Prayer for rejection, Wine/supper club? Wim Wenders viewing

As you know, I try to cover most of the senses with these posts, and also to share a mix of your, my and others' recent articles or projects. Each constitutes a kind of success, however, behind which trail failures and rejections. Sometimes such disappointments leave behind the kernel of a new idea; other times they chisel at our pride, impatience, half-formed ideas or even restlessness.

Lately, many of my ideas seem to keep meeting that knife of refinement, so in a recent update to friends who pray for my writing, I closed with this prayer for rejection. It resonated with several of them, so I thought I'd include it here, too.

Father,
Where we are self-protective, give us courage to risk again;
Where we want to turn inward in self-pity, give us generosity for others;
Where we tend to be immature, help us to respond with maturity;
Where we're tempted by cynicism, help us to hope in Your goodness anew;
Where we doubt Your calling and goodness, help us to trust You more deeply:
When we think You have wasted us; remind us of Your far-reaching redemption;
And when we begrudge Your seeming waste, give us the courage to joyfully yield ourselves to you even more;
Where we feel empty, fill us as only You can
That we may once again feast on Your beauty and goodness and choose to rejoice and trust once more.
Amen

Wishing you a restful Lenten season!

:: events ::

• If you're interested in seeing Wim Wender's film Wings of Desire, from which I quoted a beautiful poem last time, the library finally processed my hold request! I have until March 21 to pick it up, and then at least a week from the date of check out to view it. Anyone want to watch it with me? I have only a laptop screen at home, but if a few folks are interested, maybe someone with a TV can host. (Yes, this film inspired that late-90s flick City of Angels, but I hear there's little comparison.) Possible viewing nights:
• Friday, March 14
• Saturday, March 15
• Sunday, March 16
• Friday, March 21
• Saturday, March 22
• Sunday, March 23
• Project Peace, April 5: Spend the morning helping at one of several sites around the East Bay. Richmond folks, we have a chance to help close to home this time, with Greens at Work at Point Isabel (near the Richmond Costco). RSVP on Eventbrite to help them plan snacks, etc. Other sites include Claremont Middle School, where Blair did the mural a few years ago, and the West Oakland 16th Street Station. Site information on the Eventbrite page.
  

:: our stuff ::

• Laura reports on some good news from Richmond schools, in this profile for Christianity Today.
• I assess two recent books on biology, online dating and relationships in Whither Monogamy? for Books and Culture.

:: reading/food for thought ::

• What do you do when your career is failing? My friend Susan makes some wise points about "success" and fulfillment in her latest post for the Storyline blog (Donald Miller's project). Though she writes about careers, this piece certainly applies to other aspects of life. "The point was for Sara to separate the specific actions that brought her joy from the field or circumstances in which she was accustomed to working."
  
• When a tabloid published a Philip Seymour Hoffman story based on an imposter's interview, the real David Katz (the friend who found the actor's body) won a settlement and funded a new annual prize for playwriting.

:: tunes ::

• First Listens this week include "noise-punk" band Perfect Pussy, French-Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux and a new recording of Sibelius violin concertos.
  
• One thing I've really come to love about the local jazz radio station (KCSM, 91.1) is how attuned the DJs are to recent musician/artist deaths, birthdays and so on. So a couple a weeks ago, I was making my morning coffee and green smoothie before work when I learned that a legendary flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucia, had died. Later that day, I saw a tribute from violinist Mark O'Connor that feature this video of de Lucia playing "Tico Tico," It's quite a performance.
• Paul Simon and Sting are touring together, the New York Times reports, but unfortunately you'll have to travel east to hear one of their joint shows.
• If you're thinking of hearing a concert in the near future, don't forget that the artRecs blog includes a fairly detailed venue list, with tips on bypassing ticket fees, parking and concessions. I'm also posting concerts of interest in the blog right column, such as upcoming shows from Paula Cole, Sharon Jones, John Legend and more.
  

:: visual art & film ::

• If you find yourself in L.A. this spring, consider including the Getty museum in your itinerary. Through June 1, the museum's displaying a recently refurbished Jackson Pollock painting called "Mural."
  
• A.O. Scott wrote such a great lead for this review of Wes Anderson's new film Grand Budapest Hotel that it needs no further explanation: "It’s a tough choice, but if I had to pick the most Wes Anderson moment ... it would be the part when inmates escape from a prison using tiny sledgehammers and pickaxes that have been smuggled past the guards inside fancy frosted pastries." In fact, it sounds like so much fun, I might have to actually go see it. Anyone want to come with? It opens in the Bay area this weekend.

:: poetry ::

• Perhaps you've seen the "found poems" from Google suggested searches, but apparently that's not the only kind of unexpected online poetry: software coders write poetry, too. I can't say any of the examples in this story on a recent code poetry slam inspired me, but I'm glad to hear that programmers care how they say things.

:: food ::

• Looking to bone up on wine? Te New York Times has launched a new monthly feature called Wine School that starts with bordeaux. Here's my fantasy: once a month, a few of us gather for a dinner party that's structured around the wine of the month to try it alongside a suggested meal. I'd be happy to host and do at least some of the cooking, if the group figured out a way to split the cost of one or two of the bottles the column considers. Anyone interested?
  
• A recent search for ways to use my CSA beets led me to these interesting recipes for juices made with butternut squash and turmeric and kale, apples, parsley and ginger. I hope to try them in my blender. Since neither juice used beets, though, I kept searching ... and found these three beet cocktail recipes on Alton Brown's Serious Eats site (which also turned me onto that ginger liqueur recipe that several of you have tasted). New food adventures ahead!