Well, when I was little, before Courtney was born, in the rare times when I wasn't reenacting the latesr ballgame in the backyard, or inventing wonderful comebacks and fierce rivalries with the counting cats, or learning basic math while playing board games, I would gather up my stuffed animals, set them all in a row, and preach a sermon to the cottony congregation. They didn't complain much about the depth of teaching(or lack of), since I didn't know anyone cared about things like that until about five years later. And they didn't mind that it was always the same sermon over and over, about Jonah. (With maybe some David and Goliath occasionally in there, too.)
So, now fifteen years later, I'm sitting in my polar dorm room, with my homework mostly done for the most part, and wishing I knew people aroud here to do stuff with, where I didn't constantly have to keep my guard up, or pretend whatever was happening was interesting, or where I wouldn't feel like a burden to people. Just something...fun.
So, I guess I'll find Bruno and Fetch the Beanie Babies, Dusty the Webkinz, Traveler the random dog Amanda sent me, and Abby Lee the guitar, tell them to wake up, sing a hymn or two(quietly, very quietly. Sigh. They should be sung loudly and joyfully.) and then grab my Bible off the shelf and flip it open somewhere and study it. May as well be Jonah as any other place, right?
(Continued several days later, in much the same mood...)
"The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come before me."
But Jonah ran away from the Lord an headed to Tarshish. he went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
I'm interrupting here, in kind a William Goldman-ish way, to comment on these verses. If God has decided to destroy Nineveh because he's sick of dealing with them, they must have been aseriously wicked people. I don't really know anything much about ancient Middle-Eastern geography(or geography of anywhere at any time), but Tarshish is a long ways from Nineveh in the opposite direction. Maybe it's like having to be in Georgia and driving towards Oregon instead.
Anyway, the point is, Jonah is disobeying. And...did he really think he could hide from God?
"Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each one cried out to his own god. And they threw all the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."
Whatever polythestic religion(s) the sailors had, they got this part right. This was bad. They were panicking, and knew somehow, way hidden deep in some mysterious way, they knew that God was the ruler of all.
"Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
Isn't this just unbelievable, Jonah's act of trying to run away in the first place? There must have been plenty of conversations between the sailors trying to figure out who this guy was, and why he was there. And again, proof that they knew about God's supremacy, by their incredulous question.
"The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What can we do to you to get the sea calm down for us?"
"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon us."
Was he trying to commit suicide, seeing as the running-away plan wasn't working? And that is a strange answer...
"Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not; the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, "O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased."
These sailors are looking like the best people in the story so far...they didn't want to murder someone, so they tried to get him away as fast as possible. But then when they see they don't really have that option, their prayer is heartfelt and genuine, obeying by doing something they didn't understand. Their hearts were being re-formed, changed drastically in a way that wasn't tame, but it was good.
"Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging seas grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sarifice to the Lord and made vows to him. But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Still more proof that they were changed. And another example of God's providence, his directing of things that fit together well looking back, but that don't make sense at the moment.
But, anyway, that ends chapter one.
"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
He said, "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, "I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple." The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seasweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.
"When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.
"Those who cling to worthless idols forfiet the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord."
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Now, what he's saying is right...but...something just doesn't quite add up. See what's missing there? "I'm sorry for disobeying, please forgive me, Lord." That's kind of an important omission - if he would have said that, it would have been written down. But - it isn't.
He's depressed, and I think anyone would be, stuck inside a fish. But somehow this prayer is all about me, me, me...
Now to chapter three.
(Concluded a few days after that, while attempting to rest over the weekend and ignore this sickness that's trying to capture me...)
"Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now, Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go all through it.
I heard once that would be an estimated population of 120,000, which was ENROMOUS in that day. Something like New York City or LA nowadays.
"Jonah started into the city, going a day's journey, and he proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed." The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah probably loved that message, getting to talk about the destruction of his enemies' greatest city. But the important thing is that the Ninevites believed what he was saying and repented. Fasting and sackcloth don't really have modern equivalents, but they were signs of very serious prayer and repentance.
"When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclaimation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything, do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the desctruction he had threatened."
Wow. This is just amazing, so mind-boggling to consider: That a righteous holy God could forgive our sinful evil actions - Over and over and over...
This is also where most of the storybook versions we learn in Sunday School when five years old end. But it isn't actually the end of the story...
We still have one final chapter in this very strange little book.
"But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, "O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love; a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." "But the Lord replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"
Uh... Really? So he runs away; reluctantly obeys and gleefully condemns the city, and then complains because God is merciful. And there's that suicidal tendency again. It's just so unbelievably petty. And then God's response, much like his answer to Job: "Do you have any real reason to be angry with Me?"
"Jonah went out and set down in a place wast of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its' shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."
How did he build a shelter? Out of what? And he's just going to sit there and watch for...nothing? Then God provides in his mercy a plant to grow to give shade, which Jonah does not in any way deserve. How did it grow over six feet in one day, anyway? Those aren't important, but curious questions that come up while reading...
God's mercy is also tempered with justice, so he killed the plant and raised up a might wind. And STILL Jonah doesn't get it.
"But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their left hand from their right, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
And that's it. The end. A reminder that God is God, and we are not. We usually don't understand his purposes, but he has a reason for them.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Isolated
This song kind of is a summary of how most of my time at Northeastern State felt.
Verse One -
Don't want to run, so I guess I'll walk
Don't want to see anyone, but I have to talk
What's going on? Somebody please tell me
Don't understand, it's all still a mystery
I'm so, so tired of looking inside
Seeing only darkness, always having to hide
Trying to pray, but finding I can't
Isolated, things are looking bad...
Verse Two -
Roaming the streets, out in the cold
Or in my cage, silence seems to enfold
Few more miles, maybe things will cease
One more step is too much for my faltering feet
I'm so, so tired of looking inside
Seeing only darkness, always having to hide
I want to pray, but finding I can't
I'm isolated, things are looking bad....
Verse Three -
So totally drained, no energy
Feeling a lack of community
Too many people around, need to leave and soon
Bashed over the head like a Bugs Bunny cartoon
I'm so, so tired of looking inside
Seeing only darkness, always having to hide
I'm trying to pray, but finding I can't
I'm isolated, things are looking bad...
Bridge -
This song, I know, is looking pretty despairing
Worst thing of life here is no one caring
I lie and say "I'm fine", guys, whenever I see you
But in reality this is what it really comes down to....
Tag -
So, so tired of looking inside
Seeing darkness, always having to hide
Trying to pray but finding I can't,
I'm isolated, things are looking really bad.
Verse One -
Don't want to run, so I guess I'll walk
Don't want to see anyone, but I have to talk
What's going on? Somebody please tell me
Don't understand, it's all still a mystery
I'm so, so tired of looking inside
Seeing only darkness, always having to hide
Trying to pray, but finding I can't
Isolated, things are looking bad...
Verse Two -
Roaming the streets, out in the cold
Or in my cage, silence seems to enfold
Few more miles, maybe things will cease
One more step is too much for my faltering feet
I'm so, so tired of looking inside
Seeing only darkness, always having to hide
I want to pray, but finding I can't
I'm isolated, things are looking bad....
Verse Three -
So totally drained, no energy
Feeling a lack of community
Too many people around, need to leave and soon
Bashed over the head like a Bugs Bunny cartoon
I'm so, so tired of looking inside
Seeing only darkness, always having to hide
I'm trying to pray, but finding I can't
I'm isolated, things are looking bad...
Bridge -
This song, I know, is looking pretty despairing
Worst thing of life here is no one caring
I lie and say "I'm fine", guys, whenever I see you
But in reality this is what it really comes down to....
Tag -
So, so tired of looking inside
Seeing darkness, always having to hide
Trying to pray but finding I can't,
I'm isolated, things are looking really bad.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Definitions of Olympic Events
I know, the London Games of 2012 ended about five months ago, and the Sochi Winter Games of 2014 won't be held until, well, over a year from now, and then we gotta wait until 2016(!!!) for the Rio Games....but, you just gotta love the Olympics, right? All those wacky sports, and the things-that-look-like-they-would-be-incredible-to-do-if-you-knew-you-wouldn't-get-hurt-attempting-them...and besides, in four years, we'll be wondering, "Now, what events are in the Olympics again...?"
So, here's a refresher course on each event. Enjoy!
Archery - The act of launching a sharp stick like a missile at a target, easy to see progress if you practice semi-regularly. The way people have gotten food for thousands of years, and the reason so many men pretended to be Robin Hood or William Tell when they were little boys. Can be dangerous for nearby animals. Received a large spike in popularity from a series of superpopular, ultrairritating and poorly-written books, as well as a movie.
Badminton - That game that's sort of like tennis but wimpier, which no one really knows how to play, but it's always set up at picnics, and the little kids chase each other all around with the rackets while wondering why the ball-thing is called a "birdie", and what kind of bird it was made from.
