Vivere Pericoloso

Still the Fairest of Them All

2009-09-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

So last night I experienced a real treat. My friend Carly and I decided to go see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the big screen. Yes, that's right, Walt Disney's 1937 masterpiece that launched the animation movement into the next dimension of awareness and respect. What had been relegated to short cartoons for the kiddies shown before the actual feature film finally came of age in 1937. Walt Disney had this crazy idea, a belief that people would come and sit through an entire feature length film that was animated.

Critics at the time scoffed at the idea, some referring to the film as "Disney's Folly" predicting it's failure. No one had ever attempted anything on this scale before. Would it succeed? Would it find an audience? Was Walt Disney but a flash-in-the-pan? Sitting at the El Capitan Theatre (pictured above) in downtown Hollywood, California, I reflected before the film began about how growing up this was the first film I ever saw in theaters. I was born in 1985 and right before I turned 3 my parents took me to the Alabama theatre to see the 1987 50th Anniversary screening of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I don't remember it (in fact, the first film I actually remember seeing in theaters was The Little Mermaid in 1989 when I was 4), but my parents told me that the wicked witch frightened me so much that when she turned into an old hag I crawled under the seat and cried. I somehow made it through the whole film though, and they tell me that whenever the dwarfs were on the screen I was bouncing and smiling in my seat. In the scene where the dwarfs sneak upstairs, conscious that someone is in their house, but unaware that it's Snow White, I reportedly said out loud multiple times, "They're SNEE-king mommy! They're SNEE-king!" Fitting that for my first movie I would go see the one that started it all...

Growing up in the 80's of course, Disney is a part of your childhood. You grow up in a world surrounded by his famous characters and most everyone I knew growing up went through the childhood right-of-passage of visiting Disneyworld or Disneyland at least once in their life. You just sort of take Disney for granted. But reflect for a moment on what it must have been like in 1937 to watch Snow White in it's original theatrical run... before Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, etc would follow, before Disneyland would be built, before television and The Wonderful World of Disney would be beamed into people's living rooms... through the hindsight of history of course we know what Disney became, but I wonder how many people in that original release, Walt himself included, could ever dream of what Disney would come to be and represent to millions of children (and adults) around the world.

It's exciting to think about and try to put your mind in that 1937 atmosphere and watch the film... WWII hadn't reached America yet, there was no television, not even Gone With the Wind had been made yet (try and wrap your mind around THAT one). What a magical experience this must have been. Even watching the film restored the other night, I couldn't help but marvel at how well it's held up after more than 70 years. The humor, the music, the characters... all timeless and just as charming and endearing as when they first made their way into the hearts of audiences everywhere way back when.

Now, with a film school education firmly beneath me, I was able to sit back and enjoy the film on even more levels, taking in the small technical details... the ripple effects when Snow White looks down into the wishing well, the use of the multi-plane camera to create depth in many of the shots, the richly colored cells, the simple hand-drawn magic of the characters, and the facial expressions and personalities given to each of the dwarfs and the forrest creatures just to name a few. All that timeless melding of color, motion, and music to tell a timeless story. To see the labor of love displayed on screen, from the matte painting backgrounds to the rich and full cell animation of the central characters, this film continues to inspire and blow me away ever time I see it and think about how much of a landmark in cinema history it is. I found myself laughing anew at the antics of Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Happy, Grumpy, Dopey, and Sneezy; once again remembering the terror of the sequence where Snow White gets lost in the woods and every tree morphs into an evil face. After 20 years, I still find myself singing along to the music and smiling throughout the film. If you live near Hollywood, it's still screening daily at the El Capitan theater for one more week on the big screen, ending on October 1st. I strongly encourage you to take your friends and family and relive the magic again. At my screening, all ages were present, from a very elderly couple on a date together (they were cutest couple of old folks ever too!) to little children experiencing the film for the first time.

In a few weeks, they will be releasing Snow White on Blu-Ray for the first time (October 6), as well as on DVD for the 2nd time since it's original platinum edition release in 2001. This after numerous theatrical re-issues, televised screenings, and VHS releases as well. I gotta hand it to Walt and his talented team of animators... watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tonight I had to think to myself, it's been over 70 years, and she's still the fairest of them all. ;-)

The Return

2009-09-24T23:22:00.000-07:00

So yeah... it's been like... um... 4 months since my last update. That's gonna change... right now. Read on faithful readers, Ben is back and blogging again! :-)

Every Grain of Sand...

2009-05-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

Well if any of you follow my blog regularly, (I think maybe there's like... ummm... one person other than me who qualifies), you've probably noticed a lack of posting as of lately. Here's what this means: I'm lazy. It doesn't mean I'm busy. Sadly, I would very much like to be busy, but thanks to the great tranquility of our current economy (sarcasm intended) I've been more or less unemployed and hard hit for money as of the last few months. On top of that, remember when Paul wrote in the New Testament (as opposed to all of his Old Testament writings I suppose - had to catch that before some of you wise guys did) about having a "thorn in his flesh?" Yeah? Well I got one of those... it's called a 1995 Nissan Maxima that has officially been taken into the mechanic for the "last time" about 4 times now over the course of the last 3 months... each time I take it in, I get hit with anywhere from $340 to $1260 in repair costs. Suffice it to say, Los Angeles eats cars alive with the horrible roads and constant driving everywhere, so yeah, Murphy's Law has been after me for the last few months in regards to my automobile. For those of you unacquainted with Murphy's Law... well... how should I explain it?... good for you. Ignorance is bliss.

So where does this leave me? Well as of today I've applied to a few job posting on craigslist and finally got my car out of the shop for the 4th time. What I hope this means is that we're about to see a change... and no, I'm in no way referencing or referring to Barrack Obama with that remark. I'm hoping that starting soon, things will begin to work together for my good. And here's the catch: I know they will. How do I know that? Because a few nights back I read through Ephesians... for those folks who stumbled upon this blog and are scratching their heads, it's in the Bible. Allow me to explain a little more. When you read through Ephesians, a few things "oughta' slap you upside the head" as my granddad would say. First, the precious promises of God. These aren't earthly promises folks. They don't get changed, altered, skewered, or come with strings attached. These are promises made to those whom God loves, to those He has called according to His rich mercy and love. I'm not always sure of a lot, but one thing I am sure of is this: God loves me. There's no better explanation for the fact that I'm still breathing. I know He certainly doesn't have to love me... He doesn't have to love any of us. But for whatever reason that is beyond my comprehension, God chose me before the foundations of the earth were laid as someone He would love, and I can take that to the bank.

Reading through Ephesians 2 might be the best remedy ever devised for feeling frustrated and anxious. It really hammers home a few things: 1) It's not about me... I didn't do anything to earn or gain this favor and love... in fact, I ran from it as an enemy of God. 2) It's all about Him... His grace... His mercy... His love... poured out on undeserving sinners like you and me. 3) There was a terrible cost... his grace doesn't exist apart from his justice... someone had to pay. That someone was the one person who shouldn't ever have had to, his perfect son, Christ Jesus. 4) It's through these two things: the sheer grace of God and the ultimate costly sacrifice of Christ, that we are in fact reconciled to God... brought into His favor... more than that, we're actually made heirs and family members, adopted into His family! Read Romans 5 if you really want a kick in the head!

So yeah... I'm starting to ramble a little now, and I'm not trying to preach, that's not my area of strength by any means. I only know that ever since reading through Ephesians, my mind has been consumed with the love of Christ and the power of the gospel, and not as tied up by my current situation out here of not having a job, a perfect car, etc. Has my situation out here changed? On the outside, not at all. But in my soul, I've been reawakened to the beauty of the gospel and God's love for me, and also been rudely awakened to the fact that I need to do a much better job of repenting and confessing and being a good deal more thankful than I am now for what I have been given. As my understanding of my sin increases, my understanding of God's love, mercy, grace, and righteousness also grows. Charles Spurgeon once said "If your sin is small, then your Savior will be small also. But if your sin is great, then your Savior must be great." Well I know my Savior is great... Ephesians (and the rest of the Bible) screams this with every verse... so what's that tell me about my sin? Uh yeah... time to hit my knees folks. I've no more got it together than any of you reading this.

So yeah... I'm not gonna lie, things aren't exactly fluffy little bunny rabbits and fields of golden daffodils right now, but you know what? Who said they should be? If they were, I probably would be living in ignorance right now more than ever. All this to say, sometimes God uses dark brush strokes to paint his masterpiece, and we can't be scared to face those dark times. This is still the same God who can silence the wind and waves with a simple command, and as rough as it may get sometimes, He has promised to never let us go... to close, I'd like to call up two songs. For one, I'm reminded of the children's song I used to sing growing up, "He's Got The Whole World in His Hands"... man, how often do we "grow up" and leave behind our child-like faith when in fact we had the truth and understanding right there in front of us? Seriously... He's got the whole world in his hands folks. It wasn't like He dropped it when the stocks fell. It still answers to Him and Him alone, as He is the sole Creator with power of his creation. It's got the scars of sin, sure, but it's still a beautiful world in many ways... Just because it's dark doesn't mean we should give up. As long as we're here, we're called to grow. Yes, this world is not our home, but we're still ambassadors here for the time being, temporarily being used to grow and impact the kingdom of God, and it's time we learned to act as such.

