Thursday, April 21, 2005

The Transfiguration

A few years ago, as both of my readers are well aware, I compiled a list of the top ten fruits. I don’t remember what I had as #1 – likely either the mango or the raspberry. It’s a very difficult choice to make. This morning I am eating some of the finest raspberries ever grown. Soon, it will be the height of mango season. It’s a good time to be alive.

After a 3-week hiatus, the screenwriting team reconvened last night. The time off was good for us, even if it has triggered a complete re-thinking of the basic plot. What will emerge, however, will be a stronger and more compelling script. Smaller yet bigger. Less contrived but more familiar. More Tobey McGuire, less Goldblum.

What’s with the world religions? They’re crazy! Still, despite my resistance to the concept of organized belief systems, I have to give them props for their music. Whether it’s the wandering Christianity of Sufjan Stevens, the disguised Buddhism of Stew, or the methodical Catholicism of Macaloon, the frenzied hybrid Islam-Judaism of Hall+Oates, or the intonations of all of them combined, it seems that belief in a higher power and a weekly sermon often leads to good songs.

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