I'm just brainstorming here.
I've long believed that movies are a kind of shared dream. A well made film...well, it can move you to tears, laughter, gasps of shock...and we can sit in a room with a hundred other people and have essentially the same emotional experience.
Perfect movies are rare, I think. Partly because they have to be fortuituously created, and they are also subject to a special alchemy based on the actors and other elements of the fictive world that's being created.
Two perfect films I watched this weekend:
Galaxy Quest and Stardust.
Both were funny and touching (the other rule about movies: The Best Movies Are About Love). And everyone involved was completely invested in what they were doing. There was something authentic about the aliens and witches and ghosts and hack actors who were portrayed in the respective film.
And they were about love.
Check them out. They're well worth your time.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thanksgiving
Another Thanksgiving has passed.
Spent part of it under the sink, replacing a garbage disposal that someone had killed by letting a rock get into it (decorative rock, the kind used in vases of flowers) , and not mentioning it until the thing had wrecked the seals, and water was dripping freely though the bottom of the disposal.
It was supposed to be an easy switch, one hour, tops, and I was going to school the Jigglet on some home maintenance tasks. It turned into about a six hour job, and the only thing I managed to teach him was my command of Coast Guard invective.
The holiday itself was just okay. The StepDaughter is feeling the passing of time. Her brother is a freshman in college, and she is a senior in High School. It might be the last "family" Thanksgiving we have for a while. Plus, her father, let's call him Jack, is disabled (bad back...sometimes), and she wanted all of us together.
Jack fancies himself a gourmet cook. It's one of the few things he can do. So he was going to cook a large portion of the meal.
Yep, my wife's ex-husband was making a large portion of our Thanksgiving dinner. I avoided most of the drama: when the man cooks, it becomes "The Jack Show," and I was not interested in being part of the Jack Show or his general pain-in-the-assness with everyone in the kitchen.
After I'd finished the garbage disposal, the Jigglet and I killed some Zombies on the Wii. Ate dinner, which was tasty, and then I went to bed...had to get up early the next day to run
The holiday didn't mean a great deal to me this year, which is strange. When I was single, I'd write thank you cards to the important people in my life, expressing my gratitude for their friendship. Yet, because of the family production it became, this year it was nothing special at all.
I realized on Friday morning, as I was running (training for the next Ironman) that I'd not expressed much gratitude the day before. Which is unusual, since most of my prayers are "thanks for this in my life (e.g., being able to fix the garbage disposal for the cost of parts and time and not having to hire a plumber)" or "Help this person."
Gosh, I hate when I let life and my own pettiness keep me from living right, from being a person making conscious, deliberate choices about how to live. Shucks.
On the other hand, every day we get to choose the apple. We get to choose between good and evil with the birth of every new day.
That could be Grace.
Spent part of it under the sink, replacing a garbage disposal that someone had killed by letting a rock get into it (decorative rock, the kind used in vases of flowers) , and not mentioning it until the thing had wrecked the seals, and water was dripping freely though the bottom of the disposal.
It was supposed to be an easy switch, one hour, tops, and I was going to school the Jigglet on some home maintenance tasks. It turned into about a six hour job, and the only thing I managed to teach him was my command of Coast Guard invective.
The holiday itself was just okay. The StepDaughter is feeling the passing of time. Her brother is a freshman in college, and she is a senior in High School. It might be the last "family" Thanksgiving we have for a while. Plus, her father, let's call him Jack, is disabled (bad back...sometimes), and she wanted all of us together.
Jack fancies himself a gourmet cook. It's one of the few things he can do. So he was going to cook a large portion of the meal.
Yep, my wife's ex-husband was making a large portion of our Thanksgiving dinner. I avoided most of the drama: when the man cooks, it becomes "The Jack Show," and I was not interested in being part of the Jack Show or his general pain-in-the-assness with everyone in the kitchen.
After I'd finished the garbage disposal, the Jigglet and I killed some Zombies on the Wii. Ate dinner, which was tasty, and then I went to bed...had to get up early the next day to run
The holiday didn't mean a great deal to me this year, which is strange. When I was single, I'd write thank you cards to the important people in my life, expressing my gratitude for their friendship. Yet, because of the family production it became, this year it was nothing special at all.
I realized on Friday morning, as I was running (training for the next Ironman) that I'd not expressed much gratitude the day before. Which is unusual, since most of my prayers are "thanks for this in my life (e.g., being able to fix the garbage disposal for the cost of parts and time and not having to hire a plumber)" or "Help this person."
Gosh, I hate when I let life and my own pettiness keep me from living right, from being a person making conscious, deliberate choices about how to live. Shucks.
On the other hand, every day we get to choose the apple. We get to choose between good and evil with the birth of every new day.