The other song I'd like to reference I'll simply close with here... the source may not be what you'd expect, but then again, if God could use a talking donkey, then don't be so quick to throw this guy out. You've probably heard of him... he goes by the name Bob Dylan. Check out his lyrics to "Every Grain of Sand" below and you may be surprised... I for one think he hit the nail right on the head here:

In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need

When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed

There's a dyin' voice within me reaching out somewhere,

Toiling in the danger and the morals of despair.

I don't have the inclination to look back on any mistake

Like Cain, I now behold the chain of events that I must break.

In the fury of the moment I can see the Master's hand

In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand.

Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear,

Like criminals, they have choked the breathe of conscience and good cheer.

The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way

To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay.

As I gaze into the doorway of temptations angry flame

And every time I pass that way I always hear my name.

Then onward on my journey I have come to understand

That every hair is numbered just like every grain of sand.

I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night

In the violence of a summer's dream, in the chill of wintry light,

In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space,

In the broken mirror of innocence in each forgotten face.

I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea

Sometimes I turn, there's someone there, other times it's only me.

I am hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan

Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand...

Satisfied

2009-04-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

All my life long I had panted

For a drink from some cool spring

That I hoped would quench the burning

Of the thirst I felt within

Hallelujah He has found me

The one my soul so long has craved

Jesus satisfies all my longings

Through His blood I now am saved

Feeding on the filth around me

Till my strength was almost gone

Long my soul for something better

Only still to hunger on

Poor I was and sought for riches

Something that would satisfy

But the dust I gathered 'round me

Only mocked my soul's sad cry

Well of water ever springing

Bread of life so rich and free

Untold wealth that never faileth

My Redeemer is to me

It's Been A Long Silence....

2009-04-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering if I feel off a cliff or met my end to one of LA's street gangs, rest assured, I am alive and well... and busy. Sort of. While I may not always be working for money, I'm always in some way or another too busy to update my blog. But don't worry, it's all about to change... check back often! There will be lots of new posts soon, I promise!

Oscar Predictions

2009-02-21T15:06:00.001-08:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that for me, the biggest night in television isn't the Superbowl. Matter of fact, I pretty much hate the Super Bowl. No, for me, it's Academy Awards, which of course are lovingly called "The Oscars" by most folks. This year I've been living near Hollywood, and the buzz around this town come awards season is even more magnificent than it was back home or at college on the East Coast. I love trying to predict the Academy Awards as well, so now with roughly 12 hours to go before the statues are handed out, I'm gonna post my final thoughts and predictions on most all of the categories. I'm not even sure if you'll read this before the Awards actually do happen, but here goes:

Best Picture

What the critics are saying: Slumdog Millionaire

What I'm saying: Slumdog Millionaire

I've only seen this film in theaters 7 times, so I may be biased, haha, but I'll be darned if there's a better film out there (that also got nominated for Best Picture). If it had to go up against The Dark Knight or even Wall-E there might be some competition, but I don't see Benjamin Button, The Reader, Milk, or Frost/Nixon putting up much of a fight here. Expect the "little film that could" to finally get it's due, I'm calling Slumdog by a landslide. In the event that I'm wrong... Hmm... my second favorite of this bunch is actually Frost/Nixon, but I think if there's a film that could upset Slumdog, it would be Milk due to the political nature of the film and the awards. And by the way, if that happens, I will be severely upset for some time, because I HATED Milk.

Best Director

What the critics are saying: Danny Boyle

What I'm saying: Danny Boyle

By winning the DGA he's a safe lock in my opinion based on what little I know of the way the votes are cast. Plus, he's got the best film of the year (Slumdog Millionaire), and while there are exceptions to every rule, more times than not the film that goes all the way goes hand-in-hand with best director too. Kinda wish poor Christopher Nolan had been given a chance here... Dark Knight was awesome, and had much better directing than Milk and The Reader for sure...

Best Actor

What the critics are saying: split between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke

What I'm saying: Frank Langella

This is easily one of the closest calls in this category that we've ever seen... Call me crazy, but I have a hunch that Frank will get his due for his portrayal of a very unpopular president in Frost/Nixon. I know the tables are stacked against me as Mickey won the Golden Globe for The Wrestler and Sean won the SAG award for Milk, but everyone thought I was crazy last year as well when I said I thought Marion Cotillard would win Best Actress too. We'll see... I'm personally unmoved by Sean's performance, but I could easily see any of the three (Frank, Mickey, Sean) taking this one home. All of this is a real shame for Richard Jenkins, who gave a great performance in The Visitor. Oh well, it's nice to be nominated, right?

Best Actress

What the critics are saying: Kate Winslet

What I'm saying: Meryl Streep

I'll probably be wrong on this one, but quite simply put, I haven't seen The Reader (and I won't either, I've not heard good things from the majority of my friends whose opinions I trust). Whenever Meryl is nominated, it's a safe bet to vote for her, and of the performances I've seen, she's the strongest for her role in Doubt. I did like Changeling a lot, but I'm afraid this won't be Angelina's year.

Best Supporting Actor

What the critics are saying: Heath Ledger

What I'm saying: Heath Ledger

Do I even need to explain this one? He's the closest thing to a sure bet you're ever going to get at the Academy Awards for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. If he doesn't win, the world may very well be ending...

Best Supporting Actress

What the critics are saying: Penelope Cruz

What I'm saying: Viola Davis

A lot has been said about how hard this category is to predict. That being said, I'm not going to say Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona and instead say that I thought Viola Davis gave the best one scene performance of any move this year in Doubt. Will it be enough to get her the Oscar? We'll see... she may always split votes with co-star Amy Adams and there's always the notorious Marisa Tomei upset for The Wrestler (in my book though, just prancing around in the nude as she does for 90% of her role doesn't equal acting, so she doesn't even deserve the nomination)

Screenplay - Original

What the critics are saying: Milk

What I'm saying: Wall-E

Screenplay - Adapted

What the critics are saying: Slumdog Millionaire

What I'm saying: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Feature

What the critics are saying: Wall-E

What I'm saying: Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film

What the critics are saying: Waltz With Bashir

What I'm saying: My heart still says Israel's Waltz With Bashir is probably gonna walk away with this one, but be on the lookout for a little film called Departures from Japan... I'm just saying, it could happen... Also, France has The Class to potentially spoil things

Best Documentary

What the critics are saying: Man on Wire

What I'm saying: Man on Wire

Best Art Direction

What the critics are saying: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

What I'm saying: The Dark Knight

Best Cinematography

What the critics are saying: Slumdog Millionaire

What I'm saying: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Costume Design

What the critics are saying: The Duchess

What I'm saying: The Duchess

Best Film Editing

What the critics are saying: Slumdog Millionaire

What I'm saying: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Make-Up

What the critics are saying: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

What I'm saying: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (because I really want to one day tell someone they should watch "the Oscar winning film Hellboy 2: The Golden Army." Haha)

Best Original Score

What the critics are saying: Slumdog Millionaire

What I'm saying: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song

What the critics are saying: "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

What I'm saying: "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Mixing

What the critics are saying: The Dark Knight

What I'm saying: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Editing

What the critics are saying: Wall-E

What I'm saying: Wall-E

Best Visual Effects

What the critics are saying: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

What I'm saying: Iron Man or The Dark Knight

Best Documentary Short Subject

What the critics are saying: Smile Pinki

What I'm saying: I haven't seen any of these, so I have no clue

Best Live Action Short Subject

What the critics are saying: New Boy

What I'm saying: The Pig or Auf Der Strecke (On The Line)

Best Animated Short Subject

What the critics are saying: Presto

What I'm saying: Man, these were all excellent... I kinda lean towards La Maison en Petits Cubes, but also could easily see Lavatory - Lovestory and This Way Up taking it home.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Walt Disney Concert Hall

2009-02-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

So I finally got the chance last week to visit the Walt Disney Concert Hall. For the uninformed, it's the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and also one of the most uniquely designed buildings in LA. Envisioned by renowned architect Frank Gehry, the WDCH has been used in countless films and commercials (among them: Get Smart, Iron Man, Fracture, and the upcoming Robert Downey Jr./Jamie Foxx film The Soloist) and is a prominent land-mark here in Los Angeles. It's no secret that I'm in no way a student of classical music, but I do appreciate it, and along with ballet, opera, art museums, and other such "high-brow" artistic endeavors, I seek to learn more about it, and so for the longest time since moving here I've wanted to attend a concert inside the Hall. I only live a mile from this magnificent building, and after months of deliberation, I finally found myself presented with a free ticket to see a concert there. This wasn't just any concert either. Oh no. This was Jazz vocalist Patti Austin singing the Gershwin songbook, and she would be flanked by a big jazz band, including a small string section and also the essential jazz quartet set of piano, upright bass, and percussion. All in all, it was everything I could ask for.

