hezekiah. They had ripped their robes in despair; they reported to Hezekiah the speech of the Rabshakeh.

The Book of 2nd Kings, Chapter 18 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, december 23 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A tweet by illumiNations:

@IlluminationsBT: DID YOU KNOW that no other generation has had the privilege of seeing Scripture translated in every language? Through the collaborative efforts of its 10 Bible translation organizations, illumiNations believes this can happen by 2033. #translationtuesday

12.22.20 • 1:11pm • Twitter

and a set of posts by John Parsons about the birth of Messiah:

Was Jesus (Yeshua) really born on December 25th, as the Western Christian Tradition maintains, or does the careful study of Scripture allow us to infer a different time for His advent here on earth? Two cases can be reasonably made: one case for a Tishri (Sukkot) birth, and the other for the traditional late December (or early January) date. As I hope you will see, the crux of the arguments both for and against the late December dating of the birth of Yeshua depend upon when we think Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father) was in the Temple when he was visited by the angel Gabriel...

The Scriptures teach that King David divided the sons of Aaron (i.e., the priests) into 24 “courses” or groups to create an orderly schedule by which the Temple of the LORD could be staffed for the year (1 Chr. 24:1-4). Once these courses were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence each group would serve in the Temple (1 Chr. 24:7-19) beginning with the first course in the Spring on Nisan 1 (Rosh Chodashim). Each of the 24 courses of priests would begin and end their service on the Sabbath day for a tour of duty of one week (2 Chr. 23:8, 1 Chr. 9:25).

Now recall that Jewish calendar begins in the spring (i.e., Nisan 1), so the first course of priests would serve for seven days and the following week the second course would serve. The third week would mark the festival of Passover when all priests would be present for service, so the schedule would be suspended until the following week when the third course of priests would serve. The weekly arrangement would then resume until the holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost) when the schedule was suspended again for the ninth week. By the tenth week the eighth course (of Aviyah) would be called for Temple service and the courses would continue without further interruption until the 24th course was completed (see table below). Note that after the 24th course served, the first half of the calendar would be complete and the schedule would then reset for the second half of the year. By means of this arrangement each group of priests would serve in the Temple twice per year (in addition to the three major festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot). See the graphic I created showing the courses...

Note that this weekly schedule of the Temple service allows us to infer the birth date of both John the Baptist and Yeshua the Messiah. Of particular interest is the eighth course of the priests, called the “Course of Aviyah” (mentioned in 1 Chr. 24:10) which was the course that Zechariah served (Luke 1:5). Now since the eighth course would serve either during the month of Sivan or later during the month of Kislev (see see table above), we have two possibilities regarding establishing the birth date of Yeshua the Messiah. If the visitation of Gabriel occurred during Zechariah’s first course of service (i.e., the 10th week), then John would have been conceived sometime during the month of Sivan (Luke 1:23-4), and adding 40 weeks to this (the normal time of human gestation) John would have been born sometime in the month of Nisan, perhaps around the time of Passover. Furthermore, since Yeshua was conceived six months after John was conceived (Luke 1:24-27, 36), adding six months (or 24 weeks) to the end of Sivan implies his conception would have occurred in mid to late Kislev (near the time of Chanukah). Adding 40 weeks to this (again, the approximate time of human gestation), Yeshua then would have been born sometime in the month of Tishri, during the season of Sukkot (i.e., “Tabernacles”). On the other hand, if the visitation by Gabriel occurred during Zechariah’s second service (i.e., 35th week), then John would have been conceived after Yom Kippur (Luke 1:8-23) and born 40 weeks later in the month of Tammuz. Again, since Yeshua was conceived six months after John was conceived (Luke 1:24-27, 36), adding six months (or 24 weeks) would imply he was conceived during Passover and born later during the month of Tevet, near the traditional late December birth... [Hebrew for Christians]

The fact that different church groups have chosen one date over another to memorialize certain historical events (such as the birth date of the Messiah) is simply something we must tolerate, especially because the Scriptures do not provide enough information to conclusively determine the matter, and we are instructed to follow after peace (Heb. 12:14)... This is not a question regarding the historicity of the person of Yeshua, since that is not seriously questioned by historical scholars. However, the Scriptures do accommodate divergent convictions on such matters, as Paul gave the principle: ῝Ος μὲν κρίνει ἡμέραν παρ᾽ ἡμέραν, ὃς δὲ κρίνει πᾶσαν ἡμέραν. ῞Εκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ νοῒ πληροφορείσθω - “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom: 14:5). “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom. 14:19).

You might not agree with my tentative conclusions here, but if you want to make a case for a different date, please do your own research on the question. Read the relevant Hebrew texts, do the math, consult the Jewish calendar, read the New Testament, check the Greek, and determine whether you think Zechariah was serving at the Temple during the month of Sivan or later, during Tishri, perhaps during the time of Yom Kippur. Shalom!

For more on this topic see “Christmas Day: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th?”

12.22.20 • Facebook

*If* the priest Zechariah was performing the Yom Kippur service when he was visited by the angel Gabriel (as seems to be the case given the context, see Luke 1:8-23), and *if* his wife Elizabeth conceived about that time (see Luke 1:24, that is, sometime in the middle of the month of Tishri), and her cousin Mary was then told of the incarnation six months later, during Passover season (Luke 1:26, 36), then the birth of Yeshua would have been sometime during the middle of the month of Tevet, which is indeed close to the traditional December 25th date observed by the majority of Christians (the Jewish historian Alfred Edersheim said that Yeshua was born on Aseret B’Tevet). Indeed, one implication of this interpretation is that the Lamb of God (שׂה הָאֱלהִים) was conceived during Passover, which seems appropriate as the time of the Incarnation...

ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο κα�� ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν -- "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14) -- which of course is the essence of the gospel message. As it is written concerning the birth of Messiah: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6).

Of course the exact date of Yeshua's birth is existentially irrelevant, apart from the fact that he indeed was born into this world as our Savior, and indeed, the New Testament stresses the significance of his death more than his birth (see 1 Cor. 2:2; 1 Cor. 15:3-4). Nevertheless, we use the “good eye” to regard our Christian friends who honor this time to remember the birth of Yeshua, even if we have convictions that may lead us to think Messiah was born during Sukkot (or perhaps some other time). It is essential to remember that He was born to die, chaverim, and regarding the anniversary of his death and resurrection we have no doubt... [Hebrew for Christians]

12.22.20 • Facebook

Though the world system corrupts the message of the birth of Messiah for the sake of avarice and greed, take a moment to reflect on its ongoing spiritual significance, namely, that God emptied Himself (κένωσις) of His regal glory and power to become your High Priest, able to fully sympathize with your weakness, frailty, shame, and chronic sinfulness (Heb. 4:15-16; Phil 2:7-8). Almighty God, the Presence of Love, the Heart of Reality, clothed himself in human flesh and bone to become Immanu’el (עִמָּנוּ אֵל) - "God with us" - so that we could be touched by Him, healed by Him, and redeemed by Him... In light of this, it is only fitting we should join the refrain of heavenly host: "Glory to God in the highest, and upon earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). Amen! Yeshua is the Eternal Sign and Wonder of the LORD God Almighty...

Consider the absolute humility of God as He chose to enter into this world as "baby Jesus." Meditate on the glory and sheer paradox of God's love! "Baby Jesus" is the perfect disguise to hide the truth from the proud eyes of the flesh, though the humble of heart can see... "For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching" (1 Cor. 1:21). For "who comprehends the mind of the LORD, or gives him instruction as his counselor?" Through his great plan to redeem people from the dominion of Satan and his agents in this evil world, God emptied Himself to become clothed in the frailty of human flesh, born in a barn as the great Lamb of God, and born to die as the ransom for all who will believe. Ah, what would we do without the gift of God, friends? What hope would we have? Regardless of the exact date of His birth, let’s thank God that our Moshia (Savior) was willing to be born into this dark world to offer Himself as our sacrificial Redeemer! “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

But what will you do, then, if you sincerely seek to follow the Torah’s calendar in light of entrenched Christian customs? Well, we certainly *may* commemorate the birth of Messiah during the holiday of Sukkot (or Shavuot, etc.), though we must be careful to show charity and use the "good eye" toward those who may adhere to the traditional date for “Christmas.” Likewise we commemorate the death and resurrection of Messiah during Passover and Firstfruits, respectively, though we do not begrudge those of good faith who honor these great events of salvation during what they call the "Pascha" or even the "Easter" season. Often we are tested in exactly this way, chaverim! We must not miss the "weightier matters" of extending love to others, as Yeshua clearly taught (Matt. 23:23). Moreover it is written, “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5; Col. 2:16).

Friends, we must test the spirits -- and that includes our own! How do we treat the “stranger” among us? How do we regard the “weaker brother?” Do we demand that our doctrine be esteemed, or do we allow room for others to seek the Lord and his wisdom? Ask yourself: Does this person (or group) honor Yeshua as God the Son, the Redeemer of Humanity who died for our sins and rose from the dead? If so, then keep your heart warm and soft toward him or her, even if he or she has yet to discover the Jewish roots of their faith. “Strive for peace with everyone” (Heb. 12:14). “Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you” (Phil. 3:15). Though we desire unity with one another (John 17:11), we cannot reasonably insist on doctrinal uniformity, especially in light of the frailty of our shared human condition... The truth of God is known in humility and love. [Hebrew for Christians]

12.22.20 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

December 23, 2020

God with Us

“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” (Genesis 4:1)

Here is Eve’s testimony concerning the first child born to the human race. To understand it, we need to recall God’s first promise: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; [He] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). These words, addressed to Satan, promised that the woman’s “seed” would destroy Satan. Thus, that seed would have to be a man, but the only one capable of destroying Satan is God Himself. Eve mistakenly thought that Cain would fulfill this promise, and when he was born, she testified: “I have gotten a man—even the LORD” (literal rendering).

Over three millennia later, essentially the same promise was renewed to the “house of David,” when the Lord said: “Behold, [the] virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:13-14). The definite article reflects the primeval promise that the divine/human Savior, when He comes, would be born uniquely as the woman’s seed, not of the father’s seed like all other men. His very name, Immanuel, means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). He is “the Word...made flesh” (John 1:14).

While questions have been raised about the precise meaning of almah (Hebrew word translated “virgin”), there is no question in the New Testament: “Behold, [the] virgin [Greek parthenos, meaning virgin and nothing else] shall be with child” (Matthew 1:23). “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). HMM

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mastcomm · 5 years ago

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Commemorating the Victims of Canada’s ‘Gay Purge’

One of the most extraordinary things about the “gay purge” of Canada’s public servants, members of the military and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is that it continued until 1992. That was a quarter-century after Pierre Elliott Trudeau, then the justice minister, declared that “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation” as he introduced the legislation that repealed the nation’s laws banning homosexuality.

