American film producer to publish version of the Bible in which God says it is better to be gay than straight pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/tA7T_BT6FtGJedNRxA_vffMD4tM/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/tA7T_BT6FtGJedNRxA_vffMD4tM/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

Category: Reference
Released: Nov 19, 2008
Price: $29.99

Description:
The ESV Study Bible was created to help people understand the Bible in a deeper way�to understand the timeless truth of God�s Word as a powerful, compelling, life-changing reality. To accomplish this, the ESV Study Bible combines the best and most recent evangelical Christian scholarship with the highly regarded ESV Bible text. The result is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published�with 2,752 pages of extensive, accessible Bible resources. Created by an outstanding team of 95 evangelical Christian scholars and teachers, the ESV Study Bible presents completely new study notes, maps, illustrations, charts, timelines, articles, and introductions. Altogether the ESV Study Bible comprises 2 million words of Bible text, insightful explanation, teaching, and reference material�equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library all contained in one volume. Explore the Bible with BibleReader, a full-featured application for reading and Bible study. 3-touch Verse Chooser takes you to the exact Bible verse you're searching for. Continuous Scrolling means uninterrupted reading�no buttons to press at the end of the chapter. Word Search offers quick results, hyperlinked for one-touch navigation. Bibles and other works are stored on the device, so you don't need a continuous Internet connection.

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Get it on iTunes: ESV Study Bible for BibleReader

http://charismamag.com/articles/index.php?id=5807 Pearson's Gospel of Inclusion' Stirs Controversy Carlton Pearson may have lost his bid for a shot at the mayor's office in Tulsa, Okla., because of his belief in a controversial theology known as the "gospel of inclusion," which states that everyone is saved--they just don't know it. Pearson is a conservative Republican and founder of the 4,500-member, multiracial Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa. He claims he failed to win the primary in February due to his belief in "inclusion" theology, which also questions the existence of a literal hell. "The Christian turnout is usually 15 percent," Pearson, 48, said of local elections in Tulsa. "But some of them just didn't vote at all because they weren't sure that they should risk putting somebody like me in office." Protestant theology teaches that man is separated from God by sin and destined for hell, unless he believes in Jesus' redemptive work. Pearson said he first started thinking about the inclusive doctrine after reading E.W. Kenyon's writings more than 25 years ago. Pearson has been preaching the controversial view for three years. "A careful study of what I have taught will reveal that it is entirely scriptural, logical and theologically sound," Pearson told Charisma. The Tulsa Beacon reported that Pearson has been confronted over his teaching by televangelists John Hagee, Marilyn Hickey and his mentor, Oral Roberts. Roberts, Hagee and Hickey declined to comment about the matter. However, Pearson claimed that fellow black preachers, including Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes, are familiar to some extent with inclusionism. "These are my friends," Pearson said. "They discern my heart, even though they may not discern my head. They're not bothered by this." Jakes, however, told Charisma that he repudiates Pearson's views as heresy. "While I do consider Carlton Pearson to be a friend, I believe his theology is wrong, false, misleading and an incorrect interpretation of the Bible," Jakes said in a statement. "Carlton...improperly characterizes me as not being 'bothered' by this. I am both bothered and troubled by this teaching and with any implication that I support or in any way agree with it." Jakes added: "While I certainly agree that Christ died for everyone, I do not believe that we are automatically saved, but that we must be 'born again' by believing in and personally accepting Jesus Christ." But Pearson said he is not picking a fight. "I am open to counsel and...correction from those I feel accountable to in the body of Christ," he said. Eric Tiansay

Author: chicagogreenlight Keywords: hell heaven religion truth lies bible jesus god carlton pearson tulsa oklahoma controversy t.d.jakes Added: November 30, 2008

As The Dead continues to multiply in number and in notoriety, Sideshow continues to investigate new possibilities in the realm of undead reanimation while the DNAgent struggles to prevent future apocalypse... Be Ready! The Subject 2221: The Harbinger 12 inch Figure features: All new zombie portrait and 'hands', Fully articulated male body (Prometheus) with 30+ points of articulation, Detailed Priest costume including pants, coat, sash, paper collar and cummerbund, Shoes, Bible, Rosary beads, 12" figure display stand with a print of 'The Dead' logo and a Sideshow Exclusive: Rotting hand with raven!

These images are for Freemasons. The download will be just a little different. They wont have the RSS bible feed on it like the screenshot.