Basketball - The best game in the world that was invented out of desperation by a preacher teaching a phys ed class using two old peach baskets. This led to the Harlem Globetrotters, "Hoosiers", Michael Jordan, ESPN becoming a dominant force in television, and the state of Oklahoma actually banding together for a common cause for six months of the year.
Beach Volleyball - All the cool factors of volleyball, but played barefoot in sand, which could, if one was scientifically-minded, lead to interesting experiments on how sand particles trap heat. Can lead to friendships being made or frantic prayer. Occasionally played in swimsuits.
Boxing - Where two guys beat each other up only by punching the other guy above the waist, and nobody else really cares or has any idea how the winner is decided.
Canoeing/Kayaking - Paddling a small boat as fast as possible without falling in the water. Sometimes used in sappy love scenes in romantic movies.
Cycling - Riding a bike really fast without falling over. Very hard and not much fun to do.
Diving - Something done only by insane people, leaping off a very high object head-first into very deep water. Boring to watch, the FCC should outlaw the televising of men's competitions.
Equestrian, aka "Riding Horses" - The only Olympic event involving animals, so that's kinda neat. But the dressing up in funny outfits and prancing around looks silly. Not practical at all, but the leaping-over-objects part looks fun.
Fencing, aka "Swordfighting" - They announce the combatants, who then stare at each other and say the immortal words: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die." Except they can't actually hack each other to pieces, which would be bloody and gruesome and not make very good ratings at all...and they wear beekeeper suits. It would be much more interesting if they were allowed to wear costumes, or there was a mandatory exchange of witty dialogue, or if they could use lightsabers.
Field Hockey - Uh....hockey without ice? Sounds easy enough. But, wait...how do you play hockey?
Gymnastics - The always-entertaining showcase of skills that would hardly ever be practical in everyday life. Except for the balance beam. But really, how often are we required to know how to dance and do cartwheels, or hang perfectly still suspended in midair, or leap over random objects?
Handball - Another sport no one in the US or Canada knows what is. Although from what little I've heard of it, it sounds like Calvinball.
Judo - Kind of like boxing. Except instead of punching each other, you kick the other guy. And it sounds so much more impressive and scary if somebody says, "Oh, yeah, I know judo."
Modern Pentathalon - Five events of something or other. Not too large a following.
Rhythmic Gymnastics - Ballet dancing with sticks, little balls and streamers. Makes no sense at all.
Rowing - A great upper-body workout, used to move across water. Only used in ordinary life on floats along the river, which if taken in middle of summer are basically waterlogged hiking trips.
Sailing - Using outdated slow methods of sustainable green energy to see who can be the first to a certain point. Sort of like racing snails or turtles. Only rich people near the ocean can do this in normal times, thus 98.7% of the country has no interest whatsoever.
Shooting - Using a gun to hit a target. Much harder than archery, much more expensive, and more dangerous.
Soccer - The world's most popular sport, most people have played this as kids. Awesome to play, not as great to watch. Often used in sports movies.
Swimming - Seeing who can stay above the water and get out of it the fastest, only should be done in times of dire emergency.
Synchronized Swimming - Cloned dancing inside a swimming pool? Why?
Table Tennis, aka "Ping Pong" - One of the events played often by normal humans, although at a lot slower, less cool fashion. Good for catching up on news or solving problems, and when passionate enough about it, a fantastic cardio workout.
Tae-kwon-do - Some type of martial arts, can kill people. Interesting if demonstrated in talent shows.
Tennis - An awesome game that looks much easier than it actually is. Teaches you subtlety, that gentleness is more effective than forcing your way through to get things done. You can get a good tan playing it, terrific stress reliever.
Track(aka "Running") and Field - The Olympic discipline most in use by college students, getting from one place to another in as efficient a manner as possible. And running just makes you feel good! The other events, the "Field" part, focus on random things like leaping the farthest, throwing long spears or chunks of metal the longest distance, or using a flexible stick to leap over gigantic buildings in a single bound.
Trampolining - Yes, somehow this is an Olympic sport. What the thrill-seekers who terrify their moms with backflips do when they grow up. Very cool to watch.
Triathalon - The ultimate test of one's athleticism: Swimming a mile(!), then biking for a long ways,then running a marathon(!!). Few try it, which is why anyone who does automatically has their respect level go up about eight notches.
Volleyball - is awesome. Definitely teaches perseverance, is a great stress reliever, and a good way to meet new people. Played on many surfaces, including wood, concrete, linoleum, sand, gravel, and kitty litter. For some reason viewed as a girl's game.
Water Polo - The worst parts of nearly every ball game thrown together in a act of torture surely devised by Count Tyrone Rugen. Football or hockey without any sort of padding, where you can pummel people MMA-style without penalty, in the middle of a freaking pool?! Why not add sharks and pirahnas into the mix and have snipers shooting while they're at it? Seems horrendous to play, awful to watch.
Weightlifting - Large drug-users lifting impossibly heavy objects. Yawn.
Wrestling - The only event left from the Greek Olympics, but thankfully the participants wear clothes now, they try to trap ("pin") the other person to where they can't move. Doesn't involve a ball, so most people stay home instead of watching wrestling matches.
So, here's a refresher course on each event. Enjoy!
Archery - The act of launching a sharp stick like a missile at a target, easy to see progress if you practice semi-regularly. The way people have gotten food for thousands of years, and the reason so many men pretended to be Robin Hood or William Tell when they were little boys. Can be dangerous for nearby animals. Received a large spike in popularity from a series of superpopular, ultrairritating and poorly-written books, as well as a movie.
Badminton - That game that's sort of like tennis but wimpier, which no one really knows how to play, but it's always set up at picnics, and the little kids chase each other all around with the rackets while wondering why the ball-thing is called a "birdie", and what kind of bird it was made from.
Basketball - The best game in the world that was invented out of desperation by a preacher teaching a phys ed class using two old peach baskets. This led to the Harlem Globetrotters, "Hoosiers", Michael Jordan, ESPN becoming a dominant force in television, and the state of Oklahoma actually banding together for a common cause for six months of the year.
Beach Volleyball - All the cool factors of volleyball, but played barefoot in sand, which could, if one was scientifically-minded, lead to interesting experiments on how sand particles trap heat. Can lead to friendships being made or frantic prayer. Occasionally played in swimsuits.
Boxing - Where two guys beat each other up only by punching the other guy above the waist, and nobody else really cares or has any idea how the winner is decided.
Canoeing/Kayaking - Paddling a small boat as fast as possible without falling in the water. Sometimes used in sappy love scenes in romantic movies.
Cycling - Riding a bike really fast without falling over. Very hard and not much fun to do.
Diving - Something done only by insane people, leaping off a very high object head-first into very deep water. Boring to watch, the FCC should outlaw the televising of men's competitions.
Equestrian, aka "Riding Horses" - The only Olympic event involving animals, so that's kinda neat. But the dressing up in funny outfits and prancing around looks silly. Not practical at all, but the leaping-over-objects part looks fun.
Fencing, aka "Swordfighting" - They announce the combatants, who then stare at each other and say the immortal words: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die." Except they can't actually hack each other to pieces, which would be bloody and gruesome and not make very good ratings at all...and they wear beekeeper suits. It would be much more interesting if they were allowed to wear costumes, or there was a mandatory exchange of witty dialogue, or if they could use lightsabers.
Field Hockey - Uh....hockey without ice? Sounds easy enough. But, wait...how do you play hockey?
Gymnastics - The always-entertaining showcase of skills that would hardly ever be practical in everyday life. Except for the balance beam. But really, how often are we required to know how to dance and do cartwheels, or hang perfectly still suspended in midair, or leap over random objects?
Handball - Another sport no one in the US or Canada knows what is. Although from what little I've heard of it, it sounds like Calvinball.
Judo - Kind of like boxing. Except instead of punching each other, you kick the other guy. And it sounds so much more impressive and scary if somebody says, "Oh, yeah, I know judo."
Modern Pentathalon - Five events of something or other. Not too large a following.
Rhythmic Gymnastics - Ballet dancing with sticks, little balls and streamers. Makes no sense at all.
Rowing - A great upper-body workout, used to move across water. Only used in ordinary life on floats along the river, which if taken in middle of summer are basically waterlogged hiking trips.
Sailing - Using outdated slow methods of sustainable green energy to see who can be the first to a certain point. Sort of like racing snails or turtles. Only rich people near the ocean can do this in normal times, thus 98.7% of the country has no interest whatsoever.
Shooting - Using a gun to hit a target. Much harder than archery, much more expensive, and more dangerous.
Soccer - The world's most popular sport, most people have played this as kids. Awesome to play, not as great to watch. Often used in sports movies.
Swimming - Seeing who can stay above the water and get out of it the fastest, only should be done in times of dire emergency.
