So, I was able to get home for Christmas to be with my parents (and grandmother). Friday (Dec 23), I was just way too tired to drive home, and I would have been leaving at 1:00 pm at the earliest, really too late for a 7-hr drive. So I left Saturday morning at 5:30. I was still tired, but I was able to get more than two hours of sleep.
It was great to be able to be here with my parents, especially after hurricane Katrina. My father took me around Monday showing me all the destruction (still)around, and it truly is a miracle that my parents got essentially no damage. The water rose up all around them (150-200 ft away), but did not get into the house or vehicles. I'm so thankful that they're still around. Entire houses had been submerged, at least over the ceiling. A former neighbor lived in a raised house (raised an entire story), and he lost his steps into the house. For a while, they had to use a rope and ladder to get into the house. They have steps now, but wow!
The beach in Ocean Springs (we didn't even try Biloxi or Gulfport -- Hwy 90 just opened up last week (I think) in Biloxi, but it's only two lanes total rather than the four it used to be. Entire apartment complexes gone, houses demolished and completely wiped out, a foundation being the only sign that the house existed. One house was skewed about ten degrees from vertical, as though a storm surge smashed against the house (very likely). When I get back to Texas, perhaps I'll post some pictures (if they come out okay).
Back to Christmas...
Christmas is about Christ, period. And I see nothing wrong with giving gifts. They shouldn't be payback or "equal". They're given for the enjoyment of giving out of love and affection for the recipient. I don't care if I get any gifts for Christmas (or on any occasion, for that matter). But I love to give gifts (yes, I know, I'm selfish usually, but when I give gifts, I really enjoy it). My favorite Christmas times are when I can give great gifts. (And it's not the amount of money I spend.) This year, I was able to give my mother a DVD player so she can watch some of the DVDs I've given her in the past few years (she can't sit in the chair in the family room where previously lived the only DVD player in the house). I'm excited for her. My grandmother loves clothes, but she can't really go out any more, so it's extremely difficult to get her anything. I got the bright idea when walking through the 75%-off book store to get some audio books. (but they had sold out of the particular title I intended to get, so that was a problem). Of course now, her only problem is that she can't see well enough to operate the cassette player, and I'm not sure she could figure out a CD player at all, though it's possible it might be easier for her. And I gave my father one of my old DVD players for his bedroom (yes, my parents' sleep patterns interfere with each other).
So, all in all, it was quite nice.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Friday, December 16, 2005
King Kong
Wednesday, I got to see King Kong. For free. At night. What an engrossing movie. It clocks in a tad over 3 hours, but I didn't really notice because I was so engaged.
The character of Kong, played by Andy Serkis of Gollum fame, was amazing. He truly looked like a giant gorilla. He acted like a gorilla, too (at least as much as I know from seeing footage of gorillas in action and reading about them). He was not human and did not act human. Yet, I can still relate to him. Peter Jackson walked a fine line in how to treat Kong, and I think he did an outstanding job.
The technology behind creating this creature is stunning. We are truly near the age where we can put on screen anything we can imagine. I really look forward to one day seeing the book, Childhood's End put to the big screen. The visuals in that book are amazing, and I don't think it could have been done before now.
Yet, the movie was not about the special effects. They served to aid the story, not be the story. Technology in and of itself, while extremely cool (me being the techno-geek would say something like that), is really useless unless put to good use.
(sorry for my jumbled thoughts here; I'm not feeling too well today, but felt I needed to put something up about Kong before too much time went on.
The character of Kong, played by Andy Serkis of Gollum fame, was amazing. He truly looked like a giant gorilla. He acted like a gorilla, too (at least as much as I know from seeing footage of gorillas in action and reading about them). He was not human and did not act human. Yet, I can still relate to him. Peter Jackson walked a fine line in how to treat Kong, and I think he did an outstanding job.
The technology behind creating this creature is stunning. We are truly near the age where we can put on screen anything we can imagine. I really look forward to one day seeing the book, Childhood's End put to the big screen. The visuals in that book are amazing, and I don't think it could have been done before now.
Yet, the movie was not about the special effects. They served to aid the story, not be the story. Technology in and of itself, while extremely cool (me being the techno-geek would say something like that), is really useless unless put to good use.
(sorry for my jumbled thoughts here; I'm not feeling too well today, but felt I needed to put something up about Kong before too much time went on.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantastic movie. I look forward to reading the book now. Yes, I'm uncultured. I have never read any of the Narnia books. I did recently purchase the big thick compilation book from Sam's, with stories presented in Lewis' preferred reading order, and I've read two pages of that.
(minor spoilers) God was really speaking to me throughout the entire film. In particular, the conversations between the witch and Edmund, the younger brother of the four siblings, stuck out to me. And when she confronted Aslan (the lion, or should that be The Lion?), several things became clear to me. Relative to the story, she had taken the facts and twisted them to suit her desires. Edmund didn't set out to be a traitor. A traitor is someone who deliberately betrays friends/Romans/countrymen in order to meet their own goals, however noble or low they might be. Edmund mentioned Thomas the Faun in passing, not realizing to whom he was speaking (ooh, how formal!) or the consequences of said speech. If he had known, I'm sure he would have kept his mouth shut. He was also trying to protect the fox in the second incident.
What other malevolent being do we know of that likes to twist our words, pervert the cause of our actions, and just generally wreak havoc? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count. I'll wait while you guess. la la la (a little music to pass the time) Okay, just to be sure we're on the same page, the answer is: "satan". Like the witch in Narnia, satan twists everything we do around, instilling doubt and second-guessing within us. And he makes it seem like it's our very own thought.
And God spoke to me that all these things I hold against myself, none of it is an original thought of mine. It's all deception from Satan (it also helps that we talked about this in small group Thursday night, so I was questioning these things anyway). I do not—and cannot—deny that I have sinned in so many ways. But these things do not condemn or make me unworthy (that word appeared out of nowhere&mdashit's my trigger word for self-condemnation). Yes, they are wrong, but God forgives me of those things (I've asked, don't you know), and He does NOT condemn me. Why should I?
(minor spoilers) God was really speaking to me throughout the entire film. In particular, the conversations between the witch and Edmund, the younger brother of the four siblings, stuck out to me. And when she confronted Aslan (the lion, or should that be The Lion?), several things became clear to me. Relative to the story, she had taken the facts and twisted them to suit her desires. Edmund didn't set out to be a traitor. A traitor is someone who deliberately betrays friends/Romans/countrymen in order to meet their own goals, however noble or low they might be. Edmund mentioned Thomas the Faun in passing, not realizing to whom he was speaking (ooh, how formal!) or the consequences of said speech. If he had known, I'm sure he would have kept his mouth shut. He was also trying to protect the fox in the second incident.
What other malevolent being do we know of that likes to twist our words, pervert the cause of our actions, and just generally wreak havoc? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count. I'll wait while you guess. la la la (a little music to pass the time) Okay, just to be sure we're on the same page, the answer is: "satan". Like the witch in Narnia, satan twists everything we do around, instilling doubt and second-guessing within us. And he makes it seem like it's our very own thought.
And God spoke to me that all these things I hold against myself, none of it is an original thought of mine. It's all deception from Satan (it also helps that we talked about this in small group Thursday night, so I was questioning these things anyway). I do not—and cannot—deny that I have sinned in so many ways. But these things do not condemn or make me unworthy (that word appeared out of nowhere&mdashit's my trigger word for self-condemnation). Yes, they are wrong, but God forgives me of those things (I've asked, don't you know), and He does NOT condemn me. Why should I?
New Music -- and a movie
Last night, I splurged and ordered some music. I was able to get all of these for $5.99 a piece, and since I ordered 5 or more (at that price, it's kind of hard not to), shipping and handling was FREE, baby! So straight from the order confirmation and with my patented (ha) anticipated-enjoyment rating system with one (1) low and ten (10) high, I give you:
One thing I've noticed with my ratings of things is that they skew toward the high end (movies included). I always concluded that I was non-discriminatory in my listening between "good" and "bad" (I'm sure many would argue that I am buffoon for my choices). Then, while typing this up, it dawned on me that I pretty much have culled out my garbage from even entering the fray. If I've heard snippets of songs and they don't grab me, or the description of a movie isn't compelling to me, then I don't bother wasting any further time on it.
Random Hearts is a good example of my system gone bad. My anticipated enjoyment of this movie was a 7; it had Harrison Ford in it, and I always enjoy his movies (though I refuse to watch Six Days Seven Nights — this movie has zero appeal to me). Twenty minutes into it, I knew I was in trouble. So was the movie. I just checked my Netflix rating, and I gave it 1 star. Which is as low as you can give. Their 1-star rating means "Hated It", but this does not do justice to how much I disliked this movie. (and I suppose this is a pretty random tag-on to my music post; though it does show that I'm not perfect in my expectations)
| # | Artist | Title | Anticipated Enjoyment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Tomlin | Arriving | 8 |
| 2 | Chris Tomlin | Not to Us | 8 |
| 3 | Building 429 | Space in Between Us | 7 |
| 4 | Newsboys | Devotion | 9 |
| 5 | Audio Adrenaline | Until My Heart Caves In | 8 |
| 6 | Fatboy Slim | Better Living Through Chemistry | 7 |
One thing I've noticed with my ratings of things is that they skew toward the high end (movies included). I always concluded that I was non-discriminatory in my listening between "good" and "bad" (I'm sure many would argue that I am buffoon for my choices). Then, while typing this up, it dawned on me that I pretty much have culled out my garbage from even entering the fray. If I've heard snippets of songs and they don't grab me, or the description of a movie isn't compelling to me, then I don't bother wasting any further time on it.
Random Hearts is a good example of my system gone bad. My anticipated enjoyment of this movie was a 7; it had Harrison Ford in it, and I always enjoy his movies (though I refuse to watch Six Days Seven Nights — this movie has zero appeal to me). Twenty minutes into it, I knew I was in trouble. So was the movie. I just checked my Netflix rating, and I gave it 1 star. Which is as low as you can give. Their 1-star rating means "Hated It", but this does not do justice to how much I disliked this movie. (and I suppose this is a pretty random tag-on to my music post; though it does show that I'm not perfect in my expectations)
Monday, December 05, 2005
Ticked
Man, am I ticked! And of course, I should have done my homework more thoroughly before making a purchase, but come on, people, this is absolutely ridiculous.
People have long complained about buying a DVD only to have another edition come out several months later. Well, for at least two DVD releases this fall, the studios have "solved" this problem: They release not just fullscreen (gag!) and widescreen versions of a movie on the same day, but they've also release two-disc special editions on the very same day at a MUCH steeper price.
The first movie I noticed this on is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The second movie, for which I have already bought—in ignorance—the widescreen version, is War of the Worlds. In my defense, I can only say that Wal-Mart really screwed me over on this one because they had zero copies of the two-disc special edition of WotW.
Grrr!
People have long complained about buying a DVD only to have another edition come out several months later. Well, for at least two DVD releases this fall, the studios have "solved" this problem: They release not just fullscreen (gag!) and widescreen versions of a movie on the same day, but they've also release two-disc special editions on the very same day at a MUCH steeper price.
The first movie I noticed this on is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The second movie, for which I have already bought—in ignorance—the widescreen version, is War of the Worlds. In my defense, I can only say that Wal-Mart really screwed me over on this one because they had zero copies of the two-disc special edition of WotW.
Grrr!
Friday, December 02, 2005
So much to comment on
The past few days I've thought of so many things to comment on, and I can't remember any of them.
Oh, the 1,000th criminal was executed since the death penalty was re-instated in 1977. His lawyer's reason to not execute him? He's a changed man now, and would never do again anything like what he did.
I have no doubt he's a changed man, that he "found" Jesus (though I'm sure Jesus did most of the searching), and that he is in heaven today praising God with all the other saints who have gone on into glory. And perhaps, his impending execution caused him to think seriously about these things and where he would stand with God when Face to top-of-head-from-bowing-in-shame (the posture I imagine all of us will assume when faced with the awesome majesty, purity, and Truth of God/Jesus/Spirit). Better late than never.
However, our actions have consequences, and just because we learn our lesson and make a change for the better doesn't mean we can get out of suffering the consequences of our actions. My heart breaks for the man and his family, but my heart also breaks for the family of his victim(s). Through no fault of the victim, their loved one is ripped from their lives in a horrific manner by someone who made the
I have great sorrow that we have the death penalty, but I have even greater sorrow that we as a society have individuals that commit crimes that are deemed punishable by the death penalty, that the nature of their crime is so horrendous and so violent that their execution is the only way to get the point across that this behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Oh, the 1,000th criminal was executed since the death penalty was re-instated in 1977. His lawyer's reason to not execute him? He's a changed man now, and would never do again anything like what he did.
I have no doubt he's a changed man, that he "found" Jesus (though I'm sure Jesus did most of the searching), and that he is in heaven today praising God with all the other saints who have gone on into glory. And perhaps, his impending execution caused him to think seriously about these things and where he would stand with God when Face to top-of-head-from-bowing-in-shame (the posture I imagine all of us will assume when faced with the awesome majesty, purity, and Truth of God/Jesus/Spirit). Better late than never.
However, our actions have consequences, and just because we learn our lesson and make a change for the better doesn't mean we can get out of suffering the consequences of our actions. My heart breaks for the man and his family, but my heart also breaks for the family of his victim(s). Through no fault of the victim, their loved one is ripped from their lives in a horrific manner by someone who made the
- choice
I have great sorrow that we have the death penalty, but I have even greater sorrow that we as a society have individuals that commit crimes that are deemed punishable by the death penalty, that the nature of their crime is so horrendous and so violent that their execution is the only way to get the point across that this behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
One More Thing
I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tonight. Which is nothing new. I love this show, mostly because it's about helping people in some kind of need. It's not about the style or decor (which would be okay), but everything the designers do is about how it would help the people. I can only hope to be involved with something so grand at some point.
Poor Texans
I am not a football fan of any sort. I'm not even a sports fan. At all. The only reason I pay any attention to sports on the news is so that I can occasionally comment on a discussion if I hear anything.