Keith Yellin, Battle Exhortation: The Rhetoric of Combat Leadership. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, coll. "Studies in Rhetoric/Communication", 2008, x-191p. Isbn 13 (ean): 9781570037351 Recension par Gregory S. Aldrete (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay) dans Bryn Mawr Classical Review: 2008.11.32 Présentation de l'éditeur: In this groundbreaking examination of the symbolic strategies used to prepare troops for imminent combat, Keith Yellin offers an interdisciplinary look into a mode of rhetorical discourse that has played a prominent role in warfare, history, and popular culture from antiquity to the present day. In Battle Exhortation he focuses on one of the most time-honored forms of motivational communication, the encouraging speech of military commanders, to offer a pragmatic and scholarly evaluation of how persuasion contributes to combat leadership. Yellin establishes battle exhortation as a distinct genre of discourse originating from humankind's war-prone history and the age-old need to inspire troops to fight. In illustrating his subject's conventions, Yellin draws from the Bible, classical Greece and Rome, Spanish conquistadors, and especially American military forces. Yellin is also interested in how audiences are socialized to recognize and anticipate this type of communication that precedes difficult team efforts. To account for this dimension he probes examples as diverse as Shakespeare's Henry V, George C. Scott's portrayal of General George S. Patton, and team sports. Yellin also examines the constraints that shape battle exhortation, including the specific circumstances of a given war, the combat arm of the audience, the presence of nonmilitary observers, and the personal character and style of the speaker. Speculating on the future of battle exhortation while honoring its rich tradition, this work will be of keen interest to students of communication, history, and military leadership. [...]

pIt is my intention to primarily use email to update the participants in the Memorizing Scripture Together effort (a href="http://www.challies.com/archives/memorizing-scripture/memorizing-scripture-together---it-begins-today.php"click here to learn about the program/a). However, this morning I logged in to the software I use to send those emails only to find that it is down for maintenance until 9 AM tomorrow morning. And so I'm going to post this on the blog today just to keep people in the loop. The email blast will go out as soon as the software is available again./p pAs we began the program last week I received some immediate feedback. Much of it was of the "this is tough!" variety. And I tend to agree. Memorization does not come easily to most of us, so we are only going to commit passages to memory through long, hard work and through endless repetition. Speaking personally, though, I can say that already I've found these times to be a blessing. It has been a worshipful time as I've repeated God's praises again and again. I've emphasized different words and phrases as I've gone through it and have repeated it with different focuses. This has kept it fresh in my mind and has kept me seeking the "heart" behind the passage./p pEvery week I want to offer a tip, a suggestion, an interview or emsomething/em that will help us in our efforts. This week's tip is very simple but very effective./p pstrongUse Index Cards/strong. Choose a portion of the verse that you'd like to master that week, and either write or print it on an index card. I wasn't able to find printable index cards at Staples so instead purchased cards meant to be inserts in name badges (Avery #05392). They are slightly different dimensions but work just fine. Print the verse on one side and the citation on the other. Put this card in your pocket or in your Bible or in some place where you are bound to come across it at least once or twice a day. You may also wish to print up several of the cards and place them around the house--on the bathroom mirror, above the kitchen sink, below your computer's monitor, on the fridge, and so on. That way, at any time, you will have the verse near you and can recite it a couple of times between other activities. As the program continues you will build up a collection of these cards and you can skim through them every week or two to ensure that the verses stay fresh in your mind. This is a memorization technique "classic" but one that continues to reap benefits./p h2This Week's Fighter Verse/h2 p"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."br / Philippians 2:3/p h2This Week's Passage/h2 pThose of us who are working on the longer passage are focusing on Psalm 8. This is a three week project, taking us until December 14. /p pO Lord, our Lord,br / how majestic is your name in all the earth!br / You have set your glory above the heavens.br / Out of the mouth of babies and infants,br / you have established strength because of your foes,br / to still the enemy and the avenger./p pWhen I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,br / the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,br / what is man that you are mindful of him,br / and the son of man that you care for him?/p pYet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beingsbr / and crowned him with glory and honor.br / You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;br / you have put all things under his feet,br / all sheep and oxen,br / and also the beasts of the field,br / the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,br / whatever passes along the paths of the seas./p pO Lord, our Lord,br / how majestic is your name in all the earth!br / Psalm 8/p h2Join Us!/h2 pWe would love for you to join us. I plan on sending out weekly emails (every Sunday) to remind you of the commitment and to tell you about the new verse. If you'd like to participate in the program, I ask as well that you sign up for these emails (though you certainly do not have to if you don't want to). Otherwise, just keep an eye on this blog and dedicate time to memorizing the Scripture passages./p form action="http://challiesdotcom.cmail1.com/s/473342/" method="post" div label for="name"Name:/labelbr /input type="text" name="name" id="name" /br / label for="l473342-473342"Email:/labelbr /input type="text" name="cm-473342-473342" id="l473342-473342" /br / input type="submit" value="Subscribe" / /div /form br clear="all" /a href="http://www.monergism.com/freeshipping.html"img src="http://www.adgrab.org/www/images/mbbanner468.jpg" //adiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/challies/XhEt?a=MjYrN"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/challies/XhEt?i=MjYrN" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/challies/XhEt?a=arxQn"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/challies/XhEt?i=arxQn" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/challies/XhEt?a=sFCZn"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/challies/XhEt?i=sFCZn" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/challies/XhEt/~4/470202897" height="1" width="1"/

Elder Alan Mansager of Yahweh's Restoration Ministry discusses what the bible says about prosperity.

