Last night we watched a great Western called “Open Range”. It recalled the classic westerns with the big open feel and themes of forgiveness, redemption, love, and standing up for what you believe in. I recommend it. C didn’t enjoy it all that much.

We watched Finding Nemo this weekend and it was a lot of fun. I found that much of it was so fast paced that I was thankful for the slow parts in the aquarium. The most interesting lines were Marlin saying he promised Nemo he’d never let anything happen to him and Dori saying that was dumb because then nothing would ever happen to him. You could say that summed up the movie.

Also, in case you were wondering, I’m not celebrating the so-called Holiday Season this year. I’m only going to celebrate the Christmas Season.

I’m still working my way through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Presently, what amuses me most is Rowling’s wizard government: The Ministry of Magic are mostly morons who enjoy abusing their power. Very Interesting 🙂

Well, I’m thinking the Matrix: Revolutions might not be quite as stupid as I thought. Although I still don’t like the sympathy that the writers develop for the programs (as if they are equal to humans) and I wonder why there was no revolution (in a movie called revolutions). (Unless they meant revolve instead of revolt, in which case it makes perfect sense. Especially since those blasted earings kept showing up.)

Anyway, I saw the flick for the second time tonight and the thing I came away with this time is that the “Neo as messiah” elements are still present. I missed them the first time (maybe because I was distracted by all the Bhuddist Baloney Sausage).

Ultimately Neo died (we don’t know if he’s done living or not) in order to make peace with the machines. It may be that he defeated them in some way but we do know that humans inside the matrix that want to go free will be allowed to leave.

When Jesus Christ died, He gave to those who receive him the right to become the sons of God. He didn’t take complete control of the world right away but gave us the choice to accept or reject him. And just like the people enslaved by the Matrix, we have to believe to be set free. Well, I’m guessing that’s what Andy and Larry had in mind although it’s hard to imagine they did it on purpose (this whole series has been a world-view soup).

Signing Off for the night….Adam

okay, The Matrix Revolutions [spoiler alert… … …]: First, if you want my advice, wait for the video. There’s no reason to see this small story on the big screen. After The Matrix in 1999, all of us were ready for a big story. The humans were going to revolt. They were going to break free and rule the world again. Even after Reloaded we expected triumph. Then, the title of the final installment was Revolutions but the revolution never happened. Instead of taking control of the machine army, Neo cut a deal with them. If you’ll leave us alone, I’ll take care of Smith for you. I wonder if the whole reason for making this trilogy was to make the biggest anti-climactic story in history.

I suppose it could be that the point of the story is that the machines never really lost control and Neo and Smith and everything else were all part of the plan and everything else that goes along with that to make it all obscure and mysterious. But I don’t think so. I think we’ve probably all been reading a little more into this story than we should have. In the end, it’s just that the writers didn’t know how to write a story that made sense in real life.

I’m not ashamed to admit it. Two nights ago I cried while reading the last part of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Presently I was thinking about how the story — while quite interesting — didn’t seem to have much depth. [spoiler alert… … …] And then Cedric nobly shared the tournament victory with Harry. Because of this act, he got in the way of Voldemort’s plot to kill Harry and Voldemort heartlessly murdered him. It was too much for me — a selfless act traumatically cut short by a hater of life. Then, I think I started to see the strength of the Harry Potter stories. Rowling’s characters recall traits in ourselves and others that we admire or disdain. These are bigger than life truths: She paints a first-rate picture of unselfishness and courage. Then alongside, she bluntly exposes egoism and cowardice.

In this story, there are three types of cowards that I see: The heartless evil mastermind (Voldemort), the gutless followers of Voldemort, and the lack-spined government officials who refuse to fight the Dark Side. Chickens — whether overtly evil or not — will trade freedom and justice for safety. They sign terms of surrender before the war starts.

I was recently reading G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. “…Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. ‘He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,’ is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an alpine guide or a drill book. This paradox is the whole principle of courage. …A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine…”

So, after Voldemort killed Cedric, Harry determined not to wait for death but to fight to the end. He sought his life in the spirit of furious indifference. He escaped. He will continue to fight the Dark Side.

Yeah, I guess I’m a fan now.

We saw a movie last night so you get to read the review: Second Hand Lions was a surprisingly light-hearted look at the personalities of those who give life all they’ve got and the beliefs that motivate them. The movie didn’t make one overexert one’s brain but gave plenty of opportunities to laugh and never got oversentimental. If you’ve seen it an are therefore familiar with the plot, you’ll know that’s pretty rare with similar plots. So kudos to the writers.

Possibly more interesting was the experience of seeing an 8:45pm movie on a Monday night. C and I happened to be the only 2 in the theatre so we got a private screening at the regular price which was free since we had fun tickets. And it was worth it too mostly. When the show was over and we exited the theatre it was deserted. Deserted as in we could have gone up and started up another flick and got two shows for the price of one, which I already mentioned was free.

The moral of the story: I recommend Second Hand Lions and seeing movies on Monday nights after eight.

We went to see Sixpence None the Richer last weekend. I made it a point to see this show because I’d heard they were very good but I didn’t know much about their music except the songs I’ve heard on the radio. I went away impressed. They offered up some beautiful melodies with intricate chord structures and great musicianship.

But everyone else I went with thought their music was depressing. This was probably due mainly to Leigh Nash’s *very* low key stage presence (some may say weak). Anyone who wasn’t into the music was pretty much out of the loop.

Most of their music is on the melancholy end of the spectrum, which may be why they only have 2 or 3 radio hits and probably limits their fan base to more artistic-minded listeners.

Okay, a few folks have asked lately so here’s the official list. My top 7 favourite bands in no particular order:

Jimmy Eat World

Jars of Clay

Weezer

Switchfoot

Coldplay

Caedmon’s Call

Little Benjamin

If a band is on this list you may assume a few things based on my personality and listening habits. Namely, the bands have had some commercial success and their songwriters have done something to separate themselves from the din of mediocrity. And of course I like their musical styles…

In other news we keep losing at softball but at least we’re having fun. I think I left my glove at the diamond last week and somebody decided it was too nice to give back. What are the chances that a dishonest southpaw would find it? Man I liked that glove. I think I’ll miss it… 🙁

I finally watched Signs (the movie). As usual, a couple of thoughts flow here. I thought it was a very well told story (I always go for a good story) and a great statement on Providence. Things might not be as obvious for us as they were for the Hess family but God is working in our circumstances just as much. I have enjoyed all 3 of M. Night Shyamalan’s movies so far and I think he is one of the really good filmmakers of our time.