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Bhargave said, "We are identifying ways to reduce poverty across the country and spur economic development. We appointed our first Hindu American chaplain and honored the Dharmic military. Together we are promoting the values and benefits of yoga, nutrition and Ayurveda."
In November 2009, President Obama created history by becoming the first US President to light a diya and host several Indian Americans at the Diwali celebration in the White House East Room.
The tradition of the White House hosting an annual Diwali celebration was started in the final year of the George W Bush administration and continued throughout the four years of his second term. But President Bush never attended any of the events nor did Vice President Richard Cheney, and it was always a senior aide who did the honors with the first Diwali the White House hosted being graced by Bush's chief political adviser Karl Rove. None of the Diwali celebrations the Bush White House hosted were held in the White House proper, but were always in the Old Executive Office Building.
Image: US Vice President Biden lights a diya as priest Ramesh Babu recites shlokas during Diwali celebrations in White House0999196-bf9e6af78886e737a2da0028314f64db.txt0000644000000000000000000003411100000000000015153 0ustar 000000000000000
It’s finally happening. The long-awaited, oft speculated, seemingly impossible ‘Evil Dead 4’ is actually happening – it’s just coming in the form of a TV series. In the picturesque town of Auckland, New Zealand director Sam Raimi, producer Rob Tapert and star Bruce Campbell are rolling cameras on Ash Vs. Evil Dead, the Starz TV series that has allowed the creative trio to further the demonic misadventures of their cult hero, Ash Williams. Hail to the king, baby.
Yesterday afternoon, I jumped on the phone for a conference call with Raimi, Tapert and Campbell to chat about diving back in to their beloved franchise and get some details on what fans can expect from this new incarnation of the Evil Dead universe. They shared a ton of great info, but before we get into that, check out this first look image at the guys reuinited with ‘The Classic’ – the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Ash drove in the Evil Dead films (and which has appeared in almost all of Raimi’s films to date).
Without further ado, here are the 23 things you should know about Ash Vs. Evil Dead:
The series takes place in an alternate universe that exists after Evil Dead 2. In Raimi’s words, “ It doesn’t really exist in the exact same universe. It’s a slightly altered universe. It takes place somewhere in an alternate universe after Evil Dead 2.”
In Raimi’s words, “ So does that mean Army of Darkness is stricken from the timeline? Not exactly. Raimi explained (kind of), “ Army of Darkness, does it exist? Well, certainly Ash went through that experience. W e’re not referencing specifics from that, but he certainly has that in his memory.”
Raimi explained (kind of), “ Ash Vs. Evil Dead will feature new Deadite designs, and entirely new entities altogether. According to Tapert, “We certainly will play to what we once did with D eadites , even through the remake, but we’re trying to expand the universe…We will encounter Deadites , which are very different from other forces of nature out there, and then we expose the audience to new entities that were not yet presented in the Evil Dead universe.
According to Tapert, The action takes place in the modern day. Raimi said, “It takes place in the here and now with Ash thirty years later; what he’s become and what he’s going to have to face.”
There’s no time travel…yet. But Tapert says it’s always a possibility, “[Time travel] certainly was an element of the Necronomicon that some of the [spells] not only called for demons, but portals in time and space. Perhaps by the end of this season, because we haven’t really discussed episodes 9 and 10 so much. Or the second season, if the story took us there. We know it’s part of the Evil Dead universe. So it’s always a possibility, but right now it’s not in the work that we’re doing.
But Tapert says it’s always a possibility, “[Time travel] certainly was an element of the Necronomicon that some of the [spells] not only called for demons, but portals in time and space. Perhaps by the end of this season, because we haven’t really discussed episodes 9 and 10 so much. Or the second season, if the story took us there. We know it’s part of the Evil Dead universe. So it’s always a possibility, but right now it’s not in the work that we’re doing. Ash Vs. Evil Dead picks up when the Deadites return from a decades-long period of dormancy. Raimi described the setup, “The Deadites have been fairly dormant over the last 20-30 years and Ash has been living a low life, hiding out. Our story really begins when they come back and someone is needed to stand up against them.” Is it Ash’s fault that they come back? “Of course.”
