Thursday, July 28, 2011
But Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
i heard there was a secret chord
that david played and it pleased the lord
but you don't really care for music, do you
well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing hallelujah
hallelujah...
well your faith was strong but you needed proof
you saw her bathing on the roof
her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
she broke your throne and she cut your hair
and from your lips she drew the hallelujah
hallelujah...
baby i've been here before
i've seen this room and i've walked this floor
i used to live alone before i knew you
i've seen your flag on the marble arch
but love is not a victory march
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
hallelujah...
well there was a time when you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show that to me do you
but remember when i moved in you
and the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah
well, maybe there's a god above
but all i've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
it's not a cry that you hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
hallelujah...
"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, originally released on his studio album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a cover by John Cale, which later formed the basis for a cover by Jeff Buckley. In recent years several cover versions have been performed by a large number and broad range of artists, both in recordings and in concert.
"Hallelujah", in its original version, is a song in "12/8 feel", which evokes the styles of both waltz and gospel music. Written in the key of C major, the chord progression follows the lyric "it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, and the major lift": C, F, G, A minor, F.
--------------------
In 2004, Buckley's version was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The same year Time called Buckley's version "exquisitely sung," observing "Cohen murmured the original like a dirge, but ... Buckley treated the ... song like a tiny capsule of humanity, using his voice to careen between glory and sadness, beauty and pain... It's one of the great songs."
In September 2007, a poll of fifty songwriters conducted by the magazine Q listed "Hallelujah" among the all-time "Top 10 Greatest Tracks" with John Legend calling Buckley's version "as near perfect as you can get. The lyrics to Hallelujah are just incredible and the melody's gorgeous and then there's Jeff's interpretation of it. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of recorded music I’ve ever heard." In July 2009, the Buckley track was ranked number three on the 2009 Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, a listener poll held every decade by the Australian radio station Triple J."
Still, Buckley's version was not an instant hit, nor did Buckley live to see the full measure of the reception his recording would ultimately have; he died in 1997. The album on which it appeared did not go Gold in the U.S. until 2002, nine years after its release. In fact, like Cohen's original, the Buckley version was never officially released as a single, and the singer's cover first charted posthumously in 2006. In March of that year, Buckley had his first national Top 10 bestseller when "Hallelujah" went to number seven in Norway. In 2007 it made the top 3 on the Swedish charts. In March 2008 it hit number one in France. In April 2008 it topped Billboard's Hot Digital Songs in the U.S., where the sudden resurgence of interest catapulted Buckley's version past both Gold and Platinum status, the RIAA certifying the digital track on April 22, 2008.
The Buckley version has been widely featured in film and television dramas, including the series The West Wing, House MD, Crossing Jordan, Without a Trace, The O.C., Scrubs, House, Dirt, Criminal Minds, ER, Third Watch, Ugly Betty and LAX, and the films Feast of Love, The Edukators, Vinterkyss and Lord of War.[citation needed] "Hallelujah can be joyous or bittersweet, depending on what part of it you use", Time quoted the late Buckley's publisher as saying of the track, and the magazine opined that its liberal use in some cases was "a tacit admission that neither the writers nor the actors could convey their characters' emotions as well as Buckley."
--------------------
In 2005, "Hallelujah" was named the tenth-greatest Canadian song of all time in Chart magazine's annual readers' poll. The BBC commemorated the 25th anniversary of the first recording with an hour-long radio documentary, The Fourth, The Fifth, The Minor Fall, in which the song's history and numerous cover versions were presented and discussed.
On 21 December 2008, "Hallelujah" became the first song in 51 years to occupy the first and second positions on the UK Singles Chart; The X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke's and American singer Jeff Buckley's covers were the two highest-selling songs in the week beginning 15 December 2008. Leonard Cohen's version attained the number 36 spot in the same chart.
In the February 2009 issue of Blender, "Hallelujah" was featured as that month's "Greatest Song Ever" (a monthly feature).
--------------------
Brother John's story made me understand the real meaning of Hallelujah.
Love is not a victory march and not somebody who's seen the Light.
It is cold and a broken Hallelujah.
It is about pressing in.
"In the Hebrew Bible hallelujah is actually a two-word phrase, not one word. The first part, hallelu, is the second-person imperative masculine plural form of the Hebrew verb hallal. However, "hallelujah" means more than simply "praise Yah", as the word hallel in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song, to boast in God. Hallel could also refer to someone who acts madly or foolishly.
The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH, the name for the Creator. This name is not pronounced by Jews, as they are not permitted to speak the name of God, and in any case the correct pronunciation is not known. However, it is sometimes rendered by Christians as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah". Although the Septuagint translates Yah as Kyrios (the Lord), it is not the title "lord".
