The giant creature Seraphina went up in flames on Wellington harbour. Within her maternal belly were notes holding the secret desires, dreams, yearnings, and concerns of the locals. A form of confession if you like. The whole thing was cathartic,…
Category: Festivals
Dr Billy Graham, often called one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 21st Century, died on 21st February. He was a powerful influence on my life in the 1950’s and 60’s, and not in a good way. His…
All of them are dead. The bones of Jesus buried deep in Palestine and Kiwi soldiers in Turkey. Although we post-moderns might like to believe we don’t venerate relics, there’s an annual resurrection attempt every Easter and Anzac Day. Two…
My Mum always said we shouldn’t wash our dirty linen in public. Secrets, lies, and doubts about anything, particularly the godstuff, were for the privacy of our own kitchen and closed down before they got too heretical. What mattered was…
Joy to the world, the angels at Statistics New Zealand are singing a new song . Anglicans and Protestants are on the eve of destruction. We’ve got about 20 years left. By 2054, (my 100th birthday!) Christianity, except for Roman Catholicism, will probably not…
Archibald Baxter is a hero to me. I remember him on every Anzac Day. It’s my way of saying that his story, marked by brutality and torture after he refused to fight in World War I, is a vital missing…
Jim’s Easterpreneur cartoon made me smile. For a split second, I thought I knew what it meant, momentarily forgetting that no creative work about the crucifixion is likely to be that easily tamed. Hoping for inspiration I carried it around…
Emilie Selden has an appealing naïvety. She’s educated in the art and philosophy of alchemy but has no clue about more mundane matters like the predatory bloke who’s after her fortune. She intrigued me when I met her on the…
Michelle Williams is tantalizing in the movie, My Week with Marilyn. She ensures Ms Monroe is present, a disarming combination of innocent child and sensual siren. It’s not the sleek exterior that seduces; it’s the contradictions that open us up.…