Mild at Heart Revisited

When the wife went to a women's Bible study it seemed more than appropriate to babysit the laundry and watch Fight Club. No, I didn't do the latter to overcompensate for the former. I'd only seen the movie once a few years ago, and the message was lost on me. But this time I notice an Eldridge-esque message to it. There were at least some intersections here and there.

Total intersections between Wild at Heart and Fight Club were lines like "we were raised by women", and likening God to a man, or better yet, a father figure. How I missed what this movie was about the first time I'll never know.

Differences were places that made more sense in the movie than in the book. Tyler Durton blames consumerism for the problem. Gen X men apparently know way more than they should about the perfect Ikea apartment. This seems true in an age when most guys seem inclined to play video games so we can pretend to have adventures instead of interracting with others and making our own. It all feeds into the cycle of buying stuff to look good and to forget about how despondent that makes us.

Wild at Heart, while encouraging more adventure, does not discourage consumerism. He seems to blame everything on good manners. I can't totally agree with that as good manners don't exploit as many people as a Playstation 2 or the next fashion line.

Unfortunately, both seem to use "hit me as hard as you can" as a solution. Both would pick a fight with Ghandi. And both would forget what true strength is.

Fight Club hints at it. Durton muses on the shameful knowledge gen X men share and names issues of better value, such as world hunger. The satirical edge to the film forgets this immediately and moves to extreme violence. Unfortunately, it's too believable.

I never finished the movie. It was late, and I was tired, so I switched to "The Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel. I admired the courage and sacrifice of those willing to suffer injury and danger of worse to feed others. Seafood is so common it's easy to overlook the difficulties involved in obtaining it. I should watch this show more often.

I thought about the randomness of the evening as I hung up my shirts. Did I feel like Eldridge and Durton? Or did I just shrug at difficulty and accept it as part of my job? Nothing seemed to fit.

In the end, it's a blessing not to have enough things to own you. I never wonder what kind of dining set defines me as a person. On the other hand, I don't worry about being "too nice". Social conventions are there for a reason.

The shirts all hung up and the lint trap cleaned, I decided I wasn't bored or whatever you call the Durton/Eldridge syndrome. I found that if you are where you're supposed to be, you never really are.

Live, from Nowhere, NY

Friends in the US keep me semi-current on music that's worthwhile. The surprising thing was the latest discovery. Surprising because this band, the Felice Brothers, is from Haines Falls, New York. Do you know where that is? No one does. Well, I do, but that's because I used to go there to get my car fixed. It was a good five to ten minutes drive from my middle-of-nowhere home. They apparently sing a song called Nowhere, NY. Hey! I know that place.

This link below surprised me on two fronts. First, that the band from Nowhere, NY is pretty good, and that npr is playing good music now. Are the memories of my childhood wrong? Excuse me, I have to go rethink some things.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94473776&ft=1&f=39

Fun with Segways

I keep certain images stowed away in my memory in case I need a smile. This is officially one of them.

Time Travel Movies Top Ten

I'm not a big genre guy when it comes to movies or books. My eyes usually glaze over when someone asks what kind of movies I like. It's easier to name what I don't like. But when it comes to time travel movies, I'll admit my interest is at least piqued. Here's a list of my favorites. If you have any disagreements or suggestions, feel free to let me know.

10. Galaxy Quest. I know, the whole story isn't about time-travel. But it brings up a creative concept. What could you do with a thirteen second jump into the past? Tim the Toolman knows.
9.Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Why do I have the audacity to include this one? Because I've met a few students who would probably do what Bill and Ted do. Look out, Socrates, they're coming for you.
8.Twelve Monkeys. What's the number one premise of every time travel movie? Changing history. So what do you do if a character travels back in time insisting he "won't change anything?" Sit back and watch, because you'd never guess it.
7.Donnie Darko. This displayed more screwing with time-travel conventions, such as actually identifying this as a time-travel movie outright. Take a few confusing but somewhat logical time-travel rules, throw in some rocking 80s tunes and a creepy six-foot bunny, and you have an entertaining flick.
6.Frequency. Could you travel through time without the travelling part? Could a shortwave radio be useful in 1999? Is Dennis Quaid a good father? This movie answered all that and more.
5.Back to the Future 3. What do you do when you've milked the 80s and 50s for all they are worth? Make a surprisingly entertaining Western without much violence or any over-the-top offensive humor. Add the time-travel label and you have a unique find.
4.Deja Vu. The central question of this movie was if just seeing the past wasn't enough would actual time-travel be possible? The result was a caliber of storytelling that only improves on the genre.
3.Back to the Future 2. Confusion actually works for this one. Its strength becomes Doc Brown's theories on all the possible time parodoxes. Finding out which of his theories turn out to be correct provides the biggest laughs.
2.Minority Report. Again, no travel occurs, nor is it necessary. Future knowledge alone sets this tense and enjoyable adventure into motion.
1.Back to the Future. The KISS rule applies, even in sci-fi. What if you could actually go back to disprove the "when I was your age" stories? Or what if you actually remembered what a Delorean was without the aid of google? The real time-travel is making that leap back to 1985, then further, to the 50s. It reminds us of a time when the concept of a politician on TV was still unusual.

