trouble the water: award-winning documentary

With no means of escape, Kim and Scott (seen above at their home in the Ninth Ward after the storm) had no choice but to ride out the storm.

"Two weeks after Katrina made landfall, New York filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal flew to Louisiana to make a film about soldiers returning from Iraq who were now homeless. But the National Guard closed off access. Just when the filmmakers were ready to disband their crew, Kim and Scott Roberts, streetwise and indomitable, introduced themselves. Kim had bought a camcorder the day before the hurricane, and using it for the first time, she captured the devastation and its pathetic aftermath, including the selfless rescue of neighbors and the appalling failure of government. The strong center of Trouble The Water, though, are the Roberts themselves who survived all the storms of their lives.."

Ultimately, the levee that protects Kim againts the devastating storm is her irrepressible faith in God. It's the only levee that holds.

That's the amazing thing about this film: in the face of overwhelming tragedy and loss, Kim and Scott continually demonstrate the triumph of love over hate, faith over fear, forgiveness over hideous injustice, and hope over despair. Everyone should see it.

Grand Jury Prize: Documentary 2008, Sundance Film Festival

"One of the best American documentaries in recent memory"
Manohla Dargis, NYT

“When the hurricane struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and tore through New Orleans, it did not turn the region into a Third World country… it revealed one.”
Danny Glover, Executive Producer

To do something, click here.

For more info, check out the Trouble The Water website. You can watch a clip here and listen to some of Kim's music (her rap name is: Black Kold Madina), here.

Tim Keller in The Washington Times

The Washington Times article recognizes what a distinct, reasonable, civil and disarming voice Keller's is, especially today where it seems it's impossible to engage with differing convictions without belittling and disdaining.

Clearly there is a need for a voice like his. Tim Keller's book, The Reason For God, hit the NYT Bestseller list one month after it was published.

Jago canvas of the Storybook Bible

Jago (drum roll please), the fabulous illustrator of the run away bestseller, The Jesus Storybook Bible, has figured out how to get prints of his illustrations (that are done on computer but don't look like it because he uses an ultra top secret technique*) printed onto canvas so that now they look like oil paintings. Yes, he has.

AND (another drum roll please) some very clever people have bought one: from left to right, it's Lily Grace (3 1/2), Noah (7), Lindsey (5 1/2), Ben and Mary Kate—the brilliant and proud owners of Jago's inaugural transatlantic canvas from the book! (The illustration is from The Big Picnic showing Jesus and the little boy.)

To order a print or find out more, click here.

(* As he puts it: "I work almost entirely digitally, using a secret blend of the finest textures, papers and digital paints. I could tell you how I make each picture, but then I'd have to kill you." )

victim and his mugger

"If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money.”— Julio Diaz, speaking with the teenager who robbed him

An incredible story that reminds you why you love New York.