This week the National Capital Commission, the federal agency responsible for parks, monuments and public spaces in the Ottawa area, agreed to turn over a large plot of land west of Parliament Hill for the National LGBTQ2+ Monument.

It follows an apology made just over two years ago by Justin Trudeau, the current prime minister and a son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, to an estimated 9,000 people who lost their jobs and who, in some cases, were imprisoned because of their sexual orientation. Several of them are believed to have committed suicide.

The memorial is being financed with money from a fund of up to 25 million Canadian dollars that the government established in 2018 as it settled class-action lawsuits brought by members of the military and the Mounties as well as other public servants who were harassed, discriminated against or fired because of their sexual orientation.

The program was almost as bizarre as it was hurtful. It emerged in the 1950s out of general Cold War paranoia. The Mounties set up a special unit on the theory that gay men and lesbians might be blackmailed by the Soviet Union into turning over government secrets. Officers conducted surveillance of gay bars across Canada and used threats and intimidation to get the names of gay men and lesbians in government. The police force even worked with a psychologist in a failed, almost farcical attempt to build a homosexuality detector known as “the fruit machine.”

There is no recorded case of any government employees, Mounties or military members having turned over anything to the Soviets out of fear that their sexual orientation would be exposed.

I went to the future site of the memorial with Michelle Douglas. She is now the executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund, but she is perhaps better known as the woman who fought back and ended the purge.

After studying law at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ms. Douglas decided to go into law enforcement. The military police service was the first organization to accept her application, and she was soon in officer training.

Eventually Ms. Douglas was assigned to the special investigations unit of the military police and based in Toronto. Its duties included running the gay purge for the armed forces.

One day her boss bundled her into an unmarked police car and took her to a motel near Toronto Pearson International Airport. For two days she was interrogated and given polygraph tests.

“Many of the military police that interrogated me were just cruel. Some expressed a bizarre, prurient interest in the sex lives of homosexuals as well,” she told me on Friday. “The people I encountered were absolutely zealous about it. They seemed to not only embrace the policy, but they wanted to demonize, mock and humiliate anyone who they suspected of being homosexual.”

In 1989 she was fired for “being not advantageously employable due to homosexuality” and swiftly filed a lawsuit. Her court victory three years later brought the purge to a close.

Many steps remain before the international design competition for the monument begins as well as the public consultations that will follow any proposal. But Ms. Douglas said that the 8 million Canadian dollar project will be completed in 2024.

Whatever its form, Ms. Douglas’s vision is that the monument will be as much a place for gatherings — whether celebratory or in protest — as a commemoration site.

Despite her treatment by the military, Ms. Douglas went on to have a successful 30-year career in the public service and recently retired as the director of international relations at the Department of Justice.

But she said that the purge ruined many people’s lives and that men were disproportionately among the victims.

“There’s far fewer men than we had hoped to see as part of this class action,” she said. “Many committed suicide. Some were lost to H.I.V. or AIDS, and some just went back into the closet in shame. And so it’s a disproportionate number of women who are survivors today of the purge.”

Trans Canada

My colleague Dan Bilefsky has left his home in Montreal for Vancouver and the extradition hearing for Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer. He slipped this interesting coincidence into his informative overview of the case and its implications for Canada: “Given that Ms. Meng is wanted by the United States on fraud charges, the irony has not gone unnoticed among local residents in her neighborhood that her 8,047-square-foot house is just a few doors down from the residence of the United States consul general, where an American flag flaps in the wind.” Along with Tracy Sherlock, Dan has also created a guide to the somewhat complex affair.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, are back in suburban Victoria after they agreed to abandon their rule duties and stop using some of their titles. Now that they will officially spend part of their time in Canada, I looked into where they may go house hunting. The royal couple (for now) have also sent a legal notice to news outlets in Britain that published photographs from the band of paparazzi that descended on North Saanich to capture Meghan with their super telephoto lenses.

Saturday is the birthday of Robert Burns, the 18th-century Scottish poet, and that means many Americans are engaged in smuggling haggis from Canada, David Yaffe-Bellany reports.

Jared Parsonage, a cowboy from Calgary, laid out the moments before a bull ride in an interview accompanying a photo essay by Devin Yalkin. It is vivid even though it was shot in black-and-white.

The N.H.L. will introduce a three-on-three Canada vs. U.S.A. game featuring female players as part of its All-Star skills event on Friday. The prize money? None, although the league will pay the women appearance fees and donate $100,000 to girls’ hockey groups.

Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot who appears to be a close, if disheveled, relative of Montreal’s Youppi, is now the subject of a police investigation.

A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for the past 16 years. Follow him on Twitter at @ianrausten.

How are we doing?

