Note from the Parenting Front

One of the privileges we get as parents is to watch our kids grow up, to transform out of the little helpless and self-centered balls of flesh that only care about eating, sleeping, and filling diapers into odd little rug rats and then into (if God is gracious) proto-adults who might actually be worth the time and effort we parents extended, and beyond (haven't gotten to the next stage yet with mine, so I can't cynically describe it).

Samwise isn't quite at the last stage I described yet, but he's getting closer. The last couple of weeks have brought some medical issues into our conversations--one involving my sister (she's fine, but it was a long and complicated road to find out there's nothing wrong with her...medically, anyway) and another involving something happening at TLoML's workplace. While not trying to suggest that his siblings didn't care, Sam always appeared more thoughtful (usually with a shade of troubled) and asked follow-up questions. The others took what I told them at face value, and got on with life. Sam thought about it, and then asked questions that displayed a care for the well-being/health/safety of the person, the nature of the issue (esp. as it would affect others). At least twice, he asked something I hadn't thought about and caught me off-guard. Watching his mind work like this makes me nothing be proud.

I should note, of course, that minutes (if not seconds) after these episodes, he was back acting like a capuchin throwing back triple espressos.

The Invisibles

In the 70's and 80's a team of cat burglars had a very successful run in England, the police never captured them--never even identified them, as if they were invisible. Eventually, two of the team retired to the Spanish Mediterranean with their families. Now near 60, they've returned to England and moved into a senior living facility, to deal with aging, an empty nest, and boredom.

Of course, that just won't do--particularly when it turns out that the owner of the local pub is the son of their late partner, who's spent his lifetime idolizing them and dreaming of replacing his father on the team. It doesn't take long at all before the trio are back in action, committing the perfect crimes with a skill that this generation doesn't display.

It's a lighthearted drama, emphasizing character and personality over action and suspense. To be perfectly honest, the story moved slowly enough that in 2 or 3 of the six episodes in the first series' DVD set my attention waned (a lot), but perseverance paid off in the end. All around, a fun series with a lot of heart.

The cast, honestly, was what drew me to the series: Mina Anwar, who was so much fun on The Thin Blue Line; Dean Lennox Kelly, Doctor Who's rock-star Shakespeare and Puck from the BBC's Shakespeare ReTold (also starring Anwar, incidentally); and Anthony Head, Merlin's Uther Pendragon, Doctor Who's creepy alien posing as a headmaster, the RepoMan in the nightmare that was Repo! The Genetic Opera, and some US show about a teenage girl who killed vampires (the name escapes me). The Invisibles was a good, but not great, showcase for each.

The Invisibles was released here on DVD in May, two months after the BBC confirmed it wouldn't be getting a second series/season. So enjoy, but don't get attached :)

Oh, I Get By...

anyone out there want to help me set up a small network with a router of questionable trustworthiness?

On Open Letter on the Occasion of Reading Invincible #63

What a gut-punch of an issue!

I have a few things to say about/to Robert Kirkman, but none of them are printable. Anyway, my Gram always told me to say nothing if I can't say anything nice. So, in honor of Gram, here's my open letter.

Dear Mr. Kirkman,








































Sincerely,
H. C. Newton

Who Needs Van Til When You've Got Woolery?

^*





There's the occasional news bit I run across that's so out there it's hard to find a way to comment on it that's more humorous than the original story. But I'll try.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:

A new game show on Turkish television will pit a Greek Orthodox priest, a rabbi, an imam and a Buddhist monk against one another in attempt to convert atheists to their respective religions.

In each episode of Penitents Compete, to be broadcast by Turkey's Kanal T television station in September, the four faith guides will try to persuade 10 atheists of the merits and truth of their creeds.

Yeah, okay, I got nothing...I mean, come on, Reality! There are struggling amateur humorists out here looking for material--How do I top this?^**

The article goes on to say:

The show's producers say there is a good chance none of the atheists will be converted, Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review reports.

Uhhh, ya think?

But what's a game show without prizes?

But those who [do really convert] will be sent on a pilgrimage. New Muslims will head to Mecca, Buddhists to Tibet and Jews and Christians to Jerusalem – with television cameras following them.

"They can't see this trip as a getaway but as a religious experience," Ahmet Ozdemir, Kanal T's deputy director, told Hurriyet.

And they'll have none of that "denying your faith to pretend atheism just to get a free trip" nonsense, thank you very much.

only true non-believers need apply. An eight-member team of theologians will vet contestants to ensure they really are atheists before deciding who will participate in the show.

I keep seeing this as some sort of jury-selection kind of process, instead of voir dire maybe they call it voir Deus? Featuring such questions as "Have you now, or have you ever been a member of the Catholic Church?" or questions guaranteed to trip up potential contestants, "When's the last potluck you attended?" being a sure-fire way to discover fibbing Baptists.

The show isn't without its critics (no, really?)

Some say it will be good for interfaith relations. But Hamza Aktan, chairman of Turkey's High Board of Religious Affairs, told the state news agency, Anatolian, that "doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs."

