Checking In

Wow. i thought summer break would make me more inclined to start writing on here. That turned out not to be true. See, i only like to write a blog, for everyone in the world to see, after i've somehow been challenged in my thoughts, or observe something cool in a show or a movie or a book, and then i process it and end up with a conclusion. That way, a somewhat fully formed set of ideas show up on here.

But so far this summer, i haven't been doing a whole lot. i've spent plenty of time with entertainment, watching tv shows online and movies on the DVR. i thought i had a job lined up at the Pentagon this summer, but that fell through, so i've been applying for jobs - haven't heard anything yet, but i'm holding out hope.

Since i don't really have anything to let your minds digest, here's a bit of what i've been up to:

Read:

• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman (this didn't really open my eyes to a whole lot i didn't already know about ehrman, or anything that really challenges my faith a whole bunch, which is why i didn't write a post about it - check it out for yourself, and see what you think)
  

Reading:

• Justification by N.T. Wright (for Ben White's reading group. i'm taking part by email, except i haven't actually emailed any thoughts yet. i'm waiting for Wright to get to the point - right now, i can't really figure out what he's saying, or what Piper said, so i'm just trying to take it in as best as i can until ch. 4, which is actually about justification.)
• Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin

About to start reading:

• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

TV shows i've been watching bits and pieces of so far this summer:

• Mad Men
• 24
• The Shield
• True Blood
• Entourage
• The Practice
• Pushing Daisies
• Sports Night

i've also started reading Jeremiah and Luke, and will continue through those over the course of the summer.

and oh, i watched the Tony Awards on sunday, and i'm glad Billy Elliot did so well - i saw it in London, and it really is a great show. Next month i'll be going to the Kennedy Center to see The Color Purple and hopefully Spring Awakening. Because musicals are freaking sweet. deal with it.

Okay, that's a basic update on my summer. feel free to get in touch, ask questions about the shows or books, and please pray for me to get a job! i need both the money, and to get off my butt and do something this summer.

alchemy

on earth, where moth and rust
destroy, all things we
touch turn to virus,
sour blood red orange acid,
oxidizing my iron so it can't
sharpen anything else.
like a crippled king midas,
with no one to chide us -
where was the treasure before
the gold? can't remember.
now all we see is our
reflection in a shiny shallow
surface.
and the acid virus corrodes,
and my iron heart implodes.
stop the blood pumping, the
oxidation is my oxygenation -
they're the same thing,
one's just a bit lukewarm,
but i can take it.
as long as i'm fed my acid
virus vitamins by my reflection
in the gold, i can ignore the
rust below the surface
scratching, grating, weathering
my insides,
eroding my hots,
my colds,
leaving the sludge that's
left when the steam
disappears
from this earth, where moths destroy.
where time is all our enemy
unless we're counting down instead
of up.
unless.
unless.
we give it back.
reject the virus.
spew it from our mouths,
melt our reflection in the gold,
pour it into a new mold,
white hot heat
to form a new treasure.
finding value in the rust,
the sharper insides we can trust.
stop pointing our fingers assigning
worth, stop touching
creation with out alchemy.
gold sharpens nothing but
our narcissism,
but the immune system of
three bodies is not easily broken.
on earth where rust endures
more than flesh, where flesh
itself is lukewarm, destroyed
by the acid, attacked by the
virus - but our rusty hearts,
those are the parts that aren't
destroyed. what does ruse do
to rust? nothing. but wait out
the storm, as the temperature
goes higher.
and the fever breaks, and we break,
and our hearts break. and the
dams on our tears break, and all
those salty splinters come out,
and king midas is a peasant.
and his treasure is gone.
but it took the virus with it.
and his new treasure, his plight,
serves all - the anti-biotic of purpose.
the beauty in a brown-gray
moth, the healing powers
of rust blood on its wings,
these are what midas wants to
touch - and his dirt-covered
fingers now cleaner than
he ever saw them before,
leaving the earth, learning
his worth, as moth and rust
destroy around
about outside
west eastside
north southside
but not ever again inside
his sharpened iron heart.

If I Picked the Winners

i know i haven't been around in a while, but i felt like putting this up. The Oscars are tonight, and i've had a lot of trouble with my predictions. i simply don't want to admit that certain things are likely to win because there are something i think deserve it more. So here is my ideal winners list, if only i picked them. The only nominated films i've not seen are The Visitor (nominated for best actor, Richard Jenkins), Defiance(nominated best music score, James Newton Howard), and Bolt (nominated for best animated feature).

Picture - The Reader. i know Slumdog Millionaire is supposed to win, but this one really stuck with me for a few days after watching it. It actually affected me, and it's not terribly easy for movies to do that.

Actor - Sean Penn in Milk. i'd be fine if Mickey Rourke wins, but i lean just a little towards Penn on this one. i've got a feeling, though, that if i see The Visitor i might be pulling for Richard Jenkins. But tonight i'm with Penn.

Actress - Kate Winslet in The Reader. Because she deserves it, frankly. i think it's the best performance in the category. Melissa Leo is a fairly close second (and there are apparently some murmurs of an upset from her tonight), but for me, it's gotta be Winslet.

Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Again, because he deserves it. as much as i loved Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder, Ledger is simply amazing here.

Supporting Actress - Viola Davis in Doubt. By far the most difficult role in the film, and she nailed it. i'll be okay if Penelope Cruz wins for Vicky Christina Barcelona, but Davis takes her ten minutes on screen and makes the movie work.

Director - Danny Boyle

Original Screenplay - Milk (though i'd love to see Wall-E win it)

Adapted Screenplay - Slumdog Millionaire (or i wouldn't mind Doubt, but that won't happen)


Now we're gonna get into the technical and artistic categories. Some of them are more obvious than others, but again, these are just gonna be the ones i think deserve it most.


Cinematography - The Dark Knight

Editing - The Dark Knight (Slumdog Millionaire is a close 2nd)

Art Direction - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Costume Design - The Duchess (or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Makeup - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Score - Wall-E. i know Slumdog is the frontrunner, but i love this score, and think it does more for the movie than Slumdog's score. for instance, the first 20-30 minutes of Wall-E have no dialogue - the music has probably half the responsibility in carrying the story along, and it does it almost without even letting you know it's there. it's such a naturally integrated part of the movie, and i think it deserves this one because of it.

Song - "Down to Earth" from Wall-E. i just like the song a little better, and i kind of want Wall-E to get as many as it can, but i won't be devastated if "Jai Ho" from Slumdog wins, just as long as it's not "O Saya."

Sound - The Dark Knight (or Wall-E)

Sound Editing - The Dark Knight (or Slumdog Millionaire)

Visual Effects - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Animated - Wall-E


That's what i want to happen. Deal with it.