Synchronized Swimming - Cloned dancing inside a swimming pool? Why?
Table Tennis, aka "Ping Pong" - One of the events played often by normal humans, although at a lot slower, less cool fashion. Good for catching up on news or solving problems, and when passionate enough about it, a fantastic cardio workout.
Tae-kwon-do - Some type of martial arts, can kill people. Interesting if demonstrated in talent shows.
Tennis - An awesome game that looks much easier than it actually is. Teaches you subtlety, that gentleness is more effective than forcing your way through to get things done. You can get a good tan playing it, terrific stress reliever.
Track(aka "Running") and Field - The Olympic discipline most in use by college students, getting from one place to another in as efficient a manner as possible. And running just makes you feel good! The other events, the "Field" part, focus on random things like leaping the farthest, throwing long spears or chunks of metal the longest distance, or using a flexible stick to leap over gigantic buildings in a single bound.
Trampolining - Yes, somehow this is an Olympic sport. What the thrill-seekers who terrify their moms with backflips do when they grow up. Very cool to watch.
Triathalon - The ultimate test of one's athleticism: Swimming a mile(!), then biking for a long ways,then running a marathon(!!). Few try it, which is why anyone who does automatically has their respect level go up about eight notches.
Volleyball - is awesome. Definitely teaches perseverance, is a great stress reliever, and a good way to meet new people. Played on many surfaces, including wood, concrete, linoleum, sand, gravel, and kitty litter. For some reason viewed as a girl's game.
Water Polo - The worst parts of nearly every ball game thrown together in a act of torture surely devised by Count Tyrone Rugen. Football or hockey without any sort of padding, where you can pummel people MMA-style without penalty, in the middle of a freaking pool?! Why not add sharks and pirahnas into the mix and have snipers shooting while they're at it? Seems horrendous to play, awful to watch.
Weightlifting - Large drug-users lifting impossibly heavy objects. Yawn.
Wrestling - The only event left from the Greek Olympics, but thankfully the participants wear clothes now, they try to trap ("pin") the other person to where they can't move. Doesn't involve a ball, so most people stay home instead of watching wrestling matches.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man
Rewatched "The Amazing Spider-Man" twice over Thanksgiving break, enjoyed getting to study it further.
There was something different in the wind as the release date kept sneaking up closer and closer...first the shocking news that it would be without Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and everybody else, then hearing that Mary Jane wouldn't be involved at all, and then that a British guy would be Peter Parker...the Lizard would be the villian, which sounded cool...and then there were the promos run during the NBA Finals, spliced together with highlights of the Thunder and Heat. Kinda interesting how often it would go from Spidey to KD or Westbrook or Harden, and from the Lizard to LeBron...well, the bad guy won that round, but there will be another day, sometime....
Oh, right....the movie. Yeah. Well, like I said, I asked around who wanted to see it, Sam and Josh both were all for it. Suzanna, Cassie and Courtney jumped on board, Bennett followed; and then Marie and Katie and Lilya all asked if they could come along that morning. "Um...sure....we'll need to figure out how to get to the mall, though...."
Boy, was that ever a headache. Actually, the whole project was like construction work; as soon as you (think) you have one part tied down, another place needs to be worked on. At first we were going to go to Woodland Hills mall, a good generally-centerish spot from where everybody came from. Then we realized Woodland Hills didn't have a theater. "But isn't there a theaer like across the street or something...?" "Yeahhhh....but it's the cheap one that shows movies that a few months old, not the brand-new ones." "Okay...what about Promenade?" "Promenade's creepy! I always feel like - I don't know....it just doesn't feel safe." "Oh, I know, it's awful. But it does have a theater..." "...That isn't showing the movie." "....Oh." "Yeah." Hmm...."Hey, I think there's a theater over by Promenade that's within walking distance; could that work?' "We'll make it work, somehow; there's been too much planning gone into this already to back out now." "You got that right..."
So, it's Sunday, finally; the expedition is all planned out. We've enlisted the help of some parents to get us over there, and then we find we have about three new travelers along for the ride, throwing us into a scramble to figure out how to deal with the latest wrinkle. "If you can get a ride with somebody, I guess that's cool..." Stephen and Nick, newish guys to the youth group we were trying to welcome in, were going to come, but couldn't make it at the last second. Dylan probably would have came, too, but he was on vacation or something. I guess church went about ordinary, I have no idea, it was a few months ago and I was having a hard time paying attention.
We arrive at the mall, Cassie, who beat half our group there, has this quizzical and somewhat distressed look on her face. "I don't think they're showing it here, guys." "Oh, yeah..." Sam looks slightly embarrassed. "I guess we forgot to tell you the plan, huh?" "You're right, they aren't showing it here," I pick up the story. "which is why we're eating lunch here, and then walking to the theater." "Ohhh....." "Sorry....thought we'd told everybody that....so many details flying here and there. It's been a little hectic." "Yeah, and there was kind of a lot going on this morning."
There was, too...a lot of strange, tense undercurrents that didn't leave any clues just then for why they existed. But our gang managed to find the food court, took a look around to see what the food options were, then ate lunch. I wasn't hungry, just ate a brownie coated with peanut butter and chopped Reese's. Most of the others got Subway. Somehow or another, the conversation turned to those who couldn't make it, including Cassie's brother Garrett, and from there to speculation about his new girlfriend. Cassie's saying she wished that she had a boyfriend, and Bennett leaps in emphatically: "ME TOO!!!" Instant stunned silence for two seconds. "That was not - Wow....you know what I meant..." So. Awkward. It was pretty hysterical, though....once we were finished laughing, somebody involved with the CVS Scotch-Tape Incident commented on the similarities between the two statements; and that set off another round of uncontrollable mirth.
It's nearly 2 p.m, there's just enough time to walk over before the show starts. So we rush out the first door we see, and walk around the building....and around the building....and around the building....and realized we went in a huge circle. (The Horrible Sense of Direction strikes again!) We finally get pointed the right way, and race across too many large traffic-laden streets, going about a mile or so until we reach the movie theater, where we purchase tickets, head into the wonderful cool darkness of air-conditioning, waaaaiiiiitttt for those standing in line for popcorn, and then, finally, go pick our seats. We didn't have to be so choosy, I suppose; since there was only about ten other people in the whole rest of the theater, but this was a rare experience for most of us, and we wanted to make the most of it.
Well, nobody warned us about the previews. They started about 2:07 p.m. or so and rolled for TWENTY MINUTES STRAIGHT. Preview after preview after preview...most for shoot-'em-up actioners like The Bourne Legacy, The Dark Knight Rises, or a Total Recall reboot, crass "comedy" buddy movies like The Watch, or an interesting-looking Kevin James flick titled Here Comes the Boom, featuring an out-of-shape schoolteacher becoming an MMA fighter. And then without any heads-up a cousin to Pac-Man or Dig Dug or something fills the mammoth screen, a 1980's video game is being played. And then we see that it's the newest Disney movie coming out, about a video-game villain in a midlife crisis trying to become a hero, called Wreck-It Ralph. It stood out, for one, being a cute throwaway kid's movie in the middle of all these kill-people, loads-of-violence-and-gore films. I want to see that, kinda...looks good.
Yeah, so, anyway, the movie began about 2:30 p.m, it was different right from the opening credits. I had some trouble following the actual movie at first, examining all the new camera angles and editing techniques, adjusting to the lighting and dialogue, and otherwise noting the successfullness of how being trapped in a dark box can suspend disbelief so well. Movie theaters have amazing sound systems, by the way. So I was pretty distracted, monitoring all the chaos leading up to/on the trip, was hoping it would go down as a successful venture. Kind of like the person with the camera at Christmastime who runs all over the place documenting the holiday and never actually taking part of it, having been directing things behind the scenes so much as to not taking part in the actual play.
And then I was noting the changes of lighting, camera, editing, scenery, wardrobe, music,ACTORS....and dialogue. And trying to unsuccessfully reconcile the obvious contradictions between this and the trilogy, never mind that this is a total reboot....took me about an hour to get fully involved with the plot, I wasn't really that impressed with the film. Peter was too cool-looking to be a believable nerd, the dialogue seemed mumbled all the time, the plot was shallow, and with the exception of Dr. Connors, every role was overacted and felt forced, and Peter and Gwen seemed way too old for their roles. The scene where Peter asked Gwen out was great; and there were a few zippy one-liners that were worthy of a grin, but overall I didn't know what to think of it, honestly...a real head-scratcher of a movie, that was maybe better cinematically than the original, but far short in terms of storytelling to the trilogy. But, then I had to remind myself that it's the beginning of a new trilogy, so hopefully things will make sense later on. I (of course) stayed behind for the credits, like I usually do, and there was this confounding miniscene halfway through that left us on even more of a cliff than we were already. I kinda went into a writer's vortex, a sort of trance that's somewhat indescribable how to explain. You kind of go into the story's world and attempt to know everything in it; to understand the entire universe of the tale. This movie was puzzling, it was an especially deep vortex they had to pull me out of. "Hey...you okay, Wes?" (Startled look at finding myself back in the real world) "Huh?! Oh....uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just was.. thinking." Cassie grins, knowing what the vortex is like. "He'll be all right."