Aktan failed to mention that religion cannot be a subject for programs with real entertainment value, as Mel Gibson, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and TBN have taught us repeatedly.



^* Proof I need to get Micah to do all my graphics work.
^** I almost called this the biggest set-back to serious apologetics since the publication of the first Lee Strobel book, but I decided that was too mean-spirited.

Quote of the Day

a little wisdom to meditate on today, from a Quote of the Day widget somewhere:

Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast.

- Douglas Adams

Celebrate the 4th with a lil' Constitutional Satire

for those who think contemporary Liberals and Conservatives don't agree on anything, this quick video shows they do approach the Bill of Rights similarly:

Summer Movies

Is it a sign of maturity or just the quality of the summer blockbuster that the only three movies I'm really wanting to check out in this season of explosions, events, FX and sequels are:

and this one I can't embed.

Derelict in Duties

No real post yet today...mayyybe later. There are a handful of reasons:

1. Played a couple of games of Checkers with the Princess in lieu of teaching her how to play chess.
2. I've been really fuzzy-headed and my concept of time today rarely matched reality.
3. 
   This is just one of the most endearing novels I've read in months, and despite not being far into it, just wanted to talk about it.
4. 
   and I've spent far too much time preparing responses to several of these wrong people, only to delete them, walk away with disgust, come back and rewrite a response, delete again, walk away again and then ultimately return to post something. Utter waste of time regardless. Would've been a much better use of time to write something pointless here. Sorry!

Don't Stop Believin'

Dont stop believing - Journey

Stumbled upon this profile from the Los Angeles Times that's been reprinted on more than a few websites today, by Chris Willman, about (of all things), the Journey classic, "Don't Stop Believin'." Willman begins:

There's an old pop aphorism that goes: "Don't bore us -- get to the chorus." By that yardstick, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " should be one of the most boring and unsuccessful rock recordings of all time.

Structurally, it's a mess: Surely one would get tossed out of songwriting school for a tune that follows its opening piano riff with a verse, a guitar arpeggio, a second verse, a bridge, a guitar solo, a third verse, a repeat of the bridge, another guitar solo . . . and then, 3 minutes, 20 seconds in, when the song is ready to fade out, one of the most unforgettable choruses in rock.

Despite this, the song has incredible staying power, and is nearly ubiquitous--it shows up on movie/TV soundtracks of all flavors; in sports arenas; karaoke bars; Broadway; many, many youtube covers...

"There is an odd form to the song as well, because it's almost like an A-B-A-B-C pattern," [Jonathan Cain, Journey keyboardist/song co-writer] says, perhaps understating the true nuttiness of the song's structure. "So there's that chorus they hadn't heard before at the end. But we knew we wanted to save it. It's like a wave about to happen -- the anticipation of something happening, a change in your life," Cain said

That sense of tension and eventual anthemic release may have given the song more staying power than a song that gives away all its goods in the first minute.

"Don't Stop Believin' " has become the top-selling digital download of a track not originally released in this century, selling 2,803,000 units since online single sales began to be tracked in 2003, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

2 million downloads...that ain't chump change. The whole story is pretty interesting--oh, but I should've warned you at the beginning of this post, once you start reading about the song, you won't get it out of your head all day. (which is why I didn't warn you, honestly...why should I be the only one?)

The Sandman's 500th (and his 1st)

Mo is not only the most feared closer in baseball, he's the most feared hitter in baseball, walking 33% of the time. Not since Babe Ruth have the Yankees been blessed with a player that dominates as both a pitcher and hitter. (from Respect Jeter's Gangster)

The expression on Jeter's face when K-Rod pitched to him at the beginning of his at-bat (2 on, 2 out, with Mariano Rivera waiting for his 3^rd career at-bat) was enough to make any Yankee fan laugh, but the laughter turned to gleeful hysterics he (eventually) was intentionally walked to bring up Mo for a quick third out. Why? 'Cuz one of the most feared closers working today enabled Mariano to work him to a full-count and then drew a walk, adding an insurance run to the Yankee totals, and giving Mo yet another statistic: 1 RBI (or, as Big League Stew noted, 2,296 behind Aaron). Not to overload this post with quotes, but...I laughed out loud (only funny because it's tuh-rue) at Craig Calcaterra's comment:

Francisco Rodriguez gave it up, which in some cosmic way illustrates the vast gulf between those two pitchers in my mind. How do you walk Mariano Rivera? Nerves is all I can think, and you can bet your ass that if the situation was reversed, Rivera would never have walked Rodriguez, because Rivera's body temperature runs at a constant 57 degrees.

Rivera (the other #42) then went on to do what he does best: sending batters to bed, earning his 500th save in the process.

His reaction? After hugging every teammate and coach, he had to go speak to the press. He was nothing but class, of course. "I don't play for the records, I play for the Yankees."

He's simply the best.