Author: diggindrums Keywords: yahweh yahshua hebrew roots prosperity now Added: November 30, 2008

Autrefois enluminée par les copistes ou racontée en vitraux, la Bible se séquence aujourd'hui en BD ! Une première partie de la Genèse, oecuménique et fidèle à l'Ancien Testament, agrémentée d'images sacrées et iconographiques...br /Note : 4/6

Doesn’t it just warm the cockles of your heart to flip through Previews and see what joyous stuff awaits you? And what exactly are the cockles of your heart? Ah, who cares! There are comics to pre-order!

Let’s get to it!

Dark Horse:

There’s another volume (the third) of Herbie Archives on page 35 (29 April). If that’s your thing.

On page 37 (1 April), we finally get a Turok: Son of Stone Archive edition that we’ve so desperately wanted and deserved! American Indians versus dinosaurs! How can you resist?

DC:

Okay, I don’t get the cover of Batman #686 (page 66; 11 February). All the villains are ceremoniously walking into the Dew Drop Inn (of “the dude dropped in at the Dew Drop Inn” fame)? What’s that all about?

I don’t really care all that much, but am I supposed to know something about the “Origins and Omens” tag that accompanies several DC books in this month’s Previews?

So Batman: Confidential brings us a story arc on page 69 (11 February) by four people who are very good at what they do: Christina Weir, Nunzio DeFilippis, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Kevin Nowlan. So why am I not super-enthusiastic about it? King Tut? Really? Sheesh.

I wouldn’t want anyone to interpret this as a slight against Geoff Johns, who is of course the greatest writer - not just comics writer, but writer - in recorded history, but on page 78, we get text about “the orange light of avarice.” Are any of the other Lantern lights good ones? And if they’re not, why isn’t a Green Lantern always consumed by jealousy? I’m just wondering. In no way is this impugning the absolute genius of Mr. Johns, whose tears, I’m well informed, cure polio.

I have no idea if The Mighty (page 81; 4 February) is any good or not, but does the world really need another “bold new super hero epic”? Really?

On page 85, R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 debuts (11 February). Again, I have no idea if it’s good or not, but I like the text: “The future is now in this all-new monthly series!” “The future”? Isn’t this a deliberate evocation of a series from 15 years ago?

It’s certainly nice of DC to offer a softcover version of Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil (page 92; 4 March). I don’t understand DC’s policy of waiting decades before releasing things in softcover, but maybe I’ll finally read this!

Ambush Bug gets a Showcase volume on page 95 (25 March). As Ambush Bug stories are largely gag reels, the fact that it’s uncolored shouldn’t be a big deal. The five issues in here that I’ve read are hilarious.

I probably won’t buy Bang! Tango (maybe as a trade) on page 110 (4 February), but the solicitation text cracks me up: “A passionate ex-gangster tries to make good in his second life as a tango dancer.” Good stuff! Joe Kelly seems to do better when he’s not writing superheroes, so this might be worthwhile.

100 Bullets comes to an end (page 114; 11 February), and you can get all twelve trades on page 115. I know some people are bored with this, but I think it’s fantastic. Azzarello better not screw up the ending, though!

Air #7 is a dollar (page 116; 18 March). I may not buy it based on what happens in the next few issues, but that’s nice of DC to try to goose sales in this way.

Image:

I saw a bit of Soul Kiss, Steven T. Seagle’s new book (page 140; 11 February), at San Diego this past summer, and it looks pretty cool. It’s the story of a girl who needs to save her boyfriend from the Devil, so she needs to find ten innocent souls and send them to Hell. Well, that can’t be pleasant. Seagle writes very good stuff quite often, so I’ll have to check this out.

Joe Kelly shows up with a new book on page 142 (4 February) called Bad Dog, which is a high-concept tale of two bounty hunters - one of whom is a werewolf. I still haven’t read Kelly’s Deadpool (I’m working on getting the back issues), but Image wants us to believe it’s in the same vein, so if that appealed to you, perhaps this will.

Another Man of Action guy, Duncan Rouleau, has a nifty-sounding book on page 144 (18 February). The Great Unknown is the story of a man whose thoughts become reality, although it sounds more complicated than that. I’m waiting for DC to release a softcover of Rouleau’s Metal Men, but even if that went off the rails (which I heard it did), I’m still looking forward to this.

