Something From the Summer

In the spirit of reflection, here are some things that I learned and experienced this summer.
· I gained a greater appreciation for many different styles of music and I was introduced to some great music that I never knew existed before.
· My taste buds overflowed with the sensation from new foods and beverages.
· I really like making movies, even ones that are made on a budget around $300.
· I now know why sometimes people in countries that seem to be doing really well take up arms and revolt against the oppression, corruption, and hypocrisy of their governments. The Truth of what is going on can rarely be found on the surface.
· I find prairie dogs to be adorable.
· The imagination is a wonderful gift and tool from God.
· It’s great to have friends that you can actually hang out with.
· I smoked a hookah.
· The Office is one of the best shows currently on television.
· It’s both disheartening and infuriating to watch a baseball field being destroyed.
· I was reminded of just how beautiful life truly is.
· I’m a great storyteller.
· You can make a difference in a person’s life even just working behind a store counter.

Recession

A recession is coming. Perhaps it'll be the start of something grand.

'Tis finished.

June 2007 & Some Other Tidbits

Books Read:
Rupert: Just Being Me By: Rupert Boneham & Lester Thomas Shane

Movies Viewed For the First Time:
Ocean’s 13
Night Watch
Beerfest
28 Weeks Later
The Departed
Live Free or Die Hard
Hot Fuzz

Since I was at camp all through June, I didn’t have much free time for reading or watching films (not to mention we were filming another movie ourselves, too). Rupert: Just Being Me is the life story of Rupert Boneham, one of the most memorable people to ever be a contestant on Survivor. I’m a huge fan of the show and was pleased to read about Rupert’s life. It’s a very straight-forward book and though there might not be much interest for people who aren’t fans of Survivor, I do think it is a good book illustrating how many interesting stories each of us has in their own life. Life is an adventure. Don’t forget that.

As for movies, I highly recommend Hot Fuzz. It’s one of the best comedies I’ve seen in years. It will probably be on my Top 10 List this year. Night Watch is a great film about a war between forces of good and evil and I eagerly am awaiting when I can watch the sequel, Day Watch. 28 Weeks Later was a well done sequel to a great zombie movie. The Departed was good, but there were other movies released last year that were better. Lastly, Live Free or Die Hard is a great addition to the Die Hard series.

Next month I should be writing this summary much sooner.
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The Gorilla has risen. Want to know more? Let me know.
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If you are a praying person, pray for me if you think about it. I’m about ready to jump into a major transition time in my life and I have no idea when it will end, where I will end up, or exactly what I will be doing. I intend to write more in the future about this because it is something I have been struggling with since May. However, in just a few days is when I will be attempting to implement some of the things I decided as a result of the struggle. Stay tuned.

Flamethrower.

I got to use a flamethrower last week to kill some weeds. 'twas sweet.

Camp Stories

Below are some of my favorite conversations I either heard or were a part of during the first week of camp this summer.
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Tuesday night I was walking outside of the chapel building and noticed a boy sitting on some steps by himself. He looked lonely and knowing what it’s like to be alone, I decided to sit down with him and try to begin a conversation with him.

I found out his name and that the reason he was sitting outside was because the music inside was too loud for him. I then asked him some questions about the speaker. The speaker was speaking about Moses and I asked him questions about that. His reply was a mixture of several different Bible stories in one (according to the camper Moses was the guy who got trapped in a whale and after he got out he got better by eating some fruit and then was shipwrecked on an island and was bitten by poisonous snakes but didn’t die and eventually was murdered). I carefully went through the first part of Moses’ life with him. Ten minutes later the conversation concluded as follows.

Camper: Moses’ mom was Mary, right.

Me: I don’t think so. I’m not sure what Moses’ mom was named, but I don’t think it was Mary. Mary was Jesus’ mom, though.

Camper: Oh. Moses lived a long time.

Me: Yes. He lived to be 120.

Camper: Jesus lived a long time and died an old man.

Me: What? No, Jesus didn’t live very long and he was crucified.

Camper: That’s right. He was crucified. Do you know how the world will end?

Me: Well, kind of, but not exactly.

Camper: I know.

Me: Really? How?

Camper: It’s going to end in a giant waterfall that falls off into space.

Me: What?

Camper: At the end of the world there’s going to be a giant waterfall and everything will fall off into space.

Me: Where did you hear that?

Camper: It’s in a movie, At World’s End.

Me: That’s the pirate movie.

Camper: Yeah, but I also read it in National Geographic.

Me: What was it called?

Camper: “World’s End.”

Me: Not the movie, the article.

Camper: The MOVIE is At World’s End. The NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC is “World’s End.”

Me: Oh. Do you know what issue it was in? I’d like to read it myself.

Camper: Oh, you can’t find it online, Tom.

Me: I didn’t say I was going to look it up online. I’d just like to find a copy to read for myself. It’s sound interesting.

Camper: Oh. Let’s go inside now.
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On Wednesday afternoon I took the Science Center’s 7 foot red tailed boa, named Rose down to the beach. I didn’t actually make it into the beach because I was mauled by kids outside the gate. The kids seemed to be having a great time. Then one of the campers began asking me some really unusual questions.

Camper: Do you use dummies?

Me: Excuse me?

Camper: Do you use dummies?

Me: I’m not sure I understand what you are asking?

Camper: Do you use dummies?!

Me: Dummies?

Camper: Yes, dummies!

Me: I don’t understand.

Camper: You know, like the dummies they use in cars they test crash.
Me: Yes, I know what dummies are. But why would I use a dummy?

Camper: To practice on.

Me: What???

Camper: To practice on with the snakes. You know, to see how much pressure the snake uses to kill a person or what it does when it bites someone.

Me (holding back laughter): No, we don’t use dummies. It’s an interesting idea, though.
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While sitting at lunch one day one of my former campers started questioning one of the band members.

Camper: You like being on stage.

Band Member: It’s okay.

Camper: How come you guys aren’t a real band?

Band Member: What do you mean? We are a real band. We make cds and everything.

Camper: No you’re not. You’re just a bunch of wizzy guys some guy put together and put on stage.

Some more conversation followed and then…

Camper: How come every Christian camp I go to all they play is David Crowder. I like David Crowder and he’s a good musician, unlike you, but come on people. I was at FCA camp last week and all they played was David Crowder, too. What’s the deal?

May 2007

Books Read
Jack Knife by: Virginia Baker
Reliquary by: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
The Polysyllabic Spree by: Nick Hornby
A Year with the Hooper by: James Hoby
Children of Hurin by: J.R.R. Tolkien

Movies Viewed for the First Time
12 Angry Men (original)
Spider-Man 3
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
Smokey and the Bandit
Shrek the Third
Seed of Chucky
Lord of War
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Thank You for Smoking
Smokey and the Bandit II

I know that this is a couple weeks later than normal, but I’m at camp and have been busy and don’t have much time to write things for cyberspace right now. However, I intended on keeping this up for at least a year. Anyway.

Out of the books I read only two or worth noting. The Polysyllabic Spree is a collection of essays about the books Nick Hornby has read and bought. He then writes a column about them for The Believer magazine. This is the book that gave me the idea to do this in the first place. If you like reading and don’t mind a self-defacing, witty, British author then you might just enjoy it, too. The other book of note is The Children of Hurin. It’s a post humonous work of J.R.R. Tolkien that has been edited together by his son, Christopher. The book takes place millennia before The Hobbit and reminded me of a Greek tragedy. It’s not for everyone, but if you like Tolkien and Greek tragedies, be sure to check it out.