In Psalm 150:6 the Hebrew reads kol han'shamah t'hallel yah; It appears in the Hebrew Bible as הללו~יה and הללו יה. In Psalm 148:1 the Hebrew says "הללו יה hallelu yah". It then says "hallelu eth-YHWH" as if using "yah" and "YHWH" interchangeably. The word "Yah" appears by itself as a divine name in poetry about 49 times in the Hebrew Bible (including hallelu yah), such as in Psalm 68:4–5 "who rides upon the deserts by his name Yah" and Exodus 15:2 "Yah is my strength and song". It also often appears at the end of Israelite theophoric names such as Isaiah "yeshayah(u), Yahweh is salvation" and Jeremiah "yirmeyah(u), Yahweh is exalted".
The word hallelujah occurring in Psalms is therefore a request for a congregation to join in praise toward God. It can be translated as "Praise God" or "Praise Yahweh, you people", and is usually worded in English contexts as "Praise the Lord".
"Hallelujah" appears in Revelation 19 in Greek transliteration as "hallelouia" (ἁλληλουϊά), the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the Whore of Babylon. This transliteration also appears in the Septuagint."
You can only request when there is no reason to do so.
Brother John did that.
"fried fish and French fries"
"There are shootings every other day..
I hate to admit it that I am becoming desensitized, to knowing that everyday there is a shooting, while there is someone who is killed or hurt everyday."
I am in a different world.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A man who was shot while feeding the homeless with his family in East Oakland early Wednesday morning has succumbed to his injuries, a police spokeswoman said.
Police responded to the 1000 block of 47th Avenue at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday after someone flagged down a California Highway Patrol officer to report the shooting, Oakland police Sgt. Holly Joshi said.
Officers found the man and his wife suffering from gunshot wounds, and they were taken to a hospital. The woman's injuries were minor but the man died at the hospital, Joshi said today.
Police have not released his name, but published reports state that he was known in the neighborhood as "Brother John," and that he often fed the homeless. Joshi said the couple and their two young children had been handing out food to people in the area and had pulled over to the side of the road.
An unknown suspect then pulled up alongside them and began shooting, Joshi said.
"It is a case of mistaken gang-wars, drug abuse, anger, unfairness."
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The only way police can describe it is a "senseless act." A man is clinging to life after being shot in the head while feeding the homeless in East Oakland early Wednesday morning.
It's not looking good. Police call these life threatening injuries. The man is on life support at a hospital in Oakland and homicide investigators are on this case. In addition to the man's wife being shot, a police source tells ABC7 one of the man's young daughters was also struck by a bullet. She and her mom are both expected to survive.
He is known simply as Brother John and just about everyone in the area knows him. At least once a week, Brother John, his wife and their two young daughters pass out home-cooked meals to East Oakland's homeless.
"He stops right in the middle of the road and gives you some food," Tony said.
"He came out here and fed us last night -- fried fish and French fries," Roxanne said.
That fish meal served in the shadow of the BART tracks and out of the back of Brother John's van on 47th Avenue may be his last and a man named Bill could be the last man he ever helped.
"He passed Brother John's van, he stopped and he backed up, then all of a sudden three shots, I ducked, then two more shots," Bill said.
The shooter fired into the van with 29-year-old Brother John and his family sitting inside.
Police do not have a motive for a shooting they can only describe as senseless.
"They were just trying to do a good deed and feed people that were less fortunate than they were," Oakland Police Offc. John Scott said.
And while everyone on these streets knows Brother John's name, few seem to know more about him than that.
Except Bill, who has called these streets home for more than 20 years. Once Brother John looked for help from the one person he was there to serve.
"One time he was going to stop because he said, 'You know, Bill, I don't think people appreciate what I do for them,' I said, 'Brother John, as long as one person appreciates what you do for them, that's good,'" Bill asid.
Wednesday, there was nothing but appreciation for Brother John and the kindness he showed for those who don't often get it -- appreciation and anger.
"That man don't have an enemy; it was a senseless killing," Bill said.
Police are not releasing Brother John's identity for his safety. The witness, Bill, says the shooter was alone in an older model turquoise Astro van. There is a $25,000 reward for an arrest in the case.