Not the Kimchi!

I found this a bit disconcerting. Kimchi lovers and admirers out there, be prepared.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7680371.stm

Book Review: Too Small to Ignore

Too Small to Ignore, by Dr. Wess Stafford, reflects a lot that has been on my mind lately. The gist is that children are underestimated and even belittled in society, especially in the church. As I've vented and lamented earlier, I've seen that happen too much recently. Many seem to believe that personhood doesn't begin until sometime late in the teens. I'm still looking for millstones.

The strength of this book is in the storytelling. Dr. Stafford, head of Compassion International, shares stories about DL Moody, his own childhood growing up as a missionary kid in West Africa, and some of the children Compassion or other places had come into contact with. He even provides a few Biblical examples of children being used by God, and continues to share some examples later on in history. He reveals God's joy in using children for His glory.

Towards the end, unfortunately, the author gets repetitive and seemingly apologetic. I underlined the heck out of the stories, as the implications in them had great value. However, he brings up more ideas which are nice and idealistic, but too overwhelming to be realistic. That's normal for most books written these days, so I can't shave too many points for that one.

Overall, it's a great read, and refreshing to know there are others out there fighting for the least of these.

Morals and TV shows

There are a few shows we get absorbed into enough to buy the DVD sets and lose a few hours at a time. Recently House became one of them. This is mostly because we're both suckers for good character development, and House has that. It's also because as inappropriate House is at times, he makes us laugh quite a bit.

His inappropriate honesty brings me to the real head-scratcher. Is House completely amoral? He fights for his patients, he would rather do what is right (in his job) than what the hospital's rules allow, and he doesn't care what people think as long as he is doing the right thing. His motives get questioned, but he's always vouching for his patient.

Where is the fine line between doing right and being nice anyway? TV shows like House don't answer that, but they help make the question more interesting.

New Blog

I've added a new blog for tackling some difficult questions regarding human behavior and telling funny stories along the way. I won't be posting more than once or twice a week, as I'll still be using this one as well. Enjoy if you so choose.

milesperson.blogspot.com

Random Facts

You learn something new every day.

1. No matter how tiny they may be, dogs still want to chase after cars. The bigger the car, the better the chase.
2. Some random old person will always be amused by #1.
3. Using names as jokes can be funny in any language.
4. Religion is okay, but politics are a conversational black hole and are therefore best left undiscussed. To my friends out there who I talked to recently, all apologies.
5. "Tractor" in a word puzzle can be a glorious time-waster. I think it was invented in hell.

Music Video Greatness

If you wished lyrics and videos were more literally inclined, this is just for you.

But that's Cannibalism... Isn't It?

Here's another funny classroom quote. A student got 100 on a test, and was picking out Dum Dums for the reward. Yes, I reward knowledge with Dum Dums. The irony is, Smarties don't taste so good.

Anyway, here's the quote.

"I'm looking to give to my baby brother. What tastes like baby?"

The funny thing is, when I started laughing, she realized what she just said and started laughing as well.

It underlined my point earlier that day: word order is important.

Music Review: Perspective

I haven't talked about music in a while, but I still enjoy it when I can. The closest thing to current I heard in a while is probably The Cat Empire. From what I've heard coming from the radio, that's all you really need.

All that to say, it's nice when a band comes along and shares a new CD with you. It helps when you know the band and happen to like them, but I'll do my best to be objective.

I talked to the lead singer of Station2 a while back as we were all wandering around my old hometown. He was singing something and wanted me to guess what it was. I later figured out it was from the newest Coldplay album. This prompted a conversation about what CDs of theirs we like, etc. We liked all of their CDs up to date. I recalled that the critics didn't.

I think about how music that sounds good lyrically and musically gets ripped apart by critics. How can you look objectively at something as subjective as music?

That being said, here's my review of Perspective, the second CD by Station2.

Having gone from two members to four, Station2 has shown some significant changes in their sound. They showed their influences on their sleeves in their first CD, including Coldplay and Radiohead. Those are good influences to have, so it sounded good.

Perspective shows a progression. I can still say they are influenced by the two bands mentioned above, but in a similar way Muse is influenced by Radiohead. They still maintain their own voice. In Perspective their voice emerges. This results in some pleasant surprises, such as faintly bluesy riffs that set the otherwise standard songs apart. It's good jammin'.

I was also impressed lyrically. "Move", the bookend tracks, seem a challenge first to God, then lastly to us, to, well, move. The second track is the most Psalms-like song Ive heard in probably, oh, let's say ever. Silent and Intercession move us from that wondering "Does everyone see You but me" to "Intercession fights for you". "Barrier", not as strong musically, but powerful lyrically, moves us into belief in Christ. Then the real work begins.

The most daring song stylistically would be "Impressions of Beauty". It's a compliment to a song that tackles a tough subject fearlessly.