Courtney hated it, I wasn't sure what I thought of it. This made Mom even more curious to watch it than she already was; so she was anxiously keeping an eye out for when it would come out on DVD. "Hey, we ought to see if Netflix has the new Spider-Man in stock yet!" "Already looked." "Did you put it in the queue?" "About two months ago, yep." "Oh, good! I'm moving it up to the top of the list." So about the first thing Mom said when I got back for Thanksgiving break was: "Spider-Man came in yesterday! When do ya want to watch it?" Dad decided he'd watch, too, so we set in the family room and watched the film. It's a long movie...two hours and sixteen minutes. And there were a ton of previews here, too(I timed it later while doing laundry, there's at least thirteen minutes of trailers on the DVD.)
I liked it a lot better the second and third times. It's a darker, more realistic world; not quite as touching and at times corny as the trilogy. We don't know the characters' backstories and histories very much, so that kind of takes away your involvement as an audience. The dialogue feels more like true-to-life conversations, which somehow loses points, even though technically it should be better. And there isn't those awkward spaces where a phenomonal line is followed by a ridiculously out-of-place one. Denis Leary as Captain Stacy fit his role well; there was a few good exchanges and snappy insults, like the meatloaf, or the climbing up the fire escape. Like "Is that a real knife?" "Yes it's a real knife!" Or Gwen's exchange with her dad: "Hey hon, do you want some cocoa?" "No, Dad, I don't want some cocoa. I'm seventeen years old, not some little kid." "All right...I just thought last week somebody said her fantasy was to live in a chocolate house." "Welll...that would be impractical!...And fattening!"
The plot is shallow, yes; but it's very suspenseful...keeps you guessing all the time. A very slow-paced movie, but the action scenes are very set in this world(Strange, I know, seeing as they're between a gigantic mutant lizard and a human-sized arachnid, but....yeah.) Really intense.
Curt Connors makes a great villain, a man capable of great things, who went just a little off, which leads to some much mayhem....why are the bad guys so well-known and interesting to study throughout history? Darth Vader the most famous face of Star Wars. Napoleon and most of the Roman caesars. Hitler's rise to power. Anakin Skywalker's fall. Doc Ock's attempt to create a new energy source. The Lizard's efforts to restore health to amputees. MacGyver's arch-enemy, the incredibly crafty and malvolent Murdoc. Gollum. Maybe because they show us what can happen if we abuse the powers and gifts we've been given...and that in trying to do the best for others, we not only have to have the right motives(Genuinely wanting to help, not greed or lust or personal gain or pride or....), but we also have to go about it in the right way. We can't take shortcuts, because those are the paths to our downfall. Which is why it's so terrifying sometimes, this life, of always trying to make the right choices, right decisions. It's hard in places, what's right and good can be twisted and rearranged all everywhere so that we don't know which way to go. Thankfully, those of us who are Christians have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us onward in the right way, but being humans, we kinda have this way of sinning. A lot.
Anyway, comparing all four films side-by-side, you see a lot of similarities: A gradual introduction to the main conflict, highlighted by lots of minor conflicts, violence, and personal growth. The villian is usually taken care of by the end, there's a lot of relational problems between characters, a lot of webs woven. We hear some good advice given, observe how mistakes can be overcome, and we our somehow...inspired by those stories. To live our ordinary humdrum lives in a way that's more heroic, to be better people.
Something I was wondering the last few days/weeks, which was sort of brought up again by the movies: Which teaches us more, external conflict, which you may take part in, but otherwise don't have control over, or internal conflict, where it doesn't involve any outsiders, but for that same reason, makes it so much harder to deal with? What makes the better story? And which is easier to deal with?
I don't really know. But whatever trials and struggles we face, no matter how dark the road ahead may seem; God will not test us beyond what we can bear(1 Corinthians 10:13), and He will provide a way through the whatever-it-is that we're facing. We just have to do our best to hang on to the truth of His Word, and try to believe the promises and follow His commands. Which is a lot easier said than done sometimes, which is why the church exists, to strengthen and encourage our fellow believers.
Oh, by the way....witty comebacks towards the problem may not solve all of it, but they don't hurt, either. And they make us feel better.
There was something different in the wind as the release date kept sneaking up closer and closer...first the shocking news that it would be without Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and everybody else, then hearing that Mary Jane wouldn't be involved at all, and then that a British guy would be Peter Parker...the Lizard would be the villian, which sounded cool...and then there were the promos run during the NBA Finals, spliced together with highlights of the Thunder and Heat. Kinda interesting how often it would go from Spidey to KD or Westbrook or Harden, and from the Lizard to LeBron...well, the bad guy won that round, but there will be another day, sometime....
Oh, right....the movie. Yeah. Well, like I said, I asked around who wanted to see it, Sam and Josh both were all for it. Suzanna, Cassie and Courtney jumped on board, Bennett followed; and then Marie and Katie and Lilya all asked if they could come along that morning. "Um...sure....we'll need to figure out how to get to the mall, though...."
Boy, was that ever a headache. Actually, the whole project was like construction work; as soon as you (think) you have one part tied down, another place needs to be worked on. At first we were going to go to Woodland Hills mall, a good generally-centerish spot from where everybody came from. Then we realized Woodland Hills didn't have a theater. "But isn't there a theaer like across the street or something...?" "Yeahhhh....but it's the cheap one that shows movies that a few months old, not the brand-new ones." "Okay...what about Promenade?" "Promenade's creepy! I always feel like - I don't know....it just doesn't feel safe." "Oh, I know, it's awful. But it does have a theater..." "...That isn't showing the movie." "....Oh." "Yeah." Hmm...."Hey, I think there's a theater over by Promenade that's within walking distance; could that work?' "We'll make it work, somehow; there's been too much planning gone into this already to back out now." "You got that right..."
So, it's Sunday, finally; the expedition is all planned out. We've enlisted the help of some parents to get us over there, and then we find we have about three new travelers along for the ride, throwing us into a scramble to figure out how to deal with the latest wrinkle. "If you can get a ride with somebody, I guess that's cool..." Stephen and Nick, newish guys to the youth group we were trying to welcome in, were going to come, but couldn't make it at the last second. Dylan probably would have came, too, but he was on vacation or something. I guess church went about ordinary, I have no idea, it was a few months ago and I was having a hard time paying attention.
We arrive at the mall, Cassie, who beat half our group there, has this quizzical and somewhat distressed look on her face. "I don't think they're showing it here, guys." "Oh, yeah..." Sam looks slightly embarrassed. "I guess we forgot to tell you the plan, huh?" "You're right, they aren't showing it here," I pick up the story. "which is why we're eating lunch here, and then walking to the theater." "Ohhh....." "Sorry....thought we'd told everybody that....so many details flying here and there. It's been a little hectic." "Yeah, and there was kind of a lot going on this morning."
There was, too...a lot of strange, tense undercurrents that didn't leave any clues just then for why they existed. But our gang managed to find the food court, took a look around to see what the food options were, then ate lunch. I wasn't hungry, just ate a brownie coated with peanut butter and chopped Reese's. Most of the others got Subway. Somehow or another, the conversation turned to those who couldn't make it, including Cassie's brother Garrett, and from there to speculation about his new girlfriend. Cassie's saying she wished that she had a boyfriend, and Bennett leaps in emphatically: "ME TOO!!!" Instant stunned silence for two seconds. "That was not - Wow....you know what I meant..." So. Awkward. It was pretty hysterical, though....once we were finished laughing, somebody involved with the CVS Scotch-Tape Incident commented on the similarities between the two statements; and that set off another round of uncontrollable mirth.
It's nearly 2 p.m, there's just enough time to walk over before the show starts. So we rush out the first door we see, and walk around the building....and around the building....and around the building....and realized we went in a huge circle. (The Horrible Sense of Direction strikes again!) We finally get pointed the right way, and race across too many large traffic-laden streets, going about a mile or so until we reach the movie theater, where we purchase tickets, head into the wonderful cool darkness of air-conditioning, waaaaiiiiitttt for those standing in line for popcorn, and then, finally, go pick our seats. We didn't have to be so choosy, I suppose; since there was only about ten other people in the whole rest of the theater, but this was a rare experience for most of us, and we wanted to make the most of it.
