Postcards From Myself

I am sometimes asked who I listen to, read, watch, and such. I guess this is because I am not a television addict like a lot of people these days and so who I am can’t be quickly summed up by what I watch. So, in answer to this question, and because I really like these people, I thought I would give you some of my “people you should know.”

Lauri Anderson - A multi-media performance artist, musician, singer, and all around interesting person. I first became aware of probably more than a decade ago when she performed at the Spoleto Festival here in Charleston. I am not sure now what the name of the performance was, but most of it is on her Strange Angels CD. A couple of years ago she came back to the festival and did her performance of Moby Dick. There were some people who did appreciate it or didn’t “get” it, but my wife and I loved it. And now, this Spring, she is returning to Charleston again to perform her new show Homeland. I cannot wait!

Forrest Church - A theologian, author, father, and minister at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York. Unfortunately I have never gotten to hear him speak, but I own most of his books. His most recent work, So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State is an especially important piece in this time when a lot of America is debating the role of religion within government. Many of his earlier works are more personal and aimed and inner comfort and guidance. A great author and a good role model.

Jimmy Buffett - Most people will already know this singer, songwriter, and author. If not - shame on you! I am not sure how much an “influence” I can say he has been, but if you look at the CDs in my collection, the shirts in my closet, and the stickers on my car, then that has to say something. I have met him a couple of times and he really does seem to be a good guy - but also a workaholic.

Mitch Carnell, Jr. - My dad. Yes, it may seem a bit hackneyed to list my dad, but he really has been important. He helped to give me my love of writing (and unfortunately fine pens) and my open minded social attitudes. He may not always agree with me, but he has alway - even as a kid - supported my right to think my own thoughts. Additionally he used to tell me a lot about things like customer service when I was too young to even understand what he was talking about. And, as director of the Charleston Speech and Hearing Center and deacon of the church and PTA president and …., he taught me a lot about giving back to the community. So, as sad as it may be to admit, a lot of what I am and do today is due to him.

So, there you have a least a few influences. All totaled they are an odd and motley group. I would love to hear your opinions on these people and who might have influenced you. Lets hear it! I doubt that anyone out there is 100% self-made.

I was in downtown Charleston yesterday taking some pictures when I came upon an interesting site. Now, which is more intriguing? The fact that the wheel is meant for some type of crooked road we don’t have around here, or the fact that even in such a condition that you would see fit to lock the bike up? In general though, I really just like the picture. It is one of those that you look at quickly, say “OK” but then go back and realize that there is more there than you saw on first glance.

Another image I captured that appealed to me is of one of the upper windows of the Circular Congregational Church here on Meeting Street. The original structure was built around 1730, but this building was put on the same site at a much later time. This is actually the parent church of the Unitarian Church in Charleston, the church that I am a member of. But, as for the picture, I wasn’t sure what was really going to turn out when I took it, but I was trying for kind of a lost, wintery, haunted impression. Not perfect, but I think I captured it fairly well.

I ended up talking about 120 shots while downtown, but I am still going through them and seperating the mediocre from the really bad. It was about 40 degrees so I was freezing to death - remember I am a southern boy born in Louisiana and raised in Charleston - but at least it wasn’t too bad if you kept moving and the sun was shining. If there are any more worth posting when I finish the sorting, I will do so.

Just a quick note on the debate this evening. The sparing in the first have actually made me uncomfortable, but overall it was interesting and didn’t change much.  My wife, who likes Hillary, still prefers Hillary to the others. I, obviously an Obama fan, still prefer Obama and appreciate what he is trying to do. I like that he is trying to change the entire dynamic and to move the battle field from the way things have been done. But, I don’t think that what went on tonight convinced anybody else.  The one change that we both had is that John Edwards went up in our opinions. We still like the other candidates better, but Edwards came off quite well and earned our respect - if not our vote.

The great Martin Luther King was assassinated 40 years ago this year, and today is his birthday. One month after I was born he delivered his famous speech in Washington, DC, that begins this way…

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

Very powerful words. This is either the most powerful speech delivered by an American or at the very least one of the top ones right up there with the Gettysburg Address and Kennedy’s “Ask Not…” speech. But in it Dr. King is wrong. And he is wrong for a very important reason, so perhaps I should say he mis-stated.

I say this not to make any one mad, but to draw an important point about his speech and his actions, because Dr. King didn’t just have a dream, he had a goal. It is said that the difference between a dream and a goal is the plan. And it can be assured that Dr. King had a plan. He wasn’t going to just sit idly by and hope and wish that the freedom and equality hoped for came to pass. No, he was going to use his desires and his dreams to ignite the hopes and dreams of others. He planned to use his voice to bring a voice to millions of unheard people. He planned to use his feet to walk down the roads that would lead millions to equality. And he planned to use his will power, his determination, his inner strength, to give strength to millions to stand up for what was, and still is, right.

But, look at that speech again. Would it have been as powerful if he had said, “I have a plan” or if he had looked out at that crowd and said, “I have a goal”? No, what he needed to impart to that gathering was a dream. His dream. A nation’s dream. So yes, Dr. King was wrong. But in being wrong, he was more right than most of us can ever hope to be.

Technorati Tags: justice, civil rights

Still on my Neil Gaiman kick, I picked up Coraline from the local library. My daughter laughed at me and said that some of her friends at school had read it. For what it’s worth, I have no problem reading “young adult” books and told her as much. She shrugged saying that at least her friends had said it was a good book.

Coraline is a short book of about 160 pages and is a very quick read. Originally written for Gaiman’s daughters, it is the story of a young girl who feels bored and unappreciated in her home and end up finding herself in adventure on “the other side” that will not only bring her some excitement but also give her self image some definition.

As for a review? Good book. Definitely dark and maybe a little too dark for those under say, 11? Over that age there should be no problem at all with the imagery and action. It may even be ok for kids under that age since there is no outright blood, gore, abuse, etc… But, if the young adult in question already has a fear of what is under the bed or in the closet, this book will only make that fear worse. Oddly enough I watched the movie “Bridge to Terabithia” last night with my kids and wife. The movie was certainly more disturbing than this book. By a long shot.

On a side note there is a movie adaption of Coraline coming out soon. Gaiman posted a like to a video of the trailer which is up on YouTube so check it out here.