Writing

Well, work on 300 stalled at the gate. I wasn't ready to start it, and until I feel the absolute need to write it, it will probably remain stalled. I'm still working through the second draft of Ashram, and that is going well. I'm allowing more people to read it, and am getting some good criticisms (positive and negative). I might start a few small personal projects, but I'm not sure. I'll let you know if anything else comes up.

Narnia: Prince Caspian Review

This is where everyone calls me a bad christian, because I didn't like Narnia.
Yeah, so shoot me.
The allegory is heavy handed. Aslan is not my favorite picture of God. The elements that are good are underdeveloped - in particular the leadership conflict between Caspian and Peter. Edmund, my favorite kid from the first movie, has very little to do here. He does have one nice moment, which plays off his arc from the first movie, but thats about it.
I also did not thoroughly enjoy the first movie, but it did a nice job of introducing the world. In this movie, Narnia doesn't feel magical anymore. It's true, that supposedly 1300 years have passed and the magic is suppposed to be gone, but that was the greatest appeal from the first movie for me.
So... I'd pass and wait for DVD. If you liked the first movie, or if you loved the books, you'll probably like it. I'd rather catch Iron Man again.

Speed Racer Review

This movie is like crack cocaine for your eyes.
I think the movie was not very good, as far as movies go. As far as experiences go, it was pretty sweet. My roommates and I caught the midnight opening, and chugged Red Bulls and Pop Rocks throughout. So it was crazy!
I left, convinced I was going to be able to make my car do backflips.
But... The storyline is slow at parts. When they weren't racing, I was fairly bored. Also, the live action 'anime' didn't really appeal to me. I think it made some bold choices, and was full of great visuals, but overall, I'd recommend Iron Man first.

Juno Review

Juno is such a sweet hearted movie. It's funny, it's warm, and it's caring. It's also really funny.
Ellen Page is hilarious, and she reminds me of some friends in great ways. Except most of my friends aren't pregnant sixteen year olds.
That's the plot, really. A young girl sleeps with her friend, because shes bored. Then she's pregnant, and decides to give it up for adoption.
It's so funny too. And sweet. I definitly recommend it.

Iron Man Review

Heck yes!
If the rest of the summer can be this awesome, we're in for a heck of a ride. Looking at the line up of upcoming movies, I'm now wondering if we might have started off spoiled.
Because Iron Man was awesome.
It's a great (perfect?) superhero movie.
Do you remember when you saw the first Spiderman movie? Well I do, and I remember being blown away that someone had done a good comic book movie. That they had brought Spiderman to life. Well, here, they've done just as well, if not better. I know absolutely zero about Iron Man mythology, so I can talk about the little sly nods to fans, but I do know this - any sequel of Iron Man just jumped into my must see list.
Robert Downey Jr is perfect as Tony Stark. He's batman, but never bothered to learn any sissy martial arts. Just decided to create a human tank. Terence Howard is also pretty awesome as his friend Rhodes, and his line at the end - "Next time baby..." That is such a perfect set up for a sequel that I love it. Everyone in the theater knew it too, and loved it.
Here's the best praise I can give for Iron Man - immediately after seeing it, my desire to learn how to weld went up a hundred fold - simply so I can make my own Iron Man suit.

Random Thoughts - 4

Is it wrong to get my life together so aspects of my life I'm really enjoying aren't screwed up?
I don't know that that makes sense. Let me explain.
If I'm reading my bible, simply because I don't want to reap the consequences of not reading it. I'm worried that something bad could happen in the good stuff in my life that I really like, so I'm reading my bible on a regular basis. I dont want, in a sense, bad karma.
Is that a sin? Or a problem?
I know when I was a jr. high leader, we would encourage students to read the Bible just to read it, so it would be habit forming. But I wonder if a good habit formed for a bad reason is still a good habit.
There is the idea that good things done for the wrong reasons are wrong, which worries me. But I'm not sure what the correct answer is. Obviously, I shouldn't just stop reading my Bible because I'm worried about my motives. And if my motives are bad, then it's a problem.
Typing this out has helped me. What I need to do is get my motive's right. It's not an action/behavior problem. It's a motive problem.

Random Thoughts - 3

I think the way we see God a lot has to do with Paradigms.
It's clear that some people just relate to God in different ways. I relate differently than my roommate. Than my pastor friend. Than my best friend. Than my college buddy.
And I think it has to do with this idea of paradigm.
Because God is so much bigger than any one idea, but one idea sticks with us. God is father and shepherd and groom and lover and protector all at once. There are a billion names for God in the Bible. And I think we all have one that we relate to more than any other.
For example, I have a friend who thinks of God as her groom. And that has deep meaning for her. Personally, I struggle with that paradigm, because I don't like picturing myself as a bride.
For me, I see God most closely in the idea of community. The idea that God is a perfect, three-in-one community, that our community with God was broken in the fall, and that God has been striving to restore our community - through the work of Jesus.
That's my paradigm. Whats yours?