Well, nobody warned us about the previews. They started about 2:07 p.m. or so and rolled for TWENTY MINUTES STRAIGHT. Preview after preview after preview...most for shoot-'em-up actioners like The Bourne Legacy, The Dark Knight Rises, or a Total Recall reboot, crass "comedy" buddy movies like The Watch, or an interesting-looking Kevin James flick titled Here Comes the Boom, featuring an out-of-shape schoolteacher becoming an MMA fighter. And then without any heads-up a cousin to Pac-Man or Dig Dug or something fills the mammoth screen, a 1980's video game is being played. And then we see that it's the newest Disney movie coming out, about a video-game villain in a midlife crisis trying to become a hero, called Wreck-It Ralph. It stood out, for one, being a cute throwaway kid's movie in the middle of all these kill-people, loads-of-violence-and-gore films. I want to see that, kinda...looks good.
Yeah, so, anyway, the movie began about 2:30 p.m, it was different right from the opening credits. I had some trouble following the actual movie at first, examining all the new camera angles and editing techniques, adjusting to the lighting and dialogue, and otherwise noting the successfullness of how being trapped in a dark box can suspend disbelief so well. Movie theaters have amazing sound systems, by the way. So I was pretty distracted, monitoring all the chaos leading up to/on the trip, was hoping it would go down as a successful venture. Kind of like the person with the camera at Christmastime who runs all over the place documenting the holiday and never actually taking part of it, having been directing things behind the scenes so much as to not taking part in the actual play.
And then I was noting the changes of lighting, camera, editing, scenery, wardrobe, music,ACTORS....and dialogue. And trying to unsuccessfully reconcile the obvious contradictions between this and the trilogy, never mind that this is a total reboot....took me about an hour to get fully involved with the plot, I wasn't really that impressed with the film. Peter was too cool-looking to be a believable nerd, the dialogue seemed mumbled all the time, the plot was shallow, and with the exception of Dr. Connors, every role was overacted and felt forced, and Peter and Gwen seemed way too old for their roles. The scene where Peter asked Gwen out was great; and there were a few zippy one-liners that were worthy of a grin, but overall I didn't know what to think of it, honestly...a real head-scratcher of a movie, that was maybe better cinematically than the original, but far short in terms of storytelling to the trilogy. But, then I had to remind myself that it's the beginning of a new trilogy, so hopefully things will make sense later on. I (of course) stayed behind for the credits, like I usually do, and there was this confounding miniscene halfway through that left us on even more of a cliff than we were already. I kinda went into a writer's vortex, a sort of trance that's somewhat indescribable how to explain. You kind of go into the story's world and attempt to know everything in it; to understand the entire universe of the tale. This movie was puzzling, it was an especially deep vortex they had to pull me out of. "Hey...you okay, Wes?" (Startled look at finding myself back in the real world) "Huh?! Oh....uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just was.. thinking." Cassie grins, knowing what the vortex is like. "He'll be all right."
Courtney hated it, I wasn't sure what I thought of it. This made Mom even more curious to watch it than she already was; so she was anxiously keeping an eye out for when it would come out on DVD. "Hey, we ought to see if Netflix has the new Spider-Man in stock yet!" "Already looked." "Did you put it in the queue?" "About two months ago, yep." "Oh, good! I'm moving it up to the top of the list." So about the first thing Mom said when I got back for Thanksgiving break was: "Spider-Man came in yesterday! When do ya want to watch it?" Dad decided he'd watch, too, so we set in the family room and watched the film. It's a long movie...two hours and sixteen minutes. And there were a ton of previews here, too(I timed it later while doing laundry, there's at least thirteen minutes of trailers on the DVD.)
I liked it a lot better the second and third times. It's a darker, more realistic world; not quite as touching and at times corny as the trilogy. We don't know the characters' backstories and histories very much, so that kind of takes away your involvement as an audience. The dialogue feels more like true-to-life conversations, which somehow loses points, even though technically it should be better. And there isn't those awkward spaces where a phenomonal line is followed by a ridiculously out-of-place one. Denis Leary as Captain Stacy fit his role well; there was a few good exchanges and snappy insults, like the meatloaf, or the climbing up the fire escape. Like "Is that a real knife?" "Yes it's a real knife!" Or Gwen's exchange with her dad: "Hey hon, do you want some cocoa?" "No, Dad, I don't want some cocoa. I'm seventeen years old, not some little kid." "All right...I just thought last week somebody said her fantasy was to live in a chocolate house." "Welll...that would be impractical!...And fattening!"
The plot is shallow, yes; but it's very suspenseful...keeps you guessing all the time. A very slow-paced movie, but the action scenes are very set in this world(Strange, I know, seeing as they're between a gigantic mutant lizard and a human-sized arachnid, but....yeah.) Really intense.
Curt Connors makes a great villain, a man capable of great things, who went just a little off, which leads to some much mayhem....why are the bad guys so well-known and interesting to study throughout history? Darth Vader the most famous face of Star Wars. Napoleon and most of the Roman caesars. Hitler's rise to power. Anakin Skywalker's fall. Doc Ock's attempt to create a new energy source. The Lizard's efforts to restore health to amputees. MacGyver's arch-enemy, the incredibly crafty and malvolent Murdoc. Gollum. Maybe because they show us what can happen if we abuse the powers and gifts we've been given...and that in trying to do the best for others, we not only have to have the right motives(Genuinely wanting to help, not greed or lust or personal gain or pride or....), but we also have to go about it in the right way. We can't take shortcuts, because those are the paths to our downfall. Which is why it's so terrifying sometimes, this life, of always trying to make the right choices, right decisions. It's hard in places, what's right and good can be twisted and rearranged all everywhere so that we don't know which way to go. Thankfully, those of us who are Christians have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us onward in the right way, but being humans, we kinda have this way of sinning. A lot.
Anyway, comparing all four films side-by-side, you see a lot of similarities: A gradual introduction to the main conflict, highlighted by lots of minor conflicts, violence, and personal growth. The villian is usually taken care of by the end, there's a lot of relational problems between characters, a lot of webs woven. We hear some good advice given, observe how mistakes can be overcome, and we our somehow...inspired by those stories. To live our ordinary humdrum lives in a way that's more heroic, to be better people.
Something I was wondering the last few days/weeks, which was sort of brought up again by the movies: Which teaches us more, external conflict, which you may take part in, but otherwise don't have control over, or internal conflict, where it doesn't involve any outsiders, but for that same reason, makes it so much harder to deal with? What makes the better story? And which is easier to deal with?
I don't really know. But whatever trials and struggles we face, no matter how dark the road ahead may seem; God will not test us beyond what we can bear(1 Corinthians 10:13), and He will provide a way through the whatever-it-is that we're facing. We just have to do our best to hang on to the truth of His Word, and try to believe the promises and follow His commands. Which is a lot easier said than done sometimes, which is why the church exists, to strengthen and encourage our fellow believers.
Oh, by the way....witty comebacks towards the problem may not solve all of it, but they don't hurt, either. And they make us feel better.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Why I Am A Storyteller
This post is adapted from an essay I wrote for Comp I my freshman year of college, and it's probably going to be a lot more enthusiastic and much harder to keep track of than the essay was.
"It's a little hard to describe yourself. Our natural tendency to guard against pride blurs the lines between self-esteem and arrogance, creating an ultra-effective system of avoidance based off humility. We tend as a society to downplay our own skills, and use others we know as mirrors to see ourselves. So for that reason, it was a little hard for me to get started on this essay[the prompt was "Choose one word to describe yourself, one experience that changed your life, or something else that I can't remember], but I guess the word I would choose would be "storyteller".
Why a storyteller? Well, that kind of began with my grandma, a lady named Linda. She worked, among other things, as a librarian at a nearby Arkansas college, and later at the public library in town. She'd occasionally bring me to work with her when I'd come to visit. She introduced me to the wonderful books of Leonard Kessler(His animals are awesome.), Peggy Parish(Gotta love Amelia Bedelia), Norman Bridwell(Clifford!) and Matt Christopher(Sports!), and she would always be able to satisfy my childlike curiosity by retelling stories of what life was like when she was growing up. We'd invent tales, too, involving the animals on the farm, we called them Critter Stories.
My mom was instrumental in developing that love of reading, too, encouraging me to read anything I could get my hands on(within reason, of course). I discovered the historical fiction of Robert Elmer, found a lifelong friend in Mark Twain(love him), and discovered the amazing world of Greek mythology through The Book of Virtues. (That is a FANTASTIC book, by the way. On the back cover, one of the blurbs from a review says that "this book should be given to all parents upon leaving the hospital", I completely agree. Sitting on my shelf right now is the same dog-eared copy that I first dove into when I was seven or eight, and good grief, I'll probably reread and still enjoy it when my kids want to hear a story.)
[Where was I? Got distracted....the hardest part about writing this essay was to keep it under three doublespaced pages, I barely succeeded. Now that I'm updating it, I'm free to go down rabbit trails and recommend things....by the way, Rabbit Hill by Robert McCloskey is a great story, that I first read because Marguerite Henry enjoyed it. And if such a great author as she was would recommend it so highly, well, I just had to see for myself. And most of Robert McCloskey's writings were very good anyways.]