Today, the Texans (the Houston NFL team) blew a 21-point lead to fall to either 1-9 or 1-10 for the season. I'm very sad for the players and the head coach. Somehow or another, when it's all over with, many heads will roll. Whose will it be? I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to evaluate it. Apparently, the offensive line is not doing their job. I'm afraid they're gonna can the quarterback, David Carr. Which would be bad, as he's doing what he can (I imagine). He's apparently done some quite good things within the community working with underprivileged children among other things. I guess he can work anywhere, but dangit, why do all the good guys have to leave?
But then again, I don't know nothin' 'bout no football. Back to Stargate: Atlantis for me.
Today, the Texans (the Houston NFL team) blew a 21-point lead to fall to either 1-9 or 1-10 for the season. I'm very sad for the players and the head coach. Somehow or another, when it's all over with, many heads will roll. Whose will it be? I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to evaluate it. Apparently, the offensive line is not doing their job. I'm afraid they're gonna can the quarterback, David Carr. Which would be bad, as he's doing what he can (I imagine). He's apparently done some quite good things within the community working with underprivileged children among other things. I guess he can work anywhere, but dangit, why do all the good guys have to leave?
But then again, I don't know nothin' 'bout no football. Back to Stargate: Atlantis for me.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Go Figure — More Movies
Thanksgiving was a good time. I went to my friends Stephen & Lisa's house (at their invitation, of course; I didn't just show up for turkey!!!) and had some quite excellent food and food stuffs (whatever they might be).
So, we watched Stealth after their children went to bed. It was slightly better than what I expected. Jessica Biehl, while very attractive, didn't really convince me in her role (I still think of her as Mary from "7th Heaven"). Jaime Foxx was his normal self, what you would expect him to be, Ray not withstanding. The only one remotely interesting was Josh Lucas, and even he didn't do that good a job. Of course, with bad material, there's only so much one can accomplish. Anyway, it's not a total waste to watch this, but I can think of many other things I'd like to see. I can say two good things about this flick: (1) there was a great transition from flying over water to the XO walking on the flight deck, and (2) there was an incredible explosion that I would love to see the backstory on how they did it (it did make sense in the story, not just mindless stuff).
After I got home, I finished watching La Grande Illusion (1938). This is an interesting war movie (it's interesting to not that when I was young I would refuse to watch war movies because I thought them boring and :::ugghh::: black and white. I grew up. Even if you don't believe it, I did.) about some captured French pilots and soldiers. I guess France used to fight. Anway, the setting is during WWI, so no Hitler or Gestapo or SS to hate. The German officers were portrayed rather kindly, as were the prisoners' housing conditions. I have no clue how accurate this might be. Definitely worth seeing.
Finally, last night, I watched Divorce Italian Style (1961), apparently the precursor to Divorce American Style (1967), starring Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds (and which I now must see to compare to the original Italian). Anyway, this movie is about a man (Marcello Mastroianni) who is trying to figure out a way to kill his wife "legally" so he can marry his young cousin (and not have to pay his wife alimony, though in his position, divorce might not actually be a viable option). It's rather a dark comedy, but not necessarily a laugh-out-loud comedy. The ending is definitely worth watching the movie.
My only problem with these two movies, and it's more pointed at me than the movies themselves, is that they're subtitled (which I don't mind at all). However, to watch them, I have to really pay attention, which I should really be doing anyway.
Before these three movies, however, I watched David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), an extremely spare DVD. It's dark and moody, contains some really good music, and makes me question whether I ever want to see any other David Lynch movie. Between this and Eraserhead, I don't hold much hope of enjoying anything he does, except perhaps for The Straight Story. After reviewing his filmography, I admit I enjoyed Dune, but that story was not his. And the mini-series on Sci-Fi was a much more faithful adaptation, but Lynch's movie was not bad at all (unless you ask my mother).
I don't mind thinking about a movie and having my head messed around with (Memento comes to mind), but this movie is ridiculously obtuse, strange for the sake of being strange, irrelevantly explicitly sexual in multiple places, and does not build me up in any way, shape, form, or fashion. A viewer's review on Netflix indicated that you need to watch this movie many, many times and read all of the other viewers' takes on the film to get an idea of what it's about. That is ridiculous. The Emporer's new clothes are non-existent, people, and this is not worth fauning over. As much as I detest Eraserhead—the single most disturbing movie I have ever seen—it's a far more interesting movie and could actually be worth tracking down all the interpretations and trying to figure out more.
I started watching Creature Comforts - Season 1 (1989), by Nick Park. Comedy of circumstances and situation absolutely rocks. Not knowing the full background of the series, it seems like British people were interviewed, and their voices were animated by clay animals in the style of Wallace & Grommit. Very funny stuff, and well worth your time. I've only watched three or four of the thirteen episodes, but it's really quite good. (Each episode runs under nine minutes.)
So, we watched Stealth after their children went to bed. It was slightly better than what I expected. Jessica Biehl, while very attractive, didn't really convince me in her role (I still think of her as Mary from "7th Heaven"). Jaime Foxx was his normal self, what you would expect him to be, Ray not withstanding. The only one remotely interesting was Josh Lucas, and even he didn't do that good a job. Of course, with bad material, there's only so much one can accomplish. Anyway, it's not a total waste to watch this, but I can think of many other things I'd like to see. I can say two good things about this flick: (1) there was a great transition from flying over water to the XO walking on the flight deck, and (2) there was an incredible explosion that I would love to see the backstory on how they did it (it did make sense in the story, not just mindless stuff).
After I got home, I finished watching La Grande Illusion (1938). This is an interesting war movie (it's interesting to not that when I was young I would refuse to watch war movies because I thought them boring and :::ugghh::: black and white. I grew up. Even if you don't believe it, I did.) about some captured French pilots and soldiers. I guess France used to fight. Anway, the setting is during WWI, so no Hitler or Gestapo or SS to hate. The German officers were portrayed rather kindly, as were the prisoners' housing conditions. I have no clue how accurate this might be. Definitely worth seeing.
Finally, last night, I watched Divorce Italian Style (1961), apparently the precursor to Divorce American Style (1967), starring Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds (and which I now must see to compare to the original Italian). Anyway, this movie is about a man (Marcello Mastroianni) who is trying to figure out a way to kill his wife "legally" so he can marry his young cousin (and not have to pay his wife alimony, though in his position, divorce might not actually be a viable option). It's rather a dark comedy, but not necessarily a laugh-out-loud comedy. The ending is definitely worth watching the movie.
My only problem with these two movies, and it's more pointed at me than the movies themselves, is that they're subtitled (which I don't mind at all). However, to watch them, I have to really pay attention, which I should really be doing anyway.
Before these three movies, however, I watched David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), an extremely spare DVD. It's dark and moody, contains some really good music, and makes me question whether I ever want to see any other David Lynch movie. Between this and Eraserhead, I don't hold much hope of enjoying anything he does, except perhaps for The Straight Story. After reviewing his filmography, I admit I enjoyed Dune, but that story was not his. And the mini-series on Sci-Fi was a much more faithful adaptation, but Lynch's movie was not bad at all (unless you ask my mother).
I don't mind thinking about a movie and having my head messed around with (Memento comes to mind), but this movie is ridiculously obtuse, strange for the sake of being strange, irrelevantly explicitly sexual in multiple places, and does not build me up in any way, shape, form, or fashion. A viewer's review on Netflix indicated that you need to watch this movie many, many times and read all of the other viewers' takes on the film to get an idea of what it's about. That is ridiculous. The Emporer's new clothes are non-existent, people, and this is not worth fauning over. As much as I detest Eraserhead—the single most disturbing movie I have ever seen—it's a far more interesting movie and could actually be worth tracking down all the interpretations and trying to figure out more.
I started watching Creature Comforts - Season 1 (1989), by Nick Park. Comedy of circumstances and situation absolutely rocks. Not knowing the full background of the series, it seems like British people were interviewed, and their voices were animated by clay animals in the style of Wallace & Grommit. Very funny stuff, and well worth your time. I've only watched three or four of the thirteen episodes, but it's really quite good. (Each episode runs under nine minutes.)
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
No More Chocolate
I have eaten all the chocolate in my apartment, and there is no more. Fortunately, it lasted nearly two weeks and not the 1-2 days it normally would.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
A Random Assortment Today
Apparently, the bus driver who drove a bus filled with elderly nursing home patients will not face homicide charges (the bus caught fire, and 23 patients died). I think it would be an extreme travesty of justice to try this man for murder or even manslaughter. The bus was in stop-and-go traffic for nearly 24 hours, and those vehicles are not built for that type of operation. Yes, it's a terrible thing that these people died. But how could that possibly be offset by holding this man for murder? What justice would be served by making him "pay" for this accident?
A cold front came through Houston this afternoon. It was accompanied by quite the storm. Lightning struck the building or near the building I work in, and immediately the fire alarms went off. That was quite annoying for the next 10 minutes. Once the storm started clearing a little bit, I saw the eeriest looking sky I've seen in quite some time. If the sky had been green instead of this garish yellow, I would have been extremely concerned. Maybe I'm just ignorant enough to not realize I should have been concerned with the yellow sky, too.
Coming back from lunch today, I was stopped at a light. That is not an event worth noting in and of itself. Once the light turned green, however, the story turned much more noteworthy. There was a Suburban on my left, and the driver started out a half second or so once the light turned green. Note also that in Houston, there is a noticeable lapse of time from the time the light turns red in one direction to another direction getting a green light. So, for the Suburban driver to have waited a half second should have provided plenty of time to clear the intersection. Suddently, he's slamming on his brakes as a driver comes barrelling through the intersection blowing his horn like he's got the right of way. If there had been a collision between those two vehicles, the Suburban more than likely would have been knocked into my car; that's how fast the cross vehicle was going. Where was a policeman? Probably looking for a speeder or some other revenue-generating "crime". Thank Tou, God, for protecting me and us in this situation.
And that's all for today.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Recent Movies
I was telling a friend of mine about recent movies. I figured it was neat enough that I would post here. Don't know (or care) if there's any overlap with previous posts. (only Nobody Knows, b/c I remember posting how extremely upset I was about what the mother did to these children.)
Recently watched:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1941) - very good; atypical [sic] Hitchcock; everyone's quick to claim remake in name only, but I think it's closer than that, at least thematically (talking about marriage)
The General (silent, 1927) explains why Buster Keaton is so revered. Hilarious. I want more Keaton -- Buster, not Michael (though he's pretty decent in his own right)
High & Low (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1963) His take on the American crime detective story. Slow but deliberate. Excellent.
Shoot the Piano Player (dir. Francois Truffaut, 1960) well done but a little disjointed; I guess a very French film, though not nearly so depressing an ending as typical. Makes me want to see more Truffaut films, of which eight are previewed on the disc.
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie story, 1945) the original (maybe). great story with a great twist. If you've seen Identity, you know the basic twist. Still worth seeing.
Beauty and the Beast (dir. Jean Cocteau, 1946) very much a live-action fairy tale/fable. I understand much better how the Disney film was what it was (though clearly different, and not necessarily for the better)
Nobody Knows (2005) based on a true story (apparently "inspired" is the appropriate term), four children are abandoned by their mother to fend for themselves. How will they manage? I believe in the true life version, the mother actually died, which I think is not nearly as tragic as the abandonment.
Watching Shall We Dance? with Richard Gere. It's decent. Apparently, it's based on a Japanese film of the same name (though in Japanese, not English)
Mute Math -- Almost
Left work early -- at 5 -- to meet friends for dinner and go see Mute Math. Food was very good, but service was slow. The concert started at 7:30, meaning about 8, right? Well, we got there (two blocks from the restaurant), and the venue was already sold out. Small place + large crowd = not much chance of getting in unless one had purchased tickets early.
So, sadly, I've only seen Mute Math once this year. Which is one more than two of my friends who went tonight. I was looking forward to hearing Mae. Not being at all familiar with them but having heard good things about them, I felt their show would be good. Apparently, many others felt the same. Next time, we buy tickets in advance.
So, instead, we went walking around downtown. Lots to see, but only bars were open. That was kind of disappointing. And we won't talk about the massively over-commercialized Toyota Center (Toyota Tundra Parking Garage? give me a huge break!). Sure, they're building downtown to look nifty, but they're quite a ways away from actually being able to entice people to want to come down there on a regular basis, or anything other than a special event.
I rode the light rail for the first time. It was nice, but kind of pointless. It is only in the area of town already well-served by Metro buses. Serving the tens of thousands of people commuting back and forth from West Houston? No, not a chance. More than hourly service to the Galleria area, where almost as many people work as are downtown? "Well, we're considering whether it's feasible to provide that kind of service." Gosh, it seems that Metro is really only interested in developing routes along land that is owned by members of the board who control Metro. I wonder how that happened. But enough of that.
So, sadly, I've only seen Mute Math once this year. Which is one more than two of my friends who went tonight. I was looking forward to hearing Mae. Not being at all familiar with them but having heard good things about them, I felt their show would be good. Apparently, many others felt the same. Next time, we buy tickets in advance.
So, instead, we went walking around downtown. Lots to see, but only bars were open. That was kind of disappointing. And we won't talk about the massively over-commercialized Toyota Center (Toyota Tundra Parking Garage? give me a huge break!). Sure, they're building downtown to look nifty, but they're quite a ways away from actually being able to entice people to want to come down there on a regular basis, or anything other than a special event.
I rode the light rail for the first time. It was nice, but kind of pointless. It is only in the area of town already well-served by Metro buses. Serving the tens of thousands of people commuting back and forth from West Houston? No, not a chance. More than hourly service to the Galleria area, where almost as many people work as are downtown? "Well, we're considering whether it's feasible to provide that kind of service." Gosh, it seems that Metro is really only interested in developing routes along land that is owned by members of the board who control Metro. I wonder how that happened. But enough of that.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Micro$haft
Micro$oft is demonstrating increasingly insane behavior. I use XP at work, and I've set all Automatic Updates to download and inform me when available. Twice now, my computer has been force rebooted by a Micro$oft update WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, killing some long-running programs in the process. They (you know, the infamous "they", the "they" who hold all wordly knowledge and wisdom) say bad things happen at night. I understand that at night there is generally less traffic, but it also seems Micro$oft hides behind this to do its dastardly deeds without question or restraint.
