January 2008

Books Read
Inherit the Wind: A Hollywood History of the Scopes Trial by David N. Menton
*Superman the Man of Steel: Unforgiven Priest by MD Bright & Curt Shoultz
101 "Answers" for New Teachers and Their Mentors by Annette L. Breaux
Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

Movies Viewed for the First Time
Fido
Danielson: A Family Movie
The Bucket List
Cloverfield
There Will Be Blood
Sweeney Tod

*a graphic novel/extended comic book

I was only able to read through four books in January. The only one worth mentioning is Skeleton Crew. It's an older collection of Stephen King short stories and a few poems. King is a great American author. Most people know him as being a scary man who write scary stories. He write scary stories and Skeleton Crew has several of those. However, King can write just about any genre (except romance and chick-lit). It never surprises me how few people know that Stephen King is the guy responsible for the stories that became the movies Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile. Skeleton Crew has several excellent stories. However, if for no other reason check it out for "The Mist" and "Monkey's Paw".

As for movies, I didn't watch a lot of new films in January, but I enjoyed all six of the pictures. Fido was a movie that came out last summer that I wasn't able to see because I was at camp and it was only on limited release. Danielson is an excellent documentary that explores the difficulty of being a Christian and being an Artist; it also features the meteoric rise of one Sufjan Stevens. I really enjoyed Cloverfield. I know there are a lot of people that didn't and hate the ending, and even though I thought it was a bit of a cop-out, I still liked it and enjoyed the approach to telling the story. There Will Be Blood should win the Oscar for Best Picture (the Best Director should go to the Coen's for No Country for Old Men, but in my opinion There Will Be Blood is the better movie of the two). Sweeney Todd was alright, but I was a bit disappointed by the rather unclimatic ending.

Do You Believe?

Life can be very cruel. Life is full of pain and sorrow. Tribulations abound. It’s enough to make a person depressed and live in despair. As an Artist, it’s tempting to dwell on all the bad things and create solely from that. There is power in the darkness. But, that power is unsatisfying. The fruit it yields is magnificent, yet lacks the essence of wonder.

It’s tempting to submit to the darkness. I know. I’ve been there. Some things have recently just happened to me in my life that should have pushed me completely over the edge into the life of a complete cynic. But, something happened.

A long-held silence was broken and hope has been restored. Hope is such a wonderful thing. It’s one of the best things in the world.

I hadn’t completely lost hope in my life, but I had lost most hope. Things were so dark and confusing.

My life is still in chaos. My path is even more unclear than it was just a few days ago. There are things pressing in on me from every side. Yet, at least for the moment, none of that is bothering me. I have hope. The silence was not for naught. I believe that the impossible can happen again. Trials and tribulations will come. The world is a crazy place and life is full of injustices. Yet, love and hope remain. Do you, do you believe? I do.

The End of Silence.

For anyone who cares, the silence is broken.

A Perry Bible Fellowship