You know, just after I finally pick up Codeflesh this year, Image decides to release a new, full-color collection with a brand new story (page 146; 25 February). Thanks, Image! Grrrr … Yes, it’s 35 bucks, but it’s pretty damned cool.

Jersey Gods (page 150; 4 February): a god of war marries a girl from the Garden State. What’s not to love?

Displaced Persons is re-offered on page 154 (4 February). I’m glad, because I was wondering where it had gone.

I wonder what happened to Elephantmen. Image keeps soliciting it (#21 is on page 157 for 11 February), but it’s been a while since an issue came out. Maybe they should stop soliciting it until it can get back on track. I hope it’s not in trouble, because it’s so freakin’ good.

A while back, commenters were wondering if Ted McKeever’s Metropol would ever show up in a collection. Well, on page 169, it has shown up in a collection! It’s the third volume of the Ted McKeever Library that Image is offering. I just read volume one (Transit), which wasn’t great, but is still pretty keen.

Marvel:

The only way I’m buying Black Panther #1 (page 10) is if T’Challa gets a sex change. That would be too awesome for words.

As much as I want to buy the Agents of Atlas ongoing (page 13), I wonder if Marvel is going to sneak a $3.99 price onto it with the “giant-sized” first issue at 4 bucks and then “regular-sized” issues at the same price. They wouldn’t be that sneaky, would they? Still, an Agents of Atlas ongoing is probably going to be super-duper.

It’s interesting that Marvel is killing Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men (pages 24-25). I really wish they would kill all the Ultimate books except that Spidey one and just let Bendis do his thing with that. The rest of the line is pretty worthless these days.

Page 26: Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, March 2009. Bwah-ha-ha-ha! (If you don’t know why this is funny, Mike Sterling explains it all!)

Marvel tries the anthology thing again with Astonishing Tales #1 (page 34). I remain convinced there’s a way to publish an anthology without charging 4 dollars for it, which will kill this book faster than my endorsement of it would! But we’ll see.

It’s somewhat stunning that Marvel is publishing a book called Models, Inc. (page 51). First, because it’s obvious that they’re trying to evoke the awesome television show by that name that we all hold dear in our hearts, but more because it’s just … weird. So weird I’m tempted to buy it!

I like how the solicitation text on page 70 for X-Men Origins: Sabretooth reads, “Why IS he so vicious? Why IS he so brutal?” I emphasize the present tense just because Sabretooth is still dead, right? Marvel doesn’t even pretend that the death of a character means anything anymore, which is perversely satisfying.

Cloak and Dagger gets a hardcover on page 94. I’ve never read it, but come on - it’s Mantlo and Leonardi!

As we move to the dreaded back of the book, we come across page 205 and Ape Entertainment, which offers The Black Coat & Athena Voltaire One-Shot for two thin dollars. I’m really dying for new issues of The Black Coat and a new series of Athena Voltaire, but I’ll take this!

I honestly can’t recommend anything Banzai Girls, such as the Banzai Girls Annual 2009 from Arcana Studio on page 207, but the way the text describes creator Jinky Coronado is awesome: as a “fan-favorite FHM and calendar model/artist/writer.” Grant Morrison can’t even claim that!

Lots of trades from Avatar, if that’s your thing. Streets of Glory comes out on page 218, Doktor Sleepless gets the treatment on page 219, and just for the heck of it, you can get a five-issue pack of Anna Mercury on page 220. You might like them all in one shot instead of doled out slowly! Plus, you can order Aetheric Mechanics if you missed it the first time around. Dang, it’s good.

Bluewater Productions brings us Female Force: Sarah Palin (page 222). Yes, we’re in Hell. Isn’t this a tad late? Or did I miss an election? (To be fair, Bluewater is bringing out a Michelle Obama comic soon, so there’s that.)

More Humanoids on page 232, as Devil’s Due brings us The Zombies That Ate the World, with art by Guy Davis. I have never been into the zombie thing in movies or comics, but I’m sure this will look pretty cool!

Dabel Brothers Publishing brings us something on page 250 we’ve all been yearning for: The Warriors Official Movie Adaptation!!!!!! What better way to celebrate a 30-year-old movie?!?!?!? I never saw the appeal of The Warriors, to be honest. But at least the comic is here!

If you’ve been tossing and turning at night wondering where Greg LaRocque has been (and who hasn’t, really?), he brings us a new series on page 264 called The Dreaming from Exiled Studios. DC lawyers on Line One! This is 10 bucks for 54 pages, but it does sound interesting.