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from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/event/commemorating-the-victims-of-canadas-gay-purge/

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thinktosee · 6 years ago

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59-59 : AN OPEN LETTER TO THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT and PEOPLE – DEMOCRACY for sINGAPORE, please

Image courtesy Biography.com

"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

- 3rd U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson to William Roscoe, December 27, 1820 (1)

This open letter is addressed to the U.S Government, care of the Charge d’ Affaires in singapore, Madam Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath :

Dear Madam Excellency,

This is a follow-up to my letter to U.S. President, Mr. Barack Obama, dated July 04, 2016. That letter is titled :

RE : Time for real political change in Singapore – Democracy

The political system in singapore has remained mired in time. It has not evolved since the colonial era. Recent disclosures in connection with the U.S. Government’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) releases, seem to point to a different explanation for singapore’s political history following World War Two. Prominent local businessmen were named as collaborators of Japan during the war. Following the war, a few of these business people and bankers, were said to be actively involved in illegal smuggling, including opium and heroin. They were additionally named as the leaders of the communist movement in south-east asia.

I raised the foregoing with the prime minister of singapore in an open letter dated Oct 17, 2017. (2) I attached the documents from the FOIA as evidence in the letter. There is also an open letter, dated Oct 27th, 2017 to the defense minister of singapore, questioning the need for military conscription and requesting statistics on suicide rates in the singaporean armed forces. (3) Neither of these politicians favour me with a reply, although the post office confirmed the letters were delivered to their office.

You will appreciate that the one-party government, which has been in power for 59 years (since 1959 – hence 59-59) jailed many of its opponents without due process on the basis of alleged communist activities, in the 1960s to 1980s. One such political activist, Mr. Chia Thye Poh was incarcerated for over two decades, again without due process! (4)

In light of the FOIA disclosures, linking the banned communist party to prominent banking and business people instead, it may be time for us to have an open discussion about this troubled part of singapore’s history. If it is established that the FOIA disclosures do carry a good deal of facts, it may then be necessary to form a “Truth and Reconciliation” Commission, as was done in South Africa following the demise of Apartheid rule. (5)

I am appealing to the U.S. Government and People to support this initiative. As segments of singaporean society are now in the midst of working to repeal the colonial law criminalizing homosexuality, (6) it may be timely and judicious also to review the whole basis of our colonial experience and the oppressive laws and system which remain in singaporean society. This should also include the question of the colonial-era mercenary foreign forces from Nepal who body-guard the senior political leadership. Can you imagine your U.S. President being protected not by the patriotic Secret Service or Marines, but by foreign mercenaries? America would be the laughing stock. That is precisely my feeling about the foreign mercenaries in singapore.

And this just in today as I am writing this letter - an activist prosecuted for exercising his inalienable right to freedom of speech and expression :

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/activist-seelan-palay-fined-2500-taking-part-public-procession-092827846.html

Democracy is a noble struggle. The American and Indian experiences proved this. As a singaporean, with a small “s”, I will only rest when democracy is founded on our island. Only then will I be proud to call myself a Singaporean, with a capital “S”. I lost a young son, David in 2016 because of the absence of democracy and liberty in singapore. (7) I have no one to blame but myself, for as a citizen, I had been a compliant party to the perpetuation of an undemocratic political system (just look at the recent ��non-election” election of the president of singapore). It has been 59 controlling years. We have never known freedom and democracy. Fear is all that we understand. Do you think this is acceptable anywhere?

I close this appeal with the following line from U.S. President, Donald Trump’s speech at the United Nations on Sep. 25th, 2018 :

“In America, we believe in the majesty of freedom and the dignity of the individual.”

That’s what I want too…for singapore and singaporeans.

Thank you.

Good wishes to all Americans.

In the Spirit of David Cornelius Singh

David’s father

Email : [email protected]

Oct 4th, 2018

Sources/References

1. https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/follow-truth-quotation

2. http://thinktosee.tumblr.com/post/166390138328/open-letter-to-prime-minister-of-singapore-death

3. http://thinktosee.tumblr.com/post/166812496953/an-open-letter-to-the-defense-minister-singapore

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chia_Thye_Poh

5. https://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc

6. http://thinktosee.tumblr.com/post/178506731468/open-letter-to-the-archbishop-singapore

7. http://thinktosee.tumblr.com/post/178247970868/announcement-david-and-the-center-on-conscience

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jillmckenzie1 · 7 years ago

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An Interview with Artist Lauren E. Anthony

I’ve always loved looking at paintings and wondering what was going on in the artist’s mind. What kind of message they wanted to convey. Sometimes it’s simple. A park, some trees, lovely day. But when you get into abstract art, it gets a little trickier. It’s definitely an acquired taste. I personally enjoy the room for interpretation. It gives the viewer a small sense of participation in the beauty. I feel like I connect more with something that takes some time to interpret. This week I had the opportunity to talk to local artist Lauren E. Anthony, who specializes in abstract styles.

JH: So tell me a little bit about your background.

LA: I’m from Denver, born and raised. Went to Catholic school, then Wheat Ridge High.

JH: Did you discover art through school or through family, or just naturally?

LA: I actually never took any art classes until my senior year in high school. I was always drawing, painting, but I never took it seriously. I kind of just used it as an escape. But once more people started noticing my doodles and, honestly Ralph Steadman was a huge push to get more into art and start studying it. Then of course Dali and da Vinci. I went to Greece and Italy and seeing all that made me feel really small next to these gods, you know?

JH: So, you’re mostly self-taught?

LA: I took two semesters of painting in high school and one drawing class in college and as far as professional teaching, that’s the extent.

JH: Is anyone else in your family artistic?

LA: Yeah actually my dad is an artist. He’s a perfectionist and into realism. Very different from what I do. I grew up with twenty-two first cousins and some of them are artists too. I have a cousin who’s a thespian, loves to perform. Another one is a photographer. Very creative family.