The interior of the WDCH is every bit as elaborate and imaginative as the exterior, and the main hall itself is a pleasing array of wood carved seating areas and a massive pipe organ that practically defies geometry the way it protrudes from the wall. The acoustics are amazing, the seats are relatively comfortable (a little more leg room would have been nice) and all in all, it's an experience that every person who lives in LA or comes to visit for any amount of time should have at least once. The concert was awesome, albeit Patti couldn't resist making some obligatory political comments about how her new black president was gonna protect her from racist white folks like me and how the whole nation is going to hell thanks to Bush and his economy. Stick to the Gershwin Patti, that's what we're paying you for and what we came to see. I don't give two cents about you (or any other celebrities) political views. The best part of the evening (in my opinion) was when Patti was still back stage and the band opened with new version of the ever popular "Rhapsody in Blue". Magnificent. Music truly transcends all barriers...

Anyway, yeah, I'm gonna put a few pics with this post so you can see the beautiful concert hall as I saw it, and hopefully on your next visit here I can take you to hear the LA Philharmonic. Enjoy!

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The $1000 Tow Truck

2009-02-16T00:01:00.001-08:00

It's so cool to see how God works. This past week I got to experience what grace looks like in a very tangible, practical way. Living in LA you simply have to own an automobile. I guess you could use public transportation if you really wanted to, but this place is so spread out it's pretty much a given that you have to have a vehicle to hold down any kind of job here. As many of you know, I brought my old 1995 Nissan Maxima out here with me. Handed down to me by my father, this vehicle has a little over 181,000 miles on it and has been taken very good care of all things considered. As it so turns out, this past week was a trying one for the old Maxima.

I had just checked the mail and got a check for a little over $500 for my last job. Combined with the $200+ dollars I currently had stashed away, this would more than cover my rent for the month and also give me a little something to live off of for food and gas. Needless to say, I was excited. February has been rough, work has been nonexistent and the whole industry is slowing down like an overweight jogger who bit off more than he could chew by entering that marathon race. Anyway, I was in route to the Wells Fargo bank in Chinatown, which is my favorite branch for two reasons: It's the closest one to where I live, and the tellers there are so friendly... I'm actually pretty sure they are all in love with me because every time I go there they all clamor for my attention to go to their window, and then when I get there they all blush and say things in hushed and hurried Chinese. Back to the car: I was driving along, when I suddenly detected a shuddering sensation coursing through the frame of the vehicle. I knew this wasn't good, and could tell I was in trouble when I stepped on the gas and nothing happened. I started to involuntarily grind to a halt in the middle of the road, so I quickly turned off the iPod and AC to divert all remaining power from the battery to the engine to simply keep me running.

I swerved into a CVS parking lot and made it into a parking spot before my car just died out right there. I put it in park, pull out the key, count to ten, then try to crank it up again. Nothing. Uh oh. This isn't good. I'm supposed to meet a friend for a movie later that evening, and this isn't a good situation to be in... I find a guy who's kind enough to jump me off with some jumper cables. From there I'm off to the nearest mechanic, right? Wrong. I try to keep on rolling towards the library, where I have to return some materials before it's too late. I end up in the center lane of a 5 lane road, right at the intersection of Broadway and Caesar E. Chavez Blvd. (formerly Sunset Blvd.) trying to make a left turn on a green arrow. Right there my car decides to die again. Great. It's rush hour, I'm in the middle of a huge intersection and traffic is surrounding me on all sides. I'd like to especially thank the drivers at this point who speed by honking their horns, flipping my off, and cursing at me. Gee, thanks so much fellas. I sure do appreciate it, seeing as how I planned to do this you know... idiots. Ah well, gotta love LA.

I call my father and explain the situation, I'm upset because it's beginning to dawn on me that this will cost money to fix, and that's money I was about to deposit at the bank to pay my rent with. I can't jump the car off again, (I try with the help of another kind soul who pulls up next to me), whatever the case is, the battery isn't holding the charge at all. I can't push my car out of the intersection (I mean, I know I'm freakishly strong and all, but seriously, I'm one man and this is rush hour traffic on all sides here...) I'm going to have to get a tow truck either way, so I call a few different places. I found out that the LAPD is apparently running a racket with the tow truck companies, because the first guy I talk to wants $1000 to put my car on the back of his flat-bed truck to take me about a mile to the mechanic. Yes, there are three zeros after that one, and yes, I told him to forget about it and hung up on the fool. I wasn't born yesterday you know...

I end up finding a guy who will do it for $40. Looks like that's the best deal I'm gonna get, so I hesitantly agree and he tows me to Radi's Mechanic Service right off of where I live on Sunset Blvd. A few hours later I've walked home, leaving my precious vehicle in the clutches of a mechanic who I don't know for them to fix it. The next morning I get a phone call and they inform me that this will cost about $400 to fix. On one hand, I have the money. On the other, that was my rent money. This is one of those moments where you really want to wake up from a dream (more like a nightmare) but are troubled to find you are awake and this is reality. I sigh and tell them to go ahead, I mean, after all, I need that car to live and work out here.

Later that afternoon I pray. I pray hard. I need money to pay for this AND get me through the month, not one or the other. I hop on everyone's favorite social networking website (facebook!) and chat with a few friends. Within about 20 minutes I'm humbled to learn that God has provided someone who want to pay for my mechanic bill. Wow. You really can't begin to know how I feel. I mean, here I am, simply telling someone what I've been through when they ask me "what's up" and within a few minutes, they've offered to foot the bill for my frustrations. I never even asked them to or expected them to. Talk about a clear picture of grace. They didn't want me to pay them back - ever - they wanted to give me the money as a gift and cover all my expenses for me. Wow. God sure is awesome in the way He answers prayer. This one He happened to answer quickly, and I'm forever grateful for His providence and provision to meet my needs.

And to my secret benefactor, whose name remains a secret per their request, I hope the Lord continues to use you to bless others. Thank you so much for letting Him use you to bless me. I now have the car back and money in the bank just like the whole incident never happened. Talk about the goodness of the Lord... I feel that this is a little picture of what the gospel is like. We're given something we don't deserve from someone who certainly doesn't have to give it to us, and yet He does. We can't pay Him back, otherwise it ceases to be a gift. The struggle is to live freely in that grace, and not become a slave to the feeling of indebtedness and try to work our way to a point of paying back our benefactor. Once again, when that happens, it ceases to be a gift. We just have to realize that we're not in control of the giving, but must be obedient and grateful with a heart of praise in the receiving of such a gift. It's beautiful really. God used this individual to express His love and provision to me in a small way, in order to help me better grasp the big picture of just how great of a debt He has paid for us. Thanks be to God for his faithfulness...

To My Valentine...

2009-02-15T22:33:00.001-08:00

I struggled whether to post this yesterday or not, but decided to go ahead and put this up here anyway. Let my friends judge me if they want. I don't care. I'm not sure who you are, or even if you are. There are times when I feel that I'm called to a life of singleness, that perhaps the marriage train is just gonna pass me by, they I'll spend my days consumed with other things and never know the fellowship of an earthly helper suited for me. Part of me actually wants this, since by all accounts it may make certain stages and decisions in life a little easier if I didn't have you and your well-being to worry about. Truth is I feel more often that the opposite is true; that you do exist, and that's when things get freaky. I start asking myself if I've even met you yet, what you look like, and how our lives are going to intersect according to God's timing and purposes.

I'm not the kind of guy who gushes all of his insides out concerning relationships. I have my views that I express to those who are interested, sure, but I have a deeper level too, a reservoir of feelings and expressions of myself reserved just for you. One day I'll allow you inside that reservoir, but as I said, I'm not about to talk about some of that stuff here where the world can read it. That's special and only reserved for you.

I hope I can be the man I ought to be to win your heart. In fact, please don't settle for less. I know it won't be easy, but there are very few times in life that I have found that the right thing to do and the easy thing to do are the same thing. I'm scared to let you see my faults and weaknesses, even though I'm fully aware that I have them just like everyone else does. I like to appear like I have all the answers and everything together, so please bare with my stubbornness. I've still got a lot of growing pains to go through in the area of sacrificial love, to learn to care about someone or something more than myself. I humbly pray that I can be the man I know I'm called to be Biblically, to be there to serve, to protect, to provide, and to lead you in our relationship.

