"Dark Tales of Quests for Redemption"

Really good thoughts on The Dark Knight, here.

Found via Looking Closer.

Father,

I thank you for who you are. Who you are is all light and joy and life. John 10:10 kind of life. Life to the full.

You have come that I may have life, and that to the full. That’s just like you, God. You love me and you love to bring me life.

You always pull through. You always come through in the end; you are my hero.

Thank you for my conversation last night on the phone; thank you that you allowed me to engage in honest communication with you and with the person I was talking with. Thank you for the last night that that happened, too.

Thank you, God for the Hold Steady. For familiar music.

Father, I thank you for comic strips and that I can cut them out. Thank you for the joy of sitting on the floor, scissors in hand, surrounded by different kinds of papers. For the joy of cutting and pasting, the tangibility of it!

God, well, you invented touch, didn’t you? I love it! I love getting to feel the keys under my fingers.

Too much praise? Too much thanksgiving? That can’t happen with you, God. You are worthy of endless praise and thanks, you light-and-life-and-joy God.

Father, I do thank you for light. Thank you for the light the was in my eyes yesterday evening. That was so nice.

I give myself over to you. I know that you love me. I know you are going to do what’s best for me.

A few more tangible things:

Thank you for blue and sky. And intoxicating color, God.

Thank you for the joy of writing out a script.

Thank you for bitter cold. And hot dogs that are too hot.

Thank you for my dear, beat-up shoes. (Oh, and for good punctuation.)

Thank you that my friend Ben thinks eloquence is okay/important too. (And, at the same time, for Paul’s foolishness and weakness he loves so much [your foolishness and weakness].)

Note to Self:

I want to see Wall-E and The Dark Knight again before they leave theaters.

(These were both very good on the big screen. Plus I feel like both of these movies might have a lot to offer, and it's easier to experience a movie in that venue.)

I am a very happy man!

Listen to Andrew Stanton on Fresh Air! I am!

Listen here:



Oh, read this too.

Ben Burt helped do the sound on Wall-E! WOW!

Nothing Is Random

    Nothing is random, nor will anything ever be, whether a long string of perfectly blue days that begin and end in golden dimness, the most seemingly chaotic political acts, the rise of a great city, the crystalline structure of a gem that has never seen the light, the distributions of fortune, what time the milkman gets up, the position of the electron, or the occurrence of one astonishingly frigid winter after another. Even electrons, supposedly the paragons of unpredictability, are tame and obsequious little creatures that rush around at the speed of light, going precisely where they are supposed to go. They make faint whistling sounds that when apprehended in varying combinations are as pleasant as the wind flying through a forest, and they do exactly as they are told. Of this, one can be certain.

   And yet there is a wonderful anarchy, in that the milkman chooses when to arise, the rat picks the tunnel into which he will dive when the subway comes rushing down the track from Borough Hall, and the snowflake will fall as it will. How can this be? If nothing is random, and everything is predetermined, how can there be free will? The answer to that is simple. Nothing is predetermined; it is determined, or was determined, or will be determined. No matter, it all happened at once, in less then an instant, and time was invented because we cannot comprehend in one glance the enormous and detailed canvas that we have been given—so we track it, in linear fashion, piece by piece. Time, however, can be easily overcome; not by chasing the light, but by standing back far enough to see it all at once. The universe is still and complete. Everything that ever was, is; everything that ever will be, is—and so on, in all possible combinations. Though in perceiving it we imagine that it is in motion, and unfinished, it is quite finished and quite astonishingly beautiful. In the end, or, rather, as things really are, any event, no matter how small, is intimately and sensibly tied to all others. All rivers run full to the sea; those who are apart are brought together; the lost ones are redeemed; the dead come back to life; the perfectly blue days that have begun and ended in golden dimness continue, immobile and accessible; and, when all is perceived in such a way as to obviate time, justice becomes apparent not as something that will be, but as something that is.

—From Mark Helprin’s Winter’s Tale

(I love this. If you try to get in a discussion with me about predestination, etc, I will bring it back to this. Time has already happened. Nothing is predetermined; nothing is random, because eternity happens outside of time. And this is all beyond us. Because we have no way to talk about anything without referencing time.

So I guess, what I’m most grateful for about this piece, is its attempts to crumple and throw away certain concepts we need to get used to the idea of letting go of [time, etc.]

This is kind of where I stand here. Anyway, I am delighted by this piece and by Mark Helprin and am very grateful.)

When I'm looking at a computer screen, I forget who I am.

When I am reading a book, I remember who I am.

These are facts.

Ding! Ding!

Wall-E is going to be a very, very different kind of movie.

I made very a happy noises (see above) when I read this (from this quotation of Josh Hurst's thoughts on Jeff Overstreet's blog):

But even more than a great work of sci-fi, this is a great work of cinema. WALL•E is Pixar’s boldest, bravest film yet, opening with half an hour in which no dialogue occurs. Much of the story is told, then, only through images, and in this regard, it’s the most sophisticated and subtle film Pixar has yet made. There are moments of inspired visual humor, and of poignant visual metaphors. There are small gestures and little moments that say more than a script ever could. It’s so gloriously evocative, surely it deserves to be called poetry.