--------------------
The East Coast–West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry was a feud in the early-mid 1990s between artists and fans of the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes. Seeming focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (and his label, Bad Boy Records), and West Coast-based rapper 2Pac (and his label, Death Row Records), both of whom were murdered.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Born in St. Mary's Hospital, despite later claiming to be raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Wallace grew up in neighboring Clinton Hill. Wallace was the only child of Voletta Wallace, a Jamaican preschool teacher, and George Latore, a welder and small-time Jamaican politician. His father left the family when Wallace was two years old, leaving his mother to work two jobs while raising him. At the Queen of All Saints Middle School, Wallace excelled in class, winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed "Big" because of his size before he turned 10. At the age of 12, he began selling drugs. His mother, often away at work, did not know that her son was selling drugs until Wallace was an adult.
2Pac
Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a wide variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. In his book, Dyson describes the experience of visiting the home of Shakur's friend and promoter Leila Steinberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by Shakur.
Shakur never professed following a particular religion, but his lyrics in singles such as 'Only God Can Judge Me' and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete suggests he believed in God. This means many analysts currently describe him as a deist. He believed in Karma, but rejected a literal afterlife and organized religion.
-----------------------------
The Rose that Grew from Concrete
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
Tupac Shakur
I hate to admit it that I am becoming desensitized, to knowing that everyday there is a shooting, while there is someone who is killed or hurt everyday."
I am in a different world.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A man who was shot while feeding the homeless with his family in East Oakland early Wednesday morning has succumbed to his injuries, a police spokeswoman said.
Police responded to the 1000 block of 47th Avenue at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday after someone flagged down a California Highway Patrol officer to report the shooting, Oakland police Sgt. Holly Joshi said.
Officers found the man and his wife suffering from gunshot wounds, and they were taken to a hospital. The woman's injuries were minor but the man died at the hospital, Joshi said today.
Police have not released his name, but published reports state that he was known in the neighborhood as "Brother John," and that he often fed the homeless. Joshi said the couple and their two young children had been handing out food to people in the area and had pulled over to the side of the road.
An unknown suspect then pulled up alongside them and began shooting, Joshi said.
"It is a case of mistaken gang-wars, drug abuse, anger, unfairness."
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The only way police can describe it is a "senseless act." A man is clinging to life after being shot in the head while feeding the homeless in East Oakland early Wednesday morning.
It's not looking good. Police call these life threatening injuries. The man is on life support at a hospital in Oakland and homicide investigators are on this case. In addition to the man's wife being shot, a police source tells ABC7 one of the man's young daughters was also struck by a bullet. She and her mom are both expected to survive.
He is known simply as Brother John and just about everyone in the area knows him. At least once a week, Brother John, his wife and their two young daughters pass out home-cooked meals to East Oakland's homeless.
"He stops right in the middle of the road and gives you some food," Tony said.
"He came out here and fed us last night -- fried fish and French fries," Roxanne said.
That fish meal served in the shadow of the BART tracks and out of the back of Brother John's van on 47th Avenue may be his last and a man named Bill could be the last man he ever helped.
"He passed Brother John's van, he stopped and he backed up, then all of a sudden three shots, I ducked, then two more shots," Bill said.
The shooter fired into the van with 29-year-old Brother John and his family sitting inside.
Police do not have a motive for a shooting they can only describe as senseless.
"They were just trying to do a good deed and feed people that were less fortunate than they were," Oakland Police Offc. John Scott said.
And while everyone on these streets knows Brother John's name, few seem to know more about him than that.
Except Bill, who has called these streets home for more than 20 years. Once Brother John looked for help from the one person he was there to serve.
"One time he was going to stop because he said, 'You know, Bill, I don't think people appreciate what I do for them,' I said, 'Brother John, as long as one person appreciates what you do for them, that's good,'" Bill asid.
Wednesday, there was nothing but appreciation for Brother John and the kindness he showed for those who don't often get it -- appreciation and anger.
"That man don't have an enemy; it was a senseless killing," Bill said.
Police are not releasing Brother John's identity for his safety. The witness, Bill, says the shooter was alone in an older model turquoise Astro van. There is a $25,000 reward for an arrest in the case.
--------------------
The East Coast–West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry was a feud in the early-mid 1990s between artists and fans of the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes. Seeming focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (and his label, Bad Boy Records), and West Coast-based rapper 2Pac (and his label, Death Row Records), both of whom were murdered.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Born in St. Mary's Hospital, despite later claiming to be raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Wallace grew up in neighboring Clinton Hill. Wallace was the only child of Voletta Wallace, a Jamaican preschool teacher, and George Latore, a welder and small-time Jamaican politician. His father left the family when Wallace was two years old, leaving his mother to work two jobs while raising him. At the Queen of All Saints Middle School, Wallace excelled in class, winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed "Big" because of his size before he turned 10. At the age of 12, he began selling drugs. His mother, often away at work, did not know that her son was selling drugs until Wallace was an adult.