JH: How would you describe your overall style?

LA: Definitely abstract. It’s all pretty emotional. It’s a relief to be able to take a canvas and make a mess and get everything out. It’s like how some people find comfort in keeping a journal. It’s cathartic.

JH: Tell me about your typical work space.

LA: It’s whatever I have available. My bedroom is always half art studio. Very messy. I mean you can tell by my art. Lots of splatter. You can see some paint splatter out on my balcony and that was me putting sheets down and actually trying to keep it contained. No matter what it’s always a mess. I can paint pretty much anywhere though. I love painting outside in parks or by rivers. Anytime I’m inside, I hate to see bare walls. It has to have decoration. It has to be colorful. Any room that I have is covered with tapestries and friend’s art.

JH: Do you start a painting with an idea of what you want to make or just let it form as you go?

LA: 95% of the time I just go with it. That’s how I learned, just working on it and if one starts to look weird I just add things and make it go a new direction. Obviously, commission works have to be planned out. Or if I’m doing a realistic painting then I definitely go in with an idea. But a lot of my work is abstract. I really like hearing what other people see in my paintings. I never tell people what I see in them.

JH: Do you dabble in any other kinds of art?

LA: Yeah I do photography, drawing, I write poetry. I’ve done a few readings down at the Mercury. I want to start doing some illustrations for a book of my poems. I’m also getting into some cartooning and comic book illustrations.

JH: What kind of contemporary art and artists are you into?

LA: A lot of abstract. Ralph Steadman is definitely my favorite. He did the art for Fear and Loathing. He was a master painter too. He painted really bad ass realistic stuff before he met Thompson. My dad used to work at Morton’s Steakhouse and one night he called me and said, ‘Guess who’s here, Ralph Steadman’ and I was like 19 or 20 and I remember begging him to let me come down and meet him but he was just trying to eat dinner. So, I was bummed but the next day Steadman personally came back and brought me a signed print that says “From one Disneyland to another, for Lauren love Ralph Steadman.” Also honestly I love local artists like Tony Khoel, he does a lot album covers for metal bands. Tim Burton definitely. Anything dark and creepy. I like promiscuous stuff too. I love Georgia O’Keeffe. She didn’t get enough credit but now people see she was radical. I also really like musicians who make creative music videos like CocoRosie. One of them went to school for hip hop and one went to school for opera and they just combined the two for a crazy style. And to me that’s art. It’s not painting or drawing, but it’s still creating something. And of course Dali, you know, everyone loves him.

JH: How could you not love a guy with an infinity mustache walking his pet anteater?

LA: A lot of his sketchbooks weren’t released until years after his death because they had a lot of drawings that were taboo for the time; orgies and homosexuality. But sometimes art and paintings aren’t just about pleasing you, or being pleasing to the eye. Some artists want you to look at their work and feel a certain way. They want you to feel angry or scared or confused or uncomfortable. When they can project that to the viewer I think that’s really cool.

Lauren has a TON of awesome art. Her style is super unique, beautiful, and definitely interesting. She uses a number of different mediums to create varying textures, intricate lines, and abstract designs. Be sure to keep an eye out for more from this talented artist in the future.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/an-interview-with-artist-lauren-e-anthony/

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caveartfair · 8 years ago

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Glenn O’Brien, New York Cultural Icon, Dead at 70—and the 9 Other Biggest News Stories This Week

Catch up on the latest art news with our rundown of the 10 stories you need to know this week.

01 Glenn O’Brien, the pioneering writer who captured the creativity of downtown New York, has died at 70.

(via Artforum)

Glenn O’Brien passed away on April 7th, after battling a long-term illness. A fixture in the 1980s downtown New York scene, O’Brien corralled its artistic energy into magazines like Andy Warhol’s Interview, serving as its first editor, and articles for Artforum, Rolling Stone, GQ, The New Yorker, and more. From 1978 to 1982, O’Brien also co-created and hosted an influential public-access television show, TV Party, in which he conducted humorous, deadpan interviews with downtown luminaries like Klaus Nomi, David Byrne, Debbie Harry, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. O’Brien collaborated with Basquiat on numerous projects before the painter’s untimely death in 1988; notably, he produced and wrote the screenplay for Downtown 81, a 1981 film that followed 19-year-old Basquiat around the city as he painted its surfaces. Along with extensive writings on art, O’Brien is remembered for his keen sense of style and pioneering men’s fashion journalism. In the 1990s, as contributing editor to Details magazine, he established the celebrated column “Style Guy,” which in 1999 he took to GQ; it ran until 2015.

02 The artist list for Documenta 14 was released on Thursday as previews of the quinquennial exhibition commenced.

(via ARTnews)

Opening to the public on Saturday, April 8, Documenta 14 is split equally across two cities—Athens, Greece and its traditional home of Kassel, Germany—for the first time in the exhibition’s 62-year history. Titled “Learning from Athens,” Polish curator Adam Szymczyk’s iteration of one of contemporary art’s most significant and defining exhibitions features some 150 living artists and collectives, including Nevin Aladağ, Alexandra Bachzetsis, Geta Brătescu, Maria Eichhorn, Douglas Gordon, Hans Haacke, Hiwa K, Daniel Knorr, Ibrahim Mahama, Jonas Mekas, Otobong Nkanga, Pope.L, Georgia Sagri, as well as over 50 artists who have passed away—another break with tradition. The Athens portion takes place across 47 venues in the city and runs through July 16th, while Kassel will take place from June 10th through September 17th at currently undisclosed locations. As is customary for the exhibition, details about either city were scarce until Thursday morning’s press conference in Athens, where the artists for that city’s portion of the show were unveiled in spectacular fashion: All of the participating artists and curators appeared on stage to sing a work by Greek composer Jani Christou.