As for films, only two are noteworthy, also. The first is Lord of War with Nicholas Cage. The second is Thank You for Smoking. Both films are films that deal with serious issues and use the art of satire to do so. Lord of War is more dramatic, but it has its humorous moments. I highly recommend both.

The Audition Vs. The Teaching Interview

Several years ago when I first began making a serious attempt to enter the entertainment business, I was told by my theatre teachers and some people who already had experience in the profession that I should prepare myself for failure and rejection. I like to read and I read dozens of books about acting, auditioning, and attempting to make a career in the business. Almost every one of the authors I read said something along the lines of “That for every 1 role you get or project you are hired for, you will have 100 that you are rejected from.” I remember reading in particular one book that said growing “rhino-skin” (an emotional toughness similar to the skin of rhinosaurous’) was a must in order to survive for any length of time in the world of entertainment. Time after time I was told that failure and rejection would become two of my closest companions and that chances for success would be very, very, very small indeed.

All of these voices were mostly correct as experience has shown me.

The entertainment business, whether you want to act, write, or direct is an incredibly difficult business to make a living in. The guy or gal working a 9-5 job behind a desk would probably be so discouraged after the first audition that they would go home crying and never come back.

One of my friends gave the following rules to me when I was first in college and for the longest time it was a mantra of sorts for me:

1. Life is unfair.
2. Theatre is less fair than life.
3. Acting is the least fair part of theatre.
4. Humans submit themselves to nothing less fair than the audition.
   

For many years, I thought that was completely true. I have discovered that it isn’t. I’ve discovered something that is even less fair than the audition: a teaching interview.

When you audition for a play, commercial, film or some other project there are a myriad of reasons why you might not be chosen. You might have more talent than the person cast, but you just didn’t look like the role. Perhaps you looked like the role, but you didn’t look right with the rest of the cast members already hired. Perhaps the reason you didn’t get hired was because you wouldn’t sleep with the casting director. Maybe you had some words with that creepy high schooler in front of theatre, but you didn’t know he was related to the assistant director. You’re too old. You’re too young. You’re too fat. You’re too thin. You’re not muscular enough. You’re not chubby enough. You’re teeth aren’t white enough. You’re teeth aren’t yellow enough. You sneezed when you stepped into the room. The director hated the one play that you acted in and got rave reviews for. The reasons are endless. The thing is, if you want to act (or direct or write for that matter), you can’t let it get to you. That’s the nature of the business.

I thought education was different. When I felt called to teaching instead of going to film school in California, I thought I was entering a noble profession. I had several education teachers insist that was what teaching was a “noble” profession. I entered that profession because I felt led to. I also entered it because instead of working crappy jobs to support myself, I wanted to do something that was significant, meaningful, and full of purpose. I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to change many lives, but I felt that I would be able to at least engage students enough that one or two might be affected in some small, positive way. Unlike many starting out in the profession, I didn’t have very many high and lofty goals. I had spent 6 months substituting in all kinds of schools in Indiana and I didn’t have any of those idealistic expectations. People told me all the time when I was in school, that I shouldn’t have any problem finding a decent job. I wish people would keep their petty b.s. comments like that to their selves because it isn’t true.

A year and a half later after I received my certificate, around 100 applications later, and 17 interviews later, I still haven’t been offered a teaching position. I’ve tried everything I can think of. I’ve been myself, I’ve told people what I thought they wanted to hear, I’ve been completely open and honest, I’ve been confident and reserved. Nothing seems to work. What’s more frustrating is that many times a principal or committee will tell you “well, we’ll let you know for sure one way or the other by such and such time” and then you never hear back from those people. You send thank you notes and sometimes even little reminders. If you’re lucky they might send you an email saying, “Thanks for contacting us about the position, but sorry, we’ve already hired someone else.” Why didn’t they tell you that three weeks ago when they said they were? Why does someone I’ve barely met and who I very much would like to work for and with lie to me? You would think that in a profession that’s supposed to be nondiscriminatory that looks, social class, and where you’ve lived will have nothing to do with you getting a job, but it’s not true. Statistics have shown time and again that more men are needed in the teaching profession. What those statistics don’t tell one, though is that if you’re a male your chances of getting a job are actually less if you’re a female. Out of all the teaching interviews I’ve had, only one went to a male. The principal there told me he was wanting to hire a male for the staff because he didn’t have many and he was true to his word, three of we four finalist candidates were male. Sometimes a committee won’t hire you when they find out where you live and grew up. Other times they might offer you an interview, but it’s really just for show because they have already decided who they are going to hire, so-and-so went to the school or so-and-so’s wife coaches cheerleading, or whatever. Education shouldn’t be political. I know it is very political, but that doesn’t mean it should be that way.

Humans submit themselves to nothing less fair than the teaching interview. Trust me, I know.

Book Review

The following is a review that was recently published in a local paper.

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“Book Review of Twisted” by Tom Varner

Laurie Halse Anderson is an author who has gained prominence in recent years for her powerful and engaging novels examining the frustrations, struggles, and trials facing Americans told from the perspective of teenagers. Most of Anderson’s writings so far have centered upon female protagonists, surrounded by mostly female characters. In her latest work, Twisted, Anderson has abandoned the female mindset and has written a novel told from the perspective of a typical American suburban teenage male. In facing the challenge, she has written a forceful and provocative piece of literature that is one of the best examinations of the suburban American teenage male mindset ever produced.

The story is told from the point of view of Tyler Miller. Tyler is just an average, overlooked high school student. He does well in most his classes, has an easy-going attitude, and is rather friendly. However, he doesn’t play sports, come from a wealthy family, or have a great physique and is therefore just one of many nameless faces at George Washington High School. Tired of being a nobody, at the end of his junior year he commits the Foul Deed. The Foul Deed gains him high school infamy, but also trouble with the judicial system which sentences him to a summer of community service and probation. He spends most of his summer tarring roofs and doing landscaping work. At the end of summer, he finds he’s grown to almost six feet and his flabby frame is as solid as chiseled granite.

People start noticing Tyler, including the queen bee of his high school, Bethany Miller. Bethany is Tyler’s dream girl, but there are some major obstacles that lie between them. To begin with, Tyler is middle class and Bethany is from a very wealthy family. Her father also happens to be Tyler’s Dad’s boss and her twin brother is Tyler’s arch nemesis. At first, Tyler seems capable of dealing with these issues, but events at a rowdy party after a football game leave Tyler facing a possible jail sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Dark thoughts pound his mind and the only thing he is sure about is how complicated and twisted his life is.

Though marketed as a young adult novel, Twisted is a book that cannot be pigeon-holed by genre because it examines issues that face each of us as we try to live our lives as best we can in the hyper-post-modern era. We live in a culture and society that is constantly changing. Some people would argue that these changes are for the better. To an extent, I would agree, but only to an extent because change just for the sake of change is seldom a good thing. Traditions and the status quo sometimes are a barrier to creativity and originality, but they have a place in society and culture for rational reasons, but they are unfortunately systematically being slowly erased. For example, there used to be a time when boys were boys and men were men. There was no in between phase and no one had to be explained the difference. In our current culture, boys no longer know how to become men. Physically, many boys appear to be men, but their emotions and mentality remain that of a boy. Advertising saturates us with messages that conflict with our innermost sense of self but also appeals to the most primal urges within each of us which causes old boys and young men to have a mental life full of anger, confusion, and frustration.

