Sufjan Stevens

I was reading a piece on Sufjan Stevens and I discovered the story behind "The Lord God Bird". Apparently Sufjan's fascination with nature caught the interest of two radio producers who were doing a story on a bird known as the ivory-billed woodpecker. (The bird was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in small town in Arizona.) These two producers commissioned Sufjan to write a song called "Lord God Bird" after the woodpecker, which is often called the "lord god" or "great god" bird because of its beauty. Now go listen to the song.

In the same article -Relevant Sept.-Oct./05- Sufjan says some great things about faith. "I don't think it's fair to describe faith as having a role [in my life]...It kind of limits the character of faith and the relevance of faith. It's all encompassing; it's submitting yourself to a divine being. You can't see the function of that belief. It's kind of logically very awkward. So when you're doing that, it kind of disrupts everything about your life."
Perhaps when I ask musicians how their faith influences their music, I'm asking the question the wrong way. Faith is not this beautiful thing deep down inside that you tap into once in awhile. It's life. It blooms whether we're conscious of it or not.

November 15th. My body remembers the day. As the anniversary approaches my body becomes restless, tense. Ten years to this day little blood clots travelled through my veins until they lodged themselves in the landscape of brain and spine. A quiet violence.
There is an anticipation, a floating apprehension that surrounds the day. A more conscious sensation is present, too. Gratitude. I am aware of being a dependent being. I am here because of the care of my family, my friends, my Maker.
Tonight I celebrate a ten-year-old tradition: take-out chinese enjoyed in good company. The night before I had open heart surgery my family and I sat around a table eating chinese food. A 20th century passover meal.