03 A federal court has ruled that Germany can be sued in the United States over Nazi-looted art, paving the way for the nation to face a U.S. court for the first time in a Nazi restitution case.

(via Reuters)

In what lawyers for the heirs are calling a landmark decision, last Friday a Washington D.C. District Court ruled that Germany can be sued in U.S. court in the Guelph Treasure case. A collection of 11th to 15th century precious Prussian artifacts valued at over $250 million, the treasure was sold under duress by Jewish art dealers in 1935 to members of the Third Reich. The case had already been heard by a German commission, which found that, though the sales prices were low, the sum wasn’t a result of coercion but of an art market decline. Germany’s attorney, Jonathan Freiman, told Reuters in an email that “this is a dispute that was already resolved on the merits in Germany, and it doesn't belong in a U.S. court.” But the District Court disagreed, instead siding with the argument put forward by the heirs of the dealers: that such a taking constituted a violation of international law and as such, falls under U.S. jurisdiction as an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Nicholas M. O’Donnell, a partner at Sullivan & Worcester representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement, “We are pleased that the Court agreed that a forced sale for an inadequate sum to agents of Hermann Goering enjoys no immunity from justice.”

04 Renowned Pop artist James Rosenquist has died at age 83.

(via the New York Times)

James Rosenquist passed away in his New York City home on Friday, March 31st, after battling an ongoing illness, according to his wife, Mimi Thompson. Rosenquist is known for working at the vanguard of 1960s Pop Art alongside the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Both celebrated and criticized for his pointedly political approach, Rosenquist, a former billboard painter, frequently adapted commercial imagery to critique American consumerism and militarism. F-111 (1964–1965), one of his most iconic works, depicts a military jet stretched across an 86-foot expanse of more than 50 panels and punctured by the imagery of mid-century advertising. His idiosyncratic, large-scale paintings are in the collections of MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Whitney, among other institutions, and an exhibition of his work will go on view at Germany’s Museum Ludwig later this year.

05 An Andy Warhol “Mao” broke an auction record in China but still came in under its estimate, sparking a debate about the country’s market.

(via South China Morning Post)

Backed by an irrevocable bid, Warhol’s red silkscreen Mao (1973) sold for HK$ 86 million ($11.1 million) with fees—below the low estimate of HK$ 90 million ($11.6 million)—at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 2nd. Last sold at auction in 2014 for $12.2 million, the Warhol went to an unnamed Asian collector bidding over the phone. Though the sale was trumpeted for breaking the record for Western contemporary art sold in China, the relatively tepid interest in the Warhol work and a piece by Keith Haring—especially compared to the strong interest in Asian and Japanese art at the auction—signaled to some that the region’s appetite for Western contemporary artists has softened. But there are other reasons the Warhol may have underperformed. Dealers at Art Basel in Hong Kong earlier this month reported that stereotypically “Chinese” material no longer plays well in the region due to collectors’ rapidly expanding education and sophistication—one even singled out red Maos as a fad of the past. Asian buyers, dealers also said, have been compelled to spend more when bidding against Western collectors at sales in New York and London.

06 Groundbreaking artist Lorna Simpson is now represented by Hauser & Wirth.

(via Hauser & Wirth)

The international gallery announced Tuesday that it will take on worldwide representation of Simpson. This news precedes Frieze New York in May, where the artist’s work will show at Hauser & Wirth’s booth. “We are honored and delighted to welcome Lorna Simpson into the gallery’s family,” said gallery vice president Marc Payot in a statement. “Her rigor, her passion, and her incredible sensitivity produce not only extraordinary art but also an invitation to engage in a dialogue about identity that we are eager to share.” Since rising to prominence in the late 1980s, Simpson’s mixed-media photographs have scrutinized visual and linguistic representations of race and gender. In 1990, she became the first African-American woman to show her work at the Venice Biennale. Other artists represented by Hauser & Wirth include Zoe Leonard, Roni Horn, and Rashid Johnson.

07 Several museums are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Marcel Duchamp’s seminal readymade Fountain by offering free admission on Sunday.

(via Hyperallergic)

Organized by Duchamp scholar Thomas Girst, several major museums across the globe—including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto—are participating in the initiative, which also has the approval of Association Marcel Duchamp. Visitors who utter the name “R. Mutt” or “Richard Mutt,” the pseudonym Duchamp used to sign Fountain (1917), will be let in free of charge from 3-4 p.m. on April 9th. The timing stems from Duchamp’s notable affinity for trios (he once remarked “three is everything” to a BBC reporter). Inspired by the urinal used for Fountain, some museums will also host Duchampian events in their bathrooms. In what the Philadelphia Museum of Art is calling a “special location,” the institution will host a local theater company’s reenactment of the scandal first caused by the artwork in 1917. “Instead of doing your usual symposium, where people put their heads together and say things that have been said so many times before—most of it self referential and sometimes boring—it’s great to honor the anniversary with somewhat of a Dada gesture,” Girst told Artsy. Visitors can tag their experiences or follow along with the festivities via the hashtag “#Fountain100”.