Then there’s the public education system itself. Anyone who doesn’t want to acknowledge that our public education system, especially at the high school level, is living in an imaginary world. In the U.S. we have attempted to do what no other country in history has ever done before by providing the same basic education to everyone regardless of ability. It’s a noble ideal. Unfortunately the ideal will never be realized if the current system remains the way it is. Extremely talented and creative children are being left behind, their gifts and talents unacknowledged and unrecognized. Instead of being the pantheons devoted to education, civic training, and morality that they were built to be, many of the public high schools in America have become little more than semi-restricted centers of social experimentation. These are just a few examples of the issues that Twisted examines.

The book is prefaced by a short warning that declares “NOTE: THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR CHILDREN.” That warning is necessary because even though TWISTED is marketed as a young adult novel, it’s a novel not intended for children. There is some crude and foul language, there is a great deal of violence, and includes some images of sexuality. There are many teenagers will read this book and I hope that when they do they can take something positive away from it. This author hopes, however, that more adults than teenagers will read it. It is so insightful and powerful that any adult who works with teenage boys should require themselves to read it.

April 2007

Books Read
Eldest By: Christopher Paolini
*Eyewitness: Acts of the Spirit By: Robert James Luedke
*Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata By: Stephan Pastis
Twisted By: Laurie Halse Anderson
Last Child in the Woods By: Richard Louv
The Neverending Story By: Michael Ende
*Birth of a Nation By: Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, and Kyle Bako
A Mormon in the White House? By: Hugh Hewitt
Everything's Eventual By: Stephen King
**The Lady's Not for Burning By: Christopher Fry

Movies Viewed for the First Time
Comic Book: The Movie
Meet the Robinsons
Click
Sabotage
Dark Water
Jamaica Inn
Easy Virtue
Are We Done, Yet?
The Nutty Professor (1963)
Lonesome Dove
Jesus of Montreal

Another month has come and gone. Despite having a slightly more hetic schedule than usual that included a trip to the Chicagoland suburbs for a couple of teaching interviews and a couple of weekends spent doing a medical study to earn some extra cash, April 2007 proved to be a fruitful month of reading and movie watching. If I can keep up this pace every month for the rest of the year, I will accomplish my long-time goal of having read 100 or more books in a year at least once in my life.

Of course, three of the books I read were either graphic novels or collections of comic strips. Ten years ago I probably wouldn't consider that to really be reading myself, but the graphic novel is a bona fide genre of literature now and most English students now have taken at least one course in which graphic novels are studied prominently. I enjoyed all three of those books immensely. Eyewitness is a visual re-telling of the Biblical book of Acts tied together with a relevant modern storyline. Birth of a Nation is a story that has the City of East St. Louis ceding from the Union to form their own country after most of the city's citizens are disenfranchised during a Presidential election. It's co-written by the guy who writes the comic strip Boondocks but in my opinion is a much better and more humorous story. Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata is the latest collection of Pearls Before Swine comic strips. Now that Fox Trot is no longer published daily, Pearls is the best comic strip currently in circulation; even Dilbert has recently begun ripping on some of the post-modern humor and tricks that have made Pearls such a delight.

Eldest is the second book in the "Eragon" trilogy and quite frankly was a huge disappointment. Very little action, highly derivative, and weak character development of the major protagonists. Still, it can be entertaining, but it's not as engaging as the first book.

Of all the books that I read last month, Twisted is the one that I recommend that everyone read. Especially anyone who works with pre-teen or teenage boys. For you females out there, if you've ever wondered how a teenage boy thinks, you're probably not going to find a better example. The book is disturbing at times and also illustrates how different those who don't know Jesus must live.

Last Child in the Woods has a great message about how children in America have become nature deprived and how that is affecting their behavior. At time the book slows down as it jumps from one point to another. Nevertheless, it has some highly valuable points. It's a book that I recommend anyone who has children or works with youth giving at least a surface reading to.

The Neverending Story is the novel that the movie was based upon. The book is extremely imaginative and much better than that beloved film.

A Mormon in the White House? was my attempt this past month at reading a political book. The book is about Mitt Romney, former governor of Mass. who is a 2008 Presidential candidate. If you're an independent, Republican, or conservative I suggest reading it because it basically explains everything you need to know about Romney. If you're not one of those, you probably won't want to read the book until after we know for sure who all the candidates are going to be.

Everything's Eventual is a series of 14 short stories by Stephen King. First of, I'm a big fan of King. He's a popular author and 20 years from now will be studied on a regular basis in classrooms around the country. Secondly, I love reading essays and short stories. The short story is a wonderful genre of literature, but one that is slowly dying out. It's ironic that as our collective attention spans become shortened to the size of a soundbite that the shortest form of literature (not including poetry) is on the verge of extinction. My favorite tales in the book are "The Man in the Black Suit", "In the Deathroom", "The Sisters of Eluria", "Everything's Eventual", and "Luckey Quarter". Another story in the collection, "1408" has been made into a film and will be coming soon to a movie theatre near you.

I try to read a play or screenplay at least once a month and this month's piece was The Lady's Not for Burning. The book is supposed to be a comedy written in verse similar to Shakespeare. I know there are many who love this little play by Christopher Fry. I also know that reading a play is nothing like seeing it performed on stage. Usually plays are better when seen performed, though occasionally a piece is written that reads better than when it is acted. Anyway, all I know is that I did not like this play at all. I thought the gimmick was a good one, but the overall pacing of the writing atrocious. Also, the play didn't seem very funny to me. I love Shakespeare and have acted in a couple of his plays. I was one of those weird kids in high school who became drawn to Shakespeare because of the poetic language he wrote in. However, the poetry in The Lady's Not for Burning turned me off. I found it a chore to read through the dialogue and had a difficult time of remembering which character was who.

As for movies, I had a mini-Hitchcock film fest watching three of his movies in as many days: Sabotage, Jamaica Inn, and Easy Virtue. As a hopeful future filmmaker, I have become more and more impressed by Hitchcock's master of the medium and will continue to learn more by watching his films.

Lonesome Dove is actually a 6 1/2 hour miniseries that I first saw as a kid. It's one of those things that left a definite visual impression upon my mind and I enjoyed watching it again.

The last film worth mentioning is Jesus of Montreal. The film is in French with subtitles and is about a group of Canadian actors who are hired to update a Passion play that has been performed in Montreal for many years. As the actors beginning performing, their lives begin to change and they begin reflecting their characters and the loving nature of Christ in their own day-to-day lives. It takes some time for the film to get moving and since it is a foreign picture, many people will have difficulty adjusting to that. However, it's a powerful film about redemption worth your time to watch.

That's all for now. Until next time.

Gasoline

Two years ago for the first time the average price of gasoline topped out at $2 per gallon. Gas had been selling for about $1.70 and then within a few hours spiked to above $2. I remember the time when it happened rather vividly because I was living in Edwardsville, IL at the time and doing my teaching observation in Bethalto. For about two weeks whenever I needed gas I would drive across the bridge in Alton, IL into Missouri so I could get gas that was still less than $2 a gallon. Once that station went over $2 a gallon I knew that I would probably never see gasoline that inexpensive ever again. The usual b.s. was spinned through the media about why things were so high. Everyone knew it was a bunch of b.s., but we couldn't do anything but complain. Talking heads and bad writers kept trying to tell everyone that we should keep things in perspective because in terms of inflation, gas really wasn't that expensive and it would have to go above $3 a gallon to reach the prices in terms of inflation of what gasoline cost in the early 1980s.