Wednesday, June 25 2008

Today I am jumping with my left foot.

I am reading books this summer.

My Dad Is a Really Good Writer

My Dad (who has a blog!) is a really good writer, and he has (gasp!) just recently posted two (two!) new posts on his blog; Children of the Burning Heart.

Click here to read his thoughts on Father's Day in: Wooly Mammoth on the Grill

And here to read his reflections on baseball: Red Stitching

A Pin from VBS

This is still true, by the way. It was true in the third grade, and it's still true now.

Quote

My friend and fellow blogger, Eucharisto, has a great quote up on his blog from one of my favorite artists.

Sufjan Stevens' thoughts on "Being born again."

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Oh, and while we're on the subject, Eucharisto (who is a FANTASTIC musician) also has some great original music online. You can listen to it here. (And here.)

And if you want to see some of his music in action in some of my movies (well, just one of my movies, really). Click here.

Garfield Minus Garfield

Dublin native, Dan Walsh has played with the comic strip "Garfield" by removing it's main character, leaving Jon (even more) alone. The results are... well, see for yourself:

Aren't these hilarious? Find more strips at:

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/

Washington Post Article

In gardens they perish.

She seemed to dislike the disequilibrium of counterpoising a roomful of light against a worldful of darkness.

Lost

"Homecoming" was a good episode.

It made me smile twice. I don't remember the first time, but the second time was when they were setting up sentries around the camp. People guarding camps of plane crash victims from mysterious and bad island people is cool.

Also the backstory totally related with the main story, which was great. I hate it when it seems like the backstory is thrown in just randomly. And it was all revealed at just the right times, which is good. Learning where a little of where Charlie's desire to protect Claire comes from was good and very effective. I think I even said (at least thought) "poor Charley" at the end. According to my screenwriting teacher the purpose of screenwriting is to elicit an emotional response from the reader/veiwer. I don't know whether or not I agree with that (this would be a good discussion sometime), but at any rate the show got one from me (I identify with Charley and his desire to have someone to look after), and that means something at least. So, good job Lost screenwriters. I just wish I felt like the characters were really interacting and not just occasionally conversing as a (crazy, insane, mixed up, mysterious, exciting) plot drags them forward. I wish I felt like the show was living up to it potential in all areas and not just those plot and individual characters (which they're doing a great job with; I just want to see some more actual interaction going on).

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Oh, one of the other times that made me smile with excitement was when they were asking for others to help and it happened that they asked Sawyer, and then Kate joined in also. Then they had all their strongest characters together (with guns!) trying to trap Ethan. I thought "finally! They're starting to really use the characters they've been developing!" Of course, it didn't turn out to be that strong of an interaction (the scene turned out differently, good, but differently), but it was a nice promise, a good moment, anyway.

I should mention too another thing about the guns. I was excited too about the guns being introduced because it could mean that the show, by giving us a microcosm of a society to look at, can examine, explore and play with societal structures and issues. The one at the moment being, "What happens when sophisticated weapons are introduced into a society?" Lost touches on this sometimes. I hope they do it more.

Anyway, thank you writers. I'm going to move on to episode 16 now.

I really liked Sawyer's backstory episode, by the way. I think it was my favorite so far.

Oh, and I really like, um the bald guy who throws knives at things. John, that's right, John, um.. Locke! Of course, a great name. Anyway, he's a great character, he's a leader on the island, but you're constantly guessing what he's up to and what's going on inside him. Also I like what they're dong with Boone's character. He's developing! Which is good, and is more than I can say for, say... certain doctors on the island (and their crushes).

Installment Number Thirty One...

"Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see."

-Paul Klee (found via Jeffrey Overstreet)

I Am Going to Miss My Friends

I'm going to miss my friends at camp so much this summer. I am going to miss staff meetings and yelling at people to be quite because my sister is talking.

I am going to miss Joe Fahlman talking too loud about the Bible and all-staff singing times in the dark.

I am going to miss silent retreats with my friend Ben.

I am going to miss short, knowing conversations with Blueberry. I am going to miss the resounding chorus of praise my body sends up at night when I finally get to go to sleep. I am going to miss investing in the other staff members, especially the new ones (helping make them feel welcomed and loved).

I am going to miss running my heart out during darebase and the great tennis ball caper.

I am going to miss all the people you meet just by walking from one place to the other. Such beautiful, wonderful people.

I will miss my sister, and I will miss my brother.

And to Mr. Chesterton, a very Happy Birthday

Jeffrey Overstreet is noting the birthday of one of my favorite people (follow the link! there are great quotes!). G. K. Chesteron was a man who was alive and always supremely ecstatic to be so. I'm grateful to him for (among many, many other things) the joy and graditude he showed and lived out in his life and in his writings.

Happy Birthday, G. K. I thank God for you.

"It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them."

— G. K. Chesterton

In Philip Yancey's Soul Survivor there is a chapter on G. K. Chesterton as is the case as well with Frederick Buechner's Speak What We Feel. Please read!

