Due to be released Nov. 19, 2009, and sold exclusively by Nineveh's Crossing, David Lewis Crawford's first publicity for his freshman CD "Double Dog Dare" appeared headlining his local newspaper's website.

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Nov 11, 2009 - Dalton, GA

Parenthood inspires songwriter

By Rachel Brown
Dalton Daily Citizen

It was a normally chaotic evening in David Crawford’s Rocky Face home about four years ago when his daughters, then 3 and 7, inspired him.

“They were in the bathtub, and it was one of those stressful times of getting ready for bed — splashing too much water out, one of them got soap in their eye, one of them wanted the little ducky, and the other one didn’t want them to have the ducky,” he said. “So it was a typical stressful bedtime/bath time scenario, and as I was keeping an eye on them from the living room this song sort of popped into my head.”

 <Read More at the Daily Citizen Website>

Vatican Seeks Signs of Alien Life

Vatican Seeks Signs of Alien Life - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

During the spring of my junior year at college (1968) at a rigorous Christian liberal arts college where I majored in Physics, yet had a strong interest and Philosophy, I was selected to participate in a interdisciplinary seminary. One student from each of the college's 17 majors was selected to participate. Each of us had to present a paper on a major philosophical challenge that we might face in our chosen line of work. I was headed into the space program (trained astronauts for a few years) and my paper posited the discover of intelligent life outside of Earth, and what we as Christians should do about it, or with it, or what implications it would have for the Faith.  (During the semester the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. That year I saw the movie 9 times, and finally got the class to go. Our instructor explained it all... wonderful philosophical premises.)

Unfortunately, no one else in the class shared my curiosity about alien life, and after my report everyone challenged my premise: that there probably was intelligent life out there. We never did discuss what the Vatican is now wanting to explore.  I wish I had been invited to the Vatican ... well, just listen in. It is still a fascinating topic to me....not scientifically, but what the implications for Christianity it might hold.

Arthur C. Clarke, the co-writer of 2001, and a scientist in his own right (he's the guy that came up with the idea of revolving satellites, geosynchronous satellites, and the space elevator that's recently in the news) was an agnostic. But he wrote a couple short stories that explored the concept of what it might take to convince him there was a God. One story had deep space explores coming upon the Crab Nebulae, at the center of which they discover the remains of a civilization on a planet. 2,000 years earlier the planet and all the inhabitants were burned to a crisp from a nearby Supernova. The explorer's discover that during the life time on this planet, the inhabitants never experienced any conflict, war, or what Christians call sin. They were a morally perfect society. And the Supernova? It was the star of Bethlehem.

But I am fascinated more by the possibility that Earth is the ONLY place in the universe where life exists. Imagine the philosophical impliations of that. Wow!

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Generals and Bureaucrates

For those of you following the drama of the MAKING of our movie TIGER'S HOPE, here's the latest. Truly, the making of it is more significant than the movie. But you have to read to the end. What follows is an email I sent out to the staff and crew earlier today. (sw)

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Dear Tiger's Hope Cast, Crew, Staff, and Volunteers:

Summary:
1. September Production is Canceled.
2. God’s Designs at Work
2. Feature Film Development Planned
3. This is Just the Beginning
4. Appreciation and Vision Dinner Coming
5. Surprise Ending

SEPTEMBER PRODUCTION IS CANCELED

Some of you know we've been dealing the last couple of weeks with an apparent crisis: The seed funding from the Diocese of Lansing for our production was suddenly rescinded after four months of enthusiastic support by the bishop and the Department of Life Justice Director, who wrote the initial grant and was the inspiration behind our attempt to save marriages and thousands of lives. But when the formal agreements were presented the bureaucrats appeared, the bishop was silenced, and the money yanked from the life justice director. I was informed two days ago by the head of Catholic Charities for the diocese, that "the diocese will not be joining" SWC Films in the production effort of Tiger's Hope, and neither will they make available the $55,000 grant awarded by Our Sunday Visitor Institute. Bummer… or so we thought.