Five months later gasoline did spike above $3 a gallon after Hurricane Katrina hit. It stayed that way for a couple of weeks and then hovered around $2.80-$2.90 for the next six weeks. We were told that was just temporary, too, and that once the refineries ravaged by the hurricanes were once again fully operational prices would drop to their pre-Katrina rates. I knew that was a crock. It was and prices never did drop to their pre-Katrina levels. That hurricane was just an excuse because the oil companies had already busted the $2 a gallon bubble and were just itching to get prices above $3 a gallon. Oil companies posted recorded profits for the next two years. Not just one oil company, either. They all had record profits.

Now, those companies have gotten what they want again. Prices across the country are above $3 per gallon and the talking heads and spinning columnists are telling us that it's only going to get worse as summer approaches. In some parts of California and New York prices are already almost $4 per gallon.

For some people in the country this might not be much of an issue, but I believe those people are few and rare. Every time I pass a gas station, whether I'm driving, walking, or riding a bike, I check out the price of gas. Everyone I know does the same thing. I wish I lived in a culture and society where it wasn't necessary that one has to own a car to get around, but unfortunately I do. I don't live in a city or metropolitan area. I can't just hop on a train or ride the bus. Those things aren't an option for me and as appealing as certain aspects of a metropolitan lifestyle might be, I really don't want to live in a large city. Throughout time cities have been the downfall of civilizations. Therefore, I and millions of others like me or forced to drive places. Most people I know would take a different form of transportation or drive a vehicle that didn't run on gasoline if it was possible, but neither of those things are available. The gatekeepers don't think public transportation in rural areas is worth building and the few forms of alternative vehicles are way too expensive for poor hicks like me to afford.

What's more frustrating is that there really isn't much I can do about it. I've written some letters, but have heard nothing from them. I haven't been gifted with a mechanical mind, so I haven't been able to invent anything that I could use and even if I did I have no rich friends who would be able to fund the original production of such a revolutionary device. So all I can do is grit my teeth every time I pull up to the pump. Quite frankly, it's really pissing me off.

Reflection from a Day at the Zoo

Yesterday I was able to visit the St. Louis Zoo for a few hours. I haven’t been to the St. Louis Zoo in a very long time (for those of you who don’t know, the St. Louis Zoo is free so if you ever get a chance to visit, do!). Penguins are some of my favorite creatures on Earth and a few years ago the zoo installed a new Penguin and Puffin House. For whatever reasons, I never made it to the zoo and didn’t get to see the Penguin exhibit until yesterday.

Anyway, I was walking around the zoo yesterday looking not just at the penguins, but all the animals. After having worked in the Science Center at Timber-lee last year I made it a point to spend extra time in the herpetarium (reptile house) and watching the prairie dogs. I also surprised myself by how much I enjoyed strolling through the insectarium.

As I made my way through the zoo I was reminded by how fragile the world we live in is. So many creatures are on the verge of extinction. For example, did you know that there are only about 450 Siberian tigers left alive in the wild? Siberian tigers are so few in number that there are no longer tigers left in Siberian and instead of being called Siberian tigers that species is now known as Amur tigers. It’s so tragic that such a noble, fascinating, and ferocious creature might be wiped off the Earth in the next few years. What is even more tragic is that they have been killed off for fur and teeth.

Walking through the zoo reminded me of a short trip I took last week to the Chicago suburbs. I had a couple of teaching interviews in the suburbs last week. I took advantage of the journey and visited and spent the night with a best friend that I haven’t seen in nearly two years. As I was driving from one town to the next I saw a sight that made me laugh and cry at the same time. I was driving along a highway and I passed a farm with a barn and silo and small field. Surrounding the farm on three sides were all of these cookie-cutter homes that are so expensive (about $200,000) that no one I know personally could ever afford to buy one. I laughed because that single farm looked so out of place, but I cried because if I ever drive on that road again, that farm will be gone and replaced by another subdivision of ugly cookie-cutter homes or a strip mall or convenience store.

People, come on! Do we really need another convenience store or strip mall? Do we really need any more department stores? Do we really need to be ripping up land and burning natural habitats just to try planting Westernized farms that aren’t going to grow properly because the way people farm in the Midwestern U.S. doesn’t work in South America and Asia (In case you’re unfamiliar with a rhetorical question the answer to all the three questions posed is no)?

We’re killing ourselves and we don’t even realize it. Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, even though I don’t have the specifics, the Bible has given me a rough outline about how things will end. So much that I see around me affirms that. I guess that I was just shocked by how far we’ve fallen and that we are much closer to the end than I imagined.

Read This Book

Twisted by: Laurie Halse Anderson. Anyone who works with American teenage males should read this book.

The Meaning of Chicago.

My friends from the northern part of the state will probably hate me for this, but having grown up downstate Illinois most of my life I really don't care. I read a book last month that was filled with little tidbits of trivia about Illinois. The thing I most enjoyed discovering was that Chicago is named after the grass that grew in the area when white settlers first arrived. There are 39 variations of the spelling, but Chicago literally means "stinking weed".

Always the Sidekick, Never the Hero?

When I was a junior in college, I got this great idea for a novel. Actually, it started out as the name of a title. I’m an extremely introspective person. I think about myself, my friends, my family, the world, and life quite a bit and not just in artificial, superficial, surface ways that many people seem to do. The deepest thoughts that many people seem to have is what they are going to wear to work, what to eat for dinner, the score of the game last night, etc. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t think about these things, too, because I do. However, that’s not where my thoughts end. Many, many, many times these thoughts are just a small chain of the grand narrative and adventure that I see happening around me and that I am living. And even at the times that I don’t imagine that this grand narrative is taking place (which happens more often than I’d like to admit) I still feel it within me. I also like watching movies and I’ve noticed that I see events happening more in more in my life accompanied by scenes from movies (for example, when something exciting happens I keep seeing the scene from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK when the Rebel conveys first get away and the troops cheer for joy over the announcement).

Anyway, when I was a junior in college I was thinking about my life and got this great title for a novel, Always the Sidekick, Never the Hero. I thought that title summed up my life perfectly. I was sitting in a car with a friend who was driving me back to campus from the bus stop and I told him about it. He thought it was great, too. Then I thought I would collect some stories about my life and collect them in a book for a memoir and title it that. However, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that the title would make a great title for a novel.

As the years have gone by, I realize now that my initial impression was wrong. I thought that Always the Sidekick, Never the Hero was a great title for my life, but now I realize that I was wrong. In actuality, I’ve always been the hero and never the sidekick.

I realize how egotistical and arrogant that might seem. But it’s not meant to be. I’ve been doing a lot of researching and thinking about heroes the past six months (actually the catalyst was over a year ago when I first saw Peter Jackson’s version of King Kong) and I’ve discovered some stuff I knew, but just never understood.