Look at IDW, releasing Whatmen, a Watchmen parody written by Scott Lobdell. It’s on page 277. Good to see Lobdell getting work!

IDW also has a full-color Next Men hardcover on page 283. It’s 50 bucks for 11 issues, and I have to say - the black-and-white softcover versions IDW has published are just dandy.

Hey, look what Oni Press has on page 296! It’s volume 5 of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s magnum opus, Scott Pilgrim! This time, he takes on the universe! You may like this. I, because I have no soul, do not.

Radical Publishing has a new title called Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead. It was created by Warren Ellis but is written and drawn by Steve Pugh. This is, I suppose, why Pugh is no longer doing Shark-Man. This new book better be the greatest book since the Bible to justify taking Pugh away from Shark-Man!!!!!!

If you like all your robotic awesomeness in one shot instead of in monthly doses, Red 5 Comics offers the trade of the second Atomic Robo series on page 301. It isn’t quite finished yet, but I certainly can recommend it based on the 80% of the series that has already seen the light.

Based on the sales figures, many people have been skipping The Straw Men from Zenescope. That’s too bad, because it’s quite good. If you’ve skipped it because it’s hard to find, the publishers helpfully offer the first three issues in one package for 3 measly dollars on page 334! Can you afford to pass on a bargain like that????

On page 340, Tripwire has a “Superhero Special” for 8 bucks. Tripwire is a wonderful comics magazine, and issues rarely appear, but they’re definitely worth it.

That’s it for this month. Have a grand time flipping through Previews! And, I ought to remind you, you have about a day to enter my contest!

2 Comments

• At November 29, 2008, Michael wrote:

  You don't recognize a wake when you see one, Greg?

• At November 29, 2008, Justin Hilyard wrote:

  "And what exactly are the cockles of your heart?"

  It's another word for ventricle, because they're sort of shaped like cockle ...