08 Russia has criminalized images that challenge Vladimir Putin’s masculinity.

(via New York Times)

The Russian Justice Ministry declared last month that images showing Russian President Vladimir Putin in an unmasculine light constitute “extremist materials.” The ruling stems from an edited image depicting Putin in heavy drag makeup posted last year to the social network VKontakte. Those who share or display such images can now face a fine of 3,000 rubles ($52) or a 15-day detention. Putin is known for his cultivation of a personal mythos of hypermasculinity, with widely publicized photos showing him riding horses shirtless or sporting weaponry. Putin is also notorious for enacting deeply homophobic legislation—including a ban on adoptions by LGBT couples, the legalized detention of suspected gay citizens and tourists, and the classification of potential “homosexual propaganda” as pornography. This has led to allegations about Putin’s sexuality to become a common protest tactic, a trend this legislation is designed to stifle.

09 The FBI has recovered a stolen Norman Rockwell painting, 40 years after its disappearance.

(via the New York Times)

The Rockwell work, which depicts a slumbering child and his dog, was stolen during a home burglary in 1976. Originally purchased for no more than $100, over the intervening years the piece’s value has reached an estimated $1 million. Decades after the theft—and a few years after the original owner, Robert Grant, passed away in 2004—Grant’s son, John, was inspired to rekindle the search. On the 40th anniversary of the work’s theft, the FBI issued a news release and several Philadelphia outlets ran the story. The renewed attention did the trick as the painting had ended up in the possession of an art dealer who was unaware of its provenance. The dealer turned it over to authorities and the FBI subsequently returned the painting to John Grant last week.

10 A court cleared the Polish government’s controversial takeover of the country’s Museum of the Second World War.

(via New York Times)

The institution will fall under control of the Polish government following Wednesday’s decision by the Polish Supreme Administrative Court. Opened in March in the city of Gdańsk, the museum was conceived to be Europe’s most exhaustive public exhibition on World War II. However, indication that Poland’s right-wing government will seek to alter the museum’s historical direction has ignited a protracted debate. Museum director Pawel Machcewicz curated a permanent exhibition that adopts an international perspective on the histories of Polish citizens, Eastern Europeans, and Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews. The current Polish administration has long criticized Machcewicz—an appointee of the previous centrist government—placing his future with the museum into question. Poland’s culture ministry has expressed its vision for a more nationalist perspective, one more narrowly focused on Polish losses during the Battle of Westerplatte. Culture Minister Piotr Glinski had previously argued that such a change in conceptual direction would greatly benefit the museum. And on Wednesday, Machcewicz criticized the court’s ruling, expressing his uncertainty over the permanent exhibition’s future integrity.

Cover image: Courtesy of Twitter (@lordrochester).

from Artsy News

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xgenesisrei · 8 years ago

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Updates & Note of Thanks for 2016

2016 has been a whirlwind of a year. I felt a lot of things happened so fast leaving not only dramatic changes but deep challenges as well. Personally, it kicked-off with a bang as Shane and I moved heavens and earth to pursue the impossible dream wedding of ours -a private and intimate ceremony (but definitely artsy!) with the closest of family and friends. All in 14 days!

But we needed to pause the blissful moment and delay our honeymoon as the 2016 presidential election raged in full-swing. We felt the pressing call for active duty to serve the country. Yes, Heneral Luna and Ysabel did left such a deep mark on us!

Voter Education

Immediately after our wedding, the first half of the year saw me (and Shane too) moving from one voter education to the other. I served as guest analyst for FEBC's live radio coverages of the presidential debates, did a series of television segments for CBN Asia’s 700 Club featuring excerpts from my new book 'BOBOto Ba Ako? How to Think Smart and Vote Right,' and published several election articles (in PCEC's magazine 'Evangelicals Today' and in OMF Literature's book 'What About Philippine Politics'). Also, an article on 'BOBOto Ba Ako?' landed a pretty good feature at the lifestyle section of The Standard. Last year’s election really was fought and won in the realm of social media. One blog post of mine, wherein I compared the persona of the various presidential candidates with the characters of a popular Japanese anime, became a favorite among anime enthusiasts.

As I addressed a variety of audiences: students of University of the East in Caloocan, pastors of the MARVAL Ministerial Fellowship in Marikina, the networks of Phil. Bible Society (PBS), church workers of the IEMELIF, youth leaders of PCEC (NYC and YMEN), and even home-schooled kids –I witnessed how the electoral choices of Filipino voters have gone more complex and nuanced. Especially among the Christian community, gone are the days when apathy and indifference mark their feelings toward partisan politics.

The aftermath of which proved to be as heated as the campaign period. A post-election forum was called by the Phil. Council Evangelical Churches (PCEC) to help address the worrisome divisions and cracks in the Christian community wherein I found myself in the company of seasoned thinkers serving as resource persons for the event. Together with the help of a handful of friends at Pananaw Pinoy, we kept writing editorials aired at 702 DZAS and published by the grassroots daily People's Tonite. We tried our best to articulate perspectives that we feel would not only address the many controversial issues surrounding the new administration but also diffuse the polarizing discourse on it.

