Rev's Ramblings

Looks like my days as a ne'er-do-well and a vagabond are coming to an end. I just got accepted to the English Department of Rutgers University. Now I'm really going to become an intollerable know-it-all.

And I might be coming back, there is something swimming around up stairs and I don't quite know how to put it.

Pulling A Perot?

Millinerd was the first Cube Head. He is The OCH (Original Cube Head) and after discussing my recent decision he encouraged me to take some time off and pray about it first. So at the risk of Pulling A Perot I am going to wait and pray. Until I can appropriately comment on things without turning angry and hateful and decide on a direction for this little blog of mine perhaps it is better to step away for a bit and not to be so hasty.

On a happier note, Thanks Kpinion for reminding me there is still some people in this world trying to bring some joy into the world.

Goodbye

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of negativity and anger that although well meaning I do not think is beneficial to the body of believers. As Christians aren't we supposed to be better than this? Aren't we supposed to be better than attacking the motives of believers that, though misguided, attempt to do some good for the faith? Aparently we aren't. I find this most upsetting. I understand people's anger and desire to protect believers from bad doctrine. I followed bad teachings for years before I finally found a Bible believing church that took me as I am and has helped to guide me into maturity of the faith. When I say something foolish instead of telling me I am going to Hell or causing others to go to hell or whatever they lovingly disciple me and teach me the way of truth. For those of you involved I pray that you seek repentance and put this behind you. Let's face it, life is too short on this mortal coil of ours. We can either spend it fighting with each other and calling names, or we can spend it trying to bring the light of Christ into each others lives. I tried the latter. It only causes heart ache. So I am no longer going to be able to blog. I do not want to be part of an environment that is so negative and harmful to the body of believers. If there is a time for me to challenge something, then I pray I do it with the Love and Grace that Christ had. I will keep this post up for the next few weeks, then I'll be deleting my blog for good. Though I will still check in on a few of your blogs from time to time. Thank you for your love and support. I pray the light and love of Christ be made evident to you all.

Dave Gorgone
the cube rev

Gallery Showing - Rustic Relics

Sarah from Rustic Relics has described her work as Outsider Art. Though that is an apt description it is an incomplete one. Outsider art which was most often made by amateurs outside of the artistic community tended to be extremely rough and folksy in nature. Her work, especially her jewelry, shows a high degree of craft to them which will easily be overlooked. There is a roughness to her work, but it no where near overshadows the softer feminine side of her work. Is her work outsider art? Absolutely. Do not stop there, it is the next logical step for the people outside of the artistic community. It is the artistic instinct which sadly goes unnoticed because of its raw nature. It lacks the flash and celebrity that sometimes can be associated with an artist attempting to do something new, but is in fact just re-hashing old ideas. Sarah's work instead took these mediums as her own.

Saying Goodbye

Donald Hall has to be one of my favorite poets. I was all giddy with joy when I finally got to meet him last year. But there was one thing that kind of perplexed me a bit. Almost all of the poetry he's written over the past ten years has dealt with in one way or another the death from cancer of his wife an equally talented poet Jane Kenyon. Then I lost someone to cancer, and all I could do was write on the subject, it was obsessive. So I sat down and took an older poem I wrote at seeing my mother in the hospital and re-working it to the last night of her life. My way of saying I will never write about it anymore. Except for touching on it on occassion I've for the most part kept to that.

A Brief History Of Cancer

What a night, when we were lined up

like a coffin ship, to wonder why

it must happen here? Your room

is so sterile and clean and I am finished

holding your hand and looking into eyes

that no longer remember I’m your son.

I want to sleep, to move onto newer dreams,

if any dreams come at all.

At least I said goodbye.

Gallery Showing - Misty Mawn

I don't even know where to begin with Misty's art work. If Chagall ever had a love, an inspiration, the one that would make him go Ahhh! it is Misty. Her work is both stunning and deeply spiritual which is sadly lacking in a lot of modern art. She is not afraid to show her softer feminine side, instead she chooses to embrace and celebrate the things which make women unique and special. They are very politically incorrect, but not in the borish sledge hammer to the forehead fashion that has become popular. She is too clever for that choosing to be more subtle. Don't look at her pictures too quickly, stop a moment and really look at what she is doing and you will find beneath the surface all those qualities which I have mentioned. Like a fine glass of wine it is meant to be savored, not gulped down for the next glass.

Book Review: Leo Tolstoy - The Death of Ivan Ilych

I know the very mention of Leo Tolstoy brings to mind the epic book War and Peace, which then makes people think how impossible and boring it'd be to try and get through such a thick book. Trust me, Tolstoy is worth the read. His work standing the test of time isn't an accident. People wearing tweed jackets do not sit around in a room stroking their beards wondering what dry dusty novels can they force people to read. Tolstoy's wring is beautiful and yes it is epic, but flows with the poetry of life that that is natural and timeless. I admit getting past the Russian names can be a trial so I want to recommend The Death of Livan Ilych. It's a short book, very short, only about 60 pages. He doesn't waste a lot of time and cuts to the chase. A man dies and he spends the rest of the book talking about how Ivan goes about his lfie trying to live with as much comfort and ease as possible until he gets sick and life becomes difficult. I will warn you, this is a very very depressing book. How Tolstoy describes people's reaction to Ivan's illness and death ranges from sadness, self-indulgence, and even denial. This is how it is. It is real, he didn't sugar coat it. He shows what it is really like. This was what it was like as I watched my mother pass away. People who know her acted in such a deplorable fashion, but aquaintances stepped up and did whatever they could to help and give her and my family comfort. As a Christian I think life is sacred, but I often wonder if the people on both sides of the Chaivo case were ever able to look past their own rhetoric to the big picture. For one, who would care for her if she had lived? Second, why be so anctious to let her die when you can just as easily move on with your life as if nothing had happened? Have any of them had to change an adult diaper? Argue with someone to take their meds or fought to keep people who weren't welcome out of the home? No, to all of them this was a philosophic exercize that they can step away from without getting their hands dirty. This book fills in the gaps that all of them are missing. It shows where their thinking was flawed and the decision to live or die is not as easy as they may think. Before my mother took a turn for the worse we were watching a program on hospice and death and dying, this book was required reading, and she asked if I would help her to die if she wanted it. That question still haunts me to this day.