The next morning, I visited the shower trailer as I
do each morning, managing to keep my hand twisting fully on the knob until an
adequate trickle of water washed away the previous day's mud. Then I went to the Alliance World
Coffee tent as usual. Now the
thing I find strange about coffee tents or coffee shops is that they serve
drinks packed with caffeine, but everyone inside these establishments is
seated. Unable to solve this
conundrum, I decide to instead of the usual mint mocha, try an odd green confection
called Green Match Tea. It was
quite minty and tasty, even better than the green vanilla shakes served at
McDonalds on St. Patrick's Day.
Then at Flickerings I caught a little bit of a documentary about the
Danielson Family. I've seen them a
couple of times at small clubs in St. Louis, and have admired their odd songs
sung by a band of brothers and sisters in nurses uniforms and a lead singer who
screeches like a man doing a bad impersonation of Stryper lead singer Michael
Sweet. However, I cut out early to
run over to the Prairie School of Writing tent to see one of my favorite
authors Steven Lawhead perform a reading and answer questions from the
audience. I've been a fan since
his Arthur and Song of Albion series, which were the first multi-volume fiction
series I ever finished. I really
enjoyed seeing him and hearing him.
I also found out his new Robin Hood novel has been released, so I will
have to get that one as soon as I get home (having been unable to track down a
preview copy at the merchandise tent.)
After that, I caught another session of the Brenda VanTrease seminar,
which I found some insightful nuggets about where to find sources for my own
inspiration as a writer. None of
them involved hair-flinging rock stars or green tea, however.
After lunch, I caught a seminar at the Imaginarium
tent on the classic sci-fi novel A Canticle for Leibowitz. I read it a couple of months ago upon
hearing it would be featured at this year's Imaginarium. The discussion about the themes
of religion and science, about the permanence of faith and the fleeting nature
of technology, and about human destruction verses the timelessness of God, were
fascinating and thought-provoking. After that, in Flickerings I caught a short film
by A&F regular Jason Bortz about an organization called H.E.A.R.T which
offers teaching and instruction in health issues in Kenya. The work by those volunteers is
inspiring and at it's heart profoundly Christian. I then faced a scheduling conflict. I saw the first part of Rossellini's
film Europa '51, an imagining of St. Francis against the background of postwar
Italy. However, I had to leave
before the end to catch the most professional show in Bushnell, the official
Cornerstone performance of Jeff Elbel and Ping. He didn't disappoint, offering
some new songs, a classic Farewell to Juliet, and an obscure U2 cover. It was a terrific way to spend an
hour. And I caught a seat right
underneath the stage, just the other side of a large metal pole from Jeff
himself. It's just as well; I
probably would have embarrassed myself before Jeff with my unabashed
fandom. I then wandered back to
Flickerings to catch the post-film discussion of Europa '51, so I could learn
enough to count it upon my own viewing checklist for the Arts and Faith Top 100
Films. Afterward, to celebrate
Ann's birthday, Doug, Mike, Ann, and I walked over to the food court where we
presented Ann with a prime example of Cornerstone cuisine, an Elephant Ear. This is a dough foodstuff vaguely
similar to Midwestern fair favorite funnel cake, except covered with an apple
coating. This was no mere funnel
cake, even one loaded with enough sugar to coat one's lips white. This was a genuine culinary
experience. After that, I caught the evening Flickerings screening, my third
Dardennes film in two days, L'Enfant.
Once again, moral dilemmas abounded for a young couple who have a
baby. The irresponsible father, in
a momentary moral lapse, sells the baby to a black market broker. Of course, the baby's mother is outraged.
She faints, which triggers the first spark of a conscience in the baby's
father. He tries to get the baby
back, but finds out the price for his trespass is steeper than he thought. The film excellently portrays the
burgeoning sense of responsibility and fatherhood the father undergoes as he
tries to right his wrongs, and the final scene offers a flicker of redemption,
but it's still open-ended enough to cause discussion. The post-film discussion was quite interesting, showing it's
good that some directors respect the audience's intelligence enough not to
force-feel all the answers for them.
After that I caught a little bit of an acoustic duo called the Wiittala
brothers, before catching a screening of Donnie Darko at the Imaginarium. First the Imaginarium director gave an
impassioned introduction, crowning this film with superlatives that I would
normally only bestow on films starring Will Ferrell. The film was, as it was
the first time I saw it, quite intriguing, thought-provoking, confusing, and a little
vague. It's the kind of film that gets under your skin and won't disentangle
itself from your mind easily. After an intriguing discussion, I walk over to
the Gallery Tent to see a band that's been in the alternative indie Christian
scene as long as I can remember, but have never seen live: Starflyer 59. I bought one of their CDs once, but
couldn't develop a taste for their droning noise-pop. I think I traded that CD for Tripping Daisy or something
like that. Anyway, I decided to
give them another chance, but as I walked over to the tent a little before 1
AM, they had already finished! A
short set at a midnight show, what gives?
Oh well, I was ready for bed anyway, and I appreciated the sleep.