I memorized The Story of Ferdinand(Mom read it to me on request every night over and over and over...I wonder if she got tired of it?) and The Giving Tree. (Same thing, and I've always thought Shel Silverstein looked like the scariest person on Earth.) It's always been interesting to ponder those stories, wonder exactly what life was like for the tree or Ferdinand, watching as the world went by.
And the PICTURES! My goodness, all those stories have wonderful illustrations....Robert McCloskey, Shel Silverstein, Leonard Kessler, Charles Schultz, Wesley Dennis, Wallace Tripp, Lynn Sweat, Norman Bridwell....I've always wished I could draw. If I could only have one fiction piece achieve lots of readers, I'd want it to be a children's picture book. Not a mildly interesting one, but a great one, like all these classics I've been mentioning, that captures your imagination and lets it grow, jump into and become a part of that universe, to know the characters like your best friends and hang on to that love throughout your whole life.
The TV shows I watched probably had a deep influence on me, too; Wishbone and Arthur were two of my favorite PBS shows, Reading Rainbow was good, too. Recess, Doug and 101 Dalmatians on ABC's One Saturday mornings(None of these are on Netflix, by the way....most of the shows I really enjoy aren't. It's annoying.), and seriously, can anything ever top The Andy Griffith Show? I think not. Also the WB's 7th Heaven and Pax's Doc and Early Edition would go right up there in my favorite-shows-ever list. They all exposed me to character development, multiple story arcs, and the importance of conflct, providing a good base for beginning to tell stories of my own.
[I didn't discover MacGyver until my early teens, but that totally belongs up there. Why don't they make good comedies like Full House anymore? That is a great show!]
They weren't much, just stories like every little kid makes up at one point or another, but Mom and Mimi both enjoyed them and encouraged me to keep working on them. So over the years I've dabbled in short stories in my spare time.
I discovered Agatha Christie when I was about thirteen, while cleaning stuff out of the old two-story house on the farm, and knew immediately I'd found a master of the craft I hoped to make my own someday. I devoured about half of her eighty-plus works in about eighteen months(after that, the library didn't have any more), and rediscovered Louisa May Alcott's wonderful way of describing life. Interpersonal relationships and good dialogue were some of the main takeaways I got from Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series, that time period from the Civil War to the 1920's produced a ton of amazing writers. (Louisa May Alcott, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mark Twain, O. Henry, Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zane Grey....)
[Miscellanous books I like that haven't already been mentioned: Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys, both by Wilson Rawls; Fred Gipson's Old Yeller; Upchuck and the Rotten Willy and The Backwards Bird Dog, both by Bill Wallace; C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia; J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings....]
I got some training on how to write more effectively at fourteen when I began writing sports for local newspapers, learning how to use words to tell a factual, here's-what-happened, the-end news story, and discovered the worlds of modern-day authors William Goldman(The mind behind The Princess Bride, the book is even better than the movie!), Bodie Thoene(Amazing writer of numerous historical fiction series, read everything from her you can get your hands on), Phillip Gulley(Harmony series, great humorous look at small-town living) and Jan Karon(Mitford series, extremely high recommendation!!!)
Always enjoyed acting and doing improv comedy, that sense of creativity on the run, but with a tight structure to follow as a guide.
And I grew up with country music on the kitchen radio, which is all about stories. A handful of basic outlines, but with so many variations in plot and angles of thinking....it's all about how to clearly grab the listener and make them understand the tale, the really wonderful songs make you effortlessly step into their universe, you understand everything that's going on.
My ideal personality I'm trying to achieve, I guess, would be a mashup of MacGyver, Peter Parker, Jo March and Atticus Finch: the resoucefulness and smarts of MacGyver, Peter's sense of humor and striving for balance in the crazy world he lives in, Jo's impulsiveness and creativity, and the strong moral values and courage that Atticus displays.
[I'm not completely sure what I meant by this paragraph....but my teacher was a hippie, and it sounded like the right kind of meaningless meaningful touch. I guess I meant that those are all qualities I admire in each of those characters, but there's so many more I could add to this list....Oh, good grief! Snoopy, Linus, the way Sydney Carton dies(I hated A Tale of Two Cities, by the way. No, I hate anything by Dickens), Jay Berry Lee, Charlotte A. Cavatica, so many others....]
Stories teach us about life. They show us how the world works, set an example of how we should act, which sometimes means showing the other side of that coin, what happens when we fail or disobey. This is why Jesus taught in parables, because we're wired to retain the things we hear through story, and then think about the stories we hear, and learn from them. Great ideas can be passed on, traits of virtue praised in legends. We get our morals and values from the stories we absorb and drink in, which makes the art of storytelling the most effective teaching tool there is. (And also, this is why we need good discernment skills.)
What my life will be like up ahead, I don't know. Might I ever have a novel published, or maybe some picture books? How will the switch to digital technology impact the journalism and publishing worlds as we know them? And does anyone really care about one more collection of words strung together, honestly, if I did write something, would anyone read it? I don't know the answers to very many of these questions, or what form my writing may take. But whatever channels it goes into, I will always find stories, and they will always have a market. If not in money, then in time, because little kids will sit and listen for hours and think that I'm one of the most amazing people on the planet, knowing all these things, and taking the time to explain them. They might be inspired to create their own tales, remembering the history or fables I relayed to them, and the chain would just go on from there.
I am a storyteller."
"It's a little hard to describe yourself. Our natural tendency to guard against pride blurs the lines between self-esteem and arrogance, creating an ultra-effective system of avoidance based off humility. We tend as a society to downplay our own skills, and use others we know as mirrors to see ourselves. So for that reason, it was a little hard for me to get started on this essay[the prompt was "Choose one word to describe yourself, one experience that changed your life, or something else that I can't remember], but I guess the word I would choose would be "storyteller".
Why a storyteller? Well, that kind of began with my grandma, a lady named Linda. She worked, among other things, as a librarian at a nearby Arkansas college, and later at the public library in town. She'd occasionally bring me to work with her when I'd come to visit. She introduced me to the wonderful books of Leonard Kessler(His animals are awesome.), Peggy Parish(Gotta love Amelia Bedelia), Norman Bridwell(Clifford!) and Matt Christopher(Sports!), and she would always be able to satisfy my childlike curiosity by retelling stories of what life was like when she was growing up. We'd invent tales, too, involving the animals on the farm, we called them Critter Stories.
My mom was instrumental in developing that love of reading, too, encouraging me to read anything I could get my hands on(within reason, of course). I discovered the historical fiction of Robert Elmer, found a lifelong friend in Mark Twain(love him), and discovered the amazing world of Greek mythology through The Book of Virtues. (That is a FANTASTIC book, by the way. On the back cover, one of the blurbs from a review says that "this book should be given to all parents upon leaving the hospital", I completely agree. Sitting on my shelf right now is the same dog-eared copy that I first dove into when I was seven or eight, and good grief, I'll probably reread and still enjoy it when my kids want to hear a story.)
[Where was I? Got distracted....the hardest part about writing this essay was to keep it under three doublespaced pages, I barely succeeded. Now that I'm updating it, I'm free to go down rabbit trails and recommend things....by the way, Rabbit Hill by Robert McCloskey is a great story, that I first read because Marguerite Henry enjoyed it. And if such a great author as she was would recommend it so highly, well, I just had to see for myself. And most of Robert McCloskey's writings were very good anyways.]
I memorized The Story of Ferdinand(Mom read it to me on request every night over and over and over...I wonder if she got tired of it?) and The Giving Tree. (Same thing, and I've always thought Shel Silverstein looked like the scariest person on Earth.) It's always been interesting to ponder those stories, wonder exactly what life was like for the tree or Ferdinand, watching as the world went by.
And the PICTURES! My goodness, all those stories have wonderful illustrations....Robert McCloskey, Shel Silverstein, Leonard Kessler, Charles Schultz, Wesley Dennis, Wallace Tripp, Lynn Sweat, Norman Bridwell....I've always wished I could draw. If I could only have one fiction piece achieve lots of readers, I'd want it to be a children's picture book. Not a mildly interesting one, but a great one, like all these classics I've been mentioning, that captures your imagination and lets it grow, jump into and become a part of that universe, to know the characters like your best friends and hang on to that love throughout your whole life.
The TV shows I watched probably had a deep influence on me, too; Wishbone and Arthur were two of my favorite PBS shows, Reading Rainbow was good, too. Recess, Doug and 101 Dalmatians on ABC's One Saturday mornings(None of these are on Netflix, by the way....most of the shows I really enjoy aren't. It's annoying.), and seriously, can anything ever top The Andy Griffith Show? I think not. Also the WB's 7th Heaven and Pax's Doc and Early Edition would go right up there in my favorite-shows-ever list. They all exposed me to character development, multiple story arcs, and the importance of conflct, providing a good base for beginning to tell stories of my own.