I pray for you all the time. Like I said, I'm not sure if you're someone I already know that I'll eventually discover I've fallen in love with or perhaps you're on the other side of the planet and we've not even met yet. Regardless, I pray for your purity. I want you to be attractive to me, and not because of your clothing or body or anything else that draws attention to yourself, but by your reputation and good works as a Godly woman. I realize that this is a tall order, but I'm swinging for the fences here. If you're that kind of woman, it will be a long hard road for me to win your heart, I realize that. But that's the kind of woman that's worth pursuing. One that doesn't attract the attention she deserves but instead she deflects it back to the source that gave it to her in the first place: the Lord.

As I said, I know I have miles to go before I'm qualified to handle your heart. In many ways I think I'm wise enough to know that at this point in my life, I'd be a terrible person to handle anyone's heart. Perhaps that's why I've stayed single my whole life up to now. Perhaps I'm still punishing myself for the mistakes of my past. Whatever the case, I know it's only by God's grace that every morning I'm able to wake up and claim that which I know to be true. I'm not even sure if any of this makes any sense or why you're still reading it. I guess I'm struggling to put into words what I imagine it will take a lifetime to express to you, both by words and actions. I fully acknowledge that we're going to have our ups and downs. I only pray for God to grant me the wisdom and understanding to properly handle those tough situations when they arise, and also to acknowledge the giver of life in those times when the going is good and we are blessed with plenty.

I truly feel like every day since my salvation has been a gift, and God willing, it will be a gift that I can one day share with you. For what it's worth, I can promise you that so long as God gives me the strength to do so, I will fight for you and for your love.

And yet, believe me when I claim that some of the hardest words I'll ever say are "I love you" since by all accounts I can never fully grapple and understand the source of such love, as much as I long to do so.

I believe in the sovereignty of God, and so until I get more comfortable sharing these kinds of thoughts, I'll just have to keep trusting that He's got all the strings in his hands, and He's weaving a masterful tapestry with our lives. Will our threads cross soon? Have they already begun to be woven together? Are they never destined to intersect? These are questions for which I do not yet have the answers. But I know the one who does, and so I will keep my eyes and heart fixed upon Him, in so much as he enables me to do so. I pray you will too. May He alone bring us together according to His plans and purposes, for the glory of His name and renown to the ends of the earth...

With my whole heart, found only in Christ,

Ben

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. Elevator Celebrity Sightings

2009-02-14T21:44:00.000-08:00

Man, what day is it today? Valentine's Day? It's been waaaaay too long since I updated this blog. I have no idea how many of you have been reading this, but if you're reading it now, thanks for sticking with me through the long dry spells there. I've been meaning to write more often, but for one reason or another haven't got around to it until now. So yeah, what's happened over the past month? Well... many of my friends constantly write and ask me if I've bumped into some celebrities around LA. I'm here today to tell you that I do, and it's always at the weirdest places. Like in elevators for example. Allow me to elaborate with a few examples:

A few weeks ago I was on a commercial shoot promoting the new Passport ID cards they (the Customs and Border Patrol people) are going to be issuing soon. It was a pretty cool shoot, we were up at a lodge in Calabasas (north of Malibu, a good way out of the way actually... haha) and we were making the place look like Canada, because that's what the script called for. So the art department guys are laying down all the fake snow and frosting up the windows. The actors were wearing heavy winter clothing (which is awesome in the warm temperatures of sunny California... more than once one of them reminded us how much they loved the layers they were wearing by using the most descriptive and colorful language possible. Gotta love these low-budget commercial actors. So civil, so polite all the time... ) Anyway, yours truly got the call to return a bunch of this clothing at the end of the shoot, and so I loaded up my Nissan Maxima (14 years running and still going strong!) and headed off to Warner Brothers to drop off the winter wardrobe. Seriously, my backseat was so full of overcoats and parkas that I'm pretty sure if you trying to crawl back there underneath it all you might end up in Narnia.

I pull up to the main gate and have to go through crazy security measures to get admitted (because you know, everyone wants to break into Warner Brothers Studios) and I drive onto the lot. Actually kinda a cool experience, not gonna lie, kinda geeked out a little bit and took a wrong turn on purpose so I'd drove around and see more of the place. Anyway, I find the costume and wardrobe department and pull into the parking garage. I take the elevator down to ground level and go all the way down to 24 hour pick-up to inform them that I have a bunch of returns. This place is like the biggest warehouse of clothing you could ever imagine. Girls, seriously, stop reading, close your eyes and imagine as many clothes as you possibly can... OK, now open your eyes and be very very jealous, because that's where I was. I got lost in the stacks of hangers and clothes everywhere... I felt my manhood slipping away with every step I took taking me deeper and deeper into this man-made (actually it had to be woman-made) hell.

Well I get down there and learn that I'm in the wrong location, so I have to find my way out of this ridiculous labyrinth of clothing and back to the ground level. From there I hop on an elevator to go back up and move my car around to where they told me to bring the returns, and I'm suddenly aware of a very large presence next to me on the elevator. I look over and have one of those "You've got to be kidding me" kinda moments. Standing next to me is Ken Davitian. If you're not familiar with the name, you're probably familiar with the roles: the guy is a character actor, and if you've seen Borat you'll instantly know that when I say he's the big fat guy named Azamat Bagatov who wrestles naked with Sacha Baron Cohen, you can't mistake this guy for anyone else. He's also in Get Smart as the dim-witted accomplice Shtarker who works for Terence Stamp's KAOS agent Siegfried. Needless to say, the guy is instantly recognizable, and I'm on an elevator with him. We make fleeting eye contact and ride in silence. When the doors open for the 3rd floor of the parking deck, he steps halfway out, looks around, then steps back in and shrugs. "I thought I was parked here" he says. I laugh and nervously reply "Yeah, I guess it's just one of those days huh?" He smiles. We strike up conversation as he tries to find his car, stopping at the next two floors and repeating his little exercise of poking his head out and not finding his vehicle. I never ask him for a photo or autograph, don't even tell him I know who he is, and he's a really normal, down to earth kinda guy in the end. Very cool. That was moment number 1 with a celebrity on an elevator, and it was just kinda awkward in retrospect because all I could think while talking to him is "Man, I've seen you naked on a giant screen before, and it's not pretty at all!" (And if you've never seen Borat, then steer clear unless you are prepared to see him naked.)

I leave Warner Brothers and go to the bank, and end up standing in line behind JJ Abrams, the guy who created Lost, Alias, and Fringe and the director of Mission Impossible 3 and this summer's upcoming Star Trek. I didn't know it was him for sure until he walked out and the teller said "Have a great day Mr. Abrams" Ahhh!! Curses! If I had known earlier, I would have totally tapped him on the shoulder and found out what the smoke monster really was, (which for those of you who don't watch Lost, you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain it). Anyway, that story doesn't take place in an elevator, but hey why not include it here? And that's the simplest and shortest one, because it really doesn't involve any interaction with the "celebrity" in question anyway...

My final celebrity sighting on an elevator goes as follows: This time I'm in Target, everyone's favorite place to go and get everything. I'm picking up some bottled water, toilet paper, and soap (only the essentials folks!). I go to check out and stand in line behind a very slender, tiny girl. She has her back to me, and a knit cap pulled down over her head, but I can clearly see some curls of red hair coming out from beneath it. I get a quick glimpse at the side of her face and can make out the profile of a small little cute nose and large engaging doe-eyes. Her phone starts to ring in her purse, she answers it and starts to talk with a voice that has a little Avril Lavigne accented-edge to it. Before long, my mind is racing, I know I've seen this face and heard this voice somewhere. Then it hits me, I know exactly who she is. I check out and walk away, and yet - what are the odds? - end up on the same elevator as her (if I said I didn't orchestrate that I would be guilty of lying) as we take our purchases down to the parking garage beneath the Target.

It's a very slow elevator, and so I hesitantly make eye contact and she gives me a little smile, those beautiful light brown eyes flashing in my direction. I open my mouth and start to talk before I can think of what exactly to say, but it comes out sounding something like: "Hey, you're that girl from those movies... We Are Marshall and Shooter... Are you the same girl? Your name is Kate Mara, right?" She smiles and actually lets out a little laugh, in hindsight she couldn't have been more friendly or polite, considering she's alone on an elevator with a strange guy like me. She nods and says "Yes, that's me." I kinda stumble through saying something like "Oh well, I don't wanna bother you, but I think you're a good actress and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future." She smiles and says "Aww, thank you. So nice to meet a fan." I'm not sure how many seconds passed before the doors opened, (It felt like a lot... her gaze was hypnotizing), but they did, and off we go to our respective vehicles to return home. It was kinda neat, I realized that she's the same as anyone else, does her shopping at Target just like the rest of humanity, and is pretty down to earth. I didn't ask either for their autograph or a picture, and I have a suspicion that they probably are nicer and just prefer talking to fans like me when they can as opposed to doing such fan-crazed activities like pictures and autographs. Both of them really were polite, down to earth, seemingly normal people.