Tonally, the series is a mix of the visceral horror of Evil Dead and the slapstick comedy of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Raimi described, “ We have elements of the Evil Dead films, which have always had very hard-edged, intense horror really designed to frighten the audience, and no holds barred there…B ut also, there is a comedic element that is alive in this… . I think what we tried to do is go back to the horror of the first and second Evil Dead, but with the character that Bruce created over the second and third Evil Dead. We’re really a combination; something we haven’t quite seen before.”
Raimi described, “ Ash is a basketcase. He’s traumatized by the horrors he survived in the first three films. Campbell explained, “He is a basketcase. We’re going to find Ash is potentially damaged goods and, god forbid, this is our hero.” Tapert continued, “He’s not a nobler or saner character than when we last saw him. In fact, I think if anything, he’s digressed. He’s kind of sunk to his lowest instincts, and that’s where we find him.”
In the series, a team forms around him. Raimi described the new gang, “ In this incarnation, Ash has a team that forms around him. Pablo (Ray Santiago), a young immigrant who wants to be part of the American fabric, forget his roots, and through his encounters with Ash and the Evil Dead, discovers what’s really important to him. Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), Pablo’s love interest who first doesn’t believe in Ash and wants nothing to do with him, but becomes a part of the team as they realize there is something greater at play than a series of Evil Dead-like attacks.
And some new enemies too. Raimi continued, “Amanda Fisher ( Jill Marie Jones ) is a police officer who sees something that she doesn’t believe and it causes her great problems in her profession, and she’s on the trail to hunt down Ash because she believes he’s responsible for this series of bodies. Eventually, she teams up with Ruby ( Lucy Lawless ) who knows something about the Evil Dead, and she’s also on the hunt for Ash. That is the core team over the first season. “
Lucy Lawless’ character, Ruby, is on a justified mission against Ash. Tapert explained, “S he’s a woman of mystery, and we don’t want to reveal too much about her real agenda or why she so desperately wants to track Ash down, but she’s had an unpleasant experience that Ash was involved with…she’s completely justified in her actions and she’s going to become a formidable person to have on Ash’s tail.”
Tapert explained, “S Ash is going to give you some sugar, baby. The series will explore romance, but it’s secondary. Campbell spoke to Ash’s ill-fated love life, “There is a bit of arrested development there, so he’s going to have some struggles. Because there are bigger issues! We’re talking life and death. There are some romantic aspects…Ash doesn’t usually have a lot of time for that. There’s usually creatures breaking down his door, trying to tear his head off.” Tapert interjected, “Bruce, give ’em some sugar, baby.” “I will give some sugar. There’s going to be some sugar to give.”
The chainsaw arm will definitely make an appearance, no word on the boomstick though. Tapert confirmed, “ He’s been living in fear of a resurgence of the Evil Dead, of the Deadites , so that old rusted hulk of his, that’s the one thing he’s kept oiled up and in tip-top shape just in case. So I think we will see that sweet baby come back, come roaring to life, slicing and dicing on the D eadites .”
The effects are designed to continue the Evil Dead tradition. Tapert said, “We’re working with a great makeup effects artist down in New Zealand, Roger Murray , we’ve worked with him on various things over the years. That’s one of the expectations from the franchise; makeup effects, gore effects. So absolutely we plan to have those and continue with what the audience expects from the franchise in a new and different way.” Campell agreed, “ This is not going to be a watered down version of Evil Dead. The very first Evil Dead has no rating. The second Evil Dead has no rating. Only Army of Darkness was ever rated. Thankfully by partnering with Starz, the gloves are off and we have no restrictions, almost literally…[The fans] want the hardcore stuff, and they’re going to get it.
Tapert said, Joseph LoDuca will compose the soundtrack. Raimi explained the new approach they’re taking to the music, “We’re also working with something we really haven’t done on the Evil Dead. We’re working with some older classic rock music from the 70s and early 80s, because of course Ash became stunted due to the developments in his life at that time and has never gone past those moments.” Tapert added, “We’ll be taking old sounds, old music and re-bending it and shaping it in a new fashion.”
Sam Raimi will only direct the pilot. They’ve already got their other directors lined up, including Michael Bassett (Silent Hill: Revelation), Michael Hurst (Bitch Slap), and Luke Jacobs .