"You weren't there to say, 'No', so we had no choice."
Grrr
"You weren't there to say, 'No', so we had no choice."
Grrr
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
working too much, and associated problems
It seems like all I do now is work. I work until all hours of the night, and then I have to do (minimal) stuff at home. I just never get any sleep any more.
Last Saturday, I was at church at 7:33 a.m. for a mission project. I got home at 5:00 p.m. I sat down for the last 1-1/2 hrs because I was completely worn out, or at least my feet were. We painted a house "Stork Pink". Let's just say, it was PINK. Not fuschia, not light red, but pink.
:::sigh::: I want off the merry-go-round. I want my life to be normal again. I don't think it'll ever happen again in my life. If you can find my other blog, you might read about it.
Last Saturday, I was at church at 7:33 a.m. for a mission project. I got home at 5:00 p.m. I sat down for the last 1-1/2 hrs because I was completely worn out, or at least my feet were. We painted a house "Stork Pink". Let's just say, it was PINK. Not fuschia, not light red, but pink.
:::sigh::: I want off the merry-go-round. I want my life to be normal again. I don't think it'll ever happen again in my life. If you can find my other blog, you might read about it.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
aaaaarrrgggghhhhh
This involved some kind of castle and huge hideous beast, and something about carving a message into the wall on the way down...
Work has been entirely too hectic lately. Working until 8 or 10 or 12 most nights, and that's after trying to get in earlier than usual to get a head start on things. At least I'm getting to do some fun database work, not just menial, trivial junk. I believe this is the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years that I'm come close to fully using my capabilities. I rock. I almost felt guilty leaving at 6:05 this evening. Isn't that awful, to feel guilty about leaving that late? I t was a 9-1/2 hour day.
Last night, I finished watching the first four episodes of "Lost" and "Invasion" this season since last Saturday. What excellent shows! I recorded tonight's episodes and decided to watch a movie from Netflix. My choices were: High and Low (Akira Kurosawa), The General, and Nobody Knows. I'm saving The General for a movie night in a couple of weeks, and I wasn't in a mood for Kurosawa (I know that's blasphemy), so I watched Nobody Knows.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Basic premise: four children, from ages 5 to 12, are abandoned by their mother. Even when she's around, it's not much different except for her having an apparently steady income for the family. The remainder of the movie focuses primarily on the oldest child and what he does for his brother and sisters. The children do a fantastic job and seem fairly realistic in their reactions. The gradual wearing down of clothes, the growing hair, and the desperation of what you would consider doing to survive (which, at the end of a year of being unemployed, well, let's just say that was pretty realistic).
And now for the ranting... Just imagine this next bit is in all caps, bold, and about 72pt. Also, minor spoilers, but not too much more than what you would find on the blurb on the back of the box.
How can a mother (or father) just abandon her children so she can find some kind of "happiness" in her life? How can she raise them in such a way that they're forced to live out their childhood in the squalor of their cramped apartment? A 12-year old shouldn't have to make the kinds of decisions that an adult should have to make to survive. He stayed and did what he could, unlike his selfish twit of a mother. They should all get to go outside to play, go to school and learn, and just be kids. I am just infuriated at this.
I know this is just a movie, but it is based on a true story (though I think in the actual events, the mother died), and I can't help but wonder how much of this is going on today right here in the land of plenty of America. (The movie is set in Japan.) Why do we treat our children as a nuisance, a bother to the rest of our lives? I'm not shocked that we do this (and I do mean the editorial "we" here) because we live in a fallen world, and, increasingly, what used to be considered wrong or unthinkable is becoming considered the norm, and what used to be right and respected is not just falling out of favor but being ridiculed as "out of date" and "closed-minded". We've been at war far longer than we've been in Iraq, and the consequences of losing this war are far more insidious and regretful (maybe not the best words, but it's all I can come up with for the nonce). We're not merely talking about lives, but the very souls of people.
And this reminds me of what I feel God is leading me to at some point in my life: working with teenagers—primarily boys/young men—who are selling their bodies to survive. (None of that happened in the movie, so don't worry about that.) God has placed this particular group of people on my heart so much. And the people that prey on them, that use them for their own pleasure, I pray God will convict them of their wrong-doing in this. It wouldn't be very nice what I would want done to them. Yes, they pay the guys for their "time", but life is more than just money, and these young men are worth so very much more than money.
Work has been entirely too hectic lately. Working until 8 or 10 or 12 most nights, and that's after trying to get in earlier than usual to get a head start on things. At least I'm getting to do some fun database work, not just menial, trivial junk. I believe this is the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years that I'm come close to fully using my capabilities. I rock. I almost felt guilty leaving at 6:05 this evening. Isn't that awful, to feel guilty about leaving that late? I t was a 9-1/2 hour day.
Last night, I finished watching the first four episodes of "Lost" and "Invasion" this season since last Saturday. What excellent shows! I recorded tonight's episodes and decided to watch a movie from Netflix. My choices were: High and Low (Akira Kurosawa), The General, and Nobody Knows. I'm saving The General for a movie night in a couple of weeks, and I wasn't in a mood for Kurosawa (I know that's blasphemy), so I watched Nobody Knows.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Basic premise: four children, from ages 5 to 12, are abandoned by their mother. Even when she's around, it's not much different except for her having an apparently steady income for the family. The remainder of the movie focuses primarily on the oldest child and what he does for his brother and sisters. The children do a fantastic job and seem fairly realistic in their reactions. The gradual wearing down of clothes, the growing hair, and the desperation of what you would consider doing to survive (which, at the end of a year of being unemployed, well, let's just say that was pretty realistic).
And now for the ranting... Just imagine this next bit is in all caps, bold, and about 72pt. Also, minor spoilers, but not too much more than what you would find on the blurb on the back of the box.
How can a mother (or father) just abandon her children so she can find some kind of "happiness" in her life? How can she raise them in such a way that they're forced to live out their childhood in the squalor of their cramped apartment? A 12-year old shouldn't have to make the kinds of decisions that an adult should have to make to survive. He stayed and did what he could, unlike his selfish twit of a mother. They should all get to go outside to play, go to school and learn, and just be kids. I am just infuriated at this.
I know this is just a movie, but it is based on a true story (though I think in the actual events, the mother died), and I can't help but wonder how much of this is going on today right here in the land of plenty of America. (The movie is set in Japan.) Why do we treat our children as a nuisance, a bother to the rest of our lives? I'm not shocked that we do this (and I do mean the editorial "we" here) because we live in a fallen world, and, increasingly, what used to be considered wrong or unthinkable is becoming considered the norm, and what used to be right and respected is not just falling out of favor but being ridiculed as "out of date" and "closed-minded". We've been at war far longer than we've been in Iraq, and the consequences of losing this war are far more insidious and regretful (maybe not the best words, but it's all I can come up with for the nonce). We're not merely talking about lives, but the very souls of people.
And this reminds me of what I feel God is leading me to at some point in my life: working with teenagers—primarily boys/young men—who are selling their bodies to survive. (None of that happened in the movie, so don't worry about that.) God has placed this particular group of people on my heart so much. And the people that prey on them, that use them for their own pleasure, I pray God will convict them of their wrong-doing in this. It wouldn't be very nice what I would want done to them. Yes, they pay the guys for their "time", but life is more than just money, and these young men are worth so very much more than money.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Work again
Well, I left work at 12:15 this morning (just over an hour ago). What a long day (still better than the 3:45 am episode a couple of weeks ago).
On the plus side, my boss sent me an email telling me that he was going to include a (substantial) bonus on the next paycheck. Yowsa!!! Thank you, Tom, and thank you, God!
On the plus side, my boss sent me an email telling me that he was going to include a (substantial) bonus on the next paycheck. Yowsa!!! Thank you, Tom, and thank you, God!
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
WOW
So, Houston is pretty much spared. I never lost power. I have my tv hooked to the cable outlet to use as an antenna, and I lost most of the channels (only local broadcast, of course). Phones, water, power—I have it all.
Thank you, God.
Please continue your prayers for the people in Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Lake Charles.
Thank you, God.
Please continue your prayers for the people in Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Lake Charles.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Signing Off
Well, before I lose power tonight, I thought I'd post once more. Fortunately for Houston, Rita has moved to the east and downgraded to a Category 3 storm. It's going in at Port Arthur, so keep those people in your prayers. Not that we're out of the woods; we're still expecting hurricane force winds, but the amount of damage from under-100 mph winds is far less than 125+ mph. I'm very thankful to God that we'll be spared the full fury of this storm, and even those that are getting it will be spared what it could have been.
I think our local and state leaders have done the best job they can under the circumstances in evacuating people and calling a state of emergency early enough. However, we still have room to improve. The highways became parking lots (literally). So far, 33 people have died in their cars because they couldn't go anywhere. That's not including the bus that caught fire just south of Dallas. This is unacceptable. I'm not blaming the officials for these deaths, but there has to be a better way. There just has to be.
Houston is a ghost town. If I could afford the gasoline (both price and its actual use), I would have gone around just to see how empty the city is. I'll trust the pictures on the news, though, that showed empty streets. No birds chirping. And as I went to my car to get my last supplies (cereal and pudding), that was an eery, ominous stillness, the so-called calm before the storm.
Again, I appreciate and covet your prayers.
I think our local and state leaders have done the best job they can under the circumstances in evacuating people and calling a state of emergency early enough. However, we still have room to improve. The highways became parking lots (literally). So far, 33 people have died in their cars because they couldn't go anywhere. That's not including the bus that caught fire just south of Dallas. This is unacceptable. I'm not blaming the officials for these deaths, but there has to be a better way. There just has to be.
Houston is a ghost town. If I could afford the gasoline (both price and its actual use), I would have gone around just to see how empty the city is. I'll trust the pictures on the news, though, that showed empty streets. No birds chirping. And as I went to my car to get my last supplies (cereal and pudding), that was an eery, ominous stillness, the so-called calm before the storm.
Again, I appreciate and covet your prayers.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Rita
So, I left work at 3:45 this morning. WIthout eating dinner. I was hot, tired, and not nearly as hungry as you would imagine for not eating since 1:00 pm. No snack, just water. And then I got two hours of sleep. I'm a tired puppy.
Part of my lack of sleep is due to watching coverage of the major storm, Rita. I'm planning on staying through the storm. Unless I'm forced to leave or something. I won't be stupid about it. I ask for your prayers for everyone down here in the southeast Texas area.
Because of Katrina (imagine, barely three weeks ago, we had a "K" storm, and now we're down to "R" — that's eight storms within a one month time span, assuming that we had "P" and "Q" storms — I don't recall hearing about anything after Ophelia)... anyway, because of Katrina, people are panicing here big time. It seems they're expecting a New Orleans-style catastrophe with this storm. The biggest difference is that we're (slightly) above sea level, and we're not surrounded by levees.
Anyway, again, I ask your prayers.
Part of my lack of sleep is due to watching coverage of the major storm, Rita. I'm planning on staying through the storm. Unless I'm forced to leave or something. I won't be stupid about it. I ask for your prayers for everyone down here in the southeast Texas area.
Because of Katrina (imagine, barely three weeks ago, we had a "K" storm, and now we're down to "R" — that's eight storms within a one month time span, assuming that we had "P" and "Q" storms — I don't recall hearing about anything after Ophelia)... anyway, because of Katrina, people are panicing here big time. It seems they're expecting a New Orleans-style catastrophe with this storm. The biggest difference is that we're (slightly) above sea level, and we're not surrounded by levees.
Anyway, again, I ask your prayers.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
So Needy
I wanted to post this last night, but I worked until 11:30 and didn't much feel like writing then (though I did start watching a movie).
I've been listening to Shawn McDonald's (one of the five CD's I bought recently) live album on repeat in the car, and the passion this man has for God and the knowledge that he's not where he wants to be yet are very touching to me. I want to be so much more, and I'm so frustrated that I'm not there yet, that I still look at myself as such a loser and has-been. I know that's not how God sees me, and it's certainly not the way He wants me to see myself. Anyway, something along these lines came running through my head:
I've been listening to Shawn McDonald's (one of the five CD's I bought recently) live album on repeat in the car, and the passion this man has for God and the knowledge that he's not where he wants to be yet are very touching to me. I want to be so much more, and I'm so frustrated that I'm not there yet, that I still look at myself as such a loser and has-been. I know that's not how God sees me, and it's certainly not the way He wants me to see myself. Anyway, something along these lines came running through my head:
God, I need You
Every minute of the day.
WIthout you, I can do nothing
and be nothing.
Every breath a gift,
Every blessing an excess.
I'm grateful for my life
Even while I despise myself at times.
God, You are my reason
And my existence.
(c) 2005, 42 Penguin Productions
Sunday, September 11, 2005
A new cartoon
I love animation. Possibly because I've never grown up. Or maybe because it is a legitimate art form which I recognize as such. Sadly, people dismiss cartoons as "just for children", and they miss out on some quite funny things (or more serious, as with some anime).
I tend to prefer the funny side of things with a slight edge to them (and this goes for many, many areas in my life), or at least some kind of smartness about them. It's somewhat ironic that most situation comedies don't float my boat. A certain morality or belief system comes into play that a show cannot violate, and far too many sit-coms cross that line. But sit-coms are a discussion for another day. (I'll just say I count "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Mary Tyler Moore", "The Bob Newhart Show", "Newhart", "The Andy Griffith Show", and "I Love Lucy" among my favorites.)
Back to cartoons, since that is the subject of this post, the Looney Tunes series of cartoons is classic. Great characters, extremely humorous, and something for both children and adults to enjoy. These characters do not need a makeover or an updating, though I'm not such a purist that I won't give an attempt at "re-imagining" a chance. I saw Space Jam, and "blech" is all that comes to mind; I didn't bother with the sequel due to how bad the first was.
