2011 Summer Movie Review

What a great summer we had for movies!  So good, in fact, that on the first day we met together, I had my students (I'm a TA) say what their favorite summer movie was as part of our introductions!  It's kind of late, but in a previous post I said something about making a summer movie review.  Here it is (in no particular order):

X-Men: First Class:  Fun movie!  Great special effects, cool action.  It definitely had a different feel than the other movies in the franchise, which was refreshing.  I loved learning more about Professor X and Magneto's past.  Hugh Jackman's cameo was completely hilarious.  There was something that bugged me though:  Magneto for some reason developed an Irish accent for the last half-hour of the movie.  I saw this at a drive-in; I think America needs more of those.

Green Lantern:  The only reason I saw this movie was because I couldn't convince the friend I was with to see anything else (believe me, I tried).  I went into the theater expecting a cheesy, not-well-made superhero action move, and that's what I got.  Because my expectations were filled, I actually enjoyed the movie a little. Had I been expecting a good movie, I wouldn't have enjoyed it at all.

Super 8:  Probably my favorite movie of the summer!  This movie made me want to be a kid again.  Sooooo good.  I saw it in theaters three times - each time was worth it (two of them were full-price tickets, one was at a dollar-theater).  The kids were very real, their banter genuine.  The train wreck scene was probably the most intense experience I've had with a movie.  Another hit from J.J. Abrams - everything he touches is gold.

Captain America:  This (unlike Green Lantern) is an example of an excellent superhero movie.  Of the many superhero movies that have been released in the last decade, I think this one takes place earliest (WWII era) - that was something new and fun to watch.  Overall I enjoyed it.  *SPOILER ALERT*  The way that he "has to crash the plane" is kind of lame, though.  They could have thought of a better way to end it.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes:  This actually might tie for favorite movie of the summer.  WOW.  I was really impressed.  I love the 1968 Planet of the Apes, and I hated the ending of the 2001 version; I hoped that this one would be good.  And it delivered - it's one of the best prequel movies out there.  A lot of people I spoke to who aren't into sci-fi/action movies ended up liking the movie.  The first 2/3 of the movie is pretty slow-paced (not boring, just slow-paced), but the pay-off you get at the end of the movie is SO worth it.  This movie is cool because, as one of my friends put it, the humans lose and the "bad guys" win.  It may not seem like it though because they do a good job of making us sympathetic to the apes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2:  An epic end to an epic series.  (I think the word 'epic' is quite overused in today's culture.  It's being used so often that it will eventually lose its meaning. (The same thing has already happened to 'awesome'.) I use 'epic' here with its truest, most original potency.)  Enough said, I guess.  I love the movies and I love the books.  My generation was lucky - we were the perfect age for the Harry Potter era.  We were roughly the same age as Harry when each new book came out; I grew up with Harry.  I have to admit I didn't like the epilogue in the book, but I think it goes over a lot better in the movie.  Here's a great quote from Stephen King:  "Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."  (I'll let you guess whether or not I saw Breaking Dawn.)






I'm pretty sure there were some more movies I saw... I just don't want to remember them right now. There are also some movies I wanted to see but haven't yet.  So... not comprehensive by any means. Do you agree?  Disagree?  Any great movies I left off the list?  I'm always interested in others' opinions of movies.

Assumptions & Projections

Two quick thoughts for the day:


1.  Because I speak Spanish and spent two years living in a Latin American country, people assume that I'm a connoisseur of Mexican food.  Not true.


2.  The following two maps are equally distorted.

Frustration

On a university campus, it's not uncommon to hear phrases like "I have more time now that midterms are over" or "How were midterms?  Are you glad they're over?".  Frankly, I don't understand.  Most of these comments come from adults who have long since graduated from college, but some come from students.  Let me tell you why I'm puzzled:


During the first 3 weeks of school this semester, I did not have any exams scheduled.  (This makes sense - I have to gain knowledge before it can be tested.)  Exams started the 4th week.


Not counting the first 3 weeks, there are only 2 other weeks during the semester that I don't have exams (one of them is the week of Thanksgiving break).  That's 5 total out of 15 weeks in the semester - I HAVE EXAMS ON TWO THIRDS OF THE WEEKS IN THE SEMESTER!  How can "midterms" ever be over until the class ends?