Until recently I always imagined heroes being tall, buff men who most people adored and whom women were constantly falling in love with. In my mind, heroes never had worries about growing old and not having anyone to share their life with. In my mind, heroes never worried about the little mundane details of life, such as what to wear to their “real” job, what to eat for dinner, and who won the big game the night before because they had other people that took care of those things for them, for example Bruce Wayne has Alfred, Beowulf has Wiglaf, etc. If a hero didn’t have someone to take care of them they were either too nerdy to care or too cool and where above petty things like that. I had always looked at sidekicks being the people who got the raw end of the deal. Sidekicks constantly live in the shadow of the hero or heroes that they serve under. They could never have a serious relationship because they were always at the bidding of the hero that they worked under. They never got any fame, wealth, or glory of their own because they were the hero’s sidekick. That’s how I used to view things. Then I saw how wrong I was.

I was confused and had gotten it all wrong for years. Heroes might get fame, but they also get all the scrutiny and criticism. Sidekicks can always just blame the hero for mistakes and never have to take responsibility. Heroes are the ones who take care of others, not the other way around. Sure Bruce Wayne has Alfred, and even though Alfred is incredibly loyal, Bruce is still the guy who pays his salary and makes sure he has a place to stay (some will argue that Alfred is the real hero of the Batman stories and I won’t argue about them with that; there’s a lot of validity to the claim). Or take Don Quixote, he loved Dulcinea and viewed her as a lady, but she didn’t return his affection. Heroes are the ones who never are able to have a serious relationship, while the sidekicks can have a girl for every day of the week if they like. Heroes don’t get much sleep. The walk around concerned not so much about their own lives but about the lives of all those around them. It’s a difficult life and a thankless job. Watch the television show Heroes when it returns in a few weeks or read some old Hal Jordan Green Lantern comics and you’ll understand. Re-watch King Kong and keep in mind that Jack Driscoll is the sidekick and King Kong is the real hero and you’ll see. No, I’ve never been a sidekick, but I’ve always been a hero.

March 2007

Books Read:
Superman/Batman Public Enemies By: Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines
Teach With Your Heart By: Erin Gruwell
Me, Myself, and Bob By: Phil Vischer
House of Hilton By: Jerry Oppenheimer
Loser By: Jerry Spinelli
Mirror on America Ed: Joan T. Mims & Elizabeth Nollen
Illinois: Art of the State By: Joanne Trestrail
The Diviners: A Play in Two Acts and Elegies By: Jim Leonard, Jr.*
*This work is a play.


Movies Viewed for the First Time:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
The Love Bug**
300
Facing the Giants
Hell's Angels
Silent Hill
TMNT
The Brothers Grimm
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The Gollum
Blades of Glory
The 39 Steps
Are We There Yet?
**Originally saw this film befre I was in grade school.

From the books I read this last month the top three that I read were Me, Myself, and Bob; Loser; and The Diviners. Me, Myself, and Bob is by Phil Vischer, the guy who created VeggieTales. It's basically a memoir of his life. For those of you who don't know, Big Idea Productions (the company behind VeggieTales) went bankrupt a few years ago. The company basically grew too large too fast, took on too many big projects, and in the end faced a lawsuit from an evil distributor that forced the company into bankruptcy (the decision was later overturned). VeggieTales is now produced by a different Big Idea. Vischer doesn't hold much back and talks in depth about the failure of the company he founded and what he ended up learning from it. One of the themes that the book deals with is that sometimes we have to let our dreams die before God because sometimes we come to love our dreams more than we love God. I can relate to that. I had a dream once and God asked me to give it up. It was the most difficult thing I've ever done. It's not that our dreams aren't important, because they are. Many times our dreams come from God. It's just that the most important thing in life is loving and following God and sometimes even the best dreams can become a distraction to that and the only way God can get our attention is to have the dream die. That doesn't mean the dream will stay dead because God can resurrect those dreams in a new, different, and better way than anything we can imagine. In other words, a dream delayed is not necessarily a dream denied. (That's an original Tom Varner quote so you might want to write that down ).

Loser is an amazing piece of literature. It follows the life of a boy from just before he enters school through middle school. It is full of insights and captures the essence of the innocence and wonder of childhood; something that many of us lose as we grow older, but something that is essential to discovering the kingdom of Heaven. Jerry Spinelli is an amazing writer. He's one of my favorites and if I can write one work that is as deep and meaningful as many of his books, I will be a happy writer indeed.

Lastly in literature, there is The Diviners. It is a play that takes place in southern Indiana during the early days of the Great Depression. The story revolves around an "idiot-boy" named Buddy Layman and a former preacher who has given up preaching named C.C. Showers. It illustrates the profound friendship that can develop between a teacher and a student. It also illustrates the difficulties and tragedies that occur when wisdom and love are forced to fight with ignorance and indifference. I first saw The Diviners nearly a decade ago. I highly recommend that if you have the opportunity, go see this play. Be warned, though, it's incredibly sad.

As for movies, I don't know where to begin. Lon Chaney starred in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and it is an excellent example of how talented "The Man of a Thousand Faces" was. I love Hugo's novel and sometime I would like to make the ulimate film version of the story.

I really enjoyed 300, but it's very much a guy movie. It's all about honor, glory, and doing the right thing. Things that I know many women just can't understand. It's violent, but not as much as I was led to believe.

Facing the Giants is a great family movie that is a great example of how a movie can honor God. For a "Christian" movie, it's not too bad. The acting is pretty good and the story is well written. What I found most amazing about the movie is that it was entirely made by a church. Everyone involved was an amateur. It's one of the best all amateur films I've ever seen.

TMNT was pretty good. It was just nice to see the Turtles back on screen. The Brothers Grimm showed me once again how great a director Terry Gilliam is (he's one of only a handful of people who can use film to tell a fairy tale and do it right). I was disappointed by Blades of Glory. I've become a Will Ferrell fan, now. Blades of Glory had so much potential, but it just didn't live up.

Here's a little something of what I've learned these past few weeks: life is incredibly difficult and full of challenges and trials. You can strive your entire life to do the right thing only to be faced with one obstacle after another. The temptation to give up will be incredibly strong. Don't give up. Don't give in. As I've often told my youngest brother: never give up, never surrender. Give your best. Keep pressing on. Afterwards when you look back, you'll realize that the journey was much more fun and enjoyable because you gave it your all. Most importantly, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. You won't regret it.

Great Quotes

"You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket."
--John Adams

"I must judge for myself, but how can I judge, how can any man judge, unless his mind has been opened and enlarged by reading."
--John Adams

"There should be no hesitation ever about giving anyone a book to enjoy, at any age. There should be no hesitation about teaching future teachers with books they will enjoy. No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read."
--David McCullough, "The Course of Human Events" , 2003 Jefferson Lecturer in Humanities

Spinelli Is the Man

"He comes to know how painful a minute can be, how unbearable an hour. Though he cannot put his understanding into words, he understands that time by itself is nothing, is emptiness, and that a person is not made for emptiness."
p. 82, The Loser, Jerry Spinelli
----------------------------
Jerry Spinelli is an amazing writer. He writes books marketed as young adult fiction, but don't be fooled. He really writes modern contemporary literature in the guise of young adult books.

A Little Venting.

I'm just venting here, but I'd really like to have my own classroom and teaching full time somewhere instead of substitute teaching. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to make money and gain "experience" that future employers (aka principals, committees, etc.) will look upon fondly and hopefully help get me a teaching position. It's just that I've had a really, really bad day and I'm starting to get burned out. Maybe if I can just get that screenplay at least halfway finished by summer. Or if those darned producers will pick my application for one of those game shows or SURVIVOR.