The only lyrical disappointment is the song "Eyes on Me." The rest of the tracks do a great job of keeping the focus upward and outward, then this last one slips back into introspective. Besides that, this is definitely worth a listen.

We're the Morons

The day after my angry millstone rant (a couple of posts back), I called my folks to say hi. Among other family news, they told me the latest about my sister's new baby. They knew whether they would have a boy or a girl. I was on speaker phone, so my four year old niece told me the news. "I'm having a baby sister!" I could hear my parents grin as they said, "She knew it all along."

A while back, my niece was praying for a sister. She has a brother, and they get along, but she really wanted a sister, too. When she found out mommie was pregnant, she knew she was going to have a baby sister. It was that simple.

The wise and cautious adults that we are, we tried to prepare her for the fact that maybe she would have a brother. She wouldn't hear any of it.

I'm humbled as I stand with other rational (for the most part) adults, corrected by a four-year old. Spiritually speaking, we're the morons.

Don't get me wrong, God gave us brains and experiences and He intends for us to use them. But don't argue with the faith of a child.

Bands, Cabs, and Snide Remarks

The active part of the weekend started Friday, when Beka and I went on base to see Station2. They had been playing music and discussing the problem of evil at our school all week, with a few concerts thrown in for good measure. This would be the last one before their flight back to the US.

We went to the bar where they were playing, bought some cokes and bottles of water, and settled in for the show. Someone from a local pottery shop came to see them play. Beka and I introduced ourselves and promised we'd keep in touch with her.

Station2 sounded great in concert, but of course, that's not the point. They shared the meaning of their songs which all explored the search for meaning and how we find our answers. They were genuine about why they were here, but as far as I could see there were no beatings with Bibles.

A few years back, waaay before Korea, I joined some friends to help set up a Christian concert at someone's home church. A brand new group named Kutless was the opening act for the opening act. We liked their show best, because we had met and talked with Stu, their drummer, earlier. Every time they played, we cheered "Go, Stu!" He was our favorite because he sat, had dinner, and talked with us. He was approachable.

The point of the story is, Station2 is a band full of Stu s.

We hung out until 12ish, said goodbye and went home.

Early-ish the next day, I met six high school students at the subway station to go to a grandma house and visit. One of us was armed with a guitar, and we had a few songs we were prepared to sing. We called a couple of cabs and made our way there.

On arrival, we learned this visit would be a bit different than we had planned. The ladies who ran the place said the residents wouldn't be able to visit until later. We were handed some rags and started cleaning.

We heard some excitement in the middle of the cleaning. A couple of huskies were wandering around the property outside the building. The ladies in charge were trying to get them to move, but they were stubborn. I put my cleaning rag aside and went outside to help.

One lady tried to call the dogs to her. I tried the same in English and Korean, but neither worked. Running didn't work either. Nothing worked. They were content to hang around and trample plants.

Finally, we began to lead one by taking his front paws. The other dog followed his buddy. Before long, we got them through the gate and off the property. After that, they ran off to wherever they had come from. Crisis averted.

We finished cleaning, and we were offered fruit. Declining was not an option. We enjoyed some pears, then took the guitar and sang some songs. The ladies seemed glad to hear us, even if it was too slow for clapping. We added some more upbeat ones which went over better.

It was time for lunch, so we said our goodbyes and offered to help again next time we come. We strolled through the gate and called for a couple of cabs. I thanked the students for being flexible, and soon our cabs arrived. Then, we returned to our respective homes.

One of the students said the ladies were hesitant to ask us for help at first. I hope we made it clear that's why we were there in the first place.

Earlier this week a new movie opened mocking all religion. It's primarily a comedy, and received good reviews for being funny. But at the end the movie's host calls for religion to be banned. This won't happen, but his basis is that faith is ridiculous and does no good. After all, even many religious leaders don't actually believe this stuff.

It's a matter of faith, and scoffers will always fail to understand. But one thing that continues to encourage me is the Stu s who are out there. I pray that we be counted among them.

Get out the Millstones

Consider this an open letter to The Church body.

Stop offending the little ones. I'm sick and tired of watching us insult them. They are not blank pieces of paper; they are clay. They have shapes, and positive or negative influence can shape them. But they are people.

They are people. We stress that fact before they are born, but we quickly forget that once they're in the world. We always stress what they will become, as if they are nothing right now. That is a steaming load, and I'm sick of it.

We give them absolutely no credit when we only focus on the great leaders they can be some day. For now, let's just get you saved. I won't dare expect more from you than that until you become a real person.

Don't we realize there are ways for them to serve Him now? They do. Perhaps in that way among others, they are wiser than we.

Nothing was a Cool Hand

Cool Hand Luke is one of my favorite movies. Paul Newman's character challenged me in ways it's hard to describe. If nothing else, he taught me that sometimes nothing can be a cool hand.

For all the negatives I usually say and feel about celebrities, it felt good to read the article below. I would have respected him a lot more if I'd of known he was the anti-celebrity. That's playing it cool.


http://www.slate.com/id/2201116/