The Intoxication of the Night: UCPE’s Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera is special. Before I critique the acting, singing, lighting, set, and orchestra, let my bias be known: I have waited for years to behold it, on either the stage or the screen. As far back as fifth grade, my friends oohed and ahhed over the movie, but I was forbidden from watching it. (I actually waited till I was 12 or 13 to watch PG-13 movies!) By the time I was independent enough to filter my own world, I knew the time and the company had to be special. Union County Performance Ensemble’s production of The Phantom of the Opera satisfied all the criteria; it was an event attended and even performed by many of my friends.

On Saturday night the cafeteria and auditorium of Central Academy (CATA) were filled with excited voices and a wall of people. I could feel my own excitement flushing my face with a warm rosiness as I chatted with people I know and found a seat.

From the opening score, the orchestra tingled my spine with its rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music; the live music added an element of intensity to the production. The all-student orchestra synergized excellently with the voices and movements of the actors, as did the lighting and sound crew.

The lead roles are double-cast; on this particular night, Christine, played by sophomore Delaney Veurink, sang like an angel, and I could clearly hear her words. The other actors and actresses sang well, but I could not always hear what they were saying, sometimes for long periods of time. This may have been a fault of the microphones and sound system, but all the same, I wish I had been able to hear and thus enjoy more of the singing.

The plot is as much as part of the book or the movie as it is the live theatre performance, so I won’t depend on plot judgments for this review, but I will say that it was intriguing. The central theme is the pull of the spirit between the plain and the hidden, the darkness and the daylight, shame and honesty—a universal human struggle—is evident in the Phantom’s mask and his song:”Open up your mind, / Let your fantasies unwind / In this darkness that you know you cannot fight / The darkness of the music of the night” (“The Music of the Night”).  Which will Christine choose—her muse and “the angel of music,” or her first love Raoul? The plot details of the original book are different from those of the Broadway adaptation, but the theme holds true.

Union County Performance Ensemble is a group of dedicated adults, aspiring theatre, tech, music, and dance students representing high schools across all of Union County, NC. Partnering with the Union County Community Arts Council, which promotes culture and the arts among students and the community, UCPE has produced a musical for the past 13 years, such as Hairspray in 2010 and Miss Saigon in 2009.

This is the last weekend of the production, but Sunday (26 Feb) holds performances #8 and #9. Reserve your tickets by calling 704-290-1599, and hope it’s not sold out! Adult tickets are $10; student tickets, $6.

Read more about the plot and student details in this Charlotte Observer article.

Afterlife and the Universe…

…heady stuff. Are you ready? This post is as good as any other to mention the book The Unobservable Universe by Scott M. Tyson, a “visionary” physicist, engineer, scientist, and researcher.

I first heard about through a press release, subtitled “Award-Winning Physicist Chastises Scientist For Decrying Religion.” In a interview with The Guardian, Stephen Hawking dismissed the concept of life after death, and Tyson explained how these “comments deepen the rift between the scientific and religious communities.” It sounded fascinating to me, a theologian and lover of science, and from what I read of the release (excerpted below), I agreed with Tyson.

“I think that people in general believe that scientists don’t believe in God, and that’s just not true,” said Tyson, author of The Unobservable Universe. “History is filled with scientists who were also men of faith, from Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton to Einstein. Now, I do also believe that there are other scientists who would like to prove that God doesn’t exist. These scientists might want to rain on everyone else’s parades with respect to God really, really badly. The problem is that one of the limitations of science is that science simply cannot prove the non-existence of objects and phenomena over the full spectrum of possibilities. So, while scientists may be able to prove in a scientific framework that there is no life after death, they cannot, nor should they even attempt to, prove it in a theological framework, which is the territory of faith. To do so creates unnecessary divisiveness that can serve no beneficial purpose. And that’s the line Dr. Hawking crossed – he essentially discounted the idea in both frameworks, and nothing good could come of that.”

Tyson’s concern is that Hawking’s comments deepen the rift between the scientific and religious communities, erecting hurdles that only diminish the prospects for potential good that science could do for humanity.

“Dr. Hawking is probably one of only a handful of scientists in the world who is a household name,” he added. “In many ways, he’s the captain of the team, he’s the quarterback, so when he speaks, millions of people believe he is speaking for scientists everywhere. That’s part of the weight of his celebrity on the scientific community as a whole. His comments are out of line and further complicate complex issues like stem cell research, in which faith effectively blocks the use of scientific discoveries that could heal people and ease their suffering – a concept not inconsistent with the tenets of most organized religions,” Tyson added. “But science oftentimes becomes blocked politically and socially not because the science contradicts religion, but because the argument is framed in an ‘us versus them’ context. We inadvertently challenge people to either believe in science or to believe in God, at the exclusion of the other. It’s an unreasonable and unnecessary position in which to place anyone.”