And so it was when I heard about "Loonatics: Unleashed", a modernized version of the classic characters from Looney Tunes, that my first thought was, "Why?", then, "but, hey, I'll give it a chance". Yesterday, I saw a sneak peek of it, a 1-2 minute snippet. If this is what they show to entice children (and adults) to watch, this show is doomed from the start. Yes, the characters look very modern; in particular, I like the image of the new Road Runner. The clip, however, was everything bad about bad sit-coms (and SNL, for that matter): Predictable, dragging on too long to extend the humor for your viewing displeasure, and just plain stupid. Yes, I realize there was a certain stupidity about the original Looney Tunes, but it was handled smartly.
Of course I will watch the first few episodes to see if it's any better than this small clip, but I'm not holding my breath.
I tend to prefer the funny side of things with a slight edge to them (and this goes for many, many areas in my life), or at least some kind of smartness about them. It's somewhat ironic that most situation comedies don't float my boat. A certain morality or belief system comes into play that a show cannot violate, and far too many sit-coms cross that line. But sit-coms are a discussion for another day. (I'll just say I count "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Mary Tyler Moore", "The Bob Newhart Show", "Newhart", "The Andy Griffith Show", and "I Love Lucy" among my favorites.)
Back to cartoons, since that is the subject of this post, the Looney Tunes series of cartoons is classic. Great characters, extremely humorous, and something for both children and adults to enjoy. These characters do not need a makeover or an updating, though I'm not such a purist that I won't give an attempt at "re-imagining" a chance. I saw Space Jam, and "blech" is all that comes to mind; I didn't bother with the sequel due to how bad the first was.
And so it was when I heard about "Loonatics: Unleashed", a modernized version of the classic characters from Looney Tunes, that my first thought was, "Why?", then, "but, hey, I'll give it a chance". Yesterday, I saw a sneak peek of it, a 1-2 minute snippet. If this is what they show to entice children (and adults) to watch, this show is doomed from the start. Yes, the characters look very modern; in particular, I like the image of the new Road Runner. The clip, however, was everything bad about bad sit-coms (and SNL, for that matter): Predictable, dragging on too long to extend the humor for your viewing displeasure, and just plain stupid. Yes, I realize there was a certain stupidity about the original Looney Tunes, but it was handled smartly.
Of course I will watch the first few episodes to see if it's any better than this small clip, but I'm not holding my breath.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Parent Update
In case you're wondering, my parents are doing okay. I was able to talk to my mother last Friday (9/2) and again tonight (Thursday, 9/8). They got power back Wednesday afternoon just before 2pm. No telephone at my parents house. My father can call out on his cell, and I can call my grandmother. No mail delivery yet. One poor woman's house was destroyed, and then she was in a car wreck and broke her neck and back. Please pray for her.
My parents and grandmother count themselves extremely blessed through all of this. Why were they spared significant damage in the midst of the devastation? I don't know, but I thank God (seriously) that it was so.
Many people will ask why, but I think that's the wrong question. It's probably not the wrong question for those that never acknowledge God as the author of anything good in their life. He is the Grand Tyrant waiting to smash people with His Grand Thumb. Instead, sometimes, things happen, and we must trust that God knows what He's doing, and that He's sovereign.
Instead of "Why?", perhaps a better question is "How?" How is God seeing people through these trying times? How is God able to work through these people's lives now? How is He speaking to them? These people who have lost everything must now be dependent upon others to help them. No pride can stand in their way. All they can do is accept the love poured out to them.
And believe me, here in Houston, people are pouring time, money, and supplies, opening their housing up, donating cars (a handful anyway), providing jobs, etc. One large church has 17,000 trained volunteers mobilized for serving in the Astrodome, which is more people than are being housed there. The demonstration of love here is absolutely amazing and stunning. I would never have expected it to be like it is. Crime has gone down in Houston the past couple of weeks, even as its population has increased by over 200,000 people, an increase of roughly 10% (and that's just Houston city limits, not including surrounding areas).
My parents and grandmother count themselves extremely blessed through all of this. Why were they spared significant damage in the midst of the devastation? I don't know, but I thank God (seriously) that it was so.
Many people will ask why, but I think that's the wrong question. It's probably not the wrong question for those that never acknowledge God as the author of anything good in their life. He is the Grand Tyrant waiting to smash people with His Grand Thumb. Instead, sometimes, things happen, and we must trust that God knows what He's doing, and that He's sovereign.
Instead of "Why?", perhaps a better question is "How?" How is God seeing people through these trying times? How is God able to work through these people's lives now? How is He speaking to them? These people who have lost everything must now be dependent upon others to help them. No pride can stand in their way. All they can do is accept the love poured out to them.
And believe me, here in Houston, people are pouring time, money, and supplies, opening their housing up, donating cars (a handful anyway), providing jobs, etc. One large church has 17,000 trained volunteers mobilized for serving in the Astrodome, which is more people than are being housed there. The demonstration of love here is absolutely amazing and stunning. I would never have expected it to be like it is. Crime has gone down in Houston the past couple of weeks, even as its population has increased by over 200,000 people, an increase of roughly 10% (and that's just Houston city limits, not including surrounding areas).
Unimaginable
So, about three or four weeks ago, I realized—after giving myself a break and looking at reality—that I had lost 9 pounds since March. I've since lost an additional five pounds and am now ½-pound lighter than when I went to work a little over two years ago. Realizing I had lost weight inspired me to continue on doing so. The first nine pounds kind of just disappeared. I didn't exercise, and I didn't really change my eating significantly; I just cut out french fries.
Of course, six more pounds will make it an even 20. Maybe then, it will start actually looking like I've lost some weight as I lose some weight. My clothes fit better, but not enough to really notice. My chest is down from 52" to 50½"; now to get to that 48" chest and wear my really cool suits and jackets again, especially the royal blue one—I admit I look hot in that jacket. I can wear shirts now that I haven't been able to wear for quite some time, and some shirts that I've bought because I liked I'll soon be able to wear if I continue on the downward spiral (for once, a downward spiral associated with me is a good thing).
We won't talk about the waist until I'm atleastmost a 36". Maybe, perhaps, I'll post pictures when I've made more significant progress.
Of course, six more pounds will make it an even 20. Maybe then, it will start actually looking like I've lost some weight as I lose some weight. My clothes fit better, but not enough to really notice. My chest is down from 52" to 50½"; now to get to that 48" chest and wear my really cool suits and jackets again, especially the royal blue one—I admit I look hot in that jacket. I can wear shirts now that I haven't been able to wear for quite some time, and some shirts that I've bought because I liked I'll soon be able to wear if I continue on the downward spiral (for once, a downward spiral associated with me is a good thing).
We won't talk about the waist until I'm at
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
a sigh of relief
my father called me this morning a little before 7. My parents and grandmother are all okay. Thank You, God, for taking care of them.
What horrible destruction and devastation. My heart is broken. I was born and raised in New Orleans, and then I lived on the coast in Mississippi for 12 years. I recognize many of these places shown in the videos.
What more can I say. Please, God, protect the people and help them make wise decistions.
What horrible destruction and devastation. My heart is broken. I was born and raised in New Orleans, and then I lived on the coast in Mississippi for 12 years. I recognize many of these places shown in the videos.
What more can I say. Please, God, protect the people and help them make wise decistions.
Monday, August 29, 2005
:::sigh:::
So, Katrina has done its damage to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (and southern Alabama, too). Of course, I tried to call my parents, but all the phones are dead. Whatever service my father's cell phone is leaves a nice little message that due to the hurricane in the area you are attempting to reach, your call cannot be completed.
Hopefully, service will be restored during the night or tomorrow. I'm fairly sure they're okay, but I'd like to know just the same. Not knowing is the worst part.
Hopefully, service will be restored during the night or tomorrow. I'm fairly sure they're okay, but I'd like to know just the same. Not knowing is the worst part.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Various and Sundry Items
- Item the First—A Puppy
- I went to Chipotle to grab a burrito tonight. When I was leaving, there was an SUV parked next to me, and inside was a man in the driver's seat holding one of the cutest little puppies you will ever see. He (the man, not the puppy) rolled down the window so I could take a closer look. My heart melted tremendously at how cute this little tyke was. He's 2½ months old and half the weight of when he will be full grown. His name is is Pilate (Pontius Pilate); they wanted to give him a really big name to make up for how tiny he is. I responded, "as long as he doesn't take after him", and the man agreed that he wouldn't. Pilate is a cross between a chihuahua and a rat terrier with the markings of the terrier. He was one of two pups in the litter, and his sister looks like a chihuahua. I hated to leave because the pup was so adorable.
- Item the Second—Church and worship
I went to church tonight. I never seem to make it on Sunday mornings except to teach Bible study at 11:00. Saturday night is a contemporary service, which I enjoy very much. I don't think a contemporary service is more worshipful than a traditional service, or vice versa. However, there is more freedom of expression in a contemporary service. If you want to raise your hands, do it. If you don't want to do that, don't. Very simple.
I met some friends at the service who normally attend another church (First Baptist of Houston), but the freeway is closed where the church is (I-10 and 610), so they decided to come to our church tonight (Tallowood Baptist). <sarcasm>I hate our contemporary services when I'm in a funk, because I'm always faced with the greatness and goodness of God and the conviction of my own sin.</sarcasm> Tonight was no different.- Item the Third—Music
Today I got the music I ordered from BMG last weekend. This is the first music I've bought in almost a year. Why so long? For one, I'd rather buy comics and DVDs since there's so little current music out that I enjoy. Second is that BMG carries a very small selection of music compared to what's available, so that when I'm ready to buy some music, I usually can't find anything to buy to meet the requirements of any deal they offer. I know BMG is not the only source of music, but if I can get the average cost of a CD below $7.00, I'm going that way. One other thing that really irks me about BMG is the so-called "special" new release status of certain albums. Evanescence is a case in point. Released in 2003, their first (only?) CD is still under this special status, meaning essentially that you have to pay BMG a premium to buy this CD. Its purchase doesn't count toward club purchase fulfillment; it is not available as a free selection; and it's purchase does not allow you to take any other CDs free. I can see maybe six months, but two years? give me a large break.
Here's the music and my anticipated enjoyment on a scale of 1-10 (1-low, 10 high):# Artist Title Anticipated Enjoyment 1 Shawn McDonald Live in Seattle 8 2 Passion (various) How Great is Our god 9 3 Joshua Bell Romance of the Violin 7 4 Jars of Clay Redemption Songs 8 5 Bobby Darin Live from Las Vegas 7
Sunday, August 21, 2005
So long...
No, I'm not leaving, much to your chagrin. According to blogger, my last post was 8/5 [note: after publishing, I see my last post was 7/30, but my last updated post was 8/5, or so it would seem], not quite as long ago as I thought. It seems like forever, though you might be thinking it's sometimes better this way, my not saying anything.
If I were to have written anything within the past two weeks, without getting too deep into it, it would have gone something like, "I'm a total loser; I'm incapable of stepping above or outside myself; I'll never be out of the mess I've gotten myself into." But I try not to burden people with that junk. I mean, who wants to read that garbage?
The only thing worse than reading about it is living in it.
And to think, I'm going to lead a small group about our identity in Christ starting in a couple of weeks. Talk about being completely incompetent to speak on a subject. Yet, I know that this is my problem, and I don't think I'm alone in struggling in this area. I'm sure the specifics of my struggle are not shared in whole by others in my group, but all these struggles stem from not knowing who we are and not being aware of all that Christ has done for us.
I mean, how many times are we called saints? Yet we define ourselves as sinners. Guess what we act like — sinners! How can we act as anything but when we say we are just sinners [saved by grace]? When I say I'm a loser, I'm not going to act in ways that seem to differ from a loser's actions. Self-fulfilling prophecy. If I define myself as a sinner, I'm locked into that mindset.
This is not to say that I will not sin if I define myself as a saint, but that designation makes a ton of difference in how I look at myself. Now to make it real in my life, and not just some theoretical pie in the sky.
If I were to have written anything within the past two weeks, without getting too deep into it, it would have gone something like, "I'm a total loser; I'm incapable of stepping above or outside myself; I'll never be out of the mess I've gotten myself into." But I try not to burden people with that junk. I mean, who wants to read that garbage?
The only thing worse than reading about it is living in it.
And to think, I'm going to lead a small group about our identity in Christ starting in a couple of weeks. Talk about being completely incompetent to speak on a subject. Yet, I know that this is my problem, and I don't think I'm alone in struggling in this area. I'm sure the specifics of my struggle are not shared in whole by others in my group, but all these struggles stem from not knowing who we are and not being aware of all that Christ has done for us.
I mean, how many times are we called saints? Yet we define ourselves as sinners. Guess what we act like — sinners! How can we act as anything but when we say we are just sinners [saved by grace]? When I say I'm a loser, I'm not going to act in ways that seem to differ from a loser's actions. Self-fulfilling prophecy. If I define myself as a sinner, I'm locked into that mindset.
This is not to say that I will not sin if I define myself as a saint, but that designation makes a ton of difference in how I look at myself. Now to make it real in my life, and not just some theoretical pie in the sky.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Win, Place, or Show?
I didn't go see a movie today. Bummer. I did finish watching Gorgeous last night, starring Jackie Chan. It was a fun movie. Chan fought one guy, Brad Allan, a couple of times. Allan is the only non-Asian member of Chan's martial arts group. He's quite impressive to watch. It would be interesting to find out if these guys did any wire work for the film. For the most part, the action was fairly realistic or at least believable, but there were a couple of times that it seemed wires had to have been involved. Anyway, this was a fun little romantic light comedy, and Chan's apartment was fantastic. I'd love my house or apartment to be similar to that.
Well, I intended to write more, but the melatonin I took is apparently kicking in... later...
Well, I intended to write more, but the melatonin I took is apparently kicking in... later...
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Touching Base
Wow, life happens... work, church, and a pseudo-personal life. whoda thunk it?
So much injustice in the world, who can write of it all?
The Island
Surprisingly better than I expected it to be. True, it's a Michael Bay film, but I'm pretty sure Spielberg took a healthy interest in it. I was really shocked at the imagery of cloning and abortion portrayed in this movie. The abortion angle was subtle—unintended, perhaps—but present nonetheless. And the cloning, well, do we have the right to play God?
So much injustice in the world, who can write of it all?
