NEW FLF Course for Screen writers by Jason Farley

Christian Screenplays shouldn’t suck Starts January 11 Meets Tues & Thurs, 5pm Pacific time Register Today! Christian Screenplays shouldn’t suck. Unfortunately, they have gained just such a reputation. The world has been in a story telling contest since the Dragon’s first “Hath God said…” our survival as a people depends on our storytellers being able […]

The Grinch and His Heart Problem

By Jesse Sumpter Hollywood does not understand the Grinch’s heart problem. The famous song has it correct: Mr. Grinch’s heart is an empty hole. But the last two movies about the Grinch have redefined his problem, placing the problem somewhere else. In this way, both movies fundamentally gut the story of its magic.  In the […]

Ok Dude: Zuby’s Truth-Telling New Single

Rap succeeds best as a transgressive genre—hard men saying hard truths against the spirit of the age. Zuby’s new single Ok Dude hits the mark in just this way.  But first, the backstory: In February, Twitter suspended Zuby’s account (@ZubyMusic) after he replied “Ok dude” to a male transgender activist who identifies as a woman. […]

Raspberry Pie – A Poem

Bent over raspberry pie,  my tongue the taproot of my soul.  Gems jammed and canned, sounding themselves in the crushing.  Rushing to the world, sweetening  the pie. Glorifying snowmelt  and sunshine. Tiny sun-run harvesters,  wide loads running row on row  of wind. Sweetening the Spirit-breath  so it can samba down my tastebuds.  Stomp the Paso […]

Cherry Bud Haiku

For those looking for the text of the Haiku by Seifu-Jo that I quoted on this week’s podcast, here you go. This baby…even when we show him cherry buds… opens eager lips   You can find it in the 3rd volume of the Peter Pauper Press collection of Japanese Haiku entitled, Cherry-Blossom.

The Westminster Confession of Funk: The Fulness of Times: A Poem

This poem, ‘The Fulness of Times,’ comes from my 2nd collection Twenty Wild Decembers: Poems on Time. If you are looking for more from the Westminster Confession of Funk, check out my blog hosted by Cross Politic. Check out my books at amazon.com/author/jason_farley. And visit Jovial Press for more. And if you go onto facebook and […]

The Westminster Confession of Funk: Sonnet 130, Love, and Bad Breath

If you are looking for more from the Westminster Confession of Funk, check out my blog hosted by Cross Politic. Check out my books at amazon.com/author/jason_farley. And visit Jovial Press for more. And if you go onto facebook and join the CrossPolitic Family Party Facebook Page and write on the wall that you would like to be entered into […]

The Scars of God’s Hands

My soul clung to the dust, now dust clings to my soul. Your life-breath, once blown up the nose of my father, once exhaled in fruit-statutes, once blown across the dry bones until they could get up and dance; breathe life on me. Speak again the six stanzas that climb up to rest. Speak them […]

Old Man at the Blueberry Bushes

Blueberry bushes brush bungling hands. Hands heavy with age —quivering unhelpfully— gather taste gushing gems of tang. No rot. No root-break. The ripped branches are simply savaged off by shaking old hands. Hands tired of being bound- back for decades. Held mute by manners monastic and proper. Held still by habit and a fury hell […]

Black Panther and the Savior of the Nations

By Jesse Sumpter Black Panther engages with some important philosophical questions—some of the best since The Dark Knight trilogy. But the movie fails to give anything close to an interesting answer. The ending scene in Oakland fails to offer anything substantial because it fails to grapple with the true nature of humanity: why are people […]

Song of Your Own

SONG OF YOUR OWN People take on the shape of the songs and stories that surround them, especially if they don’t have a song of their own. Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys Like the slender-ankled daughters of ocean  shaped by the banks that decide their path,  we are shaped by our songs and our stories like potions.  Each […]

Interview with Remy Wilkins, Author of Strays

Thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk.  And thank you for such a delightfully named blog. It’s always been one of my favorite names. Your novel Strays, what’s it about? What inspired the story? It’s about a boy named Rodney who has to spend the summer at his weird uncle’s and gets […]

Investigating Us – An Interview with Musician Joel Ansett

Joel, thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk, hosted by CrossPolitic. So you have a new Kickstarter out. Your last one was a big success. What have you learned about yourself as a musician since your last kickstarter, “The Nature of Us”? Great question. Goodness what have I learned. As a musician, […]

The Whirlwind Bides His Time

Having recently had The Rev. Joseph Carlson as a Guest on the recent episode of CrossPolitic, I thought it might be nice to get one of his sonnets before you. This is for the 24th Sunday of the Trinity Season in his book of Sonnets for the Church Year. Waiting Four hundred years – the […]

Easter Invitation – Bring Your Shipwreck

“The Church is like a great ship sailing the sea of the world and tossed by the waves of temptation in this life.” St. Boniface, letter 78 From the very beginning of our lives, we are dependent upon received grace. Grace that we have never given. Grace that we cannot immediately return. We are born […]

Dread Clouds – An Interview with Author Hannah Grieser

  Hannah, thank you for joining us at the Westminster Confession of Funk hosted by CrossPolitic. The Clouds Ye So Much Dread was such a delight to read. But it is obvious that a lot of tears and pain was required to fill this particular pen with ink. Do you find it odd to have […]

Wing Lift

Wing Lift Psalm 91:3-4 Death-wrenched, life-drenched, each pinched soul fledged to soar on raptorial sails. A fowler-freed fire-bred goldfinch, carols unhitched, stretching and reaching, on wind-held wings. Held in glide and lift, windhover pinion, piloted upwards, against the pull, against the pitch, rich wind hovers over the face of the waters fixing and fastening the […]

Chef: A Review

Every once in a while you hit a movie that is just plain beautiful. I mean, real life beautiful. The story is wonderful, the characters and acting are wonderful, and it moves you to want to do what you were made to do. Chef (written, produced, directed by, and starring Jon Favreau) is the story […]

Review: Andrew Peterson’s Resurrection Letters: Prologue

The best music is imaginative in the Chestertonian sense. It does not attempt to create a new world. Rather, it seeks to uncover and reveal the truth, goodness, and beauty God has already placed in this world, but remains hidden because we do not have eyes to see. Andrew Peterson translates this type of imagination […]

Dance with Us – Dance and the Christian Life

Team Farley has a number of Family Rules that are beyond discussion. Rule #1: When Billy Idol comes on the radio no one may leave the car until the song is over. You must respect the Idol. It is our most sacred Family Rule. Rule #2: “Hello,” by Adele, requires that all windows be opened […]