Keeping healthy
It's been awhile since I've made time for things that give me life, that aren't necessarily 'productive' but are highly conducive to my spiritual, mental and emotional health--things as simple as reading a book, or going to see a movie, or discovering new music. I realized that I needed to build a little more of that into my schedule, and with the extra time afforded me by my sports injuries (from which I'm recovering), I've been able to indulge a little.
Books
Between Two Worlds, John W. Stott. A great and classic resource on preaching; insightful and wise. Stott's been a spiritual mentor of mine and a favorite theologian, and when I read books of his like this one, I feel his passing all the more keenly.
Kissing Outside the Lines, Diane Farr. A funny, touching and insightful look at inter-racial relationships, sparked by an encounter between a Korean-American named Seung and Farr (a well-known actress). I guess it sort of validated a lot of the thoughts and feelings I'd had about inter-racial relationships, including ones that I'd been in.
LeadershipNext, Eddie Gibbs. Examining what leadership--particularly in the church--looks like as we launch into the 21st century. Gibbs is a professor at Fuller Seminary, and has been involved with a number of emerging church movements. In reading this, I was glad to see that we at The District Church are already living out a lot of the things he said would be needed to thrive.
A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin. I'm re-reading this fantastic work of fiction in light of the HBO series whose first season just finished, and also the latest installment, "A Dance with Dragons," that just came out. When I first read this, years ago, I couldn't handle it. The bad guys weren't clear; the good guys weren't clear; I didn't know who I was supposed to root for. But reading it again last year, having the benefit of a few years of age, wisdom and maybe a dose of realism, I was able to appreciate that there aren't easy answers, it isn't a black-and-white world, and that not everyone you care about lives to see the happy ending. A fantasy-fiction series for a post-modern world.
Movies
Captain America: The First Avenger.
A riproaring adventure, a fun comic book adaptation, an enjoyable ride. Definitely, definitely, definitely had its cheesy, "ra-ra America" moments (a.k.a. Team America moments), but on the whole, I had fun. Chris Evans did a great job as Cap, Tommy Lee Jones was hilarious--as usual when he's trying to be, e.g. Men in Black--and it set the scene well for next summer's blockbuster adventure, The Avengers, which you get a preview of at the end of the credits--so exciting!!
Cowboys & Aliens.
Cowboys? Cool. Aliens? Cool. Combined? A boy's dream. Lots of shooting and explosions, two generations of leading men (Harrison Ford--sorry, dude--and Daniel Craig), and Olivia Wilde? Entertainment. I'm not going to dissect this, or talk about postcolonialism, or even how it could've been a better movie. It was a good and fun and entertaining enough for me! Thanks to Jon Favreau, who's really showing his directing chops--with this, the Iron Man movies, and Elf, the guy's got some talent.
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. In the story of a middle-aged man whose life falls apart around him, Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone light up a fantastic script--at turns heartwarming, gut-wrenching, painful, hilarious, sad, frustrating, and laugh-out-loud funny. Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei provide some stellar support, and welcome to the big screen, Analeigh Tipton! I went on the basis of my friends' recommendations, and I'm telling you now: go see it.
Music
Zonoscope, Cut Copy. Fun indie, electronic music. Thanks to JY for the recommendation.
Bon Iver, Bon Iver. All my friends (hipster and otherwise) had been raving about this. And it's warranted. My first taste of Bon Iver's music, and it's a good one.
10,000 Reasons, Matt Redman. The latest offering from a Christian music stalwart, Matt continues to write songs that speak for a new generation. Love the guy's heart.
Strip Me, Natasha Bedingfield. This actually came out last year, but I only got it this summer. Natasha's always got a way of making me smile with her music. So much love for her.
Prince of Persia (2010) and Racebending
Just got home from watching the new Prince of Persia, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley. For a movie based on a video game, it was decently entertaining. I think it helped that I went in with loooooooooow expectations. Apart from the fact that it's based on a video game (there aren't very many video games that have made a good transition to the screen), it also had Jake Gyllenhaal (who's a great actor) doing a British accent. You could tell it was based on the game, from the wall-leaping to the sand-dagger-rewind-trick.
But I guess what disturbed me (in addition to the wobbly British accent--why are Persians speaking with English accents?! Better than American, I suppose--and the often-clunky dialogue and paper-thin plot) was the fact that it's a movie set in Persia (modern-day Iran), with leads who are white (Ben Kingsley's part-Gujarati Indian so he gets a pass). Like I said, Jake's a great actor, and Gemma is beautiful, but ... really?
How about Sarah Shahi (below)?
Plus, among the previews were The Last Airbender and The Karate Kid. From Avatar's Wikipedia entry: "Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world of Chinese martial arts and elemental manipulation." So, naturally, you have young Noah Ringer playing the lead Asian character (Aang). And seriously, if you want to remake TKK but you change the form of martial arts and set it in China, maybe you should rename it to The Kung Fu Kid, since one is Japanese and the other is Chinese. Sigh ... racebending gets me all het up.
P.S. On the way out, Ryan and I were overrun by a stampede of X-chromosomes on their way to Sex and the City 2. Seriously, not a guy in sight.
The Book of Eli and the Word of God
Yesterday, I went and watched the new Denzel Washington movie, The Book of Eli. Denzel--who remains one of my favorite actors--stars as a mysterious wanderer, Eli, who journeys across post-apocalyptic America bearing a sacred book.
I'm not gonna say much more than that about the plot--I'd rather you go see it yourself. I enjoyed the sterling performances from Denzel, as well as from the supporting cast of Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, and Jennifer Beals; and I thought the story was nuanced and well-adjusted enough to avoid heavy-handedness or preachiness.
When you've gone and seen it, then we can talk about what it says about humanity, what it says about God, etc., etc. For now ... I'm just gonna tell you to go see it. Here's the trailer to pique your interest:
And on a related note, the movie reminded me of the importance of Scripture: of reading, speaking and hearing the Word of God. Hearing Denzel Washington reciting Psalm 23 was pretty sweet.
Links of the Day, January 13
News
- A 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti yesterday. Check out pictures here and here. (Warning: some disturbing images.)
- Afghan civilian deaths were up in 2009.
- Google may pull out of China!
Miscellaneous
Links of the Day, January 6
News
- Google releases a phone: Boing Boing looks at the Nexus One.
Politics
- Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has cut back on her anti-Census rhetoric recently ... maybe since figuring out that if Minnesota loses a district, it looks likely to be hers.
Miscellaneous
- Chuck returns this coming Sunday; its star, Zachary Levi, gave an awesome interview about his Christian faith to Relevant Magazine back in October, and is on their cover this month. Adam Young, aka Owl City, is also in this month's Relevant.
- 2009 marked the first time Facebook went "mainstream" among all racial/ethnic groups.
- Avatar = Pocahontas. (But I already knew that, didn't you?)