There are 6 weeks in the semester when I only have 1 exam to take.
There are 2 weeks when I have 2 exams to take.
There is 1 week when I have 3 exams to take.
There is 1 week when I have 4 exams to take.  (This is the week after Thanksgiving break.)


My guess is that an average student has 4-6 classes with real exams (I'm not counting classes like sports or performing groups).  These classes probably have different numbers of exams (probably between 2-5) spaced evenly throughout the semester.  It's not like they're all going to magically coincide on 2 or 3 weeks during the semester!


So, advice:  Please don't talk about when "midterms" are.  Midterms are all semester long.

Impromptu

For those that haven't heard, Evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress sparked some controversy recently by referring to Mormonism as a cult while introducing Rick Perry at a political event. Since then he's been interviewed by all sorts of news people - here's the story on CNN and here's another site with links and videos. (I highly recommend the interview with Anderson Cooper from CNN.)

There's a post on CNN's "belief blog" that covers the story - I like it because it gives an awesome shout out to BYU (in fact, I took a great class from the professor they mentioned). The post has evoked thousands of responses by strong-minded people on both sides of the conversation, as any online religious discussion is wont to do. My entire purpose in writing this unexpected post was to share one of the responses I came across. It moved me and I value what its writer is trying to convey. He identifies himself as Adam; here's what he said:

Most mormons I know will tell you what they believe based on a spiritual experience that they have personally had, not because of what the theologist says. Honestly, with as much deception and dishonesty that is tied in with almost every religion I know, I think that is pretty admirable. I have a co-worker that is LDS that told me he is only Mormon because of the spiritual experiences that he has had while living its teachings. I can't vouch for that because I've never had those feelings, but we've had some long conversations on the subject, I can't argue with his experiences, even if the theoogy doesn't always make sense to me. Isn't that what religion is really about anyway, how it makes us feel? I think our feelings are about the only thing that we can honestly trust with way too much misinformation out there. My feelings don't have room to allow for a man-made organized religion, but the way my co-worker lives his religion on a day-to-day basis, if I had to choose a religion to follow, it would probably be mormonism. They are the only religion I know of where they are actually required to make serious social and spiritual sacrifices on a daily basis. I don't know if I could give up my social drinking, but if I were a part of a religion I would expect it to require more of me than most other religions I know that continue to slack more and more in their allowances in virtuous living and personal sacrifice. [sic]

A Beautiful Weekend

So far in this blog, I've mostly written about what I think instead of what I do.  This post is about what I did this Labor Day weekend.  My undone first-week-of-school homework is still waiting for me, but I want to get this done first.

On Friday night, I went with Tyler and Beth to see Super 8.  We were planning on seeing Thor, but it was sold out by the time we got there (not an uncommon occurrence for dollar theaters in college towns).  It was my third time seeing it in theaters, and still totally worth it!  Definitely one of the best movies released this summer.

Early Saturday morning I had a good meeting with some of the guys in my ward to take care of some assignments for church; it was accompanied by a tasty pancake and bacon breakfast!  Afterward I went grocery shopping with my roommate, and then we ate the new California Whopper from Burger King... also tasty!  (Though maybe not as tasty as the Texas Whopper...)  Then I took care of several loads of long-overdue laundry while watching the BYU vs. Ole Miss game.  What a game!  Awesome way to open the season.  For the evening Tyler and I planned a game night for some old friends from back home and some new friends from the ward here.  Well, since it's still pretty much summer, it was still very light outside (weather was great all day, and pretty much all weekend).  We decided to take advantage of the good weather while we could - we decided to play Frisbee in front of the Provo City Library.  (The lighting in this picture is pretty much the same as when we played.)  Once it was dark, we played some fun rounds of Bang and Psychiatrist.

Sunday was busy - I had lots of church meetings.  It's kind of fun trying to get everything figured out at the beginning of the semester.  I taught a lesson that went well.  After church, we all got together for "Break the Fast" and had some good food.  Then I went to my friend Ammon's apartment and he made some delicious fried chicken and french fries.  Then we played some very close games of Clue!  It was almost as good as the movie.  Then I came back for Ward Prayer and linger-longer, and after that some more friends came over to play Psychiatrist again.