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/66122?ns=guardianpageName=Music%3A+Wild+westch=Musicc3=The+Observerc4=Kanye+West%2CMusic%2CObserverc5=Not+commercially+usefulc6=Luke+Bainbridgec7=2008_11_30c8=1124553c9=articlec10=GUc11=Musicc12=Kanye+Westc13=c14=h2=GU%2FMusic%2FKanye+West" width="1" height="1" //divpIt seems longer than 18 months since I last spoke to Kanye West. So much has happened in that time it must seem like a lifetime to him. Last summer he was putting the finishing touches to his third album. Graduation was released on the same day as the latest album by 50 Cent, then the best-selling hip-hop artist in the world, and they posed for the cover of Rolling Stone as title fighters. West delivered a surprising knock-out blow, outselling Fiddy by 957,000 copies to 691,000 and topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic./ppHe has always been a much more intriguing and complex, occasionally contradictory, proposition than his peers. His background - born in Chicago, he's the son of a university professor and a former Black Panther - and his 'Preppy' image set him apart from other urban artists. His steely ambition and drive is such that he recorded his debut single 'Through The Wire' in hospital, with his mouth wired partly shut, after a near-fatal car crash. He's notoriously arrogant, once claiming he'd be a leading character in the Bible if it was rewritten: 'You don't think I would be one of the characters of today's modern Bible?' He's as famous for his outbursts as he is for his music. When he didn't win best video at the MTV European Awards in 2006 he stormed the stage, shouting 'Fuck this! My thing cost a million dollars man ... /ppI had Pam Anderson, I was jumping across canyons and shit. If I don't win, the award show loses ... credibility.' Even those who don't know his music will recall him speaking out against the outgoing president, when he appeared on live TV for a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert. West went off message and declared: 'George Bush doesn't care about black people.'/ppFollowing earlier hits such as the Shirley Bassey-sampling 'Diamonds From Sierra Leone', 'Gold Digger' and 'Stronger' and an unrivalled succession of production credits for everyone from Alicia Keys to Jay-Z, the success of Graduation put the multi-Grammy-winning, multi-million-selling West right at the top of his game. Exactly where he told us he should be from day one. Then came the double heartbreak. Or the 'Shakespearian tragedy' as he calls it. 'That's what this is,' he tells me, 'it's a modern-day tragedy.'/ppAn only child (Kanye is Ethiopian for 'the only one'), West was raised mainly by his doting mother Donda, who deemed him 'destined for greatness from an early age'. A former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English Department, she later managed her son's businesses and chaired the Kanye West Foundation. He called her his 'momager'. When I spent six months with him on and off for Observer Music Monthly, she was rarely far from his side. She was there at his 30th birthday party in Manhattan last June, there when he stole the show at the Concert for Diana at Wembley in July 2007, and they turned out together in New York and London for signings of her book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-hop Superstar. They were as tight as a son and mother could be. He wrote a song for her called, 'Hey Mama'; and she used it as the ringtone on her cellphone./ppOn Saturday 10 November 2007, Donda West died due to complications from cosmetic surgery. Reports suggested another Beverly Hills physician had advised her not to have the surgery. Kanye was in London when he heard and rushed back to the States. But the following Saturday he was back on stage in Paris. When he started to introduce 'Hey Mama', he cracked. 'This song is for my mother ... ' he started, before his voice faltered and he stood alone, head bowed, sobbing in the spotlight, before being led off stage by members of his band./ppJay-Z, Beyonceacute;, Pharrell Williams, Erykah Badu and others turned up to pay tribute at Donda's funeral where West reportedly broke down as he gave a short speech. Two days later he was back on stage at the O2 arena in London. On 10 January 2008, the Los Angeles County Coroner concluded that Donda West died of 'coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty'./ppThen, in April, West split with his fianceacute;e, designer Alexis Phifer. They had dated on and off since 2002, and were engaged in Capri in August 2006. 'It's always sad when things like this end ... we remain friends,' Phifer said. 'I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavours. He's one of the most talented people I've ever met.' An oddly worded statement that sounds more like a reference for an ex-colleague than regret over the loss of a soulmate./ppWest, meanwhile, was embarking on his global 'Glow In The Dark' tour. In Japan last year, before all the heartbreak, he had explained to me how he had always struggled to set a mood that suited him in the studio until he tried putting neon lights in there. 'Now I know my mood is neon ...' he said. 'I AM neon ... '/ppYou are neon? I repeated/pp'I. Do. Glow. In. The. Dark.'/ppThe ambitious set placed West alone in the middle of the stage, his band removed to a pit in front. If that were not prescient enough, the plot behind the show's concept saw West marooned in space when his spaceship crashed./ppThe first proper indication of where West's head was at, musically and emotionally, was his guest appearance on Young Jeezy's single 'Put On', back in June. His voice cracked and distorted by Auto-Tune - a vocoder gadget widely adopted in hip-hop recently (although OM readers may recall Cher using it on her 1998 number one single, 'Believe'.) 'I lost the only girl in the world that know me best,' poured out West in a cracked ephemeral pitch. 'I got the money and the fame and it don't mean shit ... man, the top is so lonely.' His voice twisted and stretched like never before, he moaned 'I-I-I-I-I-I-'m so lonely.'/ppAfter touring for six months through North America, South America and Asia, the Glow In The Dark tour finally arrived in the UK this month. I flew out to Dublin to see the show before it arrived in England. It's a hugely ambitious show, but the most poignant point came halfway through when West, dripping with sweat and alone on stage expanded his 'Put On' verse into a long, impassioned rant about the vacuousness of celebrity and the gaping chasm in his personal life. 