My Favorite Movies of 2006

Last month the Oscars were held. I didn't watch them. There were several reasons for that this year, but the biggest one was that I hadn't seen any of the Best Picture nominees. Everything I've written or said about BABEL, THE DEPARTED, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE QUEEN, and SANDS OF IOWA JIMA was totally based off of reviews and interviews I've read and clips I've seen and general word of mouth from film critics and film reviewers I trust. I wanted to make that clear before I give my list of favorite films for last year. Another film that I didn't get to see and I wish I really had the opportunity to was PAN'S LABYRINTH. I became fascinated with the film flipping through a magazine last summer that had some pictures and a general synopsis of the story, but since I didn't see it, it won't be on the list either. So, without further ado, here are my favorite movies of 2006.

9.Talladega Nights--The film wasn't going to win any awards. I'm not even a huge fan of Will Ferrell (I like him, but Phil Hartman was more my comedian). However, I found it to be the funniest film I saw in movie theatres all year. I was quoting lines after having seen the movie once (usually it takes me a couple of viewings before I am able to quote lines like that) and in the early weeks of this current leg of substitute teaching some of those lines helped me break the ice with some students.

8.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest--This movie was the top grossing film of the year. At one point it even looked like it might be able to dethrone Titanic from the mantle that it sits upon so undeservedly (but it didn't happen). In all honesty, the film probably isn't as good as Pirates of the Caribben: The Curse of the Black Pearl. There are moments that are clearly derivative and cliched. I was also disappointed that the film wasn't a stand alone piece. However, the movie did a great job of just being a good old fashioned high epic movie. Movies shouldn't always be made to deliver important messages or cause people to think; they're also meant to entertain (though the best films will do both).

7.Stranger Than Fiction--Fans of Will Ferrell might not actually like this movie because Will Ferrell doesn't play a usual Will Ferrell character. I really like the movie, though. It made me think about what makes life meaningful and redine my definition of a hero.

6.The Prestige--The best mystery/suspense film I saw all year (including films I watched for the first time on DVD or cable). The movie doesn't have just one twist, but two. I figured one out early on, but the other one kept me guessing. Christopher Nolan is an amazing director and he had not only a top-notch, A-list cast, but all the major actors can actully act and do a great job of it in this film. I especially enjoyed David Bowie's performance (yes, the David Bowie of music fame) as famed scientist, inventor, and rival to Edison; Nikola Tesla. Usually the simplest solution is the correct one.

5.
Lady in the Water--There were a lot of people, including many people who I often agree with in movie tastes, who did not like this movie at all. For many people, they just didn't get it. Lady in the Water is a modern day fairy tale. Plain and simple. Granted it's a bit over-the-top at times and there are certain elements that don't seem to jive upon first viewing. But, think back to when you were a kid and someone told you a bedtime story for the first time. If you had been capable of thinking about the story, there would have been lots of things that wouldn't have made sense. Sometimes that happens in fairy tales. Fairy tales aren't necessary reality. However, they are a way of understanding living, life, and how everything fits together. Also, if your a film-tech-junkie this film has some pretty impressive cinematic techniques. Shyamalan might be a control freak, but he pulls off some pretty impressive stuff that's so well done most viewers don't even realize what they've just seen.

4.Cars--upon initial release Cars was panned by critics acrossed the country and was claimed by many to be Pixar's worst movie. Some of these critics changed their tune later as the movie ended up showing in theatres until early fall, became the top-grossing animated film of the year, and was the top film of the year next to Pirates. It's easy to see why critics on the coasts hated it early on because it celebrates many of the things that we in the rest of the country love: racing, Route 66, and small towns. The movie lost the Best Animated Oscar to Happy Feet and even though I love penguins, Cars is a much better film.

3.Apocalypto--There are a lot of people who haven't seen this movie because of the sub-titles. You shouldn't let sub-titles scare you away. There are others who stayed away because the violence. Apocalypto is a violent picture, but what any basic horror picture nowadays and you'll see more blood and gore than you will here, not to mention that the violence in those pictures is completely unncessary whereas in this film its almost crucial. There are others who didn't see this film because Mel Gibson directed it. You shouldn't let that keep you away because Gibson has shown in each of the four major features that he has directed that he is an incredibly talented director. The film is in many ways a parable for our time. Parables don't just make good stories, they can also change your life.

2.Children of Men--out of all the movies I knew were being released last year, this was the one that I was anticiapting most. On a technical level, it's a masterpiece. The story is gut-wrenching. I found myself in tears at the end. There are many who would classify the movie as a tragedy of Shakespearean levels. It's not really a tragedy, because it ends in hope and in a true tragedy there can be no hope; in a true tragedy evil wins in the end. No, Children of Men is a comedy of the truest kind: one full of darkness, bleakness, violence, anguish, pain, and suffering, but in the end it fills one's heart full of faith, love, and hope.

1.United 93--the biggest surprise of the year. It's a movie about the day that changed the world forever. The performances are lifelike and real. It's the closest regular feature I've ever seen that appears to be like a documentary. The film doesn't preach a message, but illustrates how under the most distressing and horrific of circumstances ordinary people can rise up and achieve something heroic.

Honorable Mention:
As a final note, there's one movie that everyone should go see, but it's really rare to find right now. It's called Tremors 9. The movie is a horror-parody and doesn't pretend to be anything, but. I don't know if anyone will enjoy watching it, but the people making it sure seemed like they had a ball during filming.

Justin Timberlake.

Is it just me or does Justin Timberlake sound like a girl when he sings? I was riding along with my brother to the movie theatre the other day and as he was flipping through the stations he stopped at a song and said, "Guess who sings this?" I said, "I have no idea, but it sounds like a girl." He said, "Nope. It's Justin Timberlake."
========================================
On a completely different note, at the moment one of the books I am reading is a memoir entitled ME, MYSELF, AND BOB by Phil Vischer. the guy who created VeggieTales. I highly recommend it.

Bitterness.

I've struggled with bitterness in my life before. Read a thought-provoking meditation about bitterness from Ben Witherington here.

Something or Other.

Forgive me if this all seems a little incoherent. These are just some of my thoughts I’ve been thinking about the past few days. They aren’t as structured and cohesive as I would like them to be. I don’t know if any of it will make any sense, but I learned a long time ago it helps me to write things out and I learned just a few years ago that it often helps others to read the things I’ve written.

Today I substitute taught as an aid in a special education class for students with behavior disorders. It’s in a class that I’ve worked in before. I’ve acquired many, many interesting stories from my days working there. I really didn’t want to be there today, though. My brother is home from college and we hung out last night and I didn’t get to bed until late and then it took me forever to fall asleep. I had been asleep for a little over three hours when I received the phone call asking if I could come in. I didn’t want to come in. I wanted to sleep longer. I wanted to get up late in the morning and try to do some writing until afternoon, but I’m poor and in debt and I need the money, even if I won’t see it for another month from now. So I went in. It was a hard, hard, day. It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen in my over two years of student and substitute teaching, but it’s up there in the top ten. There was so much crap that I had to shovel through that I just didn’t want to deal with, but I plowed through anyway.

I’ve been reading several books lately about teaching. Seeing that I don’t have an actual teaching position yet and I can’t afford to take graduate classes at the moment, I’ve been doing the whole self-reliance act and reading books, articles, and magazines in an attempt to “improve” my teaching (even though I don’t have a class of my own, yet).