GOD’S DESIGNS AT WORK

Events like this can be maddening to those of us who want to believe in the Church and its teachings. But the reality of bureaucratic problems within institutions is part of human nature. They existed at the time of Christ within the Synagogue, they exist today in all organizations, and for storytellers such problems always provide fodder for drama. As Philip Carrel, our production designer remarked, it’s ironic how “the bureaucracies set up to help people, often times obstruct the help from getting out.” In this case, interoffice politics seems to have prevented the creation of a project that could save thousands of lives and marriages. But there are plenty of reminders to the contrary. I go to confession at St. Bonaventure in Detroit. There, on Venerable Solanus Casey’s tomb are carved these words: “Blessed be God in all his designs. I sense that is what’s at work here.

MOTIVATIONS

My partner, Alex Davis, and I talked of the possibillity of losing the DOL’s financial support over a month ago and roughly figured that the two of us could fund the project alone, especially since we could count on the Michigan Film Incentives. But when the $55,000 actually went away we spent some time with cash flow estimates, and decided that taking on the financial risk endangered not only our families’ stability but the project’s quality. Now, as investors, with serious money involved (for us) we looked at our roles differently. First, rather than thinking as filmmakers and how we can make the movie better, we started to cut costs. And second, we kept putting on our marketing hats and trying to figure out how we could sell more DVDs to recover our investment. That kind of thinking was bound to hurt the project’s quality and clarity of message. Bad.

FEATURE FILM DEVELOPMENT PLANNED

Then it occurred to us that when I wrote the treatment and script for TIGER'S HOPE, which sold the bishop and others on doing the drama instead of the documentary, I was careful to pull my dramatic punches and attempted to please the bishop and Christian cable channels like EWTN and TBN. That is why, if you've read the script, Stacey TELLS us about in vitro and all the dangers, but we never SEE or experience in vitro. Movies are about SHOWING and not TELLING. Stacey’s lines were more appropriate to a play where about all a director has to work with are words. A second thing that always bugged me was Tiger was the only character that had a developed arc. We never investigated Jake, her husband, and in procreative practices the husband is suppose to be an equal partner in all this. Hello! Finally, and third, is something I write and lecture about but in Tiger's Hope was nearly absence—an antagonist that seemed larger and more powerful than the protagonist. Great stories have great antagonists that drive the protagonist to change in ways they would never have done otherwise. That failing I dismissed because I didn't want to reveal the underbelly of the church and it's internal dissidents, nor did I have the time in the shorter production planned to develop such a character.

Then the bishop went away, literally (sounds like a plot point). We lamented his disappearance at first, but then our eyes began to open. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO APPEASE THE BISHOP, or the diocesan bureaucrats, or the censors at Christian networks. We could tell a REAL story, and include what we needed to communicate the full drama of the subject. THAT WAS LIBERATING!

Coupled with that was some dramatic elements to the longer story that we were introduced to by the real life experiences of a Catholic couple who recently went through in vitro with their priest’s blessing. When I first heard their tale I literally came out of my seat in shock, and wanted to totally rewrite Tigers Hope, but realized I'd need a feature length project to tell the story properly.

In another script I analyzed for someone in Hollywood the Chinese concept of Wei Ji was explained. Together the figures Wei and Ji mean "Crisis". The Wei equates with "danger" but the "Ji" equates with opportunity. That's similar to the Christian teaching that every bad thing that enters our life has with it a bigger grace. Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for good to those that are called according to His purpose."

Or, in the words of our project Chaplin Fr. Mike: FEATURE LENGTH Movie. YEAH ! AMEN! ALLELUIA! Thanks be to God going Mainstream YES!

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Now a lot of very good work has been done on this project to date, and we do not intend to lose it. The work we've all done has not been wasted, but will all contribute to the next phrase… although for now we will take a pause to regroup and refocus.... even as the story development process has already begun. So, please save your work, and please send me a back-up copy. We will continue, I hope, with the music production as that is almost done, and it’s on-going life can be an inspiration for where we go next.