2Pac
Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a wide variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. In his book, Dyson describes the experience of visiting the home of Shakur's friend and promoter Leila Steinberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by Shakur.
Shakur never professed following a particular religion, but his lyrics in singles such as 'Only God Can Judge Me' and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete suggests he believed in God. This means many analysts currently describe him as a deist. He believed in Karma, but rejected a literal afterlife and organized religion.
-----------------------------
The Rose that Grew from Concrete
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
Tupac Shakur
Monday, July 11, 2011
Populate
I attended my first C3 SF service last Sunday and I was blown away..
Listening to Kate, Hannah, & Phil representing Freedom House on Freedom Sunday made me realized how grim the situation is.
Some of them have been abducted and enslaved for as much as 23 years..
14,500 - 17,5000 trafficking victims in US every year.
10-30M slaves in the world.
In 1809, a slave costs USD$40,000.
In 2010, a slave costs USD$90.
54% of trafficking victims were introduced by strangers.
46% of trafficking victims were introduced by own relatives.
More than 70% of victims are females.
50% are children.
"Some survivors need life skills training. For instance, survivors may need to learn how to use the public transportation system, access education, employment and social services or obtain appropriate government identification cards. Freedom House will provide a myriad of life skills training with the help of coaches. Instruction will include assistance with driving, shopping, use of public transportation, social outings and more."
- A Way Home -
"Survivors need to determine where to go after rescue. Regardless of their citizenship, they may not be able to return home. Domestic survivors may not be able to return home. Foreign survivors may choose to remain in this country or return to their home country. While they weigh difficult decisions, Freedom House will provide a sanctuary that will give them the space to understand their options and make the right decision."
I have been so accustomed to helping Depression. But for the first time, I am presented with a greater challenge: To help Oppression. How many of us can even say, we are able to help the oppressed?
Joseph was sold by his brothers.
The miracle was in him forgiving his brothers.
But the power of God is that he redeemed an entire oikos.
Freedom is a redeeming power. We cannot redeem the past, we can only redeem a future.
http://www.freedom-house.us.com/index.php
---------------------
Guess who led the rescue usually? Thy Neighbour! The whistle-blower!
"A place you can go after you are being rescued, it is not a physical home. You now realize that you are redeemed by God and through God." - Kate
"What is the difference between Church and non-profit organizations? It was inhumanely possible." - Kate
"God is always pursuing people" - PM
"Poverty is caused by injustice and selfishness!" - PM
"God has prepared a course.. for Freedom!" - PM
"With Character and Spirit, we populate the city to be infused with His Revelation." - PM
Listening to Kate, Hannah, & Phil representing Freedom House on Freedom Sunday made me realized how grim the situation is.
Some of them have been abducted and enslaved for as much as 23 years..
14,500 - 17,5000 trafficking victims in US every year.
10-30M slaves in the world.
In 1809, a slave costs USD$40,000.
In 2010, a slave costs USD$90.
54% of trafficking victims were introduced by strangers.
46% of trafficking victims were introduced by own relatives.
More than 70% of victims are females.
50% are children.
"Some survivors need life skills training. For instance, survivors may need to learn how to use the public transportation system, access education, employment and social services or obtain appropriate government identification cards. Freedom House will provide a myriad of life skills training with the help of coaches. Instruction will include assistance with driving, shopping, use of public transportation, social outings and more."
- A Way Home -
"Survivors need to determine where to go after rescue. Regardless of their citizenship, they may not be able to return home. Domestic survivors may not be able to return home. Foreign survivors may choose to remain in this country or return to their home country. While they weigh difficult decisions, Freedom House will provide a sanctuary that will give them the space to understand their options and make the right decision."
I have been so accustomed to helping Depression. But for the first time, I am presented with a greater challenge: To help Oppression. How many of us can even say, we are able to help the oppressed?
Joseph was sold by his brothers.
The miracle was in him forgiving his brothers.
But the power of God is that he redeemed an entire oikos.
Freedom is a redeeming power. We cannot redeem the past, we can only redeem a future.
http://www.freedom-house.us.com/index.php
---------------------
Guess who led the rescue usually? Thy Neighbour! The whistle-blower!
"A place you can go after you are being rescued, it is not a physical home. You now realize that you are redeemed by God and through God." - Kate
"What is the difference between Church and non-profit organizations? It was inhumanely possible." - Kate
"God is always pursuing people" - PM
"Poverty is caused by injustice and selfishness!" - PM
"God has prepared a course.. for Freedom!" - PM
"With Character and Spirit, we populate the city to be infused with His Revelation." - PM
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