This morning I went and played Ultimate Frisbee at DT fields with a few people I knew and lots of people I didn't know.  Even after we split into two separate games, there were still too many people on a team but it was still a blast.  After that I went to a picnic with some new and old friends from the ward at Kiwanis Park.  After eating some delicious food, we talked, played some more Ultimate Frisbee, and talked some more.

On top of it all, we've had a guy sleeping on our couch for the past several days.  Some of our female friends are worried because Tyler and I aren't worried about knowing who he is or why he's sleeping on our couch.  Well, he's usually gone before we wake up and usually gets to the apartment after we've gone to bed (we started leaving the door unlocked for him), and he hasn't killed us or stolen anything.  I even let him borrow my keys once (he courteously left them on the kitchen table for me).  I don't think he's planning on staying for too much longer.  We found out his name is Kendall and he's a law student from the University of Arizona or something like that.  His fiancee knows our roommate's fiancee-to-be really well.  Obviously he needs somewhere to sleep, and I don't want him sleeping on the street, so he's more than welcome.

Overall, a super weekend!  New friends, great weather, fun happenings, and Couch-friend.  Now I have to go get ready for the school week.  Kbye.

Argentina Film Festival

In this short post I share a few YouTube videos I like.  It doesn't seem like a very classy thing to blog about, but oh well.

Apparently there's a film festival in Argentina.  I don't know much about it, except that it has some pretty funny video advertisements.  Here are my favorites:

A gallimaufry of recent thoughts

So far, each of my posts has been about a single topic; this post consists of several thoughts.  One day I'm sure I'll write a post about what I'm doing instead of what I'm thinking.


1.  Save the Core
It took me a while to come up with the name of this blog.  For those that don't know, I served for two years as a full-time missionary in Paraguay for my Church.  (I carefully planned the placement of the previous sentence's prepositional phrases.)  While there, I found some materials used to teach English to the Spanish-speaking Paraguayans.  Among these was a kit that had several children's poems written out on strips of thick paper, one line of a poem per paper strip.  One poem had a couple lines that read something like "eat an apple / save the core".  I thought "save the core" was a funny phrase by itself.  I took that strip of paper (as well as one that read "I like to sleep") home with me - the kit appeared to have been there for a while and there were no future plans for its use.  Those two strips of paper have been hanging up in my apartment ever since I've returned from Paraguay.  I love watching people's reactions to the ambiguity of "save the core" - it's hilarious.


2.  External links
Another note about my blog:  within the text I include links to other sites that may explain or relate to what I'm discussing.  Most websites underline and change the color of the text, denoting a link.  I have intentionally NOT underlined or changed the color of the links in my blog.  The only way you can tell if one of my words is a link is by rolling over it with your mouse - as you do this, the links will be underlined (for example:  gallimaufry).  Most of my previous posts include these links.  Consider them as a "hidden treasure" of sorts!


3.  Window washer
A funny thing happened to me a couple weeks ago that hadn't happened since I was in Paraguay on my aforementioned mission trip.  I was driving home from work at midnight-ish.  (For those of you that are familiar with Houston, I exited I-45 North in preparation to turn left onto 249.)  While at a stoplight on the feeder road (I was the only car around), a man walked up to my car and started cleaning my windshield.  I wasn't frightened; I'd experienced this in Paraguay and I wasn't in a bad part of town (although it's more urban than where my house is).  I started to signal to him that I didn't want it done, but then realized that the windshield actually needed a washing.  When he finished, I gave him a couple bucks and he said "God bless."  I figured that someone sitting at an intersection in the middle of the night waiting to wash windshields is really in need of money.  The most haunting part was that he was about my same age, or a bit older.  This experience made me grateful for the blessings that I've been given.


4.  Warning
Don't accidentally fall asleep on the toilet.  You might end up there for 45 minutes.

5.  Picture
Here's a cool picture advertising the final Harry Potter movie, which I saw today (I guess it was yesterday, technically).  I thought it would spice up an otherwise very wordy post.  "The brain loves color!" as my seventh grade English teacher would say.  Make sure you click on it to see the full-sized image.  I plan on posting a review of the movies I will have seen this summer, which definitely includes Harry Potter, so there's something to look forward to.