STUDY GUIDES

One member of the team mentioned the advantages of also having a study guide that would accompany the movie, so groups could further study the Bible and Church moral teaching related to marriage. That was always the intent, and it still is. Such guides give the entire film effort on-going meaning and purpose, as well as act as a cross marketing tool. We have study guides for a number of our other best selling DVDs; they are downloaded for free off our websites in the thousands.

APPRECIATION AND VISION DINNER COMING

Now, we haven't set a date, but we want to invite you and your significant other to a banquet at Mama Mia's in Walled Lake where we will treat you to their great food, and let the producer's of Tiger's Hope share with you our appreciation for all of your work, and our excitement and vision for where we're going next on this journey And maybe we can persuade Angela Maiz (Tiger), Al Jacquez (Jake), and songwriters Janet Pound, and James Stonehouse to share with us the great songs they've created, which I still hope to record in the next couple weeks.

No date for the dinner is set yet, but stay tuned.

Alex Davis sends this along from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (chapter 6 verses 11-20 Contemporary English Version): Let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. Put on all armor that God gives, so you defend yourself against the devil's tricks. We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the arms that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will be standing firm.

Stan
Stanley D. Williams, PhD.
Executive Producer - Director
Office 248-344-4423

P.S. This just in, moments after this was posted: The Director of Life Justice has been fired.

With So Many Klutzes..., Why Be Catholic?

What follows is a letter a friend of mine wrote to a guy named Bob. I contributed to it, but it is clearly, Michael King's.

Dear Bob,

This is a personal letter to you and to explain how much I really do understand your situation. Roman Catholics are some of the worst Christians imaginable. They do not read their Bibles. They do not evangelize. Some do not care much for their fellow man and so it goes on and on and on. I do not think it is all their fault as they are badly instructed as to what is really important and true. I am somewhat ashamed of them!! Now you may ask and rightly so why on earth be a Catholic amongst such a shameful bunch? Catholics divorce, abort, and use condoms and birth control just like the heathen and their Protestant counterparts. The Mass service, as celebrated by some priests, is desperately boring and misunderstood. The homilies are often irrelevant and the people you meet in Church are mostly uninterested in you and quite unfriendly. I am talking generally. There are exceptions and thank God for them. But they are only exceptions.

I am a devout and died in the wool Catholic for one reason only. Get this! Just One reason only. Why???????? Because it is TRUE!!!!!! That is the only reason. It is still the Church that Jesus is guiding down through the centuries; it must be because in spite of all the personal sins and mistakes of some of it's leaders, it's still here? How could that be except by the miraculous protection of God Himself?! And, amazingly, its official teachings about the faith have NEVER changed, nor have they bowed to secularism, or popularism, or moral relativism, or deconstructionism as has every other Christian Church in those doctrines that are distinct from Catholicism. Even the Greeks and Orthodox are inconsistent and have given in on issues like birth control. Everything the Catholic Church teaches can be traced back to the Apostles without contamination.

Many of my best friends are Protestants and Not Catholics. Yes, I do have a few very very good Catholic ones that can be counted on the fingers of one hand. I do know a handful of priests that I can admire and I am thankful for them. This picture that I have painted reminds me of the well known account in the Old Testament of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal. Do you remember how much water Elijah insisted be poured over the sacrifice to make sure it would not burn? Then Whoooooosh!!!! The fire came down and consumed the water, the sacrifice, and even the altar on which it was put. That is the Catholic Church for you, and all that water on the sacrifice is its shameful side. Jesus knew well the heart of man so He devised a Church which would not rely on man -- any man -- for survival. We are all gone astray, there is none good no not one. Jesus knew that so He devised a fool proof Church that would last whether there were good people, bad people, or a whole bunch of indifferent people.

Please, I am going to send this not only to you but to many as it has to be said. Bob, I love and I would love you even if you were a Muslim or a Jehovah Witness or a Mormon or an Atheist.

Michael Jaffray King

BELIEVE IN A DREAM

It's time to tell this story, which some have heard. But, as of Friday the song writing team of composer James Stonehouse and lyricist Janet Pound came aboard the project to write the four songs for Tiger and Jake in our movie TIGER'S HOPE.