I guess that's what it comes down to: both instances were almost identical. Both actors were polite, friendly, even courteous. I got to speak to both of them. Both encounters happened on elevators in parking structures. They're both normal people. A friend I told these stories to later pointed out that the only difference is that I've seen one of them naked on-screen and it's not the one you would guess that most people would want to see naked either, but hey, I'm not gonna go there... better to smile and walk away than open my mouth and get into trouble here on the world wide web where everyone can read it, haha.

All in all, just a typical sighting in a very un-typical town. That's the kinda situations I find myself in out here in crazy Hollywood land.

Ben's Top 20 Films of 2008

2009-01-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

Well I've finally decided that it's about time to unveil what I considered to be the best films of 2008. I'm no professional critic by any means, but I do run a second blog with film reviews of my own. I don't get paid for it, I simply do it because I love it, and it helps me process what films I've seen critically and also sharpen my reviewing skills. In my humble opinion we've seen a great year in cinema overall, and seeing as how this is awards season in Hollywood and everyone is making lists and handing out awards in anticipation of the Academy Awards on February 22nd, I figured I'd make a "top ten" list of my own. The only problem as I began to compile such a list was that I simply found too many films I liked and had to extend my list to a "top twenty" just to start to include a few of them. These are simply my opinion of course, and I'd love to know what people think about my selections here. I believe they reflect both my tastes and interests, and would heartedly recommend most all of these to anyone interested in seeing a good film. There's a good chance at least one or two of the films on this list escaped your notice this past year and I recommend renting or seeing one of these excellent movies soon! Where possible I've included a link to my original review from my other blog, but in some cases I may not have seen the film originally in theaters so there isn't a review available, or in other cases, the review is "coming soon" as I'm still catching up on writing reviews for many of the films I saw over Christmas break. So without further ado, here are...

Ben's Top 20 Films of 2008

20. Traitor

I'm a sucker for anything with Don Cheadle in it, and I found this story to be both well written and well acted. Who would have thought that a international thriller by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) would be as intriguing or engaging as this? Featuring brilliant turns by both Cheadle and Guy Pearce, the film certainly lives up to it's tagline that "the truth is complicated" and may very well be the most honest assessment of the duel nature of Islam as a religion and a ideology. It may or may not live up to it's intrigue depending on who you talk to, but one thing is for sure, after viewing this movie you can have a very interesting conversation afterwards. Read my original review here.

19. Man On Wire

This may be one of the most entertaining documentaries I've seen recently, and the fascinating story of the equally fascinating Philippe Petit is sure to capture the imagination of viewers everywhere. What would lead a man to commit the "artistic crime of the century" by stringing a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and balancing precariously over the 1350 foot drop below? This dramatic recreation and docudrama of the 1974 true story is both fascinating and magical in a unique way all it's own, and is currently the forerunner to win Best Documentary at this year's Oscars. It goes against the commonly misunderstood notion that all documentaries are boring, on the contrary, this film is far more entertaining that many of the fictional stories released in cinemas each week, and Petit could almost make a case for Best Actor with his eccentric, quirky, and utterly fascinating personality. I saw this one on DVD a few weeks ago and so don't have a full review available, but I highly recommend it.

18. Redbelt

This David Mamet helmed-drama features one of my favorite young actors, the talented Chiwetel Ejiofor, in a role suited well for his personality and screen presence. You could argue the film unravels a bit in it's final act, but I personally loved this story of a man fighting for his honor and dedicating himself fully to his craft amidst great resistance on all sides. The characters have a raw feeling to them, and at times you feel like the acting is purposely underdeveloped to give more realism to the entire tale, a move that I think adds to the films strengths as a whole. Read the full review here.

17. Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?

While Man on Wire may be the most award worthy of this years documentaries, I found the latest project by Morgan Spurlock to be one of the most entertaining to watch. It balances a fine line between being engaging and thought-provoking whilst at the same time remaining humorous and captivating. Anyone interested in learning more about life in the Middle East would probably enjoy this one, and while the subject of this film is certainly night and day from his past project, SuperSize Me, Spurlock is quickly making a name for himself in the documentary world. I bought this one on DVD as a blind buy and wasn't disappointed, sadly though that means there is no full review available.

16. The Children of Huang Shi

This film holds a special place in my heart since having seen it most recently of any of the films on this list. It's certainly a passion project for it's director as well, Roger Spottiswoode. The film tells the true story of George Hogg, a British journalist who went to Nanjing, China during the cities infamous 1937 rape at the hands of the Japanese in WWII. What begins as a simply journalistic endeavor becomes a personal story of responsibility, courage, and hope as he takes into his care the safety and well-being of a group of 60 orphaned Chinese boys and leads them over hundreds of miles to the safe city of Shandon. Criminally under-promoted and seen by only a few audiences in select cities around the country, the film was the victim of what looks like a small budget and weak advertising campaign that really didn't give it much of a chance, and regardless of some of the weaker moments in the film (the acting isn't as strong as it could be, some of the effects look a little fake), the story here is what counts. I found it good enough and important for a little-known part of WWII history to include it in my top 20, and would highly recommend it. It features a fairly strong cast including Jonathan Rhys Meyers (August Rush), Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black), Chow Yun Fat (Croutching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs of a Geisha), and David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings). The real star however, is China herself and the many children who play the orphans. The film may have suffered from a small budget, but they sure didn't cut costs on production design choosing to film much of the movie on location in China amidst beautiful scenery. I saw it only last week on DVD and so there's no full review, but I do heartedly recommend it.

15. Doubt

Whenever you get 4 talented actors like Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis together, you're gonna have a hit on your hands. Such is the case with the tightly acted and brilliantly written Doubt. For a film that takes place almost entirely in a few enclosed locations, the acting and writing here do wonders, and the directing is surprisingly engaging as well. Writer/Director John Patrick Shanley has made a very good movie here, and I was pleasantly engaged from the first scene to the end credits. All four actors give performances of depth and beauty, and for anyone who likes a well written script in the hands of some very good actors, I can't recommend Doubt enough. Full review is located here.

14. Valkyrie

I really thought I would hate this movie before I saw it. I didn't buy Tom Cruise in the trailers, and the film was plagued by delays and troubles all the way up until it was released. Upon viewing it however, I was actually very impressed with the overall high caliber of the performances and the story. To be fair, the film has it's flaws, but they are fewer than I anticipated and overall the film holds up. Even though you know going into the film that they won't succeed in their assassination attempt of Adolph Hitler, the story nevertheless keeps you glued to your seat and holding your breathe until the very end. It also does something unique historically in the way it certainly sheds light on a chapter of German history that I believe all modern day Germans can take pride in; that is, it shows how even in their nation's darkest hour there were men who loved their country enough to do what was morally right and necessary. A strong supporting cast helps buoy a better-than-expected Cruise and gives us one of the more entertaining historical films of the year. Full review can be found here.

13. Waltz With Bashir

This unique blend of foreign film, animation, and documentary has proved to be a critical darling and frontrunner for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. The documentation of one man's desire to uncover the truth from a hazy war time memory makes for an engaging, if unconventional piece of cinema. Director Ari Folman takes a personal story and creates a documentary of his findings, then overlaying them in animation to recreate the events in question. The result is a juxtaposition of cinematic beauty and bizarreness, and yet the experience will haunt you after viewing. Not for most audiences, Waltz With Bashir is certainly one of the most eye-catching and interesting films made in recent years. A full review can be found here.

12. Cloverfield

It seems like this film was released a lot earlier than this past year, but in fact it was the rare January hit of 2008, raking in a little over $80 million during the course of it's theatrical run. Considering that the film had an overall price tag of just $25 million, you could say this one laughed all the way to the bank as audiences all across America, myself included, clamored to see the latest project from "Lost" mastermind J.J. Abrams. This Blair Witch-meets-Godzilla film was the result of an excellent viral marketing campaign and a high curiosity factor, and even though the film looses a lot of steam upon repeat viewings, you have to admit that it was one of the most creative and risky projects that paid off of the past year. Sadly, I didn't start my film review blog until midway into the spring of 2008, so there is no full review available.

11. Iron Man

The latest entry to the superhero genre was a massive success both critically and commercially, and in my opinion the acting of Robert Downey Jr. was both pitch-perfect and superb in the title role. This film encapsulated what the summer movie season was all about, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it twice on the big screen with friends. Marvel Studios hit this one out of the park, and expectations now ride high for the inevitable sequel due out in 2010. You can read my full review here.