'I lost my mom, I lost my girl, I lost the only things that matter,' he spat, the words bouncing round the huge venue and straight over the heads of the audience, 'but at least it's fun,' he added sadly, 'that I can get you to say, "Hell, yeah!"/pp'Hell, yeah!' hollered back the young crowd, oblivious to the pathos./ppTwo days later, when we meet in West's favourite London hotel, The Landmark, it's a year and a day since his mother passed. He walks into the suite wearing a Raf Simons jacket, Retro Super Future shades, a thick Louis Vuitton scarf and shoulder bag. He politely but firmly refuses to remove his shades, scarf or shoulder bag for the photoshoot. When we sit down to talk, he removes the bag and scarf, but the shades remain in place. He talks more quietly than usual. In the 36 hours since Dublin, West has been to Paris for meetings with Louis Vuitton about the shoe range he is designing for the label. The self-christened Louis Vuitton Don is also working on his own fashion label, Pastelle, and counts designers such as Kim Jones as close friends. 'I'm like the fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans necessary,' he rapped on Graduation. He's only had a couple of hours' sleep in the past two days and is so exhausted that when I listen back to the interview later he sounds drunk, slurring his words./ppHis new album is entitled 808s Heartbreak, and is steeped in both. The 808 is the Roland TR-808, a drum machine beloved of early dance-music pioneers. The heartbreak seeps through every song, with titles such as 'Welcome to Heartbreak', 'Love Lockdown', 'See You In My Nightmares', 'Heartless', 'Paranoid', 'Bad News' and 'Coldest Winter'./ppHis previous albums, College Dropout, Late Registration and Graduation have been a masterful mix of artful intentions and mainstream appeal, somehow straddling the hoods and suburbs. Heartbreak is a complete departure. An incessant tweaker, West used to spend up to 18 months working on an album. Last year he worked with eight engineers around the world on 'Stronger' alone, recording more than 50 versions. Heartbreak more or less poured out of him in one studio in a mere three weeks. He hardly raps on it; almost every vocal has the ghostly Auto-Tune effect with West half-singing, half-speaking, and there's none of the skits that littered previous albums. It's quite a break from his opening trilogy./pp'Yeah, it definitely is,' nods West. 'It was just a brand new idea. It was like these are the sounds, these are the instruments I want to use and this is the subject matter.'/ppPreviously he would ensure there was something for all his fans, a concession he no longer feels he needs to make./pp'Now I just make music for me. It's like my house, because it's where I have to live. It's what I have to perform, 100 shows a year. So people may comment on it to their friends, but when they try and make a suggestion to me, it's like suggesting I change the couch in my living room - "Fuck you, it's my couch." I'm just allowing people in my home... if you don't like it, you can leave.'/ppWhich came first, the 808s or heartbreak?/pp'The music, then I came up with the title because I was taking an 808 and pitching it. A lot of people have used 808s in the past but because it was so low, nobody bothered messing with the pitch. I actually call the effect "heartbreak". It sounds distorted and electronic, and just the sound of it represents where I'm at.'/pp'I've created a new genre for myself called "pop art",' he continues. 'I know they have that genre of visual art but they don't have it in music. Either call it "pop" or "pop art", either one I'm good with.'/ppDo you think people will be shocked by Heartbreak? 'They'll definitely be surprised it's so personal and so heartfelt. It was just pouring out of my soul. It was therapeutic ...'/ppTo get the hurt out of your system? 'Well, to try my best. To scream at the top of my lungs about what I'm going through.'/ppPreviously, West told me he thought proper rock stars settle down and have kids. On Heartbreak he morosely recounts how 'My friend showed me pictures of his kids, but all I could show him was pictures of my cribs.' This is not exactly typical hip-hop lyrical fodder, Kanye./pp'Especially for me,' nods West. 'How many times have I had songs just about what I've bought blah, blah, and now it's like - take all that away and what do you have?'/ppDo you think it will polarise your fanbase?/pp'Definitely. Some people just want to hear a lot of rap lyrics. I'm just trying to make the best music possible. I'll use the advantage of being a rapper to give an urban flavour to pop hits, which is an incredible combination. That chorus to "Heartbreak" could be a Broadway chorus, it's so classic' - In the night, I hear 'em talk, the coldest story ever told, somewhere far along this road he lost his soul, to a woman so heartless - the message is classic. The heartbreak. The Shakespearian tragedy. That's what this is - it's a modern-day tragedy. Devastation. Multiple losses in my life.'/ppYou've always been a control freak, but you must have felt you had no control over what's happened in the past year./pp'Yeah, but it helped me grow as a person. To have things that were out of my control and to have to accept those things. I'm less judgmental now, I think.'/ppHas it forced you to re-evaluate your beliefs?/pp'Yeah,' he says softly. 'Well, my beliefs... I don't partake to any specific religion, I just believe in God. I always had a problem with the specifics of religion. Like having to go to church on the third Sunday and eat the cracker and drink the wine...'/ppOn College Dropout you said God was the executive producer of your life. Do you still feel like that? 'Yeah, I feel like he has a path for me. I let him guide me. I open my mouth in the studio and let him say what he wants me to say, because I'm sure this music, even though it's gut wrenching, is going to help people get through their situations. You know we talked last time about being the soundtrack to people's lives? Well, really, that's what it is.'/ppYou mean you need to reflect the peaks and troughs of life in your music?/pp'Yeah,' he nods, 'because people go through heartbreak and then people have a good time.'