Sunday Comics Review

I love reading the Sunday newspaper, and I believe that the Houston Chronicle is a fine piece of journalism.  However, I have some comments/complaints about the comics.  Here's my Houston Chronicle Sunday Comics Review!

(in order of appearance)

Classic Peanuts

Well-loved, truly American, and indeed classic.  Certainly deserving of its front page, first comic status.  But I don't think it needs as much space as the Chronicle gives it (virtually the top half of the front page).  And a deeper question:  For how long should a cartoon be published after its author has passed away?

Pearls Before Swine

I generally enjoy this one.  I like how the characters are conscious of and poke fun at the cartoonist, Stephan Pastis.  I can think of better comics to put on the front page, though.

Mutts

Usually not very funny.  It's also given too much space on the page - there's not very much dialogue.  Definitely doesn't belong on the front page of the comics.

Zits

This is one of my favorites!  Zits is one of the most accurate portrayals of adolescence that I know of.  Very funny.  Sometimes I like to think that Jeremy is an older version of Calvin.

Luann

Another funny one about adolescence, this time from a girl's perspective.  It's a keeper.

Baby Blues

Usually pretty funny - I like this one.  Good family values.  Also, it's one of the only comics whose characters actually age.

Get Fuzzy

This comic isn't as funny to me as it used to be - I don't know why.  I like the characters (especially the cat).  It has a lot of good puns and wit.  This review is based solely on the Sunday comics, but I think the daily strips of Get Fuzzy can get too repetitive and boring with drawn-out plots.

For Better or for Worse
Not my favorite.  This one's kind of been around a long time, so I think there might be some loyal readers.  I'm not one of them.


Beetle Bailey
This is a pretty good one - it's unique and I like the style of drawing.


F Minus
I give this comic an F minus.  Very bland drawing style and not very funny.  It's also given too much room for the small amount of dialogue and simplistic drawings.


Sally Forth
I don't read this one often.  It might be funny, but the artwork frustrates me - it looks like it was drawn in the 70's and the color scheme is too pastel.


Funky Winkerbean
I've given this comic lots of chances - I read it every now and then to see if there's something good.  Usually there's not.  I still don't know any of the characters - there's too many to keep track.  Plus there's a lot of background and plot that you kind of have to know.  At times it's too sentimental - I mean, these are comics. On the other hand, I do appreciate the detail and style of the drawings; it deserves more space on the page for that reason.


Dilbert

This one's a favorite.  I didn't get it when I was younger, but it's a gem now that I understand the jokes.  Great characters and a fun, distinctive drawing style.


Prince Valiant
Does anyone even read this?  I enjoy the occasional drawing of a dragon, but come on!  Too serious, too much plot.  I think it should be removed.


Doonesbury
If you expect something to happen in a cartoon, prepare to be disappointed.  Usually it's just a conversation.  Usually about politics.  I'm of the opinion that political views in comics should be subtle and allegorical.


Baldo
This one's ok.  I appreciate the occasional attempts to be bilingual, but think that the translation takes up too much space.  A Spanish speaker isn't going to buy an English newspaper just for one comic.


The Argyle Sweater
This one's relatively new, I think.  And it's one of the better (if not the best) comics that's recently come out.  It's kind of like a mix between Mother Goose & Grimm and The Far Side.


Tank McNamara
Not very funny.  Maybe if I were more of a sports fanatic it would be.  Well, maybe not.


Crankshaft
This one's decent - I like it pretty well.  I appreciate the use of flashbacks.  More could be fit into the strip, though, if a quarter of the space weren't used for the title in big, red letters.  Also, it deserves to take up more space in the Chronicle due to the detail of the drawings.


FoxTrot
I love this one!  It has a very fun style of drawing.  There are a lot of physics and math jokes, though, so you have to be somewhat of a nerd to fully enjoy it.  Something cool I've noticed about this one:  pictures or posters hung on the wall in the background sometimes change from panel to panel.


Lio
I don't understand this one at all.  It kind of creeps me out.  I vote to replace it with something better.


B.C.
Good one.  Kind of philosophical every now and then.  I'm generally against religion in a comic strip, but for whatever reason the occasional Christian references in this one don't really bother me that much.