10. The Visitor

Screen veteran Richard Jenkins has received strong praise and a Best Actor nomination for his turn in this beautiful little gem of a movie. Playing a disillusioned college professor named Walter who stumbles upon a couple living illegally in his New York apartment, he ends up taking a personal interest and stake in their lives. The film features performances both subtle and striking on both sides as the characters learn more about each other in a film that is ultimately life affirming and uplifting in a poignant and personal way that few films achieve today. It's nice to see Jenkins, long a background player, finally headline such a charming little film, and I can only hope more audiences discover the simple joys that are found in viewing The Visitor. I bought this one on a blind buy, and wouldn't you know it, it's made it into my top ten! No full review available.

9. Changeling

Anytime Clint Eastwood steps behind the camera, be prepared to be moved in a masterful way. Directing his latest project here (at least until Gran Torino, which comes up later in the list...) Eastwood tells the true story of a case of mistaken identity that resulted in a scandal that ripped the LAPD apart in 1930's Los Angeles. The lead role of Christine Collins, played passionately by Angelina Jolie in one of her strongest dramatic roles to date, is sure to resonate with mothers everywhere, and the well crafted directing of Eastwood lead to one of the more simply beautiful and engaging films of the year. Full review can be found here.

8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Regardless of what some critics and friends of mine have said, I actually rather liked Benjamin Button. Sure, I know it was Forrest Gump 2.0 and incredibly long and humorless for the most part, but I found the film to be enchanting in a unique old-style Hollywood kind of way. The makeup jobs were incredible, particularly on Cate Blanchett, and even though director David Fincher took many liberties with the original F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, I found the overall effect rather lovely and hypnotizing. It reminded me of a cross between Forrest Gump and Big Fish, and seeing as how I enjoyed both of those films, it's safe to see why Benjamin Button ranked so high on my list. Full review can be found here.

7. Che

Technically this is two films, The Argentine (Che Part I) and Guerrilla (Che Part II), but you really have to see them as one massive effort from director Steven Soderbergh. I found the documentary style and gritty storytelling used here to fit the subject perfectly, and Benicio Del Toro gives one of the most incredible performances of his career. It's a crime he wasn't nominated for Best Actor, but the film suffered from distribution woes due to it's cumbersome length and independent nature. Still, the fact that few will get to see it in it's entire 4+ hour entirely doesn't detract from the epic feeling associated with this film. You'll probably have to wait for the DVD, but by all means, watch this when it comes out. The fact that the film(s) have many similarities to one of my all time favorites, Lawrence of Arabia, didn't hurt it's image at all in my eyes, on the contrary, it scored even higher on my list because of it's epic qualities. Grand in it's scope and intimate in it's portrayal, the film doesn't flinch but insists on giving a full picture of the man, both his political triumphs (mostly seen in Cuba in Part I) and his failures (mostly seen in Bolivia in Part 2). If you watch this epic 2 part film after viewing The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) you can pretty much consider it one of the best biography trilogies ever made in recent memory. A full review can be found here.

6. Frost/Nixon

This may be Ron Howard's best work in a long time. Based on the play by Peter Morgan (who you may remember as the guy who wrote The Queen), the film tells the story of the famous series of television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former US president Richard Nixon. Featuring brilliant turns by both Frank Langella (who gets my vote for Best Actor in his portrayal of Nixon) and Michael Sheen (who is poorly overlooked too often for being a very impressive actor), the film is essentially a series of talking heads recreating history, and yet the way the story is told, it keeps you riveted to your seats the entire time. The game of cat-and-mouse between Frost and Nixon keeps you engaged for the entire course of the film, and in the end you feel like you've seen both men at their most vulnerable and honest. It's no surprise that this film is one of the 5 Best Picture nominees this year, and it would actually have my vote for Best Picture if not for another film, one which tops this list... A full review of Frost/Nixon can be found here.

5. Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood gives one of his most powerful (and quite possibly one of his last) performances in this film about a stubborn old war veteran learning to see past his racial prejudices. Essentially it's a coming of age story for the young Asian characters desperate for some sort of role model or male leadership in their society, and Eastwood in a way becomes the "wise village elder" in a society where it is needed. I was reminded of John Wayne's film The Cowboys, in which through tough love and gruff methods, an old cowboy teaches and trains a group of young boys and in effect, helps them make the transition to manhood. The social implications and messages of Gran Torino may not be as subtle as some of Eastwood's other films, but the role he plays is beautifully redemptive in a very unique way. Tainted with racial slurs and foul language, the film nevertheless rises above it's seeming intolerance to promote a type of maturity and respect that is especially lacking in the youth of today. A full review can be found here.

4. Defiance

I love the films of director Ed Zwick, and this is no exception. Following in the traditions of Legends of the Fall, Glory, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond; Defiance is another worthy film that knows how to entertain and yet make an impact on it's audience as well. Zwick is a master at knowing when to insert a joke, a kiss, or a tear, and masterfully weaves all of those elements into his movies. Featuring mostly underdog heroes in times of danger and peril, his films have always been unique in that they are life-affirming while yet set amidst war and violence. This true story of the Bielski brothers, Jews who struck back at the Nazis during WWII from their woodland base camp in the heart of the Belorussian forrest, has all the makings of a great film, and is wonderful entertaining while being historically important as well. Featuring Daniel Craig in what may be one of his best roles to date, this film should be seen by everyone if for no other reason than that this story simply deserves to be told. A full review can be found here.

3. WALL-E

Pixar hit this one out of the park, and director Andrew Stanton may have made one of the most critically acclaimed animated films of all times in doing so. It's good enough to run for Best Picture, and even though it won't be, it deserves to be seen as one of the best films of 2008. The story of a robot desperate to experience love and relationships is quite simply one of the most perfectly told stories I've seen in some time. If you haven't seen this film yet, where have you been? Seriously, go out and rent it today, and look for the deeper message that lies beneath the supposed environmental agenda (and agenda that, if you read my full review here, Stanton actually denies he was aiming for...) This "little robot that could" will win you over with his plucky attitude and heartwarming depth.

2. The Dark Knight

This film is hands down the best superhero movie ever made. Featuring a stellar cast and unforgettable performances, the plot is complex and tightly crafted in a way no other comic book film has been so far. It's also understandably dark, and I even have to wonder how it avoided an R rating at times. The film grabs you and never lets go, and even upon repeat viewings one had to admit the amazing craftsmanship that went into this motion picture. You can read my much longer musings on the film here, and if you haven't seen this one yet then you're certainly in the minority, it's become the 2nd highest grossing film of all time behind 1997's Titanic. In the hands of director Christopher Nolan, we have what is almost the most perfect film of 2008, with one little exception...

1. Slumdog Millionaire

I'm going to agree with Peter Travers of Rolling Stone who opens his review by saying "What I feel for this movie isn't just admiration, it's mad love." I've seen Slumdog an unprecedented six times in theaters now (trust me when I say that is huge, I never see a film more than twice in theaters, and even then that's incredibly rare) and am still absolutely obsessed with it. You can read my full review here, and know that I'll be pulling hard for this film to win Best Picture and talking about it for years to come. I can't ever recall having been so excited and in love with such a vibrant film - full of color, music, and life - in a long long time. In my mind, it's as close to perfect as cinema can get, and I'll proudly agree with Richard Corliss of Time Magazine who says "This is a buoyant hymn to life, and a movie to celebrate." Major accolades are due to the entire cast and crew of director Danny Boyle's pitch perfect Slumdog Millionaire.

Well there you have it... my top 20 of the year. No doubt someone will stumble upon this list and demand to know where films such as The Wrestler, Australia, and Milk are on my list (short answer: I saw them, and they didn't do much for me) while others will wonder why I've left off such films as Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Rachel Getting Married, The Reader, Revolution Road, and Synecdoche, New York (short answer: I still haven't seen them, probably will wait for the DVD). Short of a few omissions such as these however, this list is simply my opinions based on what I have seen and I welcome all friendly and engaging debating over my selections here. Enjoy!

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. Nastia Liukin

2009-01-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

So as many of you were aware, back this past summer I watched the Beijing olympics rather religiously. I loved them... (and if you didn't know this about myself, know that I LOVE the olympics... I have a few reasons listed in a round-about way in an old blog I posted here.) I was glued to the television for the Opening Ceremonies, and I absolutely loved the Parade of Nations, one of the most amazing things we witness every time the games roll around. The torch lighting ceremony was pretty unreal too! As the games took off, I watched every single one of Michael Phelps 8 medal-winning races in real-time. I cheered passionately for Aaron Peirsol and Natalie Coughlin, marveled at the skills of Kirsty Coventry, and went ballistic at the end of the men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay when Jason Lezak overtook the French and put America on top. I watched Usain Bolt destroy the world records in the 100m and 200m dash in the track-and-field finals. I loved watching Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh dominate women's beach volleyball. I was impressed by China's diving skills, disturbed by the youthful look of their women's gymnastics team, and overall loved their hosting of what some have called "the most memorable Olympics in history."