- A woman abandons her 3-yr old son on an interstate and then hits him when he tries to get back in the car (Virginia).
- A man (here in Houston) gets mad at some kids playing in front of his apartment, then gets a gun out after their football goes through his window. He fires at them, and one of the bullets goes into an apartment and kills a 2-yr old girl. His defense? He didn't mean to kill anyone, and those kids had broken into his apartment before and stolen things. If you pull out a gun, you intend to shoot and kill someone with it, period. If you don't intend to shoot and kill someone, don't pull a gun. How hard is that?
The Island
Surprisingly better than I expected it to be. True, it's a Michael Bay film, but I'm pretty sure Spielberg took a healthy interest in it. I was really shocked at the imagery of cloning and abortion portrayed in this movie. The abortion angle was subtle—unintended, perhaps—but present nonetheless. And the cloning, well, do we have the right to play God?
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A fun movie. I'll add more later.
A fun movie. I'll add more later.
Up and Running, Sort Of
I've been having trouble with my computer lately. Well, several months, actually. Okay, for over a year or two. It all started when I bought some cheap piece of software (Print Workshop 2003) for doing some fun graphics projects. When I installed it, it installed over 1000 fonts on my computer. Already having 500-600 fonts installed, this caused a problem with having too many fonts installed (I'm running Win 98 SE). So, I got the number back down to 1003.
Now, the program didn't ask if I wanted to install these fonts, nor did it inform me that it was going to install them. Very poor design. Because of this, I removed the program. And for all it promised, it didn't actually deliver those things. At least it was only $5.
So, several of my programs, like Paint Shop Pro 7.04 (PSP) and several different FTP programs I was trying displayed odd characters in the dialogs. WS_FTP, in particular, was virtually useless as all of the messages just showed as boxes. I got some kind of error, but who can tell exactly what is going on when all alphabetic characters are rendered as boxes? At least I had an idea on what PSP was asking me, so I could get by (and version PSP 9 renders dialog boxes differently and works fine, except my machine doesn't always pop up dialog boxes -- I'm sure that's a Win 98/insufficient resources problem, not a corrupted font).
The worst thing the POJ (piece of junk) program did was replace my Marlett font. This is a system font that Windows uses to render fun things like the minimize/maximize/close boxes in the upper right-hand corner, check boxes and radio buttons (not rendered through Java or some such) in your browser and dialog boxes (real fun to try to figure out if a green squiggle means it's checked or not).
Anyway, a friend sent me a new Marlett font (I was assured that this font was responsible for all of my font woes -- both system and printing) to install on my system. I deleted my corrupted font and tried to install the new one. It bombed and told me the file was corrupt. So, for about three weeks now, I've had no real check boxes, radio buttons, or proper mini-icons. I didn't know where my system disk was to get the actual font. I found that yesterday.
Anyway, in an effort to do a little other cleanup, I wound up (accidentally) deleting my TCP/IP stack from my computer (Micro$oft sucks at directions, I tell you, even in later products). Then I remembered that I had forgotten my AOL password over 3 years ago (their web-based password reminder service stupidly only sends me my AIM password, even though I'm on their web-based email page. How stupid is that? Please, tell me), and I had read that you can get that problem fixed by trying to log in three times. I installed AOL (I only pay the $5 monthly to keep my email address there, not use the software), and sure enough, during the installation process, I saw a progress window about restoring TCP/IP. I would be able to log in again. (I had also lost dial-up networking in the midst of all this, and when I got that back, Micro$soft didn't think it proper to include a TCP/IP install.
So, anyway, I installed AOL and got my password reset; I can now log on without using AOL (they've provided more functionality in their software, less brain dead and all, but they still try to take over everything -- I had 8 icons besides the AOL program icon on my desktop, three processes that start up "in the background", and I now have Real Player on my computer again -- Yuck!!!). I also have the proper little icons and boxes everywhere.
My biggest problem still remains, though: when I print from Netscape 7.2, all alphabetic text prints as boxes (regardless of the font used on the page). Numbers and symbols print just fine. IE 6 printed just fine. If you have a clue on this, I would be more than happy to hear it. I've re-installed Netscape two or three times to try to resolve this, all to no avail.
I have another problem with my Netscape mail client: I can't use my Netscape email account any more. Back in Dec 2004, the program stopped responding to my requests to download email. This had happened intermittently before, so I just took Netscape web mail out and "reattached" to it. This solved the problem the few times this had happened before, but not this time. Now (and every few weeks when I try to reattach), it goes through the whole registration process, connects to all these different servers, but in the final step it fails and tells me that it is unable to connect to the server at this time. I have a modem manager running, which shows me activity. This last step does all kinds of things for about a minute, downloading about 300-400 Kb, then gives the error message. Netscape's basic response is that since I can see my email using their web-based client, there's no problem that needs to be resolved. I know it's all free software and storage, but still, shouldn't their own products work with their own other products? Is that too much to ask? The only saving grace on all of this is that Netscape web mail upped their storage to 250Mb from the previous limit of 5Mb.
This is still a major inconvenience for me. I like to store certain mails together on my computer (like jokes and devotionals), and I can no longer do this with anything that comes to my Netscape account. I have to forward it to one of my other two accounts. Eventually (a long time from now, of course), I will run out of storage space online. If anyone has a clue on this problem, I would appreciate any advice on the matter.
Now, the program didn't ask if I wanted to install these fonts, nor did it inform me that it was going to install them. Very poor design. Because of this, I removed the program. And for all it promised, it didn't actually deliver those things. At least it was only $5.
So, several of my programs, like Paint Shop Pro 7.04 (PSP) and several different FTP programs I was trying displayed odd characters in the dialogs. WS_FTP, in particular, was virtually useless as all of the messages just showed as boxes. I got some kind of error, but who can tell exactly what is going on when all alphabetic characters are rendered as boxes? At least I had an idea on what PSP was asking me, so I could get by (and version PSP 9 renders dialog boxes differently and works fine, except my machine doesn't always pop up dialog boxes -- I'm sure that's a Win 98/insufficient resources problem, not a corrupted font).
The worst thing the POJ (piece of junk) program did was replace my Marlett font. This is a system font that Windows uses to render fun things like the minimize/maximize/close boxes in the upper right-hand corner, check boxes and radio buttons (not rendered through Java or some such) in your browser and dialog boxes (real fun to try to figure out if a green squiggle means it's checked or not).
Anyway, a friend sent me a new Marlett font (I was assured that this font was responsible for all of my font woes -- both system and printing) to install on my system. I deleted my corrupted font and tried to install the new one. It bombed and told me the file was corrupt. So, for about three weeks now, I've had no real check boxes, radio buttons, or proper mini-icons. I didn't know where my system disk was to get the actual font. I found that yesterday.
Anyway, in an effort to do a little other cleanup, I wound up (accidentally) deleting my TCP/IP stack from my computer (Micro$oft sucks at directions, I tell you, even in later products). Then I remembered that I had forgotten my AOL password over 3 years ago (their web-based password reminder service stupidly only sends me my AIM password, even though I'm on their web-based email page. How stupid is that? Please, tell me), and I had read that you can get that problem fixed by trying to log in three times. I installed AOL (I only pay the $5 monthly to keep my email address there, not use the software), and sure enough, during the installation process, I saw a progress window about restoring TCP/IP. I would be able to log in again. (I had also lost dial-up networking in the midst of all this, and when I got that back, Micro$soft didn't think it proper to include a TCP/IP install.
So, anyway, I installed AOL and got my password reset; I can now log on without using AOL (they've provided more functionality in their software, less brain dead and all, but they still try to take over everything -- I had 8 icons besides the AOL program icon on my desktop, three processes that start up "in the background", and I now have Real Player on my computer again -- Yuck!!!). I also have the proper little icons and boxes everywhere.
My biggest problem still remains, though: when I print from Netscape 7.2, all alphabetic text prints as boxes (regardless of the font used on the page). Numbers and symbols print just fine. IE 6 printed just fine. If you have a clue on this, I would be more than happy to hear it. I've re-installed Netscape two or three times to try to resolve this, all to no avail.
I have another problem with my Netscape mail client: I can't use my Netscape email account any more. Back in Dec 2004, the program stopped responding to my requests to download email. This had happened intermittently before, so I just took Netscape web mail out and "reattached" to it. This solved the problem the few times this had happened before, but not this time. Now (and every few weeks when I try to reattach), it goes through the whole registration process, connects to all these different servers, but in the final step it fails and tells me that it is unable to connect to the server at this time. I have a modem manager running, which shows me activity. This last step does all kinds of things for about a minute, downloading about 300-400 Kb, then gives the error message. Netscape's basic response is that since I can see my email using their web-based client, there's no problem that needs to be resolved. I know it's all free software and storage, but still, shouldn't their own products work with their own other products? Is that too much to ask? The only saving grace on all of this is that Netscape web mail upped their storage to 250Mb from the previous limit of 5Mb.
This is still a major inconvenience for me. I like to store certain mails together on my computer (like jokes and devotionals), and I can no longer do this with anything that comes to my Netscape account. I have to forward it to one of my other two accounts. Eventually (a long time from now, of course), I will run out of storage space online. If anyone has a clue on this problem, I would appreciate any advice on the matter.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
What Movie would You be in?
Answer some questions; find out what movie you would be in. Fun stuff!
Lord of the Rings!
What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla
Lord of the Rings!
What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla
Friday, July 08, 2005
Picture
Well, here's my first picture upload. This is not me, in case you were wondering. This is my cat, Clark Kent. He's the main reason I'm still around today. Not trying to discredit God or anything, but He uses ordinary physical means many times to accomplish His supernatural will and purposes. In my darkest days, when I could not find a reason to continue on, Clark would jump on the bed next to me and go to sleep. In all good conscience, I couldn't leave him on his own, abandoned to whatever happened to everything after I was gone.Even though my life is still not going great (but not horribly, either), that idea is so far away, that it would somehow be okay to remove myself from this life. It almost seems like a totally different person. Thank God for His work in my life, for preserving me through the dark times and the light.
Here's one more picture of Clark, my favorite one:
Monday, July 04, 2005
coming soon
Update: 7/7 Blogger lets me load up pics now!
Coming soon: reviews on
The Machinist
War of the Worlds
Coming soon: reviews on
The Machinist
War of the Worlds
Friday, July 01, 2005
Work Work Work - and then some
Got to work at 8:15 this morning. No lunch. Left at 6:30. I'm tired, but at least it's a three-day weekend.
And I was supposed to finish some reports today. Unfortunately, not all of the data was copied over, so I had to spend a few extra hours copying the stuff over. Then I could do the reports. Arghhhhh!
Tomorrow, I'm going to see War of the Worlds. God willing and the bayous don't rise. And then no other plans for the weekend. Rah. (I'm really okay with that, really. No, really.)
And I was supposed to finish some reports today. Unfortunately, not all of the data was copied over, so I had to spend a few extra hours copying the stuff over. Then I could do the reports. Arghhhhh!
Tomorrow, I'm going to see War of the Worlds. God willing and the bayous don't rise. And then no other plans for the weekend. Rah. (I'm really okay with that, really. No, really.)
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Another Movie Weekend
What a weekend! Friday night was game night at church. Sadly, I couldn't play volleyball because of my shoulder. Bummer.
Saturday, we did another prayer loop thing, where we drove around the 610 loop and prayed. God was watching out for us, as there was an accident right next to me. A guy came flying up on my right and swerved into the left lane (there were four lanes). He clipped the back end of another pickup truck, all within 10 feet of me. Thank You, God!!!
Then Saturday afternoon, we had a movie marathon. First up was Undercover Blues (1993), with Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner. Very cute movie. Next, we watched Stand By Me (1986), with Cory Feldman, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell, and River Phoenix. Also included are John Cusack and Keifer Sutherland. I didn't remember how much cussing there was in this movie, though it was very good. The third movie was Memento (2000). Guy Pearce rocks, as usual. This movie is still pretty twisted, even the third time through. The night closed with Chillicothe (1999), an independent film about some twenty-something college friends now approaching the big 3-0 and wondering what they'll do with their life. A very nice film, well worth tracking down (Netflix to the rescue!).
Then, today, I went to see Batman Begins. Excellent flick. Christian Bale rocks (as usual). Thank you Chrisopher Nolan (director). If you haven't seen it yet, go see it!
Saturday, we did another prayer loop thing, where we drove around the 610 loop and prayed. God was watching out for us, as there was an accident right next to me. A guy came flying up on my right and swerved into the left lane (there were four lanes). He clipped the back end of another pickup truck, all within 10 feet of me. Thank You, God!!!
Then Saturday afternoon, we had a movie marathon. First up was Undercover Blues (1993), with Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner. Very cute movie. Next, we watched Stand By Me (1986), with Cory Feldman, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell, and River Phoenix. Also included are John Cusack and Keifer Sutherland. I didn't remember how much cussing there was in this movie, though it was very good. The third movie was Memento (2000). Guy Pearce rocks, as usual. This movie is still pretty twisted, even the third time through. The night closed with Chillicothe (1999), an independent film about some twenty-something college friends now approaching the big 3-0 and wondering what they'll do with their life. A very nice film, well worth tracking down (Netflix to the rescue!).
Then, today, I went to see Batman Begins. Excellent flick. Christian Bale rocks (as usual). Thank you Chrisopher Nolan (director). If you haven't seen it yet, go see it!
Sunday, June 05, 2005
My Birthday
I'm now 41 years old or young. My birthday was Saturday a week ago. I'm just happy 40 is overwith. I talked with someone two or three years ago who had just turned 41, and he said he was so glad 40 was overwith, that it was awful for him. I can relate.
When I turned 38, I had my first birthday party since I had turned 16, something I had planned. It's funny that I was unemployed at the time and could better afford to have a party then than I've been able to in the past two years, so much so that I haven't had a party. I take it as my expense because I hate for people to have to go out of their way to do something for me. For me, it really is just another day.
This past year and a half, however, I've been really down—down on myself, down about my job, down about life in general (I know you could never tell from reading previous posts here). Kind of like fishing for compliments, I could ask a couple of people to have a party for me, and they would do it. But it would be kind of hollow and meaningless to me. So, this year, I asked God, well, I told Him, actually, that it would be nice if someone did something for me this year without my knowledge or input. Nothing spectacular, just some acknowledgment of my existence.