Perhaps it’s because I had a rough day. Perhaps it’s because of the reading I’ve been doing. I’m sure part of it is because I tend to be a very self-reflective person anyway. Whatever the case, I’ve really been questioning this whole teaching thing. I look around and many of my friends and peers have successful careers and are starting families. I’ve had several conversations with several friends in the past few months who have recently bought homes. My closest friends from college are all either married or engaged. I don’t see anyway how any of those things will happen to me anytime soon. If I allow it I find myself getting jealous and that just makes it worse. So, I try to focus on the tasks at hand and be thankful, but it can be so difficult.

This was not how things were supposed to happen. Just a few scant years ago I was supposed to have moved to Orange County and started a graduate film program. At this point in my life I should have had a graduate degree in film directing and video production. I should have been living in a hip, but moderate apartment near L.A. I should have been working my way up in the film industry and be on the verge of being offered my first picture to direct. I should have had a serious girlfriend by now and be planning on when and how I was going to ask her to marry me. I should have found a literary agent by now and at least have a young adult novel on its way to being published. I should be mostly out of debt by now. This was how things were supposed to have been.

Instead I find myself struggling to earn enough cash to simply pay my bills. There’s usually just enough to go around and I know it is by the grace of God, but sometimes I find myself angry about it. Why is there never more than enough? Lines from Fiddler on the Roof (“If I were a rich man”) keep floating around my mind. I’m an “itinerant substitute teacher” moving from town to town, school to school, room to room. I usually have no idea where I’ll be from one day to the next or if I’ll even be anywhere. I’ve tried to find a part time job to help out, but most places I could work won’t have me because I can’t be reliant to work the day time hours—if I get a call to sub I’ll take it. The places that don’t care about that won’t hire me because they say “I’m overqualified”. I used to hear about that happening to people and wondered how that could be true. How can you not give a job to a person because they are “overqualified”. I still don’t understand it, but it’s happened to me several times. It can be a drain.

Yet, I do take some comfort. The nomadic existence I have both chosen and been forced to live keeps me humble. It doesn’t lessen the frustration and confusion I might feel, but it does lift my spirits somewhat.

I really have no idea where I will end up in this life. I can’t say for sure where I’ll be living in a few months. I don’t know what job or jobs I will hold and even though I feel and want to teach, I don’t even know how long that will be. I do know that despite the difficulties I face and the doubts that arise, I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing at this moment. That doesn’t make things easier either, but knowing that will allow me to sleep tonight more peacefully. Also, writing this out near the end of the day has made me feel much, much better. The panic has lifted and for now peace resides.

February 2007

Books Read:
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
Sold Out Warning by Ronnie McMullen
The Grim Grotto: Series of Unfortunate Events #11 by Lemony Snicket
America Alone by Mark Steyn
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson
Oops: What We Learn When Our Teaching Fails Edited by Brenda Miller Power and Ruth Hubbard

Movies Viewed for the First Time:
The Happiest Millionaire
Freedom Writers
Barnyard
Mercy
Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen
Ghost Rider
Peter Pan*
Number 23
Old School
Kingdom of Heaven

February was a bit more productive for me than January 2007. However, I'm still not up to speed. Maybe it's because I'm pretty much working full time and have also been trying to do some serious writing. I don't know. Whatever the case I still didn't read as many books are see as many movies as I normally do during a month. Perhaps I'll be able to pick up the pace in March.

A few notes on some of the books I read. I really enjoyed Eragon. Yes, the novel is derivative, but all great stories are like that. Paolini tied a lot of good elements together in a unique way and brought a new variation on what is virtually a classic tale that has been rehashed throughout time (Beowulf, Wagners Ring Trilogy, or Tolkien for other examples). The paperback version of the 2nd installment of Paolini's trilogy is due in March and I plan on picking up a copy of it then and reading it. I've heard it's not as good, but I'll withhold my judgment until I read it.

I read If You Want to Write several years ago. Since I've been working on my own writing, I thought I would go back and re-read it. The book is basically one long piece of encouragement to Artists from all mediums. I really didn't remember much about it after reading it the first time and now I remember why. I don't need book-length encouragement notes. I'm looking for more practical advice and/or stories about other writers. If You Want to Write is neither.

The Grim Grotto was excellent and I'm looking forward to finishing the other two books in the series sometime soon. I really can't recommend Sold Out Warning unless you're interested in conspiracy theories and the like. The book is basically about how the Bible and UFO stories tie together. The author makes some interesting points, but I just don't buy into all of his beliefs. America Alone is worth reading, though it is written from a politically conservative spectrum. Bridge to Terabithia almost made me cry. Oops is a series of stories about teachers writing about some of their biggest failures.

As for movies, I had seen Peter Pan when I was a kid, but it was so long ago that it isn't listed on any of my lists so it was like seeing it again for the first time. Freedom Writers is a cliche-riddled movie about a teacher who is able to reach out to a group of inner-city students. I knew this and could point out all the usual devices, but it still got to me anyway. Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen is a terrible movie, but a friend of mine helped make it so we watched it at her house. Please don't waste your time doing the same. Both Ghost Rider and Number 23 were major let downs. Old School was just plain stupid. I did enjoy Kingdom of Heaven. There were points that I could obviously tell scenes had been cut out and that hurt the overall film. I know there's a directors cut available and I'm going to try to get my hands on that and see it before summer.

I don't know if I've learned much from the reading and movie-watching I've done this past month. I know that teaching is a difficult profession, but it's something I still feel called and wish to pursue. Writing is difficult, too, but if I can ever discipline myself to finish the things I start and am able to find an agent, I think I have a shot at least of getting something published. But I don't do these things for fame or glory. I do them because I like them. Until next time.

Blurb for HEROES.

I don't watch very much television. I watch SURVIVOR and THE AMAZING RACE and occasionally I am able to catch a game of JEOPARDY!. That's about it. There isn't any other shows that I watch on a regular basis. Except for one: HEROES. If you haven't seen this show, I highly recommend that you tune in the coming weeks as the first season is approaching a close (the finale will be sometime in May). I had a hunch before the new season began that HEROES was going to be The show to watch this season and I haven't been disappointed.

Take last night's episode for example. It was some of the best drama I've seen on television in a very, very long time. I'll go as far as to say that it moved me. For those who don't know, the show is about ordinary people who have discovered they have extraordinary powers. They are trying to understand what is happening to them and figure out how to use their abilities. In the meantime there are at least three different groups that are after them. One of the groups has completely good and benevolent intentions. The motivations of the other groups are unknown.

It all sounds kind of far fetched and kind of geeky, but it works extremely well. Take last night's episode, "Company Man", for example. The performance by the cast in "Company Man" is Emmy-worthy material. Actors spend their whole lives wanting to act in scenes full of powerful drama like the one last night. That happens on HEROES a lot. The show has it's roots in sci-fi, but it is grounded in reality. "Company Man" was a very important episode that illustrated many of the connections between the characters on the show. However, even if you aren't a fan of the show, you could take a lot away from the episode. In a very eloquent and meaningful way the episode dealt with issues of faith, family, and honor. It illustrated the complexity in choosing between one's duty and between doing the right thing and the consequences that happen when one is forced to choose between the two. And, as many of the other episodes this season has shown, it displayed how interconnected we really are in the world; as John Donne wrote so much better before, "No man is an island." Television doesn't get much better than that.

Cabin Fever.

