Brain Candy

Okay, it's been way too long since I've posted. I've been working on a bunch of posts, but my perfectionism has kept me from actually publishing them until they are complete thoughts. I want to post, though, if for no other reason than to not become another fallen homey in the blogging world.

So, I was gone for 3 months this summer. I lived in the woods and outside of a weekly dose of Ice Road Truckers (holla), I had little contact with popular media. I think I can outfox my perfectionism by discussing some lighter topics, namely some good old pop culture. It's always nice to catch up on the important things. Huzzah for brain candy.

1. When I got back to Chicago, I was extremely confused by all the talk about Cardassians. I honestly thought the whole world had gone Star Trek nerd. It only took me one trip to Jewel (grocery store) and a quick glance at the trashy magazines in the checkout aisle to see that I was very mistaken. People weren't obsessed with an extra-terrestrial species from the Alpha Quadrant, but instead with a self-obsessed family of socialites, the Kardashians. My bad.

2. Team Edward or Team Jacob? I have not read the Twilight books, but I have seen the first movie and I intend to see the sequels. Apparently the reigning question in the teen angst ridden world of vampires and werewolves in the Pacific Northwest is whether Bella should end up with Edward or Jacob. It's a tough one: a sparkly-skinned vampire with perfectly coiffed hair and eternity on his side, or a highly-muscled teenage boy of the Quileute tribe whose temper can get very..."hairy." My vote: Jacob. No contest. First of all, Jacob can turn into a wolf. Do I need a "second of all?" If that's not enough, I would also say that Jacob doesn't want to eat Bella, a factor that may make dating a little more realistic. Also, Edward's hair is inexcusable. Absolutely ridiculous.

3. Glee? Yes, please! Did you watch the first episode? Tell me you weren't completely hooked as soon as you heard them singing "Don't Stop Believing."

4. Creed has a new album. I've heard it, and I would say that I'm pleasantly surprised. It's not much different from their previous albums, but I have to say that I think I've missed their music. We were all obsessed with them circa 1999 (don't pretend you weren't), and it's almost like hearing from an old friend. And so what if that friend can't properly pronounce vowels? It's still a welcomed reunion.

5. I don't know who Jon and Kate are, but can't they just get along?

6. Patrick Swayze passed away. It's the end of an era. If you haven't seen Roadhouse, I don't know how to talk to you. Youngblood, Red Dawn, Next of Kin...need I go on? Oh, and let's not forget his magnum opus, Point Break: Swayze + Keanu + surfing = perfection. Maybe before the year is out you should treat yourself to one of these classics.

7. Evil, thy name is Twitter. As if Facebook status updates are unholy enough, let's all embrace "the best way to share and discover what is happening right now." How else can you have up to the second knowledge of every bit of inane minutia going on in the lives of your family, friends, and any celebrities with whom you share the genuine connection of 140 character sentences?

8. Michael Jackson passed away. Again, it's the end of an era. Was he crazy? Maybe. Did he do bad things with kids? I don't know. Could you characterize his ever-changing appearance as

strange and more than a little bit creepy? Perhaps. Was he one of the most talented performers of our time? Without a doubt.

9. Nicolas Cage is broke. I blame Twitter.

10. Owl City's Ocean Eyes is currently the most played album on my iPod. Electronic sound that splits the difference between 80's synthpop and Euro dance music. Sure, I probably don't fit in the key demographic of 14 year old girls, but I still dig it. Every time I put it on I feel like I'm Michael J. Fox in the opening scene of The Secret of My Suce$s when he's rocking out to "Walking on Sunshine."

I promise I'll post something of more substance in the near future.

Olfactory Omen

I'm a firm believer in having all four seasons. The time I spent in Florida was great for a lot of reasons, but I must say that I was extremely disoriented when a year went by with no discernible seasons other than "hot" and "slightly less hot."

I very much enjoyed my summer in MN. It was hot, dry, dusty...everything you want your summer to be. Now that it's almost October, I'm looking for some good fall weather. Every morning I wake up hoping that today will be the day when I can start wearing my fall uniform of jeans and a sweatshirt. Alas, the month of September has continued to deliver days of 70 degree weather. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but it's time for a change.

It's raining tonight. Not just a light rain, but a good rain with a little bit of thunder and lightning, and a cool breeze. It's the kind of rain that guarantees that tomorrow morning it's going to feel different. The humidity will be lower, as will the temperature, and we may start seeing the first signs of real autumn weather.

I'm excited that it's raining, I'm excited that the cool wind is blowing, but more than anything, I'm excited because as I stand on my balcony and breath deep...it smells like fall.

Sabbath

This post springs from two sources of higher education in my life: my seminary class on worship and The West Wing.

In the Season 1 episode, "Take Out the Trash Day," Sam is talking to Toby, telling him about a small town in Alabama that wants to abolish all laws except for the 10 Commandments. Leo enters the conversation, agreeing with Sam that it might prove difficult to enforce the commandment to not covet thy neighbor's wife. Sam's next line is priceless: "Plus, if I were arrested for coveting my neighbor's wife, I'd probably bear false witness."

It's a funny dialogue between the characters, but as with so much of the writing on The West Wing, it left me thinking. What if the 10 Commandments were the law of the land? What if we took them as seriously as we should?

