Hi there!  As of today, my newest book, About You, Fully Human: Fully Alive, is now available online and at bookstores everywhere.  If I may be so bold as to ask this favor? If you have enjoyed my writing, speaking, broadcasting, podcasting or whatever other contact we’ve had, I hope you run right out and buy a copy or order online for your kindle!  Please read it and then post online comments at Amazon, make mentions on your Facebook or blogs, or suggest this book for your book groups ~

In About You I explore three major themes:

One answers the question: What can humans do to please God?
St. Irenaeus answers saying, “The glory of God is man fully alive.”

The second answers the question: What was the mission of Jesus?
Hans Rookmaaker answers saying, Jesus didn’t come to make us Christian; Jesus came to make us fully human.”
Here I try to show Jesus as a humanizer not religionizer

The third answers the question: What does fully human look like?
The answer comes from my own understanding that regardless of nationality, ethnic origin, religion or creed, each and every person on earth is a bearer of God’s image creatively, spiritually, intelligently, morally and relationally in ways unique to them.

Here are some stellar endorsements!
“The human race, in its mass confusion and conflict, asks the existential questions to which there seem to be no solid answers. In the sweep of a mere fourteen chapters, Dick Staub offers us the coherent narrative of the Why of humanity, the How of healing, and the Who of the Creator, giving firm ground for thoughtful questioners to stand on.”
—Luci Shaw, poet and author, Breath for the Bones, Harvesting Fog

“Broadcaster, writer, lover of all things C.S. Lewis, raconteur par excellence and great friend, Dick Staub is one of the few people I’ve met who truly cares about people becoming fully human. He is a faithful and effective guide on the journey to do just that.”
— Bill Kinnon, Moving Image creator, writer, blogger

“Dick Staub’s insight into our present age and our own deep longings lead us on a “rowdy pilgrimage” to discover the riches that lay within our unique design while pointing us to the fully human life.” —Scott and Pam Nolte, theatre artists and co-founders, Taproot Theatre

“Staub’s refreshingly honest book doesn’t flinch at the reality of our fallenness, but offers fresh insight into a profound mystery: Why does God love us? What is wrong with the current picture of our lives? How can it be painted more beautifully and truly to match the vision of the Artist?” —Bruce Herman, artist and Lothlorien Distinguished Chair in Fine Arts, Gordon College

“Dick Staub offers a cup of cold, clear water for all of those who thirst for something significant beyond the oft-superficial and bankrupt materialism of the prevailing culture.” —Jeff Johnson, singer and songwriter, Windham Hill/Ark Music

“About You  is a profound, capacious research into what we humans might both be and become as we find, focus and follow the intentionality of The Great Artist.”
—Nigel Goodwin, United Kingdom based actor and international arts advocate

“Dick Staub is a thoughtful, creative and insightful thinker, who journey’s into the deep questions of life.  About You is a treasure map, where Dick serves as both sage and guide, gently leading us to a broader understanding of our own humanity, it’s source and the fullness therein. A must read for fellow sojourners on the road to becoming fully human.” —John Priddy, CEO, Priddy Brothers

Hope to hear your feedback when you read About You!

2) Ethan Coen Playwright What to do after some extraordinarily thought-provoking films? Ethan Coen decided to turn his attention to writing a play and Carter Burwell, his musical collaborator, describes what makes Coen’s writing work. “It should start with some philosophical premise,” Mr. Burwell said. “Then you move on to contrast that with silly, and occasionally cruel, behavior, and end with a punch line. Ethan loves a philosophical paradox, which he usually inflicts on a character ill-prepared intellectually to deal with it. Yet that’s also the human condition, and exploring it is a valid form of art.”““Exploring the human condition“ a valid form of art—hmmm Shakespeare and other seem to have understand that; glad a contemporary writer does.

3) Acting on Broadway Charles Isherwood comments on the current levels of superior performances and collaborative excellence on stage right now in NYC. “Good acting is not contagious, as far as I know. But a visitor sampling the best of Broadway over the holiday season might almost imagine it is, and that it has swept through the city like a virulent flu, infecting people in packs. Everywhere you look, a particular kind of theatrical magic is taking place, as ensemble performances of a rare order are glowing brightly on stages across the theater district.”