There's a thunder storm going on; it's really, really cold (it might all freeze again); and I've got cabin fever.

Between Two Worlds.

The articles and links below come from a blog that I regularly read. It's called Between Two Worlds.

Browsing that blog today I came across several interesting articles today. The first two have to do with George Washington. Since it's President's Day, I think it's only fitting.

The other article I really enjoyed reading came from a guy named Ben Witherington talking about a recent discussion he had attended with Rob Bell. For those of you who don't know Bell is the pastor of a church in Minnesota (Mars Hill I believe). He's gained a reputation of being a leader of the emerging church movement. He's written a highly popular book about his faith entitled VELVET ELVIS and he has a new book coming out soon. I've quoted from Witherington's post below.

"Of course it is true that we all are sinners who fall short of the glory of God, so there is no basis for finger pointing on such issues, and everyone must in all humility deal with their own sins rather than focusing on other people's sins. A Christian approach must be that everyone is welcome to come to Christ and come into the church as they are without pre-conditions. But no one is welcome to stay as they are--- no one. They all must change, repent of their sins as needed, and strive to live in newness of life whether gay or straight." --Ben Witherington

Utah Mall Shooting

In case you haven't heard, on Monday, February 12, 2007 a Muslim teenager went into a mall in Utah and randomly starting shooting people. He killed five people and wounded four others before he was shot himself. The important thing to remember about this whole incident is that the kid was Muslim. Remember that.

Why I Hate Valentine's Day

I hate Valentine’s Day. Don’t get me wrong. I think St. Valentine Day was a great guy. Whether he defied the Emperor and married soldiers, whether he was imprisoned because of his faith and sent a letter to the girl he fell in love with during his confinement, or whether Valentine actually did both of these, or even if Valentine was actually two men who did these things but died on the same day, I respect the ideals that St. Valentine represents. However, Valentine’s Day has very little to do with St. Valentine and it has become a day every year that I detest.

I’ll admit part of my distaste for the day is because I’m a single guy that has never had a significant other to share the day with. I see all these couples around me staring at each other and eating nice dinners and I feel jealous. It doesn’t help either that starting almost immediately after the confetti thrown at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day has hit the pavement until the midnight of February 15th I am bombarded by messages and images about Valentine’s Day, the so-called “holiday” of love. If you’re married or in a relationship, congratulations to you. However, there are millions of single people that don’t have a special person in their life. We are quite aware that we are single and we don’t need the world to constantly remind us for six weeks that we’re still single. I don’t feel I have been called to a life of singlehood and would like to be married someday. That is one of the deepest desires of my heart. But so far it hasn’t been meant to be. Currently, I am content with life, but my contentment isn’t enough for the world. Every year for six weeks I’m told repeatedly in the newspapers, on the radio, on television, on the internet, and even by some family members that if I’m not in a relationship there must be something wrong with me. That’ll cause some bitter feelings and resentment. I won’t deny it.

However, that doesn’t negate that there’s something about the whole day that is artificial and trite. If you truly love someone, there shouldn’t have to be a day each year to remind you that you love that person. If you truly love a person you should be celebrating Valentine’s Day with them throughout the year and not just on one day.

But, Valentine’s Day really isn’t about love. It’s all about money and manipulating people. It changes people. Women seem especially susceptible to the seduction. Perpetuated by greeting card, confectionary, and flower companies as well as the soft-core pornographic paperback novels they read, women come to believe that if their husband or boyfriend doesn’t do something special for them on Valentine’s Day then he doesn’t love them. “He’ll send flowers. He’ll get me that ring I’ve been wanting. He’ll take me out somewhere nice for dinner. If he really cared he’ll do this or that.” Women have been seduced into connecting their self-worth with this created “holiday”. Good men want to please their wives and girlfriends and because of their love for the women in their lives they go along with it. The gifts and messages and nice dinners are meant to be an expression of love but are really just duties performed out of doting affection and the hope of a bedroom treat later.

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about love, but by buying into what the culture has presented us, it has very little to do about love at all.

That’s why I hate Valentine’s Day.

Comic Strips

Comic strips don't get the appreciation they deserve as an art form. So much skill and talent goes into creating a strip. They are usually either funny or deeply personal and sometimes both and if nothing else they are amusing. In a few panes a comic strip expresses what people like me take pages to put into words. Comic strips are hundreds of times shorter than a full-fledged comic book. And they are free everyday (unless you buy the collection books). Here are two comics in today's (2/2/07) paper that I related to.

This is me and my life.


Someday this will be happening to me.

January 2007

In honor of Nick Hornby, I'm going to try something different. This might be a one-time thing, it might turn into a regular feature. I don't know. Anyway. At the end of every month I'm going to list the books I read that month and the movies I saw for the first time. There will probably be some short comments as well. Hornby does this in a column for some magazine he writes for and he's gotten two books out of it so far. So, here's my January 2007.

Books Read:
Brainiac by Ken Jennings
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

January was a slow month for me, reading wise. The first two weeks I didn't read any books (not including the usual newspaper, magazine, blogs, etc.). The first book I finished was Brainiac. It's written by Ken Jennings, the guy who won 74 games on Jeopardy! The book does tells part of Jenning's Jeopardy! story, but it's really a book that explores the history of trivia. I really liked it.

The other book I read was Frank McCourt's Teacher Man. McCourt won the Pulitzer Prize about 8 years ago for his memoir Angela's Ashes. That book is amazing and I highly recommend it. McCourt had an incredibly bleak childhood, but his writing style is so humorous and witty. Teacher Man is his 3rd book and is written in the same style as his first two. It's also a memoir, but it deals more in-depth with his thirty-year teaching career. I love McCourt's writing (he's a beautiful storyteller), but I took even more away from the book because I, too, am an English teacher.

Movies Viewed for the First Time:
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Mothman Prophecies
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
Children of Men
United 93

I didn't watch many movies in January 2007 either. Normally I see between 10-15 movies for the first time during a month. In January 2007 I only managed seeing five. I enjoyed The Pursuit of Happyness. It's basically an inspiring film about overcoming adversity. Will Smith and his son have a great relationship though and it is their bond that makes the movie so touching.

I watched The Mothman Prophecies because I thought it was going to be about the Silver Bridge accident in 1967 that killed 26 people. If you've ever heard about the Mothman stories, you might want to check the film out, but besides that I'd stay away. It wasn't that good and having Richard Gere involved made it even worse.

Cindrella III: A Twist in Time was sent to me to review. It's okay and better than many direct-to-DVD films I've seen. However, it still had no business being made.

Children of Men. Amazing. Go see this movie. The bleak and depressing tone jars one's soul, but the movie is full of hope. Finally, I watched United 93 for the first time this month. Since the end of April I had been hearing from all sorts of sources how good the film was. Unfortunately it never came out in a theatre close enough for me to get to so I had to wait and watch the copy I bought my mom for Christmas. United 93 has largely been ignored during the award season, but it is, in my opinion, the best film of 2006. No preaching. Just a realistic depiction of one story of millions that happened on Sept. 11, 2001.

And what did I learn this path month from my reading and movie watching endeavors? The biggest thing is a message that I have been seeing repeated over and over and over the past few months. I don't know if it's something that God is trying to drill into because of what is going on in my life or if it's a prophetic message for all of us because of some dark days that might be ahead. Whatever the case, the message is this: no matter how dark, bleak, and dreary things may get, never give up because no matter how horrible things are, hope remains.