Thursday, May 25, 2006
Some Bizarre Random Things.
Cate Blanchett is one of several actors (including Heath Ledger and Richard Gere) who will portray Bob Dylan during different stages of his life in a new biopic by director Todd Haynes. Yes, you read that correctly. This is just wrong on so many levels, especially since I like both Bob Dylan and Cate Blanchett. (Although, it does introduce the possibility for a Bob Dylan vs. Galadriel match in this year's upcoming Super Archetype Slapdown Tournament...)
This is Elvis Presley's cell phone. For real.
I had no idea that this existed, but apparently in 1999, Ben Stiller directed a tv pilot called "Heat Vision and Jack", a show about astronaut Jack Austin (played by Jack Black), whom sunlight gives incredible intellect, and his talking motorcycle Heat Vision (voiced by Owen Wilson), on the run from NASA hitman/actor Ron Silver (played by Ron Silver), and also featured appearances by both Stiller and his wife and the late character actor Vincent Schiavelli. It never aired. Here's the whole 30-minute episode:
Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lWgXDOAJ5s
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, geek stuff
Monday, May 08, 2006
Stop Going Away!
Things have started disappearing lately, and it's made me kinda mad.
Chambers Guitars in Cool Springs. A fun little guitar store that was located right beside Baja Fresh. Used to, I could run by there during lunch, play around a bit, then go next door and get a fajita burrito. It's now gone, replaced by a beauty salon for trendy rich elementary school kids or something. There's still one in Nashville, but not during my lunch break. Goodbye, Chambers Guitars, I will miss you.
Guitar Heaven in Hickory Hollow. Another fun guitar store that has beaucoups of random guitar parts for guitar projects. It has moved to Murfreesboro. Goodbye, Guitar Heaven, I will miss you.
Wild Noodles. Where I went to get the wonderful chicken thai curry dish. This one is strange in that it didn't really go anywhere (well, maybe downhill). First, they replace the Coke fountain with a Pepsi fountain. Fine, I can handle Pepsi with my thai curry, plus at least they still had fresh-brewed ice tea. Then, they replaced the fresh-brewed ice tea with from-concentrate lipton crap. Fine, I can still handle Pepsi with my thai curry. BUT NOW! they've removed the thai curry from the menu. Goodbye, Wild Noodles, I feel like I don't know you anymore.
Labels: life
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Some Brief Reviews.
Grendel by John Gardner. This 1971 novel is sort-of a retelling of the epic poem Beowolf (well, sort of a pastiche), told in first-person from Grendel's perspective. Told in very modern English, it recounts how Grendel went from being simply a wild beast to a man-hating monster that ravaged the countryside, and the nihilism that grew in his heart.
Kung Fu High School by Ryan Gattis. I expected this novel to be more of a parody, but found it to be a rather violent account of life in a school completely overrun by gangs and drug-dealers. Actually, one of the most violent books I've read in a long time. At The Good Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King High School (more commonly known as Kung Fu High School), everybody ends up in one of a half-dozen gangs just to survive. Everybody gets beat up on their first day, and everybody learns some form of martial art in order to protect themselves, in addition to wearing pieces of make-shift homemade body armor under their clothes along with various bladed weapons. All is status quo until the kung fu champion Jimmy gets transferred there.
Firefly and Serenity by Josh Whedon. This short-lived tv series and its follow-up movie explore the concept of the Space Western. Created by the same guy that wrote Buffy the Vampire-Slayer and Alien Resurrection, the show centers around the cargo-ship Serenity and its small crew. On the losing side of an interplanetary civil war, former solier Malcolm Reynolds and his crew take whatever legal or slightly illegal job that they get in order to survive, and avoid Alliance trouble along the way. The show had several good things going for it: good actors, memorable characters, and very clever writing. Unfortunately, it was stuck on a tv network that hated it and made sure it was cancelled as soon as possible.
Confessions of a Reformission Rev. by Mark Driscoll. Mark Driscoll recounts his adventures in planting Mars Hill Church in Seattle back in the 90s, and all the mistakes he made and the heartaches they went through as it went from a church of a few dozen people to over 5,000. Both humble and sarcastic, it's sure to offend someone within all of the traditional, contemporary, and emerging camps. Very interesting is his account of how he discovered reformed theology, and had to distance himself from what has now become the Emergent movement, because of their drift from orthodox truths (when trying to explain the movement, many of the footnotes will say something like "for an example, see page X of Brian McLaren's book So-and-So. For a biblical perspective, see page X of John Piper's book So-and-So", haha.) Very funny is his self-aware lack of tact (which he admits is a problem) when trying to counsel people who wake up him at 3am - "You need to stop watching porno and crying like a baby afterward and grow up man. I don't have time to be your accountability partner, so you need to be a man and nut up and take care of this yourself. A naked lady is good to look at, so get a job, get a wife, ask her to get naked, and look at her instead. Alright?" (and apparently the guy did). Anyway, it's both a refreshing look at a humble man's heart for ministry, love for the truth of the Gospel, conviction to stand against heresy, and willingness to admit all the stupid mistakes he made, and a convicting book about what christians' roles in the local church should be.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts
Geek Update.