They’ve already got their other directors lined up, including (Silent Hill: Revelation), (Bitch Slap), and . However, he has and will continue to heavily influence the creative direction of the show. Tapert said, “ Sam and his brother Ivan have been involved in the [writer’s] room every spare second until Sam got down here to start prepping… and we continue to talk through each of the episodes. We’re exactly where we should be at the start of shooting. We’ve got six scripts. We’re all very much involved in the creative process.” Campbell spoke to how Raimi will remain a part of that process, “ I’m going to be in touch with Sam even on the episodes he’s not directing, because I’ve never been directed by anyone else as this character. Thank god he’s doing this pilot so we can get reacquainted with the approach to this character. Because when he’s off doing post on this pilot, we’re going to grope in the dark without him but he will be consulted quite heavily.”
Tapert said, “ They opted for the half-hour format to match the “breakneck” pace of the films. Tapert explained, “One of the reasons we decided we wanted to do a half hour was that we thought that this was – the breakneck pace that the movies often had, that really was the right format in the world of television for this particular project.” Raimi continued, “ I really appreciate that Starz let us keep this half-hour idea. That’s what makes it really cool to me, that we can really fire on all cylinders, and be outrageous and fast paced and non-stop without a lot of secondary character exposition that sometimes you find in these hour shows.”
Tapert explained, “One of the reasons we decided we wanted to do a half hour was that we thought that this was – the breakneck pace that the movies often had, that really was the right format in the world of television for this particular project.” Raimi continued, “ Ash Vs. Evil Dead expands the Evil Dead universe to a bigger story. Campbell said, “Because you’re doing a TV show now and not a feature film, you actually have to structure everything differently. You have to structure the storytelling differently and you have to create a much larger world, because the demands of the audience are much – it’s every week that you’re entertaining them, so you have to have a multiplicity of stories and angles and tangents. It’s going to be a much bigger story.”
The series doesn’t preclude the possibility of a sequel to the Evil Dead remake. In fact, they’re definitely still interested in making one. Raimi said, “I love the Evil Dead remake. I think Fede Alvarez did a brilliant job…I love that movie, and I hope there will be a sequel. After we had made his movie, as much as the fans loved it, they also seemed to want to see Bruce again in this series. So we thought, this is our time. If we’re ever going to do it, we have to set aside that crowd. Now is a good time. And television seems like an interesting format to take it forward in. So we chose to make Bruce’s story right now. I hope we can get Fede back to continue the new Evil Dead series once we’ve established Bruce’s story.
In fact, they’re definitely still interested in making one. Raimi said, “I love the Evil Dead remake. I think Fede Alvarez did a brilliant job…I love that movie, and I hope there will be a sequel. After we had made his movie, as much as the fans loved it, they also seemed to want to see Bruce again in this series. So we thought, this is our time. If we’re ever going to do it, we have to set aside that crowd. Now is a good time. And television seems like an interesting format to take it forward in. So we chose to make Bruce’s story right now. I hope we can get Fede back to continue the new Evil Dead series once we’ve established Bruce’s story. Don’t count out another Ash-centric Evil Dead film either, even if the show doesn’t take off. “ It’s a possibility no matter what happens, because I think we always want to keep that ability in the back of our minds to tell a story on the big ol ‘ screen. Nothing will preclude anything, regardless of what happens.”
“ They’re all willing to come back for a second season. Campbell stated emphatically, “ I’m not going anywhere. This is the sh ow I’m going to devote basically every ounce of my aging energy into. This is something that you don’t take lightly. This was a long road to get here, starting back in ’79.” Tapert seconded, “I t would be a joyless process that the mantle would be passed to anyone else. I just don’t see that as a possible outcome in this. Raimi confirmed, “ I feel the same way. I think we’re really doing this to work together again as a team.”
The series is basically happening because Evil Dead fans are the most devoted, persistent people in the world. Raimi recalled, “Ivan, my brother, and myself, when I would be on promotion for any other movie, the reporters I’d be speaking with would feign interest in that picture I was working on and then they’d say, ‘But when’s the next Evil Dead coming out?'” Campbell had the same experience, “ I go to conventions a lot and I’m driven insane by the fans at conventions. I’ve been doing conventions since 1988 and I hear it at every convention I go to, same as Sam. We were tortured for years, and guess what? Now they’re going to get it.”
See that, folks. Never give up on your dreams. Ash Vs. Evil Dead is set to premiere on Starz this Fall.0999253-d644f44bc95ff2cc90d745f8bb28a3c0.txt0000644000000000000000000001703400000000000015303 0ustar 00000000000000As Ann Cabiness stood in the Communion line at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Sunday morning, two things were on her mind: connecting with God and getting out of the humid sanctuary before someone mentioned her skimpy tank top and tight, knee-length running pants.