Rex Morgan M.D.
Seriously - what the heck is this doing in our paper?  They're called comics!  CARTOONS, not soap operas!


Sherman's Lagoon
Good one - no complaints.  On our old computer we had a Sherman's Lagoon screen saver that was pretty cool; the characters and various fish would swim across the screen.


Blondie
This one's decent.  Kind of old school, but funny enough.


Hocus-Focus
This is a brainteaser that takes up space that a cartoon could be using.


Garfield
I think at one point this cartoon used to be funny.  Now they're just old and unoriginal.  Step it up, Jim.  I heard he doesn't even draw them anymore... but don't quote me on that.


Jumble for Kids
See Hocus-Focus.


Hagar the Horrible
It's ok - no complaints.


The Family Circus
Not very funny, unless you like cheesy, feel-good comic strips.  Lots of Catholic overtones; I'm not anti-Catholic, but as mentioned earlier I don't really like religion in comic strips.


Heart of the City
Good enough - no complaints.


Mother Goose & Grimm
This one's funny.  Enough said.


Dennis the Menace

This one's another classic.  Pretty funny.


Shortcuts
I just tried several times to put my feelings of anger and frustration at this comic into words, but none conveyed accurately what I feel.  Why is an educational comic being given more than a third of a page?!?!  Two or three other cartoons could fit into the space that this uses!  Get rid of it!  GRRR!


The Amazing Spider-Man
Don't get me wrong, I like Spider-Man just fine.  But his place is in comic books and cartoon shows on TV, not in a newspaper.


Red and Rover
This one's ok, I guess.  It's like a not-as-funny, more simplistic version of Calvin and Hobbes.  Also, more than a quarter of the strip is taken up by the "title panel".


Curtis
For being a 9-panel cartoon, it definitely doesn't have as much space as it needs.  I always feel claustrophobic when reading it.  It's ok, but very repetitive.


Hi and Lois
This one's pretty good.  No complaints.  (By the way, I figured out the play on words just now.)


And THEN the last page is entirely taken up by ads!  That ticks me off too.  Anyway, there you go.  My opinion of the Houston Chronicle Sunday Comics.  This would feel incomplete if I didn't mention my favorite comics of all time:  Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side.


I'd be interested in hearing your opinions - whether you agree, disagree, etc.  Feel free to comment.

My Favorite Sport

So fútbol (soccer) is basically the king of sports in South America.  My querido Paraguay is no exception; however, there's another popular sport played there called piki volley.  If soccer and volleyball had a kid, it would be piki volley.  It's played like volleyball except you can't use your hands - you must pass the ball back and forth using your head, shoulders, chest, knees, and feet.  There are only two players per team; there must be a minimum of two but no more than three hits by a team before it's passed over the net, with no consecutive hits by any player.  It's pretty much awesome!


(I think there's a similar (but more mainstream) sport called footvolley - as far as I can tell the only difference is that it's played barefoot in the sand.  It's most popular in Brazil.)


Here's a clip of some VERY skilled piki volley players on a typical Paraguayan cancha (court or field used for sports).  It's kind of long but you get the idea pretty quick.  Enjoy!

Fun fact:  the word for ball (the kind used in sports) in Guaraní (one of Paraguay's official languages) is vakapipopo.  It means cow (vaka) skin (pi) that bounces (popo).

"Y'all"

When I first moved to Texas with my family more than ten years ago, I was against using the word y'all.  I wasn't completely happy about the move, so I tried to resist the culture.  (N.B. - Y'all is not just a Texas thing, but used throughout many parts of the United States and other places).  Then one day, a couple years later, it just slipped out - I said "y'all".  After an inner struggle, I sorted out my conflicting feelings and came to accept and embrace the word.  Since then, I've realized that using y'all is actually an improvement of the English language (and I'm kind of a grammar Nazi, so there you go).

Every language that I'm aware of (other than English) differentiates the singular and plural personal pronouns in the second person.  For example, Spanish uses tú and vosotros/ustedes, whereas in English, you can be singular or plural.  Using the word y'all eliminates the ambiguity.

In addition to clearing up subject pronouns, possessive pronouns are made easier.  How many times have you heard the awful phrase "your guys's" (pronounced [ʎɻ gäizɪz])?  You becomes your, and y'all becomes y'alls (a nice monosyllabic word instead of the unwieldy your guys's).  (Alternate spelling:  y'all's.)