Which brings me to Nastia Liukin. Going into the games, everyone who talked about women's gymnastics was focusing on Shawn Johnson, the 16 year old petite balance-beam queen with the million dollar smile. I liked the red-headed Shawn, she's cute as a button and really did capture the hearts of America with her grace and poise. But I was more interested in watching Nastia Liukin, the tall and elegant 18 year old blonde daughter of a Soviet gymnastic legend. To me, Nastia was the quintessential American all-around gymnast, and she proved it when she took home the gold medal in the Women's All Around Competition. To just go ahead and say it, I'll admit: I developed an Olympic crush on Nastia Liukin. Nothing inappropriate mind you, but let's just say I just found myself in front of the TV every time she performed... :-)

At the end of the Olympics, I did a little research and found that according to her website, Nastia promises to respond to all of her snail mail from fans, and they even had an address to direct all autograph requests to. You can see where this is all heading can't you.... :-) I sat down and wrote my favorite gymnast a letter in which I thanked her for being a good role model for young girls everywhere, one that shows how discipline and hard work pay off, and how I respect people like her a lot more than the hollywood starlets and such who get in the news for their sexual and drunken escapades. I also told her that I thought she seemed like a good sport on TV and I appreciated having girls like her represent the USA in the olympic games. And I of course asked for her autograph, including a self-addressed stamped envelope with my fan letter.

Well this was all written and mailed before October... so I just kinda waited for a reply, figuring it would take about 4 to 8 weeks because of her new Olympic fame and public demand. As the weeks turned to months, I actually kinda forgot that I had mailed her anything, and just kinda figured that I wasn't going to get a response. Then I got back to LA after a Christmas break in Birmingham, and I was pleasantly surprised and happy to find a familiar looking envelope waiting in my mailbox. I opened it, and the rest is history... as you can see from the above photo, I succeeded in getting her autograph after all. And she even signed it with a little heart... I think she loves me. Haha, No, I know I know, but still, I was pretty excited to get this response from Nastia Liukin. Well, it's been framed and is sitting on my desk. Happy 2009 everyone! Haha.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. Lindsay Lohan

2009-01-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

So this story occurred back on Monday, December 1st, at approximately 10:05 pm... there's really nothing to it, just one of those stupid little moments where yours truly makes a fool of himself in front of someone.

To set the stage, I had been hanging out at the Arclight Theater all evening over on Sunset Blvd with my friend Kam who I know from church/bible study. Kam had a friend who works at the Arclight and he was able to get us free tickets to see films of our choice there, and since neither of us wanted to pay for the gay-themed movie Milk but were both kinda curious to see what all the fuss was about (and I wanted to be better able to debate the film with proponents of the gay rights movement), we both decided to see it at 7:00... well... you can read my reaction to that horrendous motion picture here. Anyways, we decided to get another film in to capitalize on our free movie chances and also wash away the sour Milk still in our mouths. (It goes without saying that there was honestly nothing out at this time of year, hence the lousy film choices... we also weren't paying for these films as I've stated previously... hence the lousy film choices.)

We settle for what looks like a mediocre comedy, Four Christmases... (and boy, was it ever... so much so that I haven't even acknowledged it with a review over on my film blog, and seeing as how I'm terribly behind on my film reviews - I have at least nine or ten films I've seen but not reviewed yet - you probably won't be seeing a review for Four Christmases anytime soon... sorry.) The film starts at 10:10 and I step to the bathroom before the screening. When I enter the theater, I see Kam on the opposite side of the room, and so naturally the thing to do is to walk in front of the whole theater and go over to where she is by the other side entrance. There was virtually no one in our theater, just two people sitting in the middle about half way up the stadium seating. I don't know what got into me, but I can only assume that because I was in a goofy sort of mood and had just seen Milk, I felt like instead of walking across the theater, I should do a little gay prance/skip/hop instead. So away I go, bounding around like a fool, waving my arms in the air. Kam and the theater workers are laughing as I skip towards them, and I hear giggling coming from the two figures seated in the theater.

I end my prance of gaiety over by Kam and the workers and immediately am informed by the theater worker: "Hey man, nice going, you just made a fool of yourself in front of Lindsay Lohan" Now to be accurate, he didn't use the word "fool"... he used a word more commonly associated with California, one I can't repeat here, but it brings up connotations of a donkey... all that said, I look up and sure enough, there's Lindsay Lohan herself, along with her bisexual girlfriend Samantha Ronson (pictured above) laughing away at me. I almost couldn't recognize them, they both were wearing wool caps pulled down over their hair, the wet ends of which hung down by their faces (the descriptive phrase "drowned rat" or "wet dog" comes to mind), and they both looked pretty awful to put it bluntly. So I'm not sure which was funnier, being laughed at for doing a gay little skip, or being laughed at by someone looking like Lohan and Co.

Either way, it made for a memorable moment, one which I shan't soon forget. I'll refrain from saying too much about what I think of Lindsay and Samantha, but let's just say folks like them can laugh at me anytime they wish... doesn't bother me in the least, coming from them. The saddest thing is that this little incident was waaaay funnier than anything that happened in the movie... but oh well, that's why we didn't pay for our tickets. ;-)

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. One of God's Precious Miracles

2009-01-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

OK, so first off, sorry I've been away. A little friend of mine called "Busy" showed up at my door about a month ago and I couldn't get him to leave until after the New Year... needless to say I've not posted any blogs at all in a very long time, either on this blog or on my other one. The past month has been a whirlwind of travel, work, family, and holidays, and I'm only just now getting back on my feet.

So to start off the new year, I thought I'd share a post about my most recent flight experience. I'm sure some of you will be able to relate to this one. On January 5th I was scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles from Birmingham, AL. LA has about 4 airports surrounding it, the largest and most miserable being the infamous Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). I live a good 45 minute drive (taking traffic into consideration) from LAX, so I use Burbank airport instead... it's smaller and north of where I live, which is nice because I don't have to drive through the city or any heavy traffic areas to get to where I'm going. So using Southwest Airlines, I had booked my flight out of Birmingham to Burbank, with a lay-over and plane swap taking place in Phoenix, Arizona. I awoke on the morning of Jan 5th to say my goodbyes to family, friends, Birmingham, sweet tea, manners, polite speech, civility, and everything else the south has that LA certainly doesn't. Then I drove to the Birmingham airport where we quickly discovered that due to heavy fog in the area, my flight had been delayed a full hour. The problem was that my lay-over in Phoenix was only an hour, so now I was in danger of missing my connecting flight to Burbank thanks to the delay in Birmingham.

Well we finally got off the ground about 55 minutes after our scheduled departure time, and the pilot informed us that due to heavy fog and a strong headwind upwards of 200 mph, we probably wouldn't make up much lost time on our trip to Phoenix. I was sitting near the rear of the aircraft in a window seat, comfortably reading a book I had gotten for Christmas, The Reason For God by Dr. Timothy Keller, (which I highly recommend by the way, so far it's excellent). Next to me was a middle aged woman reading a copy of Twilight (if that isn't a microcosm for all that is wrong in America, I don't know what is...), and next to her in the aisle seat was a young mother. Across the aisle in the next row over was this young mother's daughter, a precious little blonde headed toddler, and next to her was the girls father / mother's husband. One big happy family. Until we got airborne. That's when this precious miracle and blessing from God started wailing her little totally depraved head off. And she didn't stop. The. Entire. Flight.

Needless to say I'd had enough of God's Little Blessing screaming in my ear, and I would like to offer this word of advice to any future parents or parents of small ones out there: Your little bundle of joy may be one of God's children, but it's certainly not one of mine. If you can't keep it quiet in public, please don't fly across America. Furthermore, this father's extent of discipline and control of the situation was to let his daughter scream the whole way. Occasionally he'd turn to her and say quietly and politely, "Shhh. It's OK. Please don't yell... Stop it, please". I appreciate the fact that you've decided to be a civil father figure and all, but c'mon, seriously? Since when did politely telling a youngster to refrain from public wailing replace the force and instant results garnered by a swift kick to the head? I'm not advocating beating your children... but if it makes them shut up on cross-country flights, you may want to consider the option. That's all I'm trying to say, really. And for the record, I love kids. Really I do. I worked with them all summer. I just wish they came with a "ring, vibrate, or silent" function like most cell phones...

Happy New Year. Enjoy the picture, taken with my new iPhone... photographic proof of the doctrine of total depravity...

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Talking Deer at the Griffith Observatory

2008-12-05T00:33:00.000-08:00

Many of my readers are aware that I love my location in LA. I live nice and close to just about everything, which is great most of the time. True, whenever the Lakers play downtown at the Staples Center, traffic can be a bit more intense around us, since we live only 2 and a half miles from there. But aside from putting up with traffic caused by Kobe and his team, we got it pretty good here in Echo Park. We can see the Hollywood Sign from our rooftop, which is great, but something even cooler is right up there next to the sign. The Griffith Observatory.