4) Keira Knightley This British actress is only 22 years old, yet her performances reflect not only talent, but a dedication to learning her craft. As we learn in a recent interview this passion was fueled by her parents example and their vision of theatre as “world-changing.” ["Ms. Knightley, who has been acting more or less steadily since she was 7, has been around for what seems like forever and has already amassed the resume of a much older star. the other thing that makes Ms. Knightley seem older than her years is that she is unusually smart and voluble when talking about acting. That’s probably because she’s been around it all her life. She grew up in the London suburbs, in lefty bohemian circumstances. Her mother is a playwright and novelist; her father, Will Knightley, is a television and theater actor. They were part of the political theater movement in London in the ’70s, and they had a sense, she recalled, "that with theater you could change the world." "I suppose that’s quite a powerful thing to grow up with," she said. "It was an intoxicating thing to see your father up on stage, and I think as a child you’re either going to absolutely take against something like that or completely love it. I always loved it." ““For a while her parents resisted the idea of her getting into the family business as a child, but they gave in on the advice of a teacher who felt that Keira, who was struggling with dyslexia, needed a carrot dangled in front of her if she was ever going to learn to read. "So that was how it started," Ms. Knightley said. "'If she doesn't read, or if the grades don't go up, then she's not going to work.' That was the prize, if you like: At the end of the year I got to audition. And if something starts like that, it becomes such a special thing that you’re bound to get obsessed by it.

5) Exploiting Silence. Exploring Sound. [Like film editing, film sound remains a somewhat misunderstood craft, partly because at its best it tends to be imperceptible. Sound editor Skip Lievsay sums it all up: The better we do our job, the less people realize what’s going on, Mr. Lievsay said. I think a lot of people think the sound just comes out of the camera. Composer Carter Burwell said of sound in film. "If you ask film composers ” and I have ” whether they feel there’s too much or too little music in the average film, they will all say too much."] These two combine forces in the minimalist “No Country for Old Men.“

6) Artists For Whom God is of Central Importance While the work above reflects a cultural commitment to excellence, I am most excited about artists work that grows from deep faith. ““In the preface of “The Pursuit of God” A.W. Tozer said, “In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself. They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will they be content with correct “interpretations” of truth. They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water.” ““This is what I see across the country in grassroots little movements of artists who are single-minded about pursuing God and then making art that that tells the truth unflinchingly and beautifully.

Yours for the pursuit of God in the company of friends, Dick Staub.

Except that I’m no “Sopranos” fan. Instead, I’ll celebrate the overdue death of a show that perpetuated the ugliest and least accurate of stereotypes: the Italian American as mobster.

I understand the arguments supporting this series. Tony Soprano is a different kind of criminal, they say. He’s conflicted and sees a shrink: how post-modern! The show’s extraordinary writing garnered a 2006 Emmy award. And the program has critics tripping over their Olive Garden mostaccioli to praise it.

But just as Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 Nazi propaganda film “Triumph of the Will” could be called a cinematic masterpiece, the excellent craft behind “The Sopranos” serves only to make the offensive and repugnant look attractive. As someone who takes pride in Italian American contributions to art, culture, science and cuisine, I find the show’s popularity maddening. “The Sopranos” represents a huge billboard that makes a horrid, media-perpetuated cliche look hip and cool.

I’ve raised this point with “Sopranos” fans in the newsroom, and many of them look at me as if I lack sophistication. I’ve actually heard words to the effect of: “Come on Lou, it’s a great show. You’re being too P.C. Can’t you just get over it?”

Though I’ve never actually tried this”and if you offend easily, please skip this paragraph”I wonder what those co-workers might think if I suggested competing shows targeted to the sorest spots of their race, religion or ethnicity, with titles and themes such as “Sambo the Shiftless Negro,” “Survivor: Illegal Wetback Mexicano Border Run” or “Those Money-Grubbing Jewish Slumlords.”

They’d be outraged, and very rightfully so. When it comes to false images that hurt, the final word should come from people who belong to the targeted group. That’s why I sympathize so much with the Native Americans who sought to banish Chief Illiniwek from the University of Illinois. While oblivious (and non-Native American) U of I alumni blathered about Indians and school tradition, the Native Americans gave the chief a new name: degrading.

I can only imagine what the fight might’ve been like if the chief had a lot of Native American fans.

And therein lies the rub with “The Sopranos:” An overwhelming majority of its cast members can claim Italian roots. The very people who should rise up against a show like this instead help bring it to your living room every week.

“Italian Americans in Hollywood today are the modern-day Stepin Fetchit,” says Paul Basile, editor of the Italian-American newspaper Fra Noi. “They can make a living off of it, but they don’t have enough social conscience to rise up and change it.”

The facts speak: 1999 F.B.I. statistics show that the total number of Italian criminals in the United States numbered 1,150”less that eight one-thousandths of the entire Italian- American population of about 15 to 16 million. Compare that to statistics of how Italian Americans get portrayed by Hollywood: roughly 300 Mob-related movies made since the release of “The Godfather” in 1972. No wonder a 2003 Zogby poll found that 78 percent of American teens ages 13-18 associate Italian Americans with either crime or blue-collar work.