/ppSo, the personal heartbreak - is it harder to deal with in the public, or weirdly cathartic? /pp'It's weird, it's kind of therapeutic ... but to have to answer all these questions ... it's hard.'/ppBut you're obviously going to be asked about it because it's the theme of the album./pp'Yeah, they're going to ask them a little more because of the songs, but the full explanation is in the songs ... the little things here and there, I don't really have to clarify them.'/ppWe continue a little longer, but West's head is dropping behind the shades. 'Yo, I need to take a nap. I'm just falling asleep. You're trailing with us today, right? We can talk some more later.' He curls up on the sofa and I leave the room./ppAfter West wakes up we travel in a convoy of people carriers to tonight's gig at the O2 arena. Before the gig, Kanye hosts a playback of the album for a select group of journalists. He is re-energised on hearing the music and more bullish when he answers a few questions. Most of the journalists are a little taken back by the curveball that is Heartbreak. It's either very brave or very foolish, one suggests - are you prepared for a backlash? 'Yeah, I'm prepared,' retorts West. 'For anyone who doesn't like it, fuck you in advance.'/ppAsked about the heartbreak he says: 'It's lonely at the top. Losing my mom, having no woman in my life to support me. I feel I'm on my own and can only express it through my music.'/ppAfter the gig, he unwinds backstage by taking on Damon Albarn at Connect 4, another one of his quirky obsessions./ppThe following lunchtime we meet just off Leicester Square. West picks up a sandwich from Subway before we head into Capital for some pre-recorded interviews for radio. He's asked again about the album's themes. 'I'm not going to Oprah Winfrey the situation, y'know what I'm saying?' he says. 'I've dealt with a lot of fucked-up shit in my life and my heart, and I'm not a celebrity, I'm a real person and people don't realise what that's like.'/ppPartly in an attempt to open a straight dialogue with fans and bypass the media, West has also launched his own blog. He posts up to 10 times a day, a mixture of pictures of contemporary architecture, pieces from his favourite clothing designers, scantily clad models - usually with a speech bubble saying, 'Where are you Yeezy?' - videos and the odd MP3. He thinks the blog 'saved me a whole bunch of money', reasoning that instead of spending millions on several homes, a fleet of cars and a trophy wife to prove his taste and success like a traditional pop star, he can simply showcase his impeccable taste on his blog. Occasionally, when he feels particularly misrepresented, there'll also be a BREATHLESS RANT IN CAPITALS WITHOUT ANY PUNCTUATION AGAINST SOME PLAYER HATERS WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT YE GIVES IT ALL FOR HIS FANS EVERY NIGHT!!!/ppLeaving Capital, on the way to Radio One, I'm invited to ride with West in his car to carry on the interview. Which is a little difficult when I'm in the front and he's sat behind me with Virgil Abloh, a designer who is showing him images on a laptop. /ppSo you've fallen out of love with fame, I suggest. 'Yeah,' he nods, 'it's weird, it's always been a love-hate thing. But now I blame fame for the losses of my life. In the future, I've got to figure how to handle that, with being super-famous.'/ppYou no longer want to be the biggest star in the world? 'I'm completely fine with somebody else being the biggest star. I don't need that. I just need to be expressive in my own right. I'm still going to do what I do and if by default that's the biggest thing then it is, but it's not my goal.'/ppWe talk about Obama's victory./pp'It was the most unbelievable thing in the world,' says West. 'So incredible, so unimaginable, that America picked him. Especially after the Al Gore thing, where he got all those votes and still didn't win.'/ppHe's written a song with Jay-Z inspired by Obama, called 'History', which has been leaked online, but already seems tired of being asked about it. 'The thing about Barack is that any question that you can ask has already been answered,' he says. 'Barack's win is like a comfortable silence. Whenever I think of the shit that is going on in my life, I just think of Barack and it makes everything seem OK.'/ppKanye has already met Obama. 'I met him with my mom in Chicago ... '/pp'I would definitely like to be cool with the president,' West concludes, after a while, 'I would just like to hoop with him. Everything else we can talk about on the court.'/ppTwo days later West is arrested after an incident with a paparazzi outside Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle. The next day, after posting pictures of the new Aston Martin One-77, Peruvian model Stephanie Cayo, a diving mask with built-in camera, new work by Beijing artist Li Wei and new Air Jordans, West blogs 'WHO'S WINNING ME OR THE MEDIA? NO MATTER HOW MUCH LIGHT I PUT OUT, THERE ARE PEOPLE WORKING JUST AS HARD TO ONLY DELIVER DARKNESS.' He continues: 'LET US NOT FORGET THE PAPS KILLED PRINCESS DIANA.'/ppAlmost all of the comments in response are positive, but some of West's fans seem a little concerned for his mental state. So much so that he feels the need to respond. 'THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YALL SUPPORT! I'M ACTUALLY DOING REALLY GOOD AND I'M INSPIRED AND CREATIVE RT NOW! ... NO MORE TWELVE MINUTE MISERY FREESTYLES LOL!!!'/ppSo what becomes of Ye, brokenhearted? He talks about taking six months off from music and going to work in a fashion house, giving himself some time off. 'It's like, I'd much rather talk about making this collar red,' he said in the car, pointing at a polo shirt on the laptop screen, 'than answer your questions right now.'/ppHe also talks about leaving LA and possibly moving to Europe. What doesn't seem in doubt is that he blames fame and success, and hence himself, for what happened over the past year./pp'I feel like I moved to California, then my mom moved to California,' he said, 'and she did stuff she wouldn't have done if we'd stayed in Chicago. If I'd never made it in the music business, it never would have happened.'/pp· Heartbreak is out now/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/kanyewest"Kanye West/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/m-FizsBDc1ZNPlUhPAXTKBjZen0/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/m-FizsBDc1ZNPlUhPAXTKBjZen0/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p