Movie Review: "Epic" a Big War of Good Versus Evil

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Stephen Holden

HOLLYWOOD---As you watch its characters zoom through a lush forest on the backs of hummingbirds, the gorgeous 3-D adventure comedy “Epic” suggests a warmer, fuzzier “Avatar,” with a green heart. Directed by Chris Wedge, the movie is a hymn to nature rendered in phantasmagoric detail as refined as anything I’ve seen in a computer-animated family film. [link]

Doodle 4 Google: Teenager's Drawing Of Father's Homecoming Wins Big In Google Doodle Contest

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Alexis Kleinman

High school senior Sabrina Brady's entry into Google's annual Doodle 4 Google contest really stood out. The contest asks students in grades kindergarten through 12 to submit drawings based on a theme. The theme for 2013 was "My Best Day Ever," and Brady's depiction of her greeting her father after his 18-month deployment in Iraq when she was 10 years old won. Brady's Doodle, perhaps the most heartwarming incarnation of a multinational's corporate logo ever, will appear on the Google homepage all day Thursday, and she will be awarded a $30,000 college scholarship. Google is also giving her school a $50,000 technology grant. Four national finalists will receive college scholarships worth $5,000. [link]

A Moses-Jesus Hybrid: Alien, Yet Familiar ‘Man of Steel’

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Dave Itzkoff

Henry Cavill stars as Superman in the new Warner Brothers movie, which will be released on June 14

HOLLYWOOD---It is strange that Superman, the smiling, soaring Moses-Jesus hybrid who ushered in the era of superhero comics, should be struggling at the multiplexes in an age when every other studio movie seems to feature a man in a cape, a mask with pointy bat-ears or a high-tech suit of iron. The qualities that have made Superman timeless have not necessarily made him relevant to this particular time, with its roster of ironic and loudly violent protagonists, but it was this paradox that made Mr. Snyder eager to take him on in “Man of Steel.” [link]

Salvaged Saints: Michael Landy's Martyrs Invade UK's National Gallery

THE GUARDIAN
By Adrian Searle

Mechanical martyrs ... Michael Landy's Saints Alive exhibition
at the National Gallery, London. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

UNITED KINGDOM---From Saint Lucy plucking out her eyes to Saint Apollonia bashing in her teeth, Michael Landy's mechanical martyrs are a destructive delight. The Christian saints had a hard time of it, but they were pretty stoical about their grisly martyrdoms. Saint Peter, the 13th-century friar from Verona, was done to death on the road, stabbed after having his head cleaved open with an axe. The other two panels depict Saint Lucy, who plucked out her own eyes and offered them to an unwanted suitor; and the Archangel Saint Michael, whose task was to weigh the souls of the dead. Slaying demons and summoning the deceased on judgment day were also part of his remit. [link]

Yoga at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART 

INDIANA---As a member of the IMA, we wanted you to be the first to hear that we will be offering a new YOGA IN THE GALLERIES program this summer! This six-week session, taught by certified instructor Erin Morgan, will take place each Saturday from July 13 through August 17 from 10 to 11 am on the IMA galleries and grounds. The entire series is available at a discounted rate of just $60 for members. This class will sell out, so make sure to reserve your space today by calling 317-920-2679. [link]

Solias Mendis Paintings Calm the Mind and Eye

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Murals by Solias Mendis depicting the main events of Lord Buddha’s life at the Kelaniya temple

SRI LANKA---They say that all your sins will be washed away if you set foot once in Kelaniya, the land Lord Buddha famously visited thousands of years ago on a Vesak Poya day. And the stresses of the harried mind are swept away on stepping into the hallowed halls of the Kelaniya temple’s shrine room, where the incomparable murals of Solias Mendis capture the imagination. Kelaniya, is important to Buddhist devotees for many reasons; the primary one being Lord Buddha’s visit to Kelaniya in order to settle a dispute that had erupted between the Naga Kings – Chulodara and Mahodara- over a gem studded throne. Significantly this visit was on a Vesak full-moon Poya day. [link]

Guide to Mezuzah Protection for Jewish Homes

AISH.COM
By Rabbi Shraga Simmons

Wholesale Lot 6 Mezuzah Cases Silver Plate Gold Plate Jewish Israel Judaica Gift

On the doorpost of every Jewish home rests a mezuzah. Some may think it's a dainty decoration or a good luck charm. Put one up to keep the evil spirits away! Actually, a mezuzah is a daily reminder ― and a public declaration ― of Jewish identity and faith. Though mezuzah literally means "doorpost," it commonly refers to a scroll of parchment containing biblical verses, placed on the doorpost. The mezuzah recalls the Exodus from Egypt, when the lamb's blood smeared on the doorpost "identified" the Jewish homes that God passed over during the plague of the first born. [link]