Fast forward to my worship class yesterday. We were discussing the concept of taking a sabbath (one of the big 10), a practice that mirrors Genesis 1 in which God spent six days creating the world and then rested on the seventh day. My professor made an interesting statement: "To not take a sabbath is idolatry. To not take a sabbath is to believe the lie that you are so important, that your work is so crucial that if you took a day off, the whole thing would fall apart. If God can take a day off, don't you think you can?" Idolatry is a strong word. Idolatry occurs when we allow anything other than God to take the place of primary importance in our lives. I'm sure there is a lot of room for healthy debate about this statement, but for now I am going to skip to the application of my professor's idea, because I think it is one that holds a great deal of merit.

My professor continued by saying, "When we don't take a sabbath, we quickly lose perspective." I think I'm starting to understand what he was saying. Neglecting to take a day of rest robs us of time in which we purposefully slow down and acknowledge that God is God and we are not. When we abstain from a sabbath and work seven days a week without stopping, become lulled into an overinflated sense of self-importance. Our pride seduces us into thinking that what we are doing is too important to stop, that our efforts are the keys to progress, and that somehow the stuff of our lives is tenuously held together by the sweat of our brows. Ultimately, we place ourselves in a role that is reserved for Jesus Christ:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Col. 1:15-17, NIV [emphasis added]

I think I've lost perspective. I think the siren song of my pride has supplanted my soul's earnest desire to "find rest in God alone" (Ps. 62), and I think I've gone far too long without a sabbath. I may not live in a small town in Alabama, but perhaps it's time to abolish some things in my life to make room for the 10 Commandments.

Back

I'm back in Chicago after a great 3 months at Lake Beauty. It's a little strange getting back into the swing of things like email, cell phone, facebook, etc. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being able to communicate, but there is something to be said for a summer with lots of nature and little technology.

Posts about the summer and what's going on now are sure to follow...

Expectation Management

I recently saw two movies I've been waiting a long time to see: X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Star Trek. I thoroughly enjoyed both, and here's why: expectation management. I'll start with Wolverine...

I have been eagerly awaiting a Wolverine spin-off of the X-Men movies since X2 when Wolverine took out all those soldiers who were invading Xavier's mansion. In that scene, Hugh Jackman proved that he was Wolverine. Needless to say, I had some expectations coming into this latest movie. What was I expecting? A 2 hour movie full of cool fight scenes, some explanation of Wolvie's background, some other fun characters, and more cool fight scenes. What was I not expecting? Academy award winning performances, obedience to the laws of physics, or a plot free from any holes or ambiguity. See how I did that? I used expectation management. Are there ways it could have been better or improved? Sure, there's always room for growth. Did I still enjoy the movie? Absolutely! It was a great prequel that gives everyone some of the background we've been waiting for since we first found Wolvie cage-fighting in Alaska. I haven't read all of the comics, so I don't know if the movie messed everything up for all those comic book nerds out there, but for someone who wants a good X-Men movie, Wolverine is a just what the experimental military doctor ordered.


Now for Star Trek...this movie was amazing! Again, expectations played a big part in my enjoyment of this movie. I went to the movie with an open mind as to how J.J. Abrams would reinvent the 40 year-old sci-fi franchise...and boy did he deliver! Abrams avoids the anachronistic sin of Star Wars in which the prequels portray a world that is far superior to the subsequent reality depicted in the original movies...which take place in the future...but a long time ago...earlier...but later. Anyway...to be fair, advances in special effects have made it all but impossible for today's movies to not look better than the model-ships-pulled-on-wires of the past, but Abrams manages to create a futuristic retro look that could believable predate Star Trek: The Next Generation. Finally, the casting is superb: the characters all pay homage to those created by the original performers (Karl Urban's version of Bones is outstanding!), but the movie takes itself seriously and never slips into the traps of caricature or parody.

Bottom line: I like both movies, but for very different reasons. For all those haters out there who thought Wolverine was unrealistic: it's a movie about a 150 year old, super-healing mutant with an unbreakable skeleton and claws coming out of his hands...at what point did you think realism was going to be a part of this movie? Rethink your angle. And for all those trekkies who think Abrams has missed the mark in his reincarnation of Roddenberry's universe, I think this review says it best: "Not Trek? The movie has gaping plotholes, a skirt-chasing Kirk, time travel, and a BS pseudo-scientific resolution to a life-threatening situation...it's totally Trek!"

Yes, Please!

It's been a long wait, but I'm confident it will be worth it.

Hypothetically...

I'm just throwing this out there as a general piece of advice: hypothetically, if you have an assignment for a class that entails reading a 368 page book and writing a summary on that book in 6 sections based on due dates over the last 3 months...hypothetically, do not, I repeat, DO NOT procrastinate and do it all in a span of 24 hours. I mean, hypothetically, you're free to do what you like, but short-sightedness may prevent you from seeing the hypothetical consequences of your hypothetical actions. For example, should you choose to procrastinate in this manner, you may or may not...

- achieve new intensities of posterior numbness
- discover previously unexplored potential for headache pain
- test the limits of human coffee tolerance
- choose to forgo sleeping more than 3 hours in a day
- doubt the relevance of higher education
- question the benefits of literacy
- experience feelings of frustration and self-loathing
- rue the day you were born

Again, this is merely a friendly caveat of a completely hypothetical situation from an objective perspective. I don't know what prompted me to write this. Maybe I saw it in a movie or read it in a book somewhere. Actually, come to think of it, I have been reading a lot lately...