And a survey by the Response Analysis Corp. reports that 74 percent of adult Americans believe most Italian Americans have “some connection” to organized crime.

Do shows such as “The Sopranos” help with the gross, inaccurate depictions? Of course not. But do Italian Americans aid a corrective cause by creating such entertainments? Whether it is Robert De Niro lending his Oscar-winning talents to “Shark Tale” or “Analyze This,” or James Gandolfini taking on the role of tough guy Tony, viewers get the message: If actors and artists with a vowel at the end of their names have no problem with Mafia stereotypes, they must be OK.

“It’s easy money,” Basile says. “These are the parts where you make a lot of fast money in Hollywood. And Italian Americans haven’t developed the backbone to say no.”

The negative effects are so pervasive that they seep right down to our local classrooms. The unthinkable happened in November when Rotolo Middle School in Batavia fought”that’s right, fought”to defend its right to stage an original play called “Fuggedaboutit: A Little Mobster Comedy,” performed by the “Bada Bing Players.”

The Bada Bing, in case you didn’t know, is the topless strip club featured in “The Sopranos.” The author of the play was Matthew Myers, a teacher at the school (where apparently lessons in the First Amendment trump values of ethnic sensitivity).

Well if Myers can write a script, I can too: I indulge in my own Hollywood daydreams from time to time. And while the word “meta” has likely never been uttered in a “Sopranos” episode (doesn’t rhyme with bada bing, ya know), here’s my meta fantasy finale: Led by undercover cops Joe Pistone (a.k.a. Donnie Brasco) and Frank Serpico, federal authorities catch up to Tony Soprano and his posse. His linguini-loving butt is hauled into court, where Rudolph Giuliani is prosecutor and Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito preside as judges. Soprano faces the bench and as Giuliani rattles off the charges, he turns to the jury and says:

“But of the most offensive hits delivered by this thug Mr. Soprano, here’s the worst: He systematically slaughtered the cultural pride of so many decent, law-abiding Italian Americans: all 99.992 percent of them.”

There’s just one problem. Giuliani loves “The Sopranos.”

People Are Talking

“Staub’s passion and talent as a writer make this an enjoyable read.”

“Concise, well-researched… shines as something more than the sum of marketing muscle.”

“Staub’s take on Christians in culture is a standout effort.”

“Thoughtful, well-written, packed with insightful and often striking illustrations.”

“A challenging and hope-filled manifesto.”

“Highly recommended.”

I reply that despite its superficiality popular culture is a theological place. It systematically teaches and preaches, informing its audience about which issues matter most, fulfilling an educational role once occupied by schools and a spiritual role once filled by religion.

Former poet laureate Carl Sandburg recognized this early, saying in the 1950s, “I meet people occasionally who think motion pictures, the product Hollywood makes is merely entertainment, has nothing to do with education. That’s one of the darnedest fool fallacies that is current. Anything that brings you to tears by way of drama does something to the deepest roots of our personalities. All movies, good or bad, are education,and Hollywood is the foremost educational institution on earth.”

Veteran religion editor Phyllis Tickle points out that since the 1960s, popular culture is where we explore our beliefs: “More theology is conveyed in, and probably retained from one hour of popular television, than from all the sermons that are also delivered on any given weekend in America’s synagogues, churches and mosques.” So much theology is derived from popular culture that many argue that it has replaced religion.

A leading Jewish intellectual and commentator on culture, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, believes that popular culture is not only displacing religion but actually is a religion: “Hollywood is not just a place”it is a world in itself. Hollywood has done something remarkable: it has created a great and very successful religion. Through its successful missionaries”the films produced in Hollywood” it has spread around the globe, gaining adherents faster than any other religion in the world. If it has not attained the stature of a full-fledged religion, at least it is a very strong cult.”

Every week, newly released songs, films, or books give voice to our common human concerns and probe the essential human questions:

Is there a God?

Who is God?

Who are we?

What is our meaning and identity?

Where did we come from?

What is our destiny?

What is love?

Why am I lonely?

What will satisfy me and make me happy?

Does anybody understand me?

Is there any hope?

Popular culture is a theological place. And so I pay attention to the stories told there. I listen to the cries of our age. I ask how I can better understand and communicate good news to people Who, based on the hopelessness so often on display in today’s popular culture, so obviously need it.

Yours for the pursuit of God in the company of friends, Dick Staub