0n May 16, 1929 the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences decided to pay tribute to its members for their annual and lifetime achievements. Award shows have grown in 74 years along with human dramas often played out in films, which reflect current issues.

In 2002 the Oscars for best actor and best actress went to two black actors for the first time. A tribute was also paid to Sidney Poitier. Nothing could be moving than Halle Barry's acceptance speech.

Emotionally, movies and documentaries allow us to experience vicariously that which we need to work through, or may never get to experience.

S. K. Thoth (or often just Thoth) is a New York-based "prayformance" artist known for his eclectic mix of violin, voice, and dance performance who was the subject of the Academy Award winning documentary Thoth in 2002. Thoth calls his work "prayformance", emphasizing a spiritual dimension. His motto from his website is "I heal through divine prayformance". He sings in a language he himself created, the language of the Festad, a mythical people and land in his "Solopera", his one-man opera.

The Egyptian god Thoth also played the role of Moses, Zoroaster, Akhenaten, Buddha, and Jesus, among others. This week we celebrate Passover, which takes us to Moses, Egypt, and the age old battle in the Middle East for the Hebrew people to find freedom and live in peace.

Science summit deemed success: Bridges can be built through science   BBC - March 26, 2002

My friend El Sherif - standing in the second row with what looks like a ring around his head - attended this summit. El-Sherif is an Egyptian American professor and engineer living in the US for the past 30 years. We met on my way home from Egypt on 12/12/2000 at 12:12. We both work towards enlightenment and evolution in our respective fields.

<