What’s worse, according to Tyson, is that people who believe in both science and faith get left out or, worse, placed into the difficult situation of needlessly choosing sides.

“Millions of people practice their faith but then also believe in the veracity of Darwin’s evolution,” he said. “Many in the scientific community view science through their faith, rather than in spite of it. When scientists discount theology in a wholesale fashion, they not only insult the faithful who discount science, but also the faithful who embrace it. It discourages and further polarizes the dialogue between the two disciplines and increases the challenges that science must overcome in its quest to better comprehend the nature of our world for the betterment of society, goals that I and many other scientists will continue to embrace.”

May 15, 2011 – News and Experts

This sparked some dialogue with me and a friend, so I decided to request a copy of the book for review.

What I received was an esoteric, high-level approach to some of the foundational questions of human existence. This was not written for laymen; rather, the language is obviously intended for someone with a solid foundation in cosmology—definitely not me. I’m sure I would have liked it if I could understand it!

The book makes extraordinary claims of taking readers on “an exciting 2,500-year journey through which they can comprehend all the phenomena in the universe” and “drastically alter[ing] the direction of human civilization in a very positive way.” If you’re interested in reading a pared-down outline of the theories and ideas presented in The Unobservable Universe, click over to Tyson’s blog.

However, the press release proved much more digestible to me. I believe that there is an afterlife—either Heaven or Hell, no in-between—and I believe that because of salvation through Jesus Christ, I am headed for Heaven.

To reject the afterlife would suck the marrow out of the foundation of my actions. My time on Earth is not pointless; it even extends beyond alleviating the temporal suffering of others. I believe many agnostics/atheists want to improve the world and help others, but without faith, actions mean little. (There is also the hedonist type, living to please themselves.) Yes, I believe that I should live for something beyond this life—I should live to alleviate eternal suffering by expanding God’s Kingdom.

There is the issue of morals: not to defend atheism/agnosticism or the “afterlife is a fairy story” camp (see links below or interview link above), but these theologies don’t correlate to an abandonment of morals; after all, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.” Hebrews 8:10. That is to say, God’s Law is written on the hearts of man.

Even pagan cultures in the deep jungle have basic social rules such as, no murder; adultery; theft—this is what I heard from Marilyn Laszlo, missionary to Papua New Guinea, when she spoke at The Lord’s Boot Camp. It seems to me that people know at some level what is right and what is wrong. Of course, many times the lines are blurred on ‘minor’ sins—things that wouldn’t get you jailed—but my point is that even though religion clearly outlines moral code, everybody has a conscience.

Official book website: www.theunobservableuniverse.com

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Related articles

• Hawking on Heaven (theness.com)
• Heroes sometimes fail: Why Stephen Hawking is wrong (sixdayscience.wordpress.com)

The Sweetness of Life [art based on Blue Like Jazz]

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart.”
Blaise Pascal, French physicist

Art II :: Theme “Social Injustice”

This artwork addresses a problem of the soul: the “broken” quality of life. We live in a world full of loneliness, lust, anger, jealousy, and depression. Some people appear successful—they themselves might even think that they are fine and they have their life together. Yet, if they were honest with themselves, I believe they would agree with the following: their lives are as flawed as the world we live in.

Before heralding change and waving our charity money before the poor—before striving to heal the world, we must face the truth: we are the problem. I am the problem, because I am a human being. What makes you and me different from murderers and rapists? We live so self-righteously because we have never been in jail or embezzled money or perhaps cussed in public. But we still argue with our spouses and children, and our so-called love wanes and waxes like the face of the moon. We lie and cheat and splash the poison in our hearts on each other. Why?

We are sinners. Until we can face this, we will forever be flailing about helplessly, failing at pure love. Until we accept forgiveness from Jesus, our hearts will cry out. We will desperately long for satisfaction but never find it. We will make everything in the world our tool in order to craft a fulfilling life for ourselves. We will look everywhere for joy, but it cannot last. I say this only because I want to you to experience love and freedom—because I love you the way Jesus loves you.

Mixed Media

my ring says "trust in YHWH"

Surrounding the Hebrew word YHWH (יהוה), a name of God translated as LORD, are some things people may seek in the pursuit of “the sweet life.”

On the right I have represented emotional things, like getting married or having a baby. These are generally very memorable and excellent things, but they cannot fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts. Also included are clothing tags, meant to represent fashion and image. We want to be accepted, loved, and sometimes we think we can only find this acceptance and love if we appear perfect in shape and decoration.

The top section is meant to represent the purely mental side of the human psyche: mind-altering drugs; philosophical conjectures about the existence and purpose of the world and life; acceptance into college; money; even chocolate, the drug of choice for some women!