On Sundays, I normally have to set up the chairs in my room for my class. I got there super early and wasn't able to get into the class because people from the previous hour were still in there, so I just went to our fellowship time and forgot about setting up the room. When it was time to go in to class from the opening assembly, there were balloons hanging from the ceiling (20 or 30), and everyone had a Batman mask on. And there were brownies, too. Yum!
On Sunday night, my friend Clay took me to dinner and a movie (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, very funny if you've read the book, but you might think it's just weird if you don't like British humor or were expecting a “normal” movie), quite unexpected. We also got to enjoy a lovely thunderstorm together and watch the lights in the shopping center go black from a lightning strike when I dropped him off. Fun fun fun.
Then on Monday (Memorial Day), we had our fourth annual pool party at John's house. Someone had gotten an ice cream cake for all the people whose birthdays were that weekend, and I was included on the cake. This has never happened in the previous years, at least not that I recall (i.e., there has never been a cake at John's house at all; at other times in the past at other places there have been cakes where I wasn't included, but several others were).
And then, Friday night, I got to have dinner with some friends in honor of my birthday. (I know it's almost a week after the fact, but it was still fun and much needed after the hellacious day at work I had.)
I really did feel special this year, and I'm extremely grateful to God for inspiring people to do something, and for the people to be responsive to that urging. Once I put it all together, I was in tears for all of it. Thank you, God, for responding to not even a request but just a wish virtually unspoken and letting me know that I am known and worthy.
When I turned 38, I had my first birthday party since I had turned 16, something I had planned. It's funny that I was unemployed at the time and could better afford to have a party then than I've been able to in the past two years, so much so that I haven't had a party. I take it as my expense because I hate for people to have to go out of their way to do something for me. For me, it really is just another day.
This past year and a half, however, I've been really down—down on myself, down about my job, down about life in general (I know you could never tell from reading previous posts here). Kind of like fishing for compliments, I could ask a couple of people to have a party for me, and they would do it. But it would be kind of hollow and meaningless to me. So, this year, I asked God, well, I told Him, actually, that it would be nice if someone did something for me this year without my knowledge or input. Nothing spectacular, just some acknowledgment of my existence.
On Sundays, I normally have to set up the chairs in my room for my class. I got there super early and wasn't able to get into the class because people from the previous hour were still in there, so I just went to our fellowship time and forgot about setting up the room. When it was time to go in to class from the opening assembly, there were balloons hanging from the ceiling (20 or 30), and everyone had a Batman mask on. And there were brownies, too. Yum!
On Sunday night, my friend Clay took me to dinner and a movie (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, very funny if you've read the book, but you might think it's just weird if you don't like British humor or were expecting a “normal” movie), quite unexpected. We also got to enjoy a lovely thunderstorm together and watch the lights in the shopping center go black from a lightning strike when I dropped him off. Fun fun fun.
Then on Monday (Memorial Day), we had our fourth annual pool party at John's house. Someone had gotten an ice cream cake for all the people whose birthdays were that weekend, and I was included on the cake. This has never happened in the previous years, at least not that I recall (i.e., there has never been a cake at John's house at all; at other times in the past at other places there have been cakes where I wasn't included, but several others were).
And then, Friday night, I got to have dinner with some friends in honor of my birthday. (I know it's almost a week after the fact, but it was still fun and much needed after the hellacious day at work I had.)
I really did feel special this year, and I'm extremely grateful to God for inspiring people to do something, and for the people to be responsive to that urging. Once I put it all together, I was in tears for all of it. Thank you, God, for responding to not even a request but just a wish virtually unspoken and letting me know that I am known and worthy.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
A Wedding, A Wedding for the Lord
Yesterday, I went to a wedding. The son of my former Sunday School teachers got married. I knew the son, too, though he was nine years old(!!!!) when I moved to Houston. He was clearly excited as he was bouncing the entire ceremony. He's been excited for several weeks. I'd talk to him every Wednesday when we'd be at the comic shop at the same time, and he always knew how many days it was. He has always been looking forward to it.
After lighting the unity candle and coming back for the closing ceremony, the groom kicked the bride's train to the side so it would be out of the way when they turned around to leave. Everyone laughed when he did that. When I talked to his parents afterwards, his dad said that he can't believe his son did that. I asked if he would expect anything different from him, though.
This wedding was different from others I've been to in recent years. I didn't (nearly) cry at the ceremony or go home and cry because I felt I had totally wasted my life being near or in my forties and hardly ever having been on a date. I still feel I've wasted it, but I'm not condemning myself for it. This is a tremendous change for me. I was actually able to have a good time and not have a bittersweet outlook on the whole thing.
After lighting the unity candle and coming back for the closing ceremony, the groom kicked the bride's train to the side so it would be out of the way when they turned around to leave. Everyone laughed when he did that. When I talked to his parents afterwards, his dad said that he can't believe his son did that. I asked if he would expect anything different from him, though.
This wedding was different from others I've been to in recent years. I didn't (nearly) cry at the ceremony or go home and cry because I felt I had totally wasted my life being near or in my forties and hardly ever having been on a date. I still feel I've wasted it, but I'm not condemning myself for it. This is a tremendous change for me. I was actually able to have a good time and not have a bittersweet outlook on the whole thing.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Revenge
I went to see the new Star Wars movie today. Excellent work! Dark & gritty. And it really does bridge everything from Episodes 1 & 2 to the original trilogy. It does do one spoiler in bridging to the original trilogy that could have been easily avoided, something that wasn't revealed until Return of the Jedi. While it doesn't make up for what the first two episodes lacked (and I don't think they were bad, just not up to snuff for EVERYONE's expectations), it does go a long way in distancing those from the rest. Overall, it was very satisfying.
I didn't see the big political parallels as I had been led to believe. If you're looking to believe President Bush is trying to take over everything, then you'll see that in the movie. instead, I see soemthing that had to take place to make the rest of the movies happen. Regardless of 43 being the President, Palpatine would have assumed power, and done so violently. It was alluded to in the original trilogy. Get over it.
I didn't see the big political parallels as I had been led to believe. If you're looking to believe President Bush is trying to take over everything, then you'll see that in the movie. instead, I see soemthing that had to take place to make the rest of the movies happen. Regardless of 43 being the President, Palpatine would have assumed power, and done so violently. It was alluded to in the original trilogy. Get over it.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
So Tired
Listening to the news this morning, another kid is suspended from school because of his hair (he put corn rows or corn braids in it like his favorite baseball player has). The same thing has happened to other kids over the past couple of years, and this has happened to even police officers (not the suspension from school, but they were susupended from the force until they agreed to comply.
This is just ridiculous. All of these people I've seen picutres of, there's nothing wrong with their appearance (and I'm a fairly conservative person). Would I wear my hair that way (even if I could)? 99% no. Does that mean it's wrong? 100% NO!
I understand that there are certain standards of acceptibility that must be maintained, especially in schools. However, I think all of this intolerance of non-conformity is much more rooted in the same thinking that says to medicate our kids into "proper" behavior because we're not willing to work with them on a continuing basis. (90% of kids on Ritalin and other similar behavior-norming drugs are boys. Let's see, who's more active, aggressive, and generally antsy all around in general? Girls? Nope. For those that truly need this help, do it. But not every wiggle is indicative of ADD or ADHD, or whatever disorder you fancy, and it doesn't call for being drugged into submission.)
Kids are kids, not little adults. They grow up so fast as it is, why do we try to force them into it so much faster?
This is just ridiculous. All of these people I've seen picutres of, there's nothing wrong with their appearance (and I'm a fairly conservative person). Would I wear my hair that way (even if I could)? 99% no. Does that mean it's wrong? 100% NO!
I understand that there are certain standards of acceptibility that must be maintained, especially in schools. However, I think all of this intolerance of non-conformity is much more rooted in the same thinking that says to medicate our kids into "proper" behavior because we're not willing to work with them on a continuing basis. (90% of kids on Ritalin and other similar behavior-norming drugs are boys. Let's see, who's more active, aggressive, and generally antsy all around in general? Girls? Nope. For those that truly need this help, do it. But not every wiggle is indicative of ADD or ADHD, or whatever disorder you fancy, and it doesn't call for being drugged into submission.)
Kids are kids, not little adults. They grow up so fast as it is, why do we try to force them into it so much faster?
Thursday, May 12, 2005
A Bad Movie, and Probably a Bad Remake
Tonight's movie: The Haunting, 1999, PG-13, 113 min
Starring: Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Lili Taylor
Rating: ***
Starring: Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Lili Taylor
Rating: ***
The Haunting is a fairly inane movie. A couple of times during this alleged horror movie, I was startled. Being startled is not the same as being scared. The acting is perfunctory at best. The sets, however, are stunning.
- Basic Plot
- Dr. Marrow (Neeson) entices some insomniacs to spend time at Hill House to be "cured". In reality, he wants to study the reactions fear produces in people, and he knows the reputation of the house. Nell (Taylor) begins hearing voices and experiencing other "supernatural" phenomena shortly after hearing the history of the house. Non-hilarity and non-scariness ensues.
- What I Didn't Like
- It's easier to read the section on what I liked and then extrapolate from there that anything not mentioned is something I didn't like. That would be pretty accurate. In particular, the passage of time is scoffed at, or even just plain ignored. Two characters that appear destined to play bigger parts from the beginning are taken out rather unexpectedly and for no good reason. They at least would have been good ghost fodder.
- What I Liked
- The sets are gorgeous. The set decorators obviously had a blast going wild with the different rooms. Very ornate, stunning, ond massively over-sized, I'm sure watching this movie on my 27" tv did not do it justice visually, yet the visual is the only part of the movie I liked. The mansion looks fairly spooky. The effects are fairly spectacular as well, though the story is kind of outlandish at the use of some of them. (i.e., effects good, story bad)
- Spiritual Content
- The idea that we are held here after our death for unfinished business just doesn't fly with me. Our lives are the timeframe we have to take care of our business here on earth. Once we die, that's it. We'd like to think there's one more chance to make it right, and it would be great if that were true. But, accepting the Bible as the inspired Word of God, I find nothing in there to indicate a second chance after this life, but I do find many things indicating that we do not have this option.
- Recommendation
- There are several reasons to watch this movie: to see how poorly it compares to the original; to see the beautiful sets; because you're required to. Only the middle one is worthwhile, but it's not much worth. You'd do much better to find pics on the internet of the sets than watching this trifle of a movie.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Belief
Belief can be a tricky thing. Maybe not tricky, but it can be complicated. This came to mind while driving to work this morning.
For far too long, I've had far more faith in myself than in God, and it's hard to have that realization. But my faith object, clearly, is insufficient to carry me through. I need to transfer a bit o' that to The One that can truly do anything about my pain, hurts, and dreams.
- Many people believe (is this a circular definition?) that all beliefs are equal and sufficient. If that be true, then why believe anything?
- Some believe that if you believe hard enough, then that will work. But believing hard enough that you can fly isn't going to negate the law of gravity when you jump off a building or cliff. Your belief will come right up and smack you upside the head (and shoulders and hips and back and ...). Some laws can't be broken.
For far too long, I've had far more faith in myself than in God, and it's hard to have that realization. But my faith object, clearly, is insufficient to carry me through. I need to transfer a bit o' that to The One that can truly do anything about my pain, hurts, and dreams.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Another movie
Happy Birthday, Dearly Departed Audrey!
Tonight's movie: Sleuth, 1972, PG, 138 min
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine
Rating: *****
Sleuth, though a little slow in the start, quickly picks up speed and is a joy to behold and experience. The entire movie has the feeling of a play, which is appropriate considering the movie is made from a play (screenplay written by the playwright).
Tonight's movie: Sleuth, 1972, PG, 138 min
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine
Rating: *****
Sleuth, though a little slow in the start, quickly picks up speed and is a joy to behold and experience. The entire movie has the feeling of a play, which is appropriate considering the movie is made from a play (screenplay written by the playwright).
- Basic Plot
- I can't reveal too much without giving away anything, as there are surprises in even the first ten minutes or so. Laurence Olivier plays Andrew Wyke, a man who loves to play games; his mansion is filled with all kinds of games and playful trophies. Michael Caine plays the foil to Wyke's machinations. What more can I tell you? There is a plot twist or two that will hold your interest, though the first you suspect is coming. I think definitely for the time this movie came out, it took everyone by surprise. As it is, it's still a great deal of fun.
- What I Didn't Like
- The initial 20+ minutes kind of drags. But this initial time is really necessary for the setup. The DVD does not have English subtitles, or any subtitles, for that matter. Either it's my age or the sound on the DVD, but occasionally I missed words in the dialog, and I would have to rewind a couple of times or so to figure out what they were saying. To not have at least English subtitles on a DVD is a severe detriment. Overall, though, these are fairly minor quibbles.
- What I Liked
- I liked the plot twist, even if it is heavily foreshadowed. Olivier and Caine, of course, give superb performances, and it seems they react to each other very well. (Apparently, working with Olivier on this movie turned Caine into a huge fan, and they became lifelong friends.) The story is very entertaining and engrossing (beyong the somewhat lengthy introduction). In some ways, this reminds me of Deathtrap with Christopher Reeve and Michail Caine (could there be a pattern here?).
- Spiritual Content
- The movie addresses class issues (it takes place in England), and one has to wonder at the thought process that goes into deciding what these men decide is okay (again, it's a spoiler to explain too much at this point). Other than that, it's just a highly entertaining 2+ hours.
- Recommendation
- This movie is highly recommended, for it is a great gem. If you don't like plays adapted to film, then you might not like Sleuth, but you should give it a shot anyway.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Hot Time in the Old Town Last Night
Last night around midnight, I went into the kitchen to get some water. Clark (the cat) was on a pillow on the couch, which is about a foot from the sliding glass door leading out to the patio. The couch runs parallel to the sliding glass doors.