That could be Grace.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Class
I sent President Bush a copy of my novel (now available on Amazon's Kindle), The Big Bang.
He is the hero, after all.
I received a short note in the mail. It was pre-printed, small (4 x 6, maybe) on thick, cream-colored stock, with a White House seal embossed on it.
It read:
"Thank you for thinking of me. I appreciate your kind gesture, and I am grateful for your support.
"It has been an honor and a joyous experience to be President of the greatest country on earth.
"May God bless you, and may God bless America."
It was signed (probably by machine) with what might have been "George."
What I thought was classy was the line "an honor and a joyous experience." Any cynic worth his bile would say that was a polled, focus-group tested creation, but it rang honestly with me. If you look at the man (as The Anchoress has done at length), you see it is of a piece with who the man is.
People are going to miss President Bush. History will judge him far more kindly than our Masters in the Media. Doubt me? Read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The press was vicious to President Lincoln (you know, that guy who supposedly influences Obama. Tho Obama has yet to show a trace of Lincoln's honesty).
Take a moment to pray today. Just say thanks.
He is the hero, after all.
I received a short note in the mail. It was pre-printed, small (4 x 6, maybe) on thick, cream-colored stock, with a White House seal embossed on it.
It read:
"Thank you for thinking of me. I appreciate your kind gesture, and I am grateful for your support.
"It has been an honor and a joyous experience to be President of the greatest country on earth.
"May God bless you, and may God bless America."
It was signed (probably by machine) with what might have been "George."
What I thought was classy was the line "an honor and a joyous experience." Any cynic worth his bile would say that was a polled, focus-group tested creation, but it rang honestly with me. If you look at the man (as The Anchoress has done at length), you see it is of a piece with who the man is.
People are going to miss President Bush. History will judge him far more kindly than our Masters in the Media. Doubt me? Read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The press was vicious to President Lincoln (you know, that guy who supposedly influences Obama. Tho Obama has yet to show a trace of Lincoln's honesty).
Take a moment to pray today. Just say thanks.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Words to live by.
A now, a word from a Dead White European Male (DWEM, in the noxious PC speak)
Until there is commitment, there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)
there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which
kills countless ideas and splendid plans;
that the moment one definitely commits onself,
then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never
otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues forth from the decision,
raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents
and meetings and material assistance which no man
could have dream would have come his way.
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
BEGIN IT NOW
Goethe
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Strange
I've been feeling more emotional, lately.
I get a lump in my throat over the oddest things. My son giving me an unexpected hug.
Or, listening to Sissy Spacek read "To Kill a Mockingbird." Some turn of the phrase, some small anecdote will make me tear up.
Ah, well.
Upgrading my Ironman stuff. My Heart Rate Monitor failed, so when I replaced it I went with a different brand. Decided to go with Timex and their IronMan. The IM watches have been very strong and dependable, so why not try the Heart Rate Monitor, too.
Time to go back to work.
I get a lump in my throat over the oddest things. My son giving me an unexpected hug.
Or, listening to Sissy Spacek read "To Kill a Mockingbird." Some turn of the phrase, some small anecdote will make me tear up.
Ah, well.
Upgrading my Ironman stuff. My Heart Rate Monitor failed, so when I replaced it I went with a different brand. Decided to go with Timex and their IronMan. The IM watches have been very strong and dependable, so why not try the Heart Rate Monitor, too.
Time to go back to work.
Random Stuff
Another nice thing: A television series called "Life." Stars the very capable English actor Damien Lewis. Just started watching it on DVD. First episode was excellent.
Random thought: my son is getting older, nearly 15. There's a sense of loss as he moves into his own orbit, pulling away from me. It's natural, it's right (and thank the good Lord he's a good kid), but as he grows into himself, and begins to shine as his way to becoming a brilliant star, I'm left wistful and little colder as he recedes from me.
Random thought: my son is getting older, nearly 15. There's a sense of loss as he moves into his own orbit, pulling away from me. It's natural, it's right (and thank the good Lord he's a good kid), but as he grows into himself, and begins to shine as his way to becoming a brilliant star, I'm left wistful and little colder as he recedes from me.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A few nice things:
A film on DVD: "Things We Lost in the Fire." Slow, meditative. Good performances, moving look at loss, grief, and redemption. It takes its time to build, but it's worth it.
Book: "Black Wave" Still reading it. A family's sailing adventure and the diaster that saved them.
Lazer Tag guns. At Costco for about $62. AdventureBoy and his friend liked this this long weekend.
Book: "Black Wave" Still reading it. A family's sailing adventure and the diaster that saved them.
Lazer Tag guns. At Costco for about $62. AdventureBoy and his friend liked this this long weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