I don't care if people don't like or want to use y'all - I was once one of them.  HOWEVER, if you're going to use it, use it correctly!  I've seen it spelled ya'll (by native Texans, no less!), which is just plain wrong.  In contractions, the apostrophe replaces the letters not written.  For example, in can't, the apostrophe replaces the o of not.  Ergo, the apostrophe in y'all replaces the ou of you.

Some people will ignorantly claim that y'all is singular and all y'all is plural.  Singular and plural what?  Y'all is plural already:  you + all.  Y'all can be used while speaking to a single person when referring to a group or institution ("Y'all have a nice bookstore, Mr. Smith."), and all y'all can be used for a group when you want y'all to refer to a subset of the group.  PLEASE USE IT CORRECTLY.

Don't be a y'all hater - you don't have to like it, but please understand why it's used.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

I first heard about Eric Whitacre my senior year of high school.  His piece 'Sleep' was one of the audition songs for the region/area choir.  I made the audition and was able to sing this incredible piece of music with that choir.  Singing my part alone for the auditions was interesting - I couldn't quite get a feel for it, even when I played the other parts on the piano.  It wasn't until we started rehearsing with the entire choir that I realized there was something special about the music.  I had never heard chords and dissonances put together like that before - it was beautifully hypnotizing.  Our performance of the song was one of the few times in my life that I've witnessed an ture, legitimate standing ovation.  As soon as the conductor's hands went down, the audience shot up from their seats clapping.  And it wasn't even our last song.


My next encounter with Whitacre's music was my freshman year at Brigham Young University.  I learned that the top choral group on campus had produced a CD with all of his a cappella works from 1991-2001, and bought a copy immediately.  As I listened, I fell deeper in love with his music.  Over time I became more familiar with his other works, including pieces for bands and orchestras as well as choirs.


Last year I was delighted to discover a project of his, something he called the 'Virtual Choir'.  I'll let him explain it:

I was completely amazed by his first video - a virtual choir made up of 285 members from 12 countries singing 'Lux Aurumque' (lyrics here).  Watch it:

Today was the premiere of 'Virtual Choir 2.0', this time made up of 2000+ singers from 58 countries.  It's received significant attention recently:

• Eric Whitacre speaks at TED
• Virtual Choir featured on CNN
• Virtual Choir featured on NPR

You can now watch the new choir singing 'Sleep' (lyrics here), the one I sang my senior year of high school (and probably my favorite song of his).  It's an incredible experience - for me, the climax of the song was literally jaw-dropping and breathtaking.  But it's not just the music that's beautiful - the concept behind this choir is meaningful and important.  Thousands of people from all over the world come together to produce something amazing.  They put aside racial, ethnic, political, religious, and social barriers to unite and create harmony.  It conveys a message of peace and tolerance - that everyone on this planet is a part of something bigger.  Let it change you; let it make you a better person.  Here it is:

When I was a member of the BYU Men's Chorus, we had an unofficial motto to "change the world" with our music.  That's exactly what Eric Whitacre is doing.  Music can be used to spread harmony (literal and metaphorical) throughout the world.  Here's an excerpt from Joseph Eger's book 'Einstein's Violin' that conveys this message:


Before I became a conductor, I played solo first French horn in the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Israel Philharmonic.  In the first two of these prestigious orchestras, the solo first flutist and solo first oboist, who customarily sit side by side in the center of the orchestra, just did not get along.  To be more accurate, they hated each other.


For more than twenty-five years, these superb artists on flute and oboe, which instruments have key roles in all symphony orchestras, did not speak to each other!  So what could they do?  Let us imagine diabolical schemes they might concoct to vent their mutual dislike.  How about one sabotaging the other by playing wrong notes?  Or out of tune?  Or not together?  This would hardly be a solution, for they would succeed only in sabotaging themselves.  So for all those years they managed to play together.  Magnificently!  After all, these four artists were also first-class professionals.


The moral is obvious:  regardless of differences among people, enlightened self-interest can unite by providing a common goal, in these cases keeping their jobs and, above all, making splendid music.  At least that is what Beethoven said in his Ninth Symphony, setting Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy," with its line "Alle Menschen werden Bruder" ("All humankind shall be as brothers") - Beethoven musically emphasized the "shall."