As I was getting water, I heard Clark fall off the couch, which is an extremely unusual occurrence; at least it's never happened when I've been home. When I got to that wall, Clark was looking out the window, his tail whipping back and forth, and the hair on his back starting to stand on end. Then he came running around the corner (there's another window), and he was plastered to that window looking out at (whatever might be, though I'm pretty sure aren't knights seeking shrubbery).
I start hearing noises now, tapping against the window, rustling around (there are lots of leaves out there -- they fall from the trees, and the groundsmen blow all of the excess under the fence on my patio). All in all, these are not normal sounds, and certainly not at midnight does one expect or want to hear these things. I got dressed and was about to go outside when I realized I needed some kind of weapon. Not owning a gun, I looked for one of my hammers. No hammers. I went back into the kitchen and saw a black handle. Aha! A knife! While Crocodile Dundee would probably still laugh, my eight-inch butcher TV knife would have to serve.
Let me add that the patio and porch lights were out (these are maintained by the apartment mgmt, not me), so I couldn't see anything.
Then I thought that the police might be better people (and better equipped) to handle the situation. Twenty minutes later, they showed up. There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I asked, and a male voice responded, "It's the police." I looked out the window, and it being dark with the lack of lightage, I could just see a dark figure through the peephole. "Just letting you know, I have a big knife here." If it's the police, I'd rather them not be shocked to see it and panic, and if it's not the police, then I've given fair warning.
Well, I'm pretty sure it was just a cat wandering around. A couple of minutes before the police arrived, I got down and peeped out at Clark level and saw four legs walk by the outside of the patio fence. I left out the part where I caught a shadow seem to jump over the fence. Which could have been any number of things, including a person hopping over. Or a cat jumping up and down.
It took me a while to calm down from this little episode. I slept with the knife next to my pillow. This kind of excitement I don't need!
As I was getting water, I heard Clark fall off the couch, which is an extremely unusual occurrence; at least it's never happened when I've been home. When I got to that wall, Clark was looking out the window, his tail whipping back and forth, and the hair on his back starting to stand on end. Then he came running around the corner (there's another window), and he was plastered to that window looking out at
I start hearing noises now, tapping against the window, rustling around (there are lots of leaves out there -- they fall from the trees, and the groundsmen blow all of the excess under the fence on my patio). All in all, these are not normal sounds, and certainly not at midnight does one expect or want to hear these things. I got dressed and was about to go outside when I realized I needed some kind of weapon. Not owning a gun, I looked for one of my hammers. No hammers. I went back into the kitchen and saw a black handle. Aha! A knife! While Crocodile Dundee would probably still laugh, my eight-inch butcher TV knife would have to serve.
Let me add that the patio and porch lights were out (these are maintained by the apartment mgmt, not me), so I couldn't see anything.
Then I thought that the police might be better people (and better equipped) to handle the situation. Twenty minutes later, they showed up. There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I asked, and a male voice responded, "It's the police." I looked out the window, and it being dark with the lack of lightage, I could just see a dark figure through the peephole. "Just letting you know, I have a big knife here." If it's the police, I'd rather them not be shocked to see it and panic, and if it's not the police, then I've given fair warning.
Well, I'm pretty sure it was just a cat wandering around. A couple of minutes before the police arrived, I got down and peeped out at Clark level and saw four legs walk by the outside of the patio fence. I left out the part where I caught a shadow seem to jump over the fence. Which could have been any number of things, including a person hopping over. Or a cat jumping up and down.
It took me a while to calm down from this little episode. I slept with the knife next to my pillow. This kind of excitement I don't need!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
What is Love?
What is Love? What kind of love does it take to actually marry someone and stay married? I've never thought romantic love is sufficient, and I firmly believe the kind of love it takes is a choice, not an emotion, though the emotional part is certainly helpful.
The only really successful marriages I've seen are lighter on the romantic ooshey-gooshey feelings and way heavy on the mutual submission and seeking the good of the other person over one's own good. There has to be a certain amount of romance, though; there's no denying that. But that can't be the only thing that brings the two of you together.
A friend of mine is concerned about my thoughts that I will never experience love. And another friend is concerned about how negative I view myself (though that's changing--my view of myself, not his concern). As far as love goes, for me to experience love (according to Chapman's The Five Love Languages), I really need words of encouragement. That's what it would take for me to make a real emotional connection that I am loved. Guess how often that happens. If someone says something to me once a year that's truly encouraging, well, that's an utterly amazing time for me.
But this is not the norm for relating with people. We are not normally encouraging to someone else. So, that doesn't leave me in a good position to feeling and experiencing love in any meaningful or fulfilling way. For me, love is truly a logical proposition: people act in ways toward me that I know is an indicator that they love me in the ways that they can demonstrate; therefore, I know people love me. It doesn't fill Chapman's so-called "love tank", but it's the best I can get. Can this ever change? Sure. Will it? I can't say. But I can't expect it to, as that would require me to think people will suddenly start acting contrary to human nature, and that will invariably lead to repeated let-downs. And I can't go looking for these words of encouragement, either, because there's nothing genuine about it. Oh, the sentiment might be genuine when expressed, but it has so much to do with the other person's desire to express those things on their own, not at my urging.
The optimist says, "People will start telling me how great I am any moment now." The pessimist says, "No one will ever tell me I'm worth anything." The realist says, "I can accept when people compliment and encourage me, but I dont' need them to tell me that." Granted, I've been much more toward the pessimist side of things in recent times, but that has more to do with wondering what my purpose in life is and seeing that I haven't lived up to much of anything.
Anyway, the relation to romantic love? If I'm resigned that human nature will not support me in any meaningful or fulfilling way, what hope can I have that someone will choose to have any kind of romantic inclination toward me? I'm not saying it can't happen, but the likelihood of it happening? The proverbial snowball apparently have a great deal in common.
The only really successful marriages I've seen are lighter on the romantic ooshey-gooshey feelings and way heavy on the mutual submission and seeking the good of the other person over one's own good. There has to be a certain amount of romance, though; there's no denying that. But that can't be the only thing that brings the two of you together.
A friend of mine is concerned about my thoughts that I will never experience love. And another friend is concerned about how negative I view myself (though that's changing--my view of myself, not his concern). As far as love goes, for me to experience love (according to Chapman's The Five Love Languages), I really need words of encouragement. That's what it would take for me to make a real emotional connection that I am loved. Guess how often that happens. If someone says something to me once a year that's truly encouraging, well, that's an utterly amazing time for me.
But this is not the norm for relating with people. We are not normally encouraging to someone else. So, that doesn't leave me in a good position to feeling and experiencing love in any meaningful or fulfilling way. For me, love is truly a logical proposition: people act in ways toward me that I know is an indicator that they love me in the ways that they can demonstrate; therefore, I know people love me. It doesn't fill Chapman's so-called "love tank", but it's the best I can get. Can this ever change? Sure. Will it? I can't say. But I can't expect it to, as that would require me to think people will suddenly start acting contrary to human nature, and that will invariably lead to repeated let-downs. And I can't go looking for these words of encouragement, either, because there's nothing genuine about it. Oh, the sentiment might be genuine when expressed, but it has so much to do with the other person's desire to express those things on their own, not at my urging.
The optimist says, "People will start telling me how great I am any moment now." The pessimist says, "No one will ever tell me I'm worth anything." The realist says, "I can accept when people compliment and encourage me, but I dont' need them to tell me that." Granted, I've been much more toward the pessimist side of things in recent times, but that has more to do with wondering what my purpose in life is and seeing that I haven't lived up to much of anything.
Anyway, the relation to romantic love? If I'm resigned that human nature will not support me in any meaningful or fulfilling way, what hope can I have that someone will choose to have any kind of romantic inclination toward me? I'm not saying it can't happen, but the likelihood of it happening? The proverbial snowball apparently have a great deal in common.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
She's a Beauty
What great and glorious weather we've had here in Houston the past two days! And I've been inside for most of it. I went to see Sin City yesterday afternoon. Excellent movie, not for everyone. And today, I've napped some, spent lunch with a friend, and I didn't have to teach Bible study today.
Tonight, I'm going to watch Shrek 2, and maybe an episode or two of "Fushigi Yugi" so I can get closer to bringing the disks back to my friend Matt so I can then borrow his "Farscape" season sets (one season at a time, of course). I'll have to do reviews for the past week's movie watching.
Tonight, I'm going to watch Shrek 2, and maybe an episode or two of "Fushigi Yugi" so I can get closer to bringing the disks back to my friend Matt so I can then borrow his "Farscape" season sets (one season at a time, of course). I'll have to do reviews for the past week's movie watching.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Shock: I've Watched Another Movie
A friend recommended I watch An Affair to Remember. She brought the tape (ugh! Sorry, Linda!) to me this morning, and I watched it as soon as I got home (after heating up my chicken for lunch, of course).
I love this movie. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr star in this movie that inspired Sleepless in Seattle. I'll admit a tear or two came to my eye. It's a beautiful story of romantic love. Guys, this movie would be a winner to show a date. (Guys, it's also okay to have emotions and express them!)
Could a movie like this be successful in today's society? I would gladly be proven wrong, but I don't think so. In today's society, love is only "proven" by sex as early as possible. The lack of sex, then, would seem totally unrealistic, and not pawing each other just wouldn't fly. Isn't the whole point of a relationship today how much you get off on the other person?
Anyway, I highly recommend this movie (I don't think you can go wrong with Cary Grant).
I love this movie. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr star in this movie that inspired Sleepless in Seattle. I'll admit a tear or two came to my eye. It's a beautiful story of romantic love. Guys, this movie would be a winner to show a date. (Guys, it's also okay to have emotions and express them!)
Could a movie like this be successful in today's society? I would gladly be proven wrong, but I don't think so. In today's society, love is only "proven" by sex as early as possible. The lack of sex, then, would seem totally unrealistic, and not pawing each other just wouldn't fly. Isn't the whole point of a relationship today how much you get off on the other person?
Anyway, I highly recommend this movie (I don't think you can go wrong with Cary Grant).
Your Inner European
Thanks, Dan, for the info. I never would have picked this from a list. Danger? Allure? Give me a break!
A fun little toy that ultimately means nothing...
A fun little toy that ultimately means nothing...
Your Inner European is Russian! |
 Mysterious and exotic. You've got a great balance of danger and allure. |
Thursday, April 14, 2005
What About the Children
My heart has been broken many times over in the past couple of weeks. All the horrible things that have been happening to children, babies even.
The 20-month old boy I mentioned in particular has just caused me all kinds of anguish. I started a poem even, but I'm not sure I'll ever finish it. It feels incomplete to me, but I think I've said all I wanted to. I'm struck by the selfishness of all of these people that used this little boy to vent their frustration and anger, and their unwillingness to do anything of particular importance to help this little boy. I can't help but feel that God took this little boy because he had gone to the point where he would never really recover properly. Or it was just the stupid woman smashing his head against the bathtub or wall or whatever she did when she was totally drunk, and who knows what else.
How can this happen? I don't understand. I know evil exists, but come on—this is a baby. How can anyone even conceive of such a horrible thing? :::sigh:::
- A 20-month-old boy was abused to death. The doctors/coroner said they had never seen such a skull fracture. They also discovered tons of scar tissue on the bones and mini-fractures all over the boys arms and legs, as well as scars all over his body. In his short time here, he had been passed around to five different people to take care of him. His birth mother granted custody on a legal pad (notarized, of course) to the woman who wound up killing him.
- Another 18-month old died from a drive-by shooting. He had gone with his dad and two(?) sisters to get ice cream. Some guy started following their car and opened fire, possibly in a case of mistaken identity.
- Then there's the mom with two kids whom she prostituted out to make money so they could survive.
The 20-month old boy I mentioned in particular has just caused me all kinds of anguish. I started a poem even, but I'm not sure I'll ever finish it. It feels incomplete to me, but I think I've said all I wanted to. I'm struck by the selfishness of all of these people that used this little boy to vent their frustration and anger, and their unwillingness to do anything of particular importance to help this little boy. I can't help but feel that God took this little boy because he had gone to the point where he would never really recover properly. Or it was just the stupid woman smashing his head against the bathtub or wall or whatever she did when she was totally drunk, and who knows what else.
How can this happen? I don't understand. I know evil exists, but come on—this is a baby. How can anyone even conceive of such a horrible thing? :::sigh:::
Sunday, April 03, 2005
What a Day!
Saturday. What a long day, but man, what a day it was!
I woke up at 5:45 to the call of nature. I was going to go back to sleep until I had to wake up at 7, but I started thinking about work, and I realized my heart was pounding hard. I asked God to help me put work out of my mind. He did. Since I can't go back to sleep, I look at some of my 600 emails (no exaggeration there).
7:40 I realize I need to be at church at 8:00 for this thing I call the "prayer loop". It's kind of like a prayer walk, but we drive around the loop. I wasn't sure anyone besides me was going to show up, but there were two others. We got going about 8:20. We started with a prayer of safety once we got on the loop, then read from Luke 19, where Jesus prays over Jerusalem. And then we let the Holy Spirit guide us in how we should pray.
>From the beginning, I felt the Spirit filling us, almost to the point where we were completely insulated from everything around us. And suddenly we were around the loop, and over an hour had passed. I was totally blown away by what we prayed for and how we were lead, but even more blown away by the sense that we had somehow stepped into the presence of God at work, that this little thing we did called prayer truly connected us to the heart and mind of God and empowered us to speak as needed. I think the three of us were awestruck at the end. I could hardly contain myself.
Then I watched the balance of The Bicycle Thief. It's an Italian film released in 1948 about a man searching for his bicycle that was stolen in Italy. Excellent movie.
A bad thing was passing on the art day I had set up with some friends. We weren't going to get started until 1, and there was a concert I was going to tonight; we were leaving immediately after church to go downtown to the little coffee house where Mute Math was to perform. Anyway, that would have only been 3 hours I would have been able to spend doing any art with the extended travel times here in Houston (especially with the construction closure in the name of progress).