Birds of Paradise OR What Men Go Through

More Planet Earth fun (I found this at the same time as the last one; I just didn't want to bombard you with too many).


Let no one make the claim that being a man is easy.

The Road

This movie, just got done filming in Portland (just down the road from me). About a year or so ago Morgan Freeman was down the street making a film and now this. Our local seminary has become something of a hub for Hollywood traffic, it would seem. Cormac McCarthy is very dark (from what I hear), so I might not end up seeing it, but I enjoyed reading the article none-the-less. I am consistently impressed by Viggo Mortensen's attitude and comments toward other people (from reading this and watching the behind the scenes documentaries for The Lord of the Rings). He seems almost Christ-like to me, though I know he's not a Christian. I also liked reading about the little boy who will be playing Viggo's son. It looks like the movie is going to look nice too (nice in a post-apocalyptic sort of way).

Has anyone seen No Country for Old Men (the same author of The Road)? Is it worth wading through the darkness? I would love to see the good craftsmanship that (I hear) is there (plus I want to see more Coen Brother's movies and get a better feel for them; this is in part because I feel the need to learn better the language of film and also just because I'd like to see more well-made films); I'm just not sure if it's worth it. Oh well, we'll see.

Oh, I did not mention that I would like to read the book The Road. But I do.

For some reason the previous sentence made me think of Housekeeping, which I am reading right now, by Marilynne Robinson. I should tell you that it is lovely. Her words strung together are so lovely. If, while I am reading it next time, I come upon such a well-strung sentence, I will be sure to put it up on this blog, so that you can see what I mean. Her style is also crisp and clean and fits the ice and snow of the landscape she writes about here.

Oh, and if you haven't read Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, you are missing out on a wonderful experience, on much sunlit beauty. Thank you, Father for that book.

Remember (Grateful Tuesdays #25)

Dear Heavenly Father,

Our Father in Heaven. Our Father. The Father of us, your bride. Father, down-on-your-knees, giving horsey-back rides, intimately involved with us, Immanuel. You love me, Father. You love me, God. And I thank you for that.

You love me through all of who I am. And, maybe more to the point, the all-that-I-am-not that clutters things up. To be honest, God, I don't have a really firm grasp on who I am these days. I'd like to see myself a little clearer, bring myself into sharp focus.

Or, much more better (this being said in a rough, British accent), I would love to know that you see me. That's why I'm doing all this you know. All this living and stuff. I think. I hope. Like I said, I'm loosing track of myself a little these days.

But no matter, let us take some time to redirect that heart of ours.

Father, Daddy, thank you for... little things. For details, Father. Do you care about these things? I have to believe that you do. After all, you are the same God who created the sub-atomic particle, right? And the little burst of emotion that comes on us in moments. Like a wave at an airport or seeing how a gift is wrapped.

So I have to believe that you do. (I will also share with you that I think I would go crazy if I feel that these little things could not be honored, if you and us all had better things to do with our time.)

Mmm. But don't you make a fantastic big picture as well? How beautiful your stars are, Father. I do love them so. (I'm tempted to ask that you allow me to see them better somehow, but I will instead turn my thoughts to how you have shown your love to me on nights where they all blaze out in front of me! Where it feels that the weight of their glory, their song could crush me! could pull you in.) What grace you show me Father, with your love song, with this planet, with human interaction, with a well-crafted television show or a... scent in the air and the feel of it all. You love me, God. That's painted everywhere, plain to see.

Ah, but am I going numb? This would be sad to see, wouldn't it, God? Sad for my ears to go deaf to your music or to (God, please keep!) attribute these notes to someone else. Or me. Or no one. (God keep me.)

But these kinds of things don't happen. I mean that, my worst fears don't come true. They just don't. You steer and craft and protect and you guide. I give myself to you, and know that you're going to use me to your best. And you know that's what I want. You are my Father, and you never tire of Fathering me, never fail. Always do, guide and helm. That's you, God. That's what you're like. You love me deeply.

So I need Fathering in many more areas. I do I do. But you'll do this; thank you, God.

Thank you for Bruce Springsteen, Father. Thank you for his passion. Thank you that yours beats his by a long stretch.

Thank you for my circular (play) glasses. Thank you that they look so funny and help me not to take myself as seriously.

Oh! Thank you for Leif Enger, Father! And his so well-constructed sentences.

Ooh, and for Derek Webb, Father, thank you for him. He's got some issues, doesn't he, Father? Some anger, I think? But I think I hear so much of the Gospel in his music. You know, of restoration and that things need restoring in the first place. Thank you for people who mourn the things that are not right and lead me to the same. Thank you for the Queen of Arts and England and how I feel she mourns for things (fallen birds, dying things, wrong relationships) that are not right. That she feels deeply.

I thank you, God, in general for people who feel deeply. May I feel deeply; may I smell deeply and hear deeply and see truly. And may I know you.

Thank you for loving me. And holding me (I know you have; you love me more deeply than anyone ever has or will).

In Jesus' Name,

Amen