[I didn't discover MacGyver until my early teens, but that totally belongs up there. Why don't they make good comedies like Full House anymore? That is a great show!]
They weren't much, just stories like every little kid makes up at one point or another, but Mom and Mimi both enjoyed them and encouraged me to keep working on them. So over the years I've dabbled in short stories in my spare time.
I discovered Agatha Christie when I was about thirteen, while cleaning stuff out of the old two-story house on the farm, and knew immediately I'd found a master of the craft I hoped to make my own someday. I devoured about half of her eighty-plus works in about eighteen months(after that, the library didn't have any more), and rediscovered Louisa May Alcott's wonderful way of describing life. Interpersonal relationships and good dialogue were some of the main takeaways I got from Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series, that time period from the Civil War to the 1920's produced a ton of amazing writers. (Louisa May Alcott, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mark Twain, O. Henry, Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zane Grey....)
[Miscellanous books I like that haven't already been mentioned: Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys, both by Wilson Rawls; Fred Gipson's Old Yeller; Upchuck and the Rotten Willy and The Backwards Bird Dog, both by Bill Wallace; C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia; J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings....]
I got some training on how to write more effectively at fourteen when I began writing sports for local newspapers, learning how to use words to tell a factual, here's-what-happened, the-end news story, and discovered the worlds of modern-day authors William Goldman(The mind behind The Princess Bride, the book is even better than the movie!), Bodie Thoene(Amazing writer of numerous historical fiction series, read everything from her you can get your hands on), Phillip Gulley(Harmony series, great humorous look at small-town living) and Jan Karon(Mitford series, extremely high recommendation!!!)
Always enjoyed acting and doing improv comedy, that sense of creativity on the run, but with a tight structure to follow as a guide.
And I grew up with country music on the kitchen radio, which is all about stories. A handful of basic outlines, but with so many variations in plot and angles of thinking....it's all about how to clearly grab the listener and make them understand the tale, the really wonderful songs make you effortlessly step into their universe, you understand everything that's going on.
My ideal personality I'm trying to achieve, I guess, would be a mashup of MacGyver, Peter Parker, Jo March and Atticus Finch: the resoucefulness and smarts of MacGyver, Peter's sense of humor and striving for balance in the crazy world he lives in, Jo's impulsiveness and creativity, and the strong moral values and courage that Atticus displays.
[I'm not completely sure what I meant by this paragraph....but my teacher was a hippie, and it sounded like the right kind of meaningless meaningful touch. I guess I meant that those are all qualities I admire in each of those characters, but there's so many more I could add to this list....Oh, good grief! Snoopy, Linus, the way Sydney Carton dies(I hated A Tale of Two Cities, by the way. No, I hate anything by Dickens), Jay Berry Lee, Charlotte A. Cavatica, so many others....]
Stories teach us about life. They show us how the world works, set an example of how we should act, which sometimes means showing the other side of that coin, what happens when we fail or disobey. This is why Jesus taught in parables, because we're wired to retain the things we hear through story, and then think about the stories we hear, and learn from them. Great ideas can be passed on, traits of virtue praised in legends. We get our morals and values from the stories we absorb and drink in, which makes the art of storytelling the most effective teaching tool there is. (And also, this is why we need good discernment skills.)
What my life will be like up ahead, I don't know. Might I ever have a novel published, or maybe some picture books? How will the switch to digital technology impact the journalism and publishing worlds as we know them? And does anyone really care about one more collection of words strung together, honestly, if I did write something, would anyone read it? I don't know the answers to very many of these questions, or what form my writing may take. But whatever channels it goes into, I will always find stories, and they will always have a market. If not in money, then in time, because little kids will sit and listen for hours and think that I'm one of the most amazing people on the planet, knowing all these things, and taking the time to explain them. They might be inspired to create their own tales, remembering the history or fables I relayed to them, and the chain would just go on from there.
I am a storyteller."
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Searching For the Light
This was my first attempt at a college essay. I kinda overshot the scope necessary....lol. This was the first project assigned in Comp I last fall, we were supposed to read Plato's essay "The Allegory of the Cave" and then write something about it, a review of what it said and what it meant. I guess what he was expecting was about three sentences something like this: "There once was a guy named Plato who lived a long time ago in Greece. He wrote an essay called "The Allegory of the Cave", which talked about finding knowledge. I had no idea what this essay was talking about."
Instead, I wrote out the following four-page paper, all our teacher(the hippie Mr. Deiter) wrote on mine was "More than I was looking for."
Instead, I wrote out the following four-page paper, all our teacher(the hippie Mr. Deiter) wrote on mine was "More than I was looking for."
Searching for the Light
"Plato(429 B.C.-348 B.C.) was one of the deepest thinkers in the history of ancient Greece - a land that produced one of the most intriguing civilizations ever recorded. As such, he has been studied for over two thousand years, many of his ideas influenced later theories and ways of thinking, which further influenced cultures and mindsets. His writings and speeches contain many grand concepts that are a little hard to understand, such as those expressed in "The Allegory of the Cave", which was part of a larger utopian treatise entitled "The Republic".
Mainly addressed to his students and disciples, a specific student named Glaucon is mentioned several times throughout the piece. In structure, it's a learned dialogue between teacher(Plato) and student(presumed Glaucon), a dialogue told in allegory to help the student retain the information and understand it easily.
The picture(for that is what an allegory is; a story told in easily applicable mental pictures to make its point) essay opens with a scene of humans in "an underground den", heavily shackled to keep from moving, who have been imprisoned in this cave since childhood. A mammoth fire is burning, keeping all they see in flickering shadow, which is their whole world. All they know is what is in the cave with them, or rather, what they perceive to be in the cave with them. Seeing the shadows of objects in the firelight, the reflections become the cave-dwellers' truth.
Now, as Plato supposes, one of these men was somehow able to escape from his chains, leaving the cave and entering into the sunlight. His eyesight would be dazzled; he would be blinded by the shock of perceiving the light for the first time, it would be overwhelming. The reality he knows - that of the shadows - is nowhere to be seen, and the place in which he stands seems distorted and alien. If someone was to tell him that the world he was now in was the true one, and that the world which he left is an illusion, he would (quite logically) deny that statement. As Plato says, "Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formally saw are far truer than the objects which are now shown to him?"
Now, being forced to look at the direct source of the light in the world, the pain of this effort will be infernal; his whole self will explode from the strain, and he will be able to see nothing clearly.
Over time, however, his eyes will be able to take in more clearly more and more of the objects and men that he sees in this world. Eventually, he will even be able to see the sun, seeing and observing all these things, will be able to form ideas and notions about the existence and purpose of that which he sees.
Given his new abilities to be able to truly see the way things are, he will naturally pride himself on the accomplishment of undergoing such a change, and would pity those still locked into the old life he once knew, finding them lesser beings. Now supposing he was forced to return to the cave, his eyes would be confounded by the darkness, and if in a contest against those imprisoned always in measuring the shadows on the wall, he would look ridiculous and fail miserably. Other would say that after leaving the cave, he lost his eyesight, and thus attempting ascend out of the depths was foolhardy. If anyone was foolish enough to try such a mad scheme as to leave, he should be put to death, in order to escape such a cruel fate.
The representation is this: The actual world, that which we see, is the prison, the fire our sun. The light is the spiritual world, the mental world; that which cannot be known in the cave. The journey upwards symbolizes the trek of mankind. As they climb higher and higher in the thirsty search for knowledge, our souls come to understand things of which, farther down the path, we never would have dreamed existed.
Plato goes on in this exposition of the tale to explain that want to know, striving to understand; once they come to realize that there is so much out there in the world, we try to rationalize or explain all the unknown "Whys" we encounter.
A truly educated person, however, is one who climbs the mountain out of the depths, absorbs all that he can, and then returns to the bondage of ignorance, and in explaining his newfound knowledge, he sets his fellow prisoners free so that they can start on their own pilgrimages, their own journeys towards discovery, further enlightening and enabling those who follow after.
Contrary to Plato's ideas, mere possession of knowledge is not the end-all of humanity, the ultimate pinnacle and purpose of mortal achievements. Knowledge is merely a tool, a vitally essential tool; but a tool nevertheless. Is crafting a hammer and some nails going to create buildings for men to dwell and do business in? Simplistically speaking, yes, that would be true. But a closer examination would reveal the hammer and nails, once crafted, need to be used for their appointed end: that of the construction of the building. In the same way, once we have that knowledge in our toolbox of the mind, the only way to do anything worthwhile in the world is by using that knowledge for its intended purpose; that of serving the greater good and playing a role in something far greater than anything we mortals could possibly fathom. This is what the essay means to me.