This is one of those stories that helped to confirm that while my name may be followed as "producer" there is more going on here than I can explain. A month or so ago I broke down and at the suggestion of other producer friends, I called a Casting Director, Janet Pound, of Pound-Mooney Casting. Janet and her partner, Kathy Mooney have cast a number of the major movies that have come through Michigan, and they just picked up 3 more, including the huge project RED DAWN. Here's an interview with them about auditions that some may find interesting. It appeared on BACKSTAGE. (Janet is on the left, Kathy right.)

I was looking for a female lead, someone who could take control of a difficult role, could sing, and preferably had dark hair. Janet asked if I would consider a soprano, and I demurred, thinking I needed a mezzo or alto, someone with some soulish guts to her voice. Janet asked again and wanted to send along an mp3 of something sung by an ex-Off Broadway actress-dancer-singer Angela Maiz who had "retired" to Michigan to have kids (Angela had just birthed number four.) The song had been written and recorded two years earlier as part of CAR STARS, a tribute to the automobile industry here in Michigan. "Sure, send it along," I said, not expecting much.

The first track of the mp3 Janet sent had been compressed several times, and with my loss of some high frequencies in my hearing, I couldn't understand a word. But as I listened to the music and voice I started to tear up. What's going on here, I wondered? What was clear was that the melody and style was close if not dead on to the mood of the very important opening song to the movie. (In those first montage scenes we're introduced to the life of an entertainer who is struggling with something sad in her life. Halfway through the song we join her on stage at her dinner club where she sings for an appreciative audience. But at song's end she breaks down in tears and heads for her dressing room. There, on her husband-manager's chest she laments her infertility.) I asked for the lyrics. They came. Click on the song title below to listen as you follow the words. The song will open in a second window or tab, allowing you to come back to this one to read the words as Angela (TIGER) sings. That's her above from her audition videotape.

BELIEVE IN A DREAM

WHEN ARE YOU TOO OLD TO BELIEVE IN A DREAM
AND WHEN DO YOU LET GO OF THE BALLOON IN THE AIR
WHEN ALL OF THE STEPS ON THE LADDER RUNG
WON’T TAKE YOU ANYWHERE

WHEN THE GLEAM IN YOUR EYES
CAN NO LONGER BE SEEN
AND WHEN THE MOON HOLDS NO MYSTERY
AND THE LAUGH OF A CHILD
DOESN’T MAKE YOUR HEART SING

REFRAIN: DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU LET YOUR DREAM GO
THE DAY, THE TIME, THE HOUR
OR DOES IT SLOWLY FADE AWAY LIKE THE PETALS
ON A FLOWER.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN?

WHEN DID YOU STOP WISHING ON STARS
AND CATCH FIRE FLIES AND PUT THEM IN JARS
WHEN THE COIN IN THE FOUNTAIN, AND DANDELION WISHES
ALL LOST THEIR ALLURE

WHEN THERE ARE NO MORE SONGS TO SING
OR THE HOPE OF A WINTER TURNING TO SPRING
AND THE DREAM THAT YOU HAD IS SLIPPING AWAY
HOLD ON

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU LET YOUR DREAM GO
THE DAY, THE TIME, THE HOUR
OR DOES IT SLOWLY FADE AWAY LIKE THE PETALS ON A FLOWER.

REFRAIN:

WHENEVER YOU CLAP AND CAUSE THE APPLAUSE
THE DREAM NEVER DIES, IT JUST PASSES ON
YOU’RE NEVER TO OLD TO BELIEVE IN A DREAM,
IF YOU CAN, OH, IF YOU CAN
DREAM IT FOR ANOTHER.

Now, with the words, I was mesmerized. But I had a small problem. I had just convinced Fr. Eduard Perrone, the musical genius and composer who is also the pastor at Assumption Grotto Catholic Church in Detroit, to write the songs for Tiger's Hope. Fr. Perrone's agreement to be involved inspired me, and excited others that knew him. But he was waiting for me to sketch out some rough words to the four songs, to give him a sense of where the songs should go. I had not had time to do that.