To the left, the chemical structure of sugar, the Fair Trade USA logo, and sugar cane represent the unmistakably bitter consequences of an insatiable desire for sweetness. For several centuries, humans were treated worse than animals, as part of transatlantic trade and as slaves on sugar plantations. Historians agree that the lust for sugar (and rum) played a significant role in the world record. We are still combating this today, and efforts such as fair trade aim to give farmers and workers a fair price so that they can feed their families and send their children to school.

The bottom depicts a hand, stretching towards something, aching for solidity. Symbols of religions that almost get it right dot the corner. I believe that something in the human heart needs a purpose beyond itself, but we can easily become misguided.

Many of these goals become ends unto themselves for me: relationships, food, career, and image, complete with a fake brand of Christianity and an obsession with self. I constantly have to shift my focus to Jesus, because he is the Prince of Peace, the perfect model of love and forgiveness.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

I read this neat book, Blue Like Jazz back in November, right after Thanksgiving. It’s captioned “nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality,” and really describes one man’s progress from his first realizations of sin and brokenness to a full and deep relationship with Jesus.

The book strongly influenced this Art II piece and the accompanying explanation for a display at the Monroe Library. Two ladies whom I highly respect both mentioned the book within a week of each other, and so I thought I’d read it over again—I’ve been reading a chapter every night.

It’s truly fascinating and I highly recommend it.

first things first: chocolate! [review]

Back in March I received a box of Newman’s Own Organics’ finest organic snacks and sweets.

Please note that the products mentioned in this post were sent to me, free of charge, for the purpose of reviewing on this blog. I will attempt an unbiased analysis.

Chocolate tops the list—and with good reason! The line-up includes milk (38%), mocha milk, dark (58%), espresso dark, orange dark, and super dark (70%).

More Than Just Chocolate

The company was founded by Nell Newman as a shoot-off from Newman’s Own, which gives all profit to charity, so it’s almost a given that their chocolate is USDA Certified Organic and Rainforest Alliance certified. From GreenAmerica:

• RA standards prohibit the use of forced labor, child labor, and discrimination. At least 30% of the primary ingredient needs to be certified in order to earn this label.
•   This label means that at least 95% of the ingredients of the product are certified organic.

How is it?

This Signature Series is excellent. Don’t just take my word for it—reviewers include my mother, my little brother, and my best friends. Everyone agrees it is remarkably smooth and comparably better than main chocolate brands—it’s an indulgent piece of work. I think the word I heard was, “divine.”

   This is truly the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted.

My favorite from NOO, of course, was the super dark chocolate. I recently bought some Lindt dark chocolate that, as excellent as it is, lacks NOO’s balance of sweet and bitter creaminess. Both were 70% cacao, but that’s not always the best indicator of quality.

By the way, I enjoyed the “N’” imprinted on each square—I could almost pretend they’re for “Newton” (my name) instead of Newman… And check out that gold foil!

Where to buy

The most frequent question I’ve received when talking about Newmans’ Own Organics is Where can I buy this?!

On their website, one can find a list of stores carrying their products by region and online.

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Related articles

• The 20 Calorie Chocolate Fix (girl-heroes.com)
• Vegan Chocolate Citrus Muffins! (kblog.lunchboxbunch.com)
• Chocolate Counteracts Depression (scrapbooklady.typepad.com)
• A Chocolate Outrage I was passing through the… (tercessociety.com)

Reviews coming: Newman’s Own Organics

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting reviews of the company’s snack foods and sweets. The PR coordinator (Sally) has been pleasant to correspond with concerning the product reviews, and she even took the time to read some of my posts, like about my experiences in China. According to the company history (download pdf), the company was started in 1993 by Paul Newman’s daughter, Nell, when she developed a passion for organic food. Like Newman’s Own (the first generation), all profits go to charity.

Especially after participating in the 30-Hour Famine, I’m really grateful for this box of food from Newman’s Own Organics that showed up on my doorstep yesterday. It included:

• chocolate bars – milk (38%), mocha milk, dark (58%), espresso dark, orange dark, super dark (70%)
• pretzels – rods, thin sticks
• alphabet cookies – cinnamon graham
• Newman O’s – ginger, chocolate, chocolate mint
• mint tins – hot cinnamon, ginger, wintergreen, peppermint
• soy crisps – cinnamon sugar, white cheddar
• licorice – black, pomegranate, strawberry, tangerine
• hermits – original, cinnamon
• chocolate chip cookies – original, double, orange
• dried fruit – apples, apricots
• Fig Newmans – low fat and fat-free

I will link this post to the reviews as they are posted.

Where to buy

The most frequent question I’ve received when talking about Newmans’ Own Organics is Where can I buy this?! On their website, one can find a list of stores carrying their products by region and online.

Image © Newman’s Own Organics If you enjoyed this post, please

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