Youth Issues

But the world simply refused to stop with the win of Rodrigo Duterte as the new Philippine president. All throughout the year, pressing youth issues surfaced and I saw myself more and more drawn into articulating an emerging voice among the younger generation. Harris Memorial College invited me to address their student body and faculty on the issue of gender identity and homosexuality. I did a seminar on values and Filipino culture for the values education majors of Phil. Normal University (PNU). In September, I delivered a lecture on "Holiness in the Age of Social Media" at Faith Bible College.

In August, Greenhills Christian Fellowship (GCF) requested me to lead a dialogue with their growing community of young artists. In November, they gave me an opportunity to encourage young people to invest their lives in justice work. I handled the break-out session on "Jesus and Justice" for the One Gospel Conference which GCF organizes once every two years. Before 2016 closed, another opportunity opened up as I addressed the annual gathering of youth advocates from Phil. Children's Ministry Network (PCMN). The last two events filled my heart with joy as I met ‘rogue ones’ from the next generation with passion for advocacy work. Truly, life is not a race for one to win a prize, but a marathon for one to pass the baton. I see myself, more and more, serving as cheerleader for these brave souls.

Writing

This year, my personal blog 'Half-Meant' (www.xgenesisrei.tumblr.com) slowed down a bit as I devoted full attention into writing the early pages of my married life. But even as building a happy home has become my priority, I was able to launch an experimental micro-blog on public theology 'Every Square Inch' (https://www.facebook.com/EverySquareInchPh/). With it, I was hoping to encourage more of the younger generation to think biblically on pressing social issues and inspire them to do their share in shaping a more gracious voice in an already toxic atmosphere of today’s social media. 2016 saw debates on same-sex marriage, Marcos burial, morality of politicians, war on drugs, death penalty, and the likes pleading for a more respectful and sensible exchange of perspectives.

God has opened to me the world of writing. But I know deep in my heart that we need more materials written by Filipinos. More aspiring writers has to be encouraged and nurtured. This had me doing one writing workshops after another all throughout the year. I helped run workshops for the students of Faith Bible College and the young bloggers of FEBC's www.RightNow.Ph. I spoke at the writing bootcamps of the IEMELIF and the Taglish writers at OMF Lit. I handled a break-out session on writing for the web at the Philippine-Micronesia Nazarene Youth Congress in Benguet and delivered a talk for the Christian Writers Fellowship (CWF) on writing 'incarnationally.' Join me in praying that we would see more young people willing to take part in the ministry of the written word.

Integral Mission

2016 saw me taking a break from full-blown advocacy work at Micah Philippines. Still yet, there are some important occasions that really had me advocating the doing of Integral Mission. An Integral Mission Conference was organized by New Century Church in Laguna and they invited me to address the eager participants doing really wonderful works for the poor. The Center for Community Transformation (CCT) in the Visayas region invited me into a 3-day retreat to help their people reflect on a deeper understanding of transformational work. The National Youth Commission of the PCEC gathered its network of leaders for a day of upgrades for youth ministry. Integral Mission, which I dubbed as 'Ministry na Outside the Box,' served as one of the three tracks for the event.

A most amazing thing happened in August as I was chosen to be part of the Philippine delegation to the “Younger Leaders Gathering” (YLG) of the Lausanne Movement in Jakarta, Indonesia. Shane was understanding enough to let me be away for two weeks even though God has just "joined us together." The selection process was said to be thorough and I felt really humbled to even be nominated for a slot. And it was worth it. I can say that it was one of most incredibly designed event I've been to! The organizers made sure that there would be tremendous opportunities not only for emerging movers and influencers all over the world to connect with one another but also for senior leaders of Lausanne to sit down with us on a really personal level and share their wisdom on life and ministry. I met fellow advocates of Integral Mission working in different countries and in diverse kinds of situations. Just when I thought we were doing a lot already in the Philippines, being with them opened my eyes to the many new things God is doing in the world. My fellow Filipino delegates are looking forward to share the Lausanne experience with other younger leaders in our country. Help us pray for YLG Philippines soon!

What's next for 2017?

Our local church in Norzagaray, Bulacan (Norzagaray Christian Baptist Church) continues to provide a unique space to be rooted in a close-knit community that seeks to live-out the values of God’s kingdom. All these years, they have been very supportive (and understanding too) of the many advocacies that Shane and I are passionate about. We look forward to spend a bit more time walking closely with emerging leaders who are starting to ponder questions about career and ministry balance, quarter-life crisis, and yes settling down!

A dear ninong-bishop once told us that marriage puts an anchor to a person's life and soul to a person's work. Exchanging ‘I Dos’ has really been a most significant thing that happened to us. We learned to be wiser in how we steward the many good things that the Lord has entrusted to our care -time, talents, relationships, and opportunities. Hopefully, this new chapter in our life would add texture and mix more interesting shades of colors to the work that we do. We continue to seek the Lord’s leading as we also pray for directions He would like us to take as a family in the coming years.

We share to you this short note to express how much you have been part of this blessed journey of ours. In one way or another, you have touched our lives and we are so grateful that such grace from you has been with us ever since.

Blessings and happy new year!

Rei & Shane

P.S.

This year, I'm set to finish writing a book on the phenomenon of church-s/hopping. Please include it in your prayers that I would hear from the Lord clearly and to the best of my ability put into writing things that the next generation of Filipino Christians may need to reflect on a bit more seriously.

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