Now, I was faced with telling Fr. Perrone about this song (from another songwriter/composer team) -- that had me in tears as I envisioned the first seven scenes of the movie with this music playing in the background. The mood and sentiment was perfect. Reticent, I sent the lyrics and mp3 to Fr. Perrone, and told him the story of how it came to me. I asked him what he thought of it. He wrote back:

I listened carefully to the song. It seemed to have that blend of misty melancholy and hopeful yearning: the combined effect of the lyrics and the subtly nostalgic music. I do not think I could better this in any way and you ought to allow your instincts about the rightness of this piece for TH to direct its inclusion in it. --- If it's my blessing on this that you seek, you have it in good measure--not only for the use of this song but for the entire project which has the potential of enriching many lives and of averting a tragic end to some difficult but solvable marital difficulties.

Thus, songwriters Janet Pound, lyricist (my Casting Director) and her friend, James Stonehouse, composer, entered the picture. It took a couple meetings and several emails later, and James sending yet another tune he had written for another of the movie's montages, to convince me that these two were cut out perfectly for Tiger's Hope. We agreed last week on the money, and they're eager to get the work done, so we can record the songs at maestro Terry Herald's studio next month.

God, What Would You Do Without Me?

I'm a tad frustrated with bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. "Tad" may be an understatement. But the Church is a reflection of God Almighty. So, my frustration is with God, actually.

While explaining my latest frustration, to my loveliness (Pam, my wife) I let out with a joking exclamation, throwing my hands into the air: "God!? What would you do without me?"

We laughed.

Then, I thought that my whining would be a great title of a book or a blog. Imagine all the funny, self-deprecating things you would write about... even in the words of historical figures. We could start with creation, and why did it take billions of years to create the universe? Bureaucracy no doubt. It's tough getting billions upon billions of electrons lined up to make a clump of coal, let alone a fusion-fired star. Probably harder than herding cats.

Then Pam said, "How about 'ARROGANCE IN UNIFORM'. That's good. Finally she said to me, as I stood in the hall starring at the floor thinking, just outside the bathroom where she was curling her hair -- "Don't calm down, get going!"

So, I came in here to write this.

What a Way to Go!

Germaine, in her role as Mother Teresa in a skit at Fr. Perrone's 30th Anniversary celebration from Diane M. Korzeniewski's Grotto website. (Not used with permission, but I think Diane won't mind.)

If you're going to die in a car accident, Germaine shows us how. She was the elderly, diligent, hardworking, and street smart housekeeper for Fr. Perrone at the Assumption Grotto rectory. At the end of her day of ministry to a house full of priests and staff, she was crossing Gratiot to catch a bus. She was struck by a speeding car that one witness pegged at 90 mph. She unconscious instantly. Probably felt no pain. Witnesses say she was knocked out of her tennis shoes. As PROVIDENCE would have it, at that very instant, Fr. Perrone, Fr. Bustamonte, and Fr. White were entering a car (to go to the wake for the mother of Grotto blogger Diane M. Korzeniewski) in the rectory parking lot a few dozen feet away. Someone came to them yelling that there at been an accident and they were needed. They ran to the street and found the lady that they loved so much, near death, unconscious, her heart still beating. While Fr. Bustamonte held the oil, Fr. Perrone, in shock, administered Germaine her last rites, and some other prayers of forgiveness that one parishioner said guaranteed her entrance to the pearly gates. Now, I know these three holy priests, and I gotta tell you: I cannot imagine a better way to go, if you're going to go in an accident. Imagine, your life is full -- being the housekeeper of the Church of the living God -- you're struck by something, you don't know what, no pain, no suffering, and instantly 3 priests are kneeling over you in the street ensuring your eternal reward. What a way to go! You can pray for Germaine, but I KNOW Germaine is praying for us and the continual, effectual, ministry of those priests, who are still in shock.

Here is post from Diane about Germaine.