LOST

For those of you who don't know, I'm a big fan of the TV show LOST.  Someone asked a "question" on Facebook wanting to know why people watched LOST.  Josh Gamble of Vancouver, BC gave the following explanation, and I think it's a beautiful and meaningful description of the show.

"I live on a very peculiar island, and though I've been here for a long while now, I know almost nothing about it. I don't know the reason I am here, nor do I know if there's even a reason to be known. One day I opened my eyes, and here I was—knowing nothing and knowing no one, ignorant of all that had come before.

And I learned that this island was a place of strange science: I found out that I was spinning through space at thousands of miles per hour; my island hurls itself around a giant ball of light about a quarter of a million miles every day. And I learned that this island was a place of strange faith: ab aeterno, since time immemorial, men and women had put their trust in a man they couldn't see or hear, believing he had brought them here for a purpose. The faithful built temples and statues in his honor, they killed for him and they died for him. The scientists didn't believe he existed at all, declaring instead that they were only here as a result of a chain of meaningless circumstances—of accidents. Everyone who has ever been here has had the same questions: what is this place, and why am I here? People have tried to answer it in different ways; some have conducted experiments and dug into the earth in search of the truth, while some have put their faith in the belief that a higher power has rendered them special and purposeful. No one has ever come close to knowing, and many, many times we have gone to war to control this place. Knives, then guns, then bombs, in holy war.

And a man named John Locke told us that we were born tabula rasa, our mind a blank slate. He told us that nature demanded egalitarianism. A man named Carlyle said that “everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of the two everlasting empires, necessity and free will.” A man named De Groot debated fate and free will; when he died, his last words were this: “by understanding many things, I have accomplished nothing.” A man named Hume debated the same things, and determined that “a false sensation or seeming experience” could explain what we believe to be choices—only later do we realize that our choices were necessary all along. His rival, Rousseau, believed that man was a noble savage; before he went insane, he wrote of self-preservation that “patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet.” Some believed that a Good Shepherd laid down his life to save us, and that a Christian would rise again after death.

LOST was beautiful because it was about an island exactly like mine. Everyone dies, and one day I’ll die, like you, not knowing what this has all meant. We can ask the question (and Charlie put it best: “guys, where are we?”) all we want, but our existence is special because the earth is incomprehensible and magical, and no amount of faith and no amount of science will ever truly enlighten us. If you thought LOST was weird, well, it’s certainly no weirder than life. You think a sentient cloud of electric smoke is over the top? I think the fact that a screen in my apartment is currently showing me a live baseball game being played in Florida is, in a vacuum, no less incredible. Science fiction is relative: if you had never heard of the internet, or giraffes, or rainbows, you’d think those were science fiction too. Of course LOST was strange in its details, but those characters’ fears and moments of wonder were in many ways just like our own.

I love the way LOST ended. It resolved all questions the way they are resolved in our own lives. Dead is dead. Whatever happened, happened. Some things are irreversible, and you can’t fix the past. My favorite moment of the entire series came at the end, in the space between life and death, when Ben and Hugo told each other what a great job the other did as #1 and #2. Like Jacob and Richard, they must have protected the island for wonderful centuries together—and we never got to see it. And we never got to see it because we’re Jack. And the question we always wondered—the question we always will wonder—remained. What is this place, and why were we here? And they answered that too, in the most beautiful way imaginable: you don’t get to find out.

You don’t get to find out. There is fear, and death is a monster, and life is a monster, and there will always be others out there in the woods. But there is love, and we have friends, and as long as we are here we can believe whatever we like and make our choices and find the things that we can. But hail mystery! Some things can’t be found, because the most important things are lost. What is life? The reason we’re here? The thing we fight over, the thing we protect? What is death, and what happens after The End? You don’t get to find out.

So you can let go now, Jack."

I did it.

I started a web log, o sea, a blog.  I've always been hesitant about them... I would occasionally read a couple of my friends' blogs, but NEVER wanted one of my own.  But then something weird happened - I found out that more of my friends than I realized maintained blogs, and multiple people said that I would be a really good "blogger".  So here I am - enjoy.