“I know I’m inappropriate, but I’m trying to save time. I know I’m in the wrong. My mother would not approve,” the 30-year-old said sheepishly as she made a beeline from Mass at the Bethesda church to the gym. “But would it be better that I not come?”
Summer in our sweltering region forces a theological question: How does God feel about exposed shoulders in a house of worship? Or toes? Or some glimpse of thigh?
With temperatures in the 80s by 7:30 a.m. services, this is the season for church bulletin items like the one in Our Lady’s: “Dignity & Decorum: Please try not to wear beach shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thank you.”
In general, casual has pummeled formal everywhere in America, from airplanes to offices. But places of worship — where debates on modesty are not confined to the summer months — may be the final frontier for questions about what constitutes overly risque. And those questions have recently sprung to new life.
A popular campaign aimed at young evangelical women called “Modest is Hottest” has triggered backlash by devout younger women who see the slogan as sexist. When the Bible calls for “modesty,” they argue, it refers to displays of things like wealth and is describing the depth of one’s spirit, not their neckline.Teaching women that their value rises if they have more clothes on is objectifying, a torrent of essays have argued.
“A woman’s breasts and buttocks and thighs all proclaim the glory of the Lord,” said Sharon Hodde Miller, a doctoral student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School whose critique of “modest is hottest” in the online evangelical magazine Christianity Today was one of the best-read of recent years. “Modesty is an orientation of the heart, first and foremost. It begins with putting God first. To look at an outfit and say if it’s modest or immodest, I’m not sure you can do that.”
Some critics say the drive for looser, longer fabric has political tones, a “modesty nostalgia” for a happier, more fully clothed America that some feel never was. But advocates for less skin in the sanctuary see modest attire as transformational — part of the process of moving into a spiritual head space.
Particularly today as institutional religion bleeds members, many churches — even some theologically conservative ones — advertise that dress is “come as you are.”
“We don’t want clothes to ever be a barrier. That’s one reason we don’t talk about it,” said the Rev. Don Davidson of First Baptist Church of Alexandria.
Some even argue that informal clothing signals not a new lack of respect for institutional religion but a new genuineness and familiarity.
Grass-roots pew patrolling, on the other hand, is as alive as ever.
Charisma Wooten, a singer and actor, had been a parishioner and lay leader at Refreshing Spring Church of God in Christ in Riverdale for more than 30 years when she was told moments before taking the pulpit for a Scripture reading one baking July Sunday a couple of years ago that she couldn’t because she didn’t have on pantyhose. Wooten said she was wearing a dress that nearly hit the floor, but Church of God in Christ is a formal denomination where ushers wear gloves and the handbook says that “dressing in a sensually provocative manner produces inclinations to evil desires.”
Another summer Sunday, Wooten was wearing a sleeveless black-and-white polka-dot dress and “my little matching shoes and hat,” when the pastor’s wife said sweetly: “Honey, aren’t you cold?” It took Wooten three days to realize she was likely being politely asked to cover her shoulders.
Wooten says she generally brushes it off when she’s been scolded for her church clothes, but the pantyhose incident led her to send a mass e-mail decrying the misplaced focus on rules and dogma.
“You can follow all these rules men set up and be on your way to hell,” she said.
Concepts of appropriate dress are, of course, a mix of denominational, regional, racial and ethnic components, and they are sometimes specific in unpredictable ways. Black churches are generally known for formal, modest and elaborate style, even in summer. Catholics stereotypically are dressed simply for Mass — full suits and hats are less common, as are plunging necklines.
Rainey Ray Segars, 26, grew up with a Southern Baptist pastor-father in Tennessee, where shorts were common around church but strapless dresses were not. At 24, she moved with her new youth-pastor-husband to Illinois and found out on the first warm week since their move that jeans and Packers jerseys were fine at church activities but shorts were not.
After coming to a choir practice in shorts, a congregant “sent by a group of offended people” told Segars that she had caused someone to be lustfully distracted — “That it was my fault,” Segars remembered.
“I said, ‘I’m interested to know if that person will seek out help for themselves,’ ’’ Segars said. “I don’t agree that a woman is to blame for lust someone feels towards her. My thought was to start a dialogue.”