So, what's new in Star Wars Land? Well, for one, Lucas has finally broken down and decided to release the original trilogy in it's original form, much to the joy of those fanboys who feel that the special editions and the prequels have somehow stolen their childhood or something. I, for one, actually like the special editions. (Although it's cool to see Han shoot first.)
Some other news from Rick McCallum:
New Star Wars Animated Television Series
-Animated series will be released first, before live action show.
-Not the same style as past Clone Wars Cartoon
Live Action Television Series
-Shooting in Australia
-To be more dramatic, intense, darker, heavy duty
-May not go to television, mentions iPod, future "home" unknown
-Writing to start end of this year
-Starts shooting end of next year
Star Wars 3D
-The entire Star Wars saga re-released on the big screen in 3D.
Woohoo.
Sources:
• http://www.starwars.com/...
• http://www.theforce.net/...
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, geek stuff
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Photos. No Photos.
I had this idea about putting a bunch of random photos up on my blog, of my adventures from 2000-2005, then finally decided against it. Why? Dunno. Photos, especially photo albums, are weird. I mean, basically, they're just devices for helping your memory out, and you think, "Do I want to remember all this?" Sure, they were great memories, but at the same time I think about what an idiot I was back in the day, haha. Not that I've got it all figured out now, because I certainly don't. All that time I think about all the dumb decisions I made because my theology was still tainted by Finneyisms and weird fundy junk. "What if this decision isn't God's Will?" - as if I could know that. "Maybe if I pray harder, I'll get a word from the Lord." Knowing then what I know now, could I still have enjoyed those adventures? No. Not if they played out with the same results.
Oh, the freedom of grace and of the sovereignty of God!
Thank God for teachers (either directly or through books) that explained that while you can know some things about what God would have us do (as revealed in the Bible), you can't know God's step-by-step roadmap for your life (see James 4:13-17). We must live by faith. Faith that we can live by His Word, seek to please Him, and then the rest is negotiable. As Martin Luther said, "Love God and do as you please" - and God's desires will gradually become our desires. Grace - not antinomianism, but freedom from legalism. And the freedom to get on with things.
And so, thinking about the past brings recall of all the decisions I'd have made differently. Maybe I'd have moved to California. Maybe I'd have joined that one band after all (okay, well, maybe not). But God is sovereign, and He has a plan (even if He doesn't share all the details with us). God allowed me to think the way I did so that I would make the decisions I made to bring me to the point where I am now. For what purpose? I don't know. Well, in general, I do: His Glory. Specifically, I don't know. But there are no what-ifs. Dwelling on regrets seems pointless, almost like a lack of faith in God to accomplish His purpose. Never before did Romans 8:28 seem so true: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
It also reminds me of when I began to overcome my shyness in order to make dozens and dozens of friends. I finally realized that a few hundred shallow friendships (not meant pejoratively) are really hard to keep up with, and gradually I found I maintain a deeper friendship with maybe a dozen people, and so photos remind me of all the people I've lost track of. (And then there's MySpace where I can send my other two hundred friends a bulletin and avoid the formalities.) But the really bad part now is a lack of interest in meeting new people, because they'll just fall by the wayside too. If I decide "Is this a person I'd really like to hang out with a lot?", then I'll usually make the effort. How selfish of me. Actually, that's not always quite what happens. It's a weird tension. I'll make the effort to meet people, but not always make the effort to deepen the relationship because I figure they'll be gone soon as well. Which is dumb, because of course they be gone sometime or another, but we should be thankful for the meaningful friendships that we do have, when we have them. I guess memories are there for a reason.
Anyway, if you really want to see all my photos, you can ask me to see the hardcopies in person. :)
Labels: life
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Keef: "Wha' happened?"
In the words of legendary roadie Del Preston, "Keef cannot be killed by conventional weapons..."
In the past week, while in Fiji, Keef Richards fell out of a palm and got a concussion, was released from a New Zealand hospital, had some sort of jetski mishap, and may require drilling into his skull to release fluid and alleviate pressure. Also, there was a tsunami warning for New Zealand where he is (now cancelled).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060502/ap_en_mu/people_richards_4
Labels: society
Mixtape #3
Here's a new mixtape for you guys and girls. It's a nice variety of new stuff, old stuff, rock stuff, laid-back stuff, serious stuff, and goofy stuff. Enjoy!
01. "Out Here All Night" — Damone
02. "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" — Arcade Fire
03. "Carnival" — The Cardigans
04. "The Search" — Dolorean
05. "Night Birds" — Ryan Adams
06. "Carolina Rain" — Ryan Adams
07. "Color Bars" — Earlimart
08. "Wandering the Fields" — IDAHO
09. "Untitled #1" — Spain
10. "Banditos" — Refreshments
11. "Walk-Don't Run" — The Ventures
12. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" — Ennio Morricone
13. "Precious (U.S. Radio Version)" — Depeche Mode
14. "My Spirit Will Go On" — DragonForce
15. "Only (andy scates' surf mix)" — Nine Inch Nails
You can go to iTunes and get these (although the last two you can get for free; info follows). Please note that Track 15 is not without sarcasm. :)
Free songs:
Track 14 - http://www.myspace.com/dragonforce
Track 15 - http://www.myspace.com/ninsurfmix
Labels: music