Many people, including myself, believe in Christ, and part of our duty is to glorify God and point others to Him. Not only by preaching, but by more everyday tasks like healing, listening, counseling or otherwise just showing up on time for work each day and giving the day's chores all that we have. Other religions also state a belief in some grander purpose, and those followers strive to understand how to fulfill what they can do in the world, and know what they can't. Still others, trying to ignore the microscopic pin-drop of their lives in the mural of eternity, take this knowledge they find and apply it by saving the environment, or find some fulfillment by decrying that "There is no purpose in life; we have no reason to exist."
That isn't ttue. As long as humans continue to exist, they will know that there is more out there. They will instinctively understand, on some level, that they know nothing except that which they perceive, and that their perspective much be widened and given depth. Once they understand this, the search for knowledge begins. And once this knowledge is attained, they know, whether they choose to obey the internal command or not, that they must go back to where the path started and share what they found with others. This is what the essay means.
That leaves one question unanswered - How will this knowledge be used? For corrupt, twisted means of personal gain and greed? Or for freely sharing and providing a resource for future generations to come?"
A truly educated person, however, is one who climbs the mountain out of the depths, absorbs all that he can, and then returns to the bondage of ignorance, and in explaining his newfound knowledge, he sets his fellow prisoners free so that they can start on their own pilgrimages, their own journeys towards discovery, further enlightening and enabling those who follow after.
Contrary to Plato's ideas, mere possession of knowledge is not the end-all of humanity, the ultimate pinnacle and purpose of mortal achievements. Knowledge is merely a tool, a vitally essential tool; but a tool nevertheless. Is crafting a hammer and some nails going to create buildings for men to dwell and do business in? Simplistically speaking, yes, that would be true. But a closer examination would reveal the hammer and nails, once crafted, need to be used for their appointed end: that of the construction of the building. In the same way, once we have that knowledge in our toolbox of the mind, the only way to do anything worthwhile in the world is by using that knowledge for its intended purpose; that of serving the greater good and playing a role in something far greater than anything we mortals could possibly fathom. This is what the essay means to me.
Many people, including myself, believe in Christ, and part of our duty is to glorify God and point others to Him. Not only by preaching, but by more everyday tasks like healing, listening, counseling or otherwise just showing up on time for work each day and giving the day's chores all that we have. Other religions also state a belief in some grander purpose, and those followers strive to understand how to fulfill what they can do in the world, and know what they can't. Still others, trying to ignore the microscopic pin-drop of their lives in the mural of eternity, take this knowledge they find and apply it by saving the environment, or find some fulfillment by decrying that "There is no purpose in life; we have no reason to exist."
That isn't ttue. As long as humans continue to exist, they will know that there is more out there. They will instinctively understand, on some level, that they know nothing except that which they perceive, and that their perspective much be widened and given depth. Once they understand this, the search for knowledge begins. And once this knowledge is attained, they know, whether they choose to obey the internal command or not, that they must go back to where the path started and share what they found with others. This is what the essay means.
That leaves one question unanswered - How will this knowledge be used? For corrupt, twisted means of personal gain and greed? Or for freely sharing and providing a resource for future generations to come?"
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Sniffing Around the Place Again
This was a gossip column written by my dog Sunny, for the fictional Fenceville Weekly News. Written July 17, 2012; originally posted as a Facebook note; published on here September 4, 2015.
As my fellow beagle Snoopy once said, "Good writing is hard work." Sometimes it comes easily and news just rolls right off my tongue, other times I can barely get my paws to set on the keyboard and make it come alive.
As my fellow beagle Snoopy once said, "Good writing is hard work." Sometimes it comes easily and news just rolls right off my tongue, other times I can barely get my paws to set on the keyboard and make it come alive.
My good friend Sport Bossdog passed away a year ago this morning, he was 86. He was born in Pryor, Oklahoma on May 12, 1999, one of a litter of about eight purebred Austrailian Sheperds. He met our family the day after the Fourth of July that year, they'd just moved to Morris, and Wesley could finally have a dog of his own. He was a playful puppy, flying around this way and that, sometimes kinda knocking people down in his excitement. He was devoted to his family, and always tried to keep them happy and safe, Mom's training served him well. As he grew up, he became friends with Taz and Ty Rae, Ty and Snowy Haworth, and Max Byars(of course, I was there, too, for some of the time, but this isn't the time for my story). He and Max were closer than I ever saw with another dog, they'd often dig through the fence to explore the other's yard(okay, I sometimes helped a little. Nope, a lot. But, I was young and carefree - What's that saying that's so popular lately, "YOLO"? Well, you do only live once). In wintertime, Sport would work, aside from his regular duties as a security gaurd, as a sled dog, pulling Wesley, Courtney and their friends down the pool-table sloped streets of town, a particular trick I remember was dumping the riders into the snowbanks of a ditch which always happened to be conveinently nearby whenever he wearied of his husky imitation. And one time when the family was visiting Grandpa, Sport came along and decided that he may as well do some work while he was there, he rounded up every single cow in the pasture and herded them up by the gate. He was pretty proud of himself over that one. He would help babysit Trevor and Amy, making sure nothing happened to them on his watch. He hated fireworks, his favorite TV show was "The Rockford Files". When Skeet came along he taught him how to lead, which was odd, since he didn't make friends or take a liking to people very often. Just the family, was about all the people, and Max, Jenny and I were the only dogs I know of. He had his faults, yes; but don't we all? A workaholic, he didn't have much need for attention, but he was devoted to those he loved, and tried to make their lives better.
Wesley...it's hard to believe he's going to college next month. Should he be shooting baskets in the backyard or something? Learning how to tell the news? Having conversations with me about stories that needed plotting, that girl at church he sort of likes, the backstage pass on what what happeneing with the homeschool group's musicals and skits? Babysitting my puppies, helping me name them, those sadder times when Mimi, Shadow, Rocky, Klipsey or Sport died. He was so scared before he went off to camp for the first time...I said, "If you can just force yourself to leave, by the time you're two hours into the trip you'll have the time of your life." And he did, too. All the things that've happened over the last year, he's had a lot of change, and he's never really been the kind who likes that. Wish I could tell ya what was going on with him...but we haven't really had a chance to talk lately, and my English isn't perfect(but then, neither is his Dog), and I'm not even sure he knows how he's doing, it's a little hard to say what's happening in life when you aren't even sure of it yourself. Kind of a happy/sad/nervous/excited swirl, I'd guess. Reflecting on all the moments that've gotten him here, both pleasant and unhappy, looking forward to the new chapter of life he's headed into, but not sure what to expect. "Never be afraid to put your unknown future in the hands of a known God", Corrie ten Boom said once, I'll need to remind him of that.
Courtney's been commuting to Weed Valley a couple times a day to help run Buttermilk's Dairy, and learning how to play the mandolin Wes got himself for graduation. I'm not much for instrumental music, but it seems like they're both getting the hang of it pretty well. She's counting the seconds until she leaves for church camp next week, hopefully she and her pals will have a great time.
Caleb and Trevor have been building forts and trapping rabbits and fishing at the lake whenever Mom lets them, Trevor sprained his ankle last week.
Amy's eyesight is improving, she got a new prescription for her glasses the other day. And she's just made leaps and bounds in talking - Whole sentences, and she knows her colors, and can even count some!! (Math never was my strong point.)
Dad's shoulder is recovering slowly from his surgery last month, but it's coming along. There just isn't much to read about in the newspapers during the summertime...nothing ever happens.
Copper Caynine isn't much liking this heat, she's always complaining about it. I agree, it's a pain, but there isn't really anything you can do about the weather, except sit quiet and wait for it to leave, so it'd be kinda nice if she could lower her volume.
Buttercup and Inigo Kidd are both doing well, playing outside often and taking naps under a shade tree. What grass is still alive is tall and flourishing, because all the lawn mowers are broken. The weed-eaters are either sidelined or out of string.
Mom's been planting a fall garden, we aren't allowed in the courtyard any more. And my favorite comfy chairs are in there...
The Olympics start Friday, July 27, at 6:30 p.m. on NBC, you can bet I'll be watching them all I can. It's too bad they're on only once every four years...they're so interesting!
The youth group is doing a study on Wednesday nights at Dex Cox's old place, they're discussing a set of sermons by some fella named David Platt, on "Angels, Demons and Spiritual Warfare". Interesting-seeming subject, but I'd prefer to discuss Shakespeare instead. He was one of those speakers at the Louisville Bible conference in April.
Wes and some friends went to see that new Spider-Man movie a couple weeks ago. I'd tell you how that went, but he already wrote about it on his blog, so you'll have to go there if you wanted to know.
That's about it for news here lately, except that the ticks are awful again this year, so in case I don't see ya, good morning, good afternoon, and good night!
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