So, I went to Saturday night church for the first time in several months. Again, I was totally blown away. I truly felt the presence of God. The worship was such an incredible time for me. I realized tonight that because of the vile contempt with which I have been holding against myself, that I was separated from God from all that self-hatred. God has been working on that in me this week, to the point where I can separate how I view myself from how God views me and step away from that negative self-talk (sorry for the psychological mumbo-jumbo). My connection with God was so much closer tonight, maybe closer than I've ever been or felt. I was moved to tears, but they didn't quite make it out. That emotional response in recognition of God's working in me was something I hadn't expected. Dr. Brooks then preached a fantastic sermon from John 10:10ff about the abundant life Jesus came to bring.
And then, Mute Math. The opening band blew me away: a tight set, good vocals, and good lyrics for the little bit I could make out. Mute Math, though, how can I describe them? This might possibly be one of the best concerts I've ever seen. [Though I think there was too much distortion in the sound; my ears were almost bleeding.] These guys played aggressively, in particular the drummer. Before they played, he had his ear-piece on [monitor stuff?]. Then he took the black duct tape out, unrolled some, and started wrapping it over the ear-piece under his chin and connecting back to the top, almost like having a bonnet on or having his head in a sling from a bad tooth [remember those old, old TV shows?] We figured we were in for something wild. And they did not disappoint. Simply stinking amazing. The drummer was soaked 20 minutes into the set, and the lead singer wasn't far behind. The two guitarists were less animated, but I don't think the crowd could have handled more spectacle, and besides, there was no more room for more animation -- there was barely enough room as it was for what went on.
Thank You, God, for an utterly fantastic, awe-inspiring, humbling, powerful day!
I woke up at 5:45 to the call of nature. I was going to go back to sleep until I had to wake up at 7, but I started thinking about work, and I realized my heart was pounding hard. I asked God to help me put work out of my mind. He did. Since I can't go back to sleep, I look at some of my 600 emails (no exaggeration there).
7:40 I realize I need to be at church at 8:00 for this thing I call the "prayer loop". It's kind of like a prayer walk, but we drive around the loop. I wasn't sure anyone besides me was going to show up, but there were two others. We got going about 8:20. We started with a prayer of safety once we got on the loop, then read from Luke 19, where Jesus prays over Jerusalem. And then we let the Holy Spirit guide us in how we should pray.
>From the beginning, I felt the Spirit filling us, almost to the point where we were completely insulated from everything around us. And suddenly we were around the loop, and over an hour had passed. I was totally blown away by what we prayed for and how we were lead, but even more blown away by the sense that we had somehow stepped into the presence of God at work, that this little thing we did called prayer truly connected us to the heart and mind of God and empowered us to speak as needed. I think the three of us were awestruck at the end. I could hardly contain myself.
Then I watched the balance of The Bicycle Thief. It's an Italian film released in 1948 about a man searching for his bicycle that was stolen in Italy. Excellent movie.
A bad thing was passing on the art day I had set up with some friends. We weren't going to get started until 1, and there was a concert I was going to tonight; we were leaving immediately after church to go downtown to the little coffee house where Mute Math was to perform. Anyway, that would have only been 3 hours I would have been able to spend doing any art with the extended travel times here in Houston (especially with the construction closure in the name of progress).
So, I went to Saturday night church for the first time in several months. Again, I was totally blown away. I truly felt the presence of God. The worship was such an incredible time for me. I realized tonight that because of the vile contempt with which I have been holding against myself, that I was separated from God from all that self-hatred. God has been working on that in me this week, to the point where I can separate how I view myself from how God views me and step away from that negative self-talk (sorry for the psychological mumbo-jumbo). My connection with God was so much closer tonight, maybe closer than I've ever been or felt. I was moved to tears, but they didn't quite make it out. That emotional response in recognition of God's working in me was something I hadn't expected. Dr. Brooks then preached a fantastic sermon from John 10:10ff about the abundant life Jesus came to bring.
And then, Mute Math. The opening band blew me away: a tight set, good vocals, and good lyrics for the little bit I could make out. Mute Math, though, how can I describe them? This might possibly be one of the best concerts I've ever seen. [Though I think there was too much distortion in the sound; my ears were almost bleeding.] These guys played aggressively, in particular the drummer. Before they played, he had his ear-piece on [monitor stuff?]. Then he took the black duct tape out, unrolled some, and started wrapping it over the ear-piece under his chin and connecting back to the top, almost like having a bonnet on or having his head in a sling from a bad tooth [remember those old, old TV shows?] We figured we were in for something wild. And they did not disappoint. Simply stinking amazing. The drummer was soaked 20 minutes into the set, and the lead singer wasn't far behind. The two guitarists were less animated, but I don't think the crowd could have handled more spectacle, and besides, there was no more room for more animation -- there was barely enough room as it was for what went on.
Thank You, God, for an utterly fantastic, awe-inspiring, humbling, powerful day!
Monday, March 28, 2005
Creativity
The other day, I was trying to think of some stuff for work, and I was at a complete block. Then I recalled an exercise I did in a training class, and the instructor told us to do this exercise anytime before a creative endeavor and our brains would be prepared to "think different" (please don't sue me, Apple).
The exercise is essentially comparing two items that are not normally associated with each other. The two items he mentioned at that time are a cat and a refrigerator. There were 60-70 people in the class, and altogether we came up with roughly 50 ways a cat and a refrigerator are alike. In redoing this exercise the other day, I could only come up with 20, among them
- They run
- can be fuzzy
- leave puddles on the floor
- like to be under things (refrig. under cabinets; cats under chair/couch/table/etc.)
- have an appendage extending from the rear
- have motors
- hum/purr
- both will be running and then just conk out
- can contain mice
- can contain milk
- come in a variety of colors
- can be finicky
I came up with a list of other things to compare (which was quite an exercise in and of itself). (Easy) a car and a plane; (not so easy) a cat and a plane; (hard) a cat and a piece of glass; a cat and a piece of carpet; (ludicrously hard) an orange and a piece of glass. I'll fill in these later (and take suggestions from the peanut gallery when I get around to actually thinking about these.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Terry Schiavo
Originally, I was under the impression that she was a vegetable and on
life support, and I felt it was humane to allow her to die. Keeping
someone "alive" at all costs is an abuse of our technology and robs them
of their dignity as a human being.
I have changed my mind on this case. First, she has not been on life
support. She breathes on her own; she can hold herself up if propped up;
and she reacts to people around her, even if minutely. The feeding tube
in question is used because she physically cannot eat.
Withdrawing food and water from her is the cruelest form of execution,
and she has not committed any crime (except for being in her husband's
way). Now that the tube has been withdrawn, the doctors say she will die
in TEN days to TWO WEEKS. Of course, I'm no doctor, but this length of
time indicates to me that she is still functional. Other than physically
not being able to eat, she is not dependent upon machines to keep her
alive. And I don't believe this is a "painless" way to die.
Why is her husband, Michael, so damned intent on killing his wife? He's
moved on to another woman with whom he has had TWO children. The only
person who says she wouldn't want to be kept alive is Michael. And why
only mention this after she has been in this condition for EIGHT years?
If her parents are willing to take on her care; why not let them? They
have even filed divorce papers on her behalf so he doesn't have to keep
the responsibility, and he has refused to allow it. He's determined that
she must die.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
An Interesting Thought
Tonight, I went to dinner with my upstairs neighbor, Karen, whom I've known about as long as she's been in Houston (I beat her here by two years). I had mentioned something about my previous job, that when I started, I could see five years, then blackness for a while, then an unknown period (which, you would think blackness is unknown, but it had a totally different quality, this unknown period, like it was being masked from me because it was too early to see, that it would be too much information for me to handle at the time -- this I've just realized now, not then).
I remarked to her that I did indeed work at my previous job for five years (actually, 5-½ years, but five years from the point of seeing), and that I now perceive that I'm in blackness in my life, with nothing seeming to go right, I can't make heads or tails of my life, I don't like my job a whole lot (that's why they call it work, right, because otherwise you'd do it for free), and I can't see any future beyond this present bleakness.
She asked if I considered myself a prophet, and if I had visions like that often. I thought for a second, and then realized I've had lots of prophetic things in my life, so I said simply, "yes", but I hadn't had but a handful of visions. Further, I told her that on a recent spiritual gifts survey, prophecy came out as my top gift, followed by teaching and wisdom, and that being in a Southern Baptist church really helps me put that prophetic gift to work.
I then told her about a friend of mine, Larry, who told me it was no wonder satan was camped at my doorstep telling me all these horrible things about myself. When Larry told me this, I told him that I didn't know how much of it was satan and how much of it was just me recognizing who I am. This thought passed through my mind tonight when I was telling the rest to Karen (but I didn't share this particular thought with her), that I still don't know how much of it is satan and how much of it is just me. And I asked this question internally, "Is this really from satan?" For the first time, I heard an answer, "yes," and then the afterthought, "no one thinks any of these horrible things of you; no one!"
I might not yet have won or succeeded in all I would like to do, and I have made many, many bad decisions, but I'm not a loser, a failure, or a waste of oxygen/carbon dioxide processing because of these things. I think I can have hope for my life (almost as much hope as I have for everyone else) that it will be more than just living out the consequences of my sinful decisions. I think there can be God bringing about good things in others' lives through me despite myself. That is my greatest desire, that people will see not just what a difference God can make in their lives, but what a difference He has made in their lives. And I'd like to be in on it, not so they will know it was me and think highly of me, but so I can make sure they know it was God Who has done for them. [This still isn't quite the right nuance of it, but it escapes me at the moment. This is close enough for now.]
I truly want to believe this, and I at least have some hope of actually believing it now.
I remarked to her that I did indeed work at my previous job for five years (actually, 5-½ years, but five years from the point of seeing), and that I now perceive that I'm in blackness in my life, with nothing seeming to go right, I can't make heads or tails of my life, I don't like my job a whole lot (that's why they call it work, right, because otherwise you'd do it for free), and I can't see any future beyond this present bleakness.
She asked if I considered myself a prophet, and if I had visions like that often. I thought for a second, and then realized I've had lots of prophetic things in my life, so I said simply, "yes", but I hadn't had but a handful of visions. Further, I told her that on a recent spiritual gifts survey, prophecy came out as my top gift, followed by teaching and wisdom, and that being in a Southern Baptist church really helps me put that prophetic gift to work.
I then told her about a friend of mine, Larry, who told me it was no wonder satan was camped at my doorstep telling me all these horrible things about myself. When Larry told me this, I told him that I didn't know how much of it was satan and how much of it was just me recognizing who I am. This thought passed through my mind tonight when I was telling the rest to Karen (but I didn't share this particular thought with her), that I still don't know how much of it is satan and how much of it is just me. And I asked this question internally, "Is this really from satan?" For the first time, I heard an answer, "yes," and then the afterthought, "no one thinks any of these horrible things of you; no one!"
I might not yet have won or succeeded in all I would like to do, and I have made many, many bad decisions, but I'm not a loser, a failure, or a waste of oxygen/carbon dioxide processing because of these things. I think I can have hope for my life (almost as much hope as I have for everyone else) that it will be more than just living out the consequences of my sinful decisions. I think there can be God bringing about good things in others' lives through me despite myself. That is my greatest desire, that people will see not just what a difference God can make in their lives, but what a difference He has made in their lives. And I'd like to be in on it, not so they will know it was me and think highly of me, but so I can make sure they know it was God Who has done for them. [This still isn't quite the right nuance of it, but it escapes me at the moment. This is close enough for now.]
I truly want to believe this, and I at least have some hope of actually believing it now.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Monday, March 07, 2005
Chill Factor
A tiny movie review of Chill Factor, starring Skeet Ulrich and Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Remember the movie Speed was pretty successful, and its sequel, Speed 2, was wildly unsuccessful? Well, Chill Factor is touted as Speed, but it channels Speed 2 in every conceivable way, especially the bad parts. It's still better than About Last Night and Random Hearts.
What I Liked
Other than Ulrich's character, Mason, doing the right thing out of loyalty to a friend and because it's the right thing to do, there's not much to like about the movie. This theme of doing right is not explored nearly enough in either capacity. I'm not that picky a person as far as movies are concerned, but this was just awful, painful even. Bad editing, bad sound, bad continuity. Just bad all the way around.
For instance, at one point they talk about how hot it is otuside (because the "stuff" needs to stay below 50°F in order to remain inert). Then everyone is wearing jackets and long sleeves throughout the movie. Or, there's a perfectly good ice chest holding the stuff, but Mason takes off his long sleeve shirt and puts the vials of "stuff" in it and covers it in ice. Why? The ice chest will fit through the hole he has to carry it through. No, the sole purpose of this is so the vial can be broken on the ground during the final fight with the bad guy and have the heat activate the vial.
Sorry if you think that's a spoiler, but the whole movie is a spoiler, a perfect waste of a good sick day!
Remember the movie Speed was pretty successful, and its sequel, Speed 2, was wildly unsuccessful? Well, Chill Factor is touted as Speed, but it channels Speed 2 in every conceivable way, especially the bad parts. It's still better than About Last Night and Random Hearts.
What I Liked
- There were several beautiful scenery shots. Gorgeous stuff.
- In an attempt to liberate an unlocked pickup truck, one needs keys, correct? The standard cliche is that the keys are (conveniently) in the visor. This time, the would-be thief searches there, but finds nothing.
- Skeet Ulrich mostly played a realistic (non-)action star
- It ended.
- Everything else.
Other than Ulrich's character, Mason, doing the right thing out of loyalty to a friend and because it's the right thing to do, there's not much to like about the movie. This theme of doing right is not explored nearly enough in either capacity. I'm not that picky a person as far as movies are concerned, but this was just awful, painful even. Bad editing, bad sound, bad continuity. Just bad all the way around.
For instance, at one point they talk about how hot it is otuside (because the "stuff" needs to stay below 50°F in order to remain inert). Then everyone is wearing jackets and long sleeves throughout the movie. Or, there's a perfectly good ice chest holding the stuff, but Mason takes off his long sleeve shirt and puts the vials of "stuff" in it and covers it in ice. Why? The ice chest will fit through the hole he has to carry it through. No, the sole purpose of this is so the vial can be broken on the ground during the final fight with the bad guy and have the heat activate the vial.
Sorry if you think that's a spoiler, but the whole movie is a spoiler, a perfect waste of a good sick day!
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