Monday Movie Wrap-Up

One of the things that was bugging me about this blog just before that breather, was the number of TV shows/movies/books I was talking about/reviewing (not that many of these are real reviews, just blurbs) about. But it's something to talk about, and I've been told they're occasionally helpful. So I'm going to restrict myself to a weekly (maybe bi-weekly) post about some of the movies I've watched over the past week--unless there's something mind-blowingly great or so freakishly horrific that I think warrants it's own post. I do not promise that these are exhaustive lists of what I've watched, for those keeping score at home, there's one movie I watched last week that I'm reticent to admit I've seen in public.^*

First up is Kenny, a tremendously funny, very endearing film about a portaloo^** plumber. Kenny's one of seemingly ever-increasing number of mockumentaries. It's so well made, however, I kept forgetting that it wasn't a documentary about a very real person. Kenny is an everyman of sorts, fairly content with his lot in life, who has a certain pride in his work--which is unfathomable to just about everyone he comes into contact with--clients and family, particularly the latter. Whether addressing the camera or those he interacts with, Kenny comes across as a genuinely nice guy with a decent dose of common sense and a very quick wit.

The comedy kicks into high-gear when his employer (Splashdown) sends him to the International Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville, TN (Kenny refers to it as "Poo HQ"). Kenny just wanders around and riffs on the exhibits and products. But there is a real story here, it's not just a collection of toilet humor (pun intended), and one with a lot of heart.

Grade: B+/A-

The Life of David Gale wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and while it wasn't shy about it's anti-capital punishment agenda, there was enough of a plot that you could ignore it. Not a fantastic plot, but a decent one. Here's the set-up, reporter Kate Winslet is assigned to interview David Gale (Kevin Spacey), a former professor/anti-capital punishment activist, in the days before he's executed by the state of Texas for a rape/murder. Gale claims to have been framed, of course, and Winslet soon finds herself in a race to find the framer(s) before he's executed.

It's a decent movie, with a can see it coming a mile-away "shocker" ending. Not the best work I've seen from Spacey, Laura Linney, or Winselt--it's probable that it's the best I've seen from Rhona Mitra, who was able to hide her accent capably. A good way to kill a couple of hours, but little more.

I toss this out for those who've seen it: Roger Ebert said in his review, "I am sure the filmmakers believe their film is against the death penalty. I believe it supports it and hopes to discredit the opponents of the penalty as unprincipled fraudsters." Which made me happy to see I wasn't alone in thinking this. What did you think?

Grade: C

I only sat through 1408 because it was on at work, and I had little choice. Not a horrible horror flick, and Cusak owns the screen throughout as a skeptical writer who's out to debunk a myth about a haunted room. Really not sure why he agreed to this (other than to help fund some of his smaller, worthy, projects). Not terribly bad for a horror flick--overly gross, a few legitmate thrills, and the plot does move in a few unexpected ways. Samuel L. Jackson is capable the few moments he's on screen, and the movie does answer the question I'm sure someone has long been asking, "How would Mary McCormack look with brown hair?"


Grade: B- (a lesser actor than Cusak would've earned it a C- at best)

Lastly, we have Inkheart, based on what I'm told is a really good novel about a man who's able to bring characters/things from books to life just by reading aloud. Fraser (the reader in question) has to use his ability to save his family (and the world) from some escaped fictional villains.

It was a fast-paced movie that tried really hard to be great. The book's obvious love of words, novels, and the realm of the imagination are on fully display for every viewer (which is just a little like "a free ride when you've already paid"). This is one you can sit down and watch with the kids (and you'd probably be better off doing so than watching alone).

There are a few beefs: the villains are mostly too cartoonish and bumbly to take as a credible threat, the plot meanders a bit, and Fraser's the only guy without an accent (making him stick out like Costner in Sherwood Forest).

The movie makes a couple of significant departures from the book. One I could spot from reading the back of the novel's sequel, another I was told about (a significant supporting character from classic lit is replaced with another significant supporting character). Both are very understandable and forgivable if you think about this as a single movie with budget restrictions, not the beginning of a franchise.

Grade: B

^* it was PG-13, so spare me the obvious jokes. Unless they're really funny.
^** translated into American: port-a-potty

Thought for the Lord's Day - #40

The greater God's gifts and works, the less are they regarded. The highest and most precious treasure we receive of God is, that we can speak, hear, see, etc.; but how few acknowledge these as God's special gifts, much less give God thanks for them. The world highly esteems riches, honor, power, and other things of less value, which soon vanish away, but a blind man, if in his right wits, would willingly exchange all these for sight. The reason why the corporal gifts of God are so much undervalued is, that they are so common, that God bestows them also upon brute beasts, which as well as we, and better, hear and see. Nay, when Christ made the blind to see, drove out devils, raised the dead, etc., he was upbraided by the ungodly hypocrites, who gave themselves out for God's people, and was told that he was a Samaritan, and had a devil. Ah! the world is the devil's, whether it goes or stands still; how, then, can men acknowledge God's gifts and benefits? It is with us as with young children, who regard not so much their daily bread, as an apple, a pear, or other toys. Look at the cattle going into the fields to pasture, and behold in them our preachers, our milk-bearers, butter-bearers, cheese and wool bearers, which daily preach unto us faith in God, and that we should trust in him, as in our loving Father, who cares for us, and will maintain and nourish us.

- Martin Luther