The Griffith Observatory is arguably one of the most well recognized observatories in the world, and it's visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. Perched atop the mountain ride next to the Hollywood Sign, it's become an iconic part of Los Angeles and a spectacular place to go and get a great view of the city, as you'll see from my photos above. It's pat of the massive Griffith Park area, a great place to go and hike, get away from the concrete jungle of the downtown area and actually get up above the smog that hovers over the city like a blanket. Well we like our view from atop our apartment in Los Angeles just fine, but we figured we'd actually go atop the mountain some evening and check out what view the Griffith had to offer. When JP and I noticed that the crescent moon of the evening had two bright dots lining up beneath it in more or less a straight line, we hopped online and discovered it was actually Venus and Jupiter, visible to the naked eye above the horizon and beneath the moon.

There's never a better time to visit an observatory than when the stars and planets are aligning and making news, so we hopped in my car and went up to the observatory that very evening. It's free to visit, and the only thing that costs money is the actual planetarium show itself, and even then, it's only $7, cheap for Los Angeles... probably one of the coolest places in the city to visit for the least amount of money, and since we're poor and live only 4.7 miles from the Observatory, we figured we better go check it out. I hope to go more often after our experience, it was awesome, and totally worth it.

They've filmed many a movie scene at the observatory, including most famously one of James Dean's movies, Rebel Without A Cause, and they have a bronze bust of Dean out front to commemorate his contribution to film and solidifying the observatory in Hollywood history in such a memorable way. The grounds outside the observatory were full that evening, it was a Sunday night and many people were there to see the planets and stars. Inside the observatory they have a pendulum swing, a bunch of scientific displays, and all sorts of interactive information about science and other cool stuff. They even had a Tesla Coil which they fired up to show an impressive display of crackling blue electricity.

As we walked around the outer edges of the building to observe the view of the city itself however, we noticed a funny thing. We could hear what sounded like soft, stealthy footsteps beneath where we were standing... we looked over the edge of the railing down into the dark forests below and that's when we saw them. Two deer, a mother doe and a baby, both walking around the base of the observatory. It was one of those quiet moments when you stumble upon something so unexpected and yet so profoundly unique and beautiful in it's own way. Alas, our moment of silence and amazement with the deer wasn't to last. From a level above us, we suddenly heard the high pitched squeaky voice of a small girl call out "Hello deer! Heeeelllllooooo Deeeer!!!!" It was cute, sure, but it also made me laugh because JP opened his mouth and said back "Hello Human" in a funny little voice. Since our diminutive companion above us couldn't see us, for all we know she may have thought the deer were talking to her, because all she could see were two deer and hear JP's voice responding to her own. Whatever happened, whether she knew it was other people messing with her and we scarred the little girl or she was amazed at the magic of the talking deer at the Griffith Observatory, our little friend fell silent once JP responded to her salutations. It was a fun little moment of entertainment and a fitting end to what had been a fun week out here.

We continued our tour of the interior and took pictures with the statue of Einstein, watched the documentary about the history of the observatory hosted by Leonard Nimoy, and had a lot of fun before the kicked us out at the closing time of 10 pm. Worth visiting if you're ever in the LA area, the Griffith Observatory is a great place to enjoy the view, both of the city and the stars above.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. AFI Fest, The Rooftop of the Roosevelt Hotel, and The Great Gay Riots of 2008

2008-12-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

This story is an overdue one, but things have been busy lately and I've fallen behind on my blogging. As some of you have already seen and heard from the pictures I posted about a month ago, in early november I got to attend a few screenings at AFI Fest, one of the more prestigious film festivals hosted by the American Film Institute and put on right here in Hollywood, California. My roommate JP worked at the festival as a their volunteer coordinator, (which doesn't imply that he volunteered... he actually raked in pretty good money, he coordinated where all the volunteers went). Anyway, as things would have it, JP was able to pull a string here and there and get some of his roommates and best buds into some fairly large Hollywood events at this festival. For starters, he got us all into the world premiere of Last Chance Harvey, the new film starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. It's a good film too, very simple story of two people who find love later in life... actually it's a very good film in that it's a sweet love story with no sex, which is extremely rare in this town.

Anyway, we all got to see the screening in the Cinerama Done at the Arclight Theatre, which is kinda a big deal since it's one of the more historic theaters in the city. The place was packed, and they started the screening by introducing Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, and director Joel Hopkins, all there in person to promote the film. Kinda cool to be in the same room with Dustin Hoffman, considering his incredible body of work over the years. The film was fun (we learned that we were the first audience to see it in it's completed form, which is also special) and then afterwards we were invited to go to the after party at the Roosevelt Hotel. The Roosevelt is one of the oldest and most prestigious hotels in Hollywood, has an iconic large neon red-lettered sign above it, and can seen from pretty much anywhere in town. All in all there were 8 of us: JP, Bryan, Pete, myself (one of the rare and fun times all four of us have been able to do something together) plus Casey, Rachel, Katie, and L.A., four girls we know and are good friends with out here. In order to get to the Roosevelt which is located on Hollywood Blvd, we had to hop in an AFI Fest 15 passenger shuttle/van and be taken there from the Cinerama dome, which is on Sunset Blvd.

Between Hollywood and Sunset Blvd, which both run parallel to each other, the majority of what many people think of as "Hollywood" can be found. If Grauman's Chinese theater makes up the top left corner of the area known as Hollywood, then the Arclight makes up the bottom right corner. Not sure is this word picture is working or not, but suffice it to say it's like a giant rectangle with large theaters at either end. It's a good 5 or 6 blocks down Sunset Blvd and then up one or two blocks to get to Grauman's Chinese and the Roosevelt Hotel, so we hoped in one of the vans and began our trip. That's when we noticed the helicopters.

Let me back up for a second... for those unaware, this night was the night of November the 8th. It's the Saturday night following the week of the election, and just four days earlier on the 4th, the good people of the state of California elected to pass Proposition 8, which defines marriage as being a relationship between a man and a woman. It was a close vote, only like 51 to 49 percent in favor of it, and the gay rights people were not pleased. Within 24 hours of the vote, they all starting marching up and down major boulevards and avenues with signs saying "vote no on Prop 8" or "Proposition Hate" and other such slogans... I'll refrain from an all-out discussion of the proposition and the views concerning homosexual marriage at this time, I believe most of you can guess with some ease where I stand personally on the issue of gay marriage. Anyway, in the immediate days following the election, the gay community and those sympathetic to their cause have begun marching and demonstrating in anger over the outcome of the vote, which essentially nullifies their marriages that have been legal over the past few months and bans all future gay marriages as well for the time being at least. They've been targeting the Mormon and Catholic church primarily because they blame those churches with carrying out the bulk of the attack and opposition to their vote and cause.

Back to where we were with our van on Sunset Blvd... well we look up and see news helicopters. Lots of 'em, swarming the skies. We notice crowds of people everywhere and a ton of police cars. Our van driver informs us that she can take us as far as the In-N-Out at the corner of Sunset and Orange, we'll have to walk to the Roosevelt hotel. We learn the reason for this is because Hollywood Blvd has been absolutely shut down by the LAPD... and I mean boy did they shut it down! The entire street was completely blocked off and lined with over 50 patrol cars, at least 40 motorcycles, and policemen standing at alert attention. I've seen less fanfare for visiting Presidents. The reason for this blockade of Hollywood Blvd? It turns out over 10,000 gay rights advocates, angry about the Prop 8 outcome, had decided to gather in Silver Lake (about a mile from where I live in Echo Park) and march all the way to Hollywood Blvd. It was like the calm before the storm, the police were not going to let them come down Hollywood Blvd, so they blocked off the street entirely and put on an impressive display of force there, and while we could never see the gay marchers, we found out they were diverted down a side street and contained therein. We could however see all the police presence and sense the eeriness of the entire situation, and could gage from where the helicopters were just how close the marchers were getting.

Our view was made even more impressive by getting to go up on the roof of the Roosevelt hotel, something that will probably never happen again anytime soon at least. Thanks to JP again, we all got armbands and admission into the upper floor wrap party, where we all hung out and were given free drinks - save me of course, many of you know my aversion to alcohol, and tonight was no exception. In fact, it was almost humorous as I approached the bar ("Hi, how ya doing? Listen man, what have you got that's NON alcoholic?") His list of options was slim (water, Sierra Mist, etc) so I took him up on a free Sierra Mist and enjoyed my soda. After a few minutes, JP scored us an even better position getting us into the real VIP lounge upstairs and eventually we were able to use our clout all the way to get to the rooftop itself. There we were, outside high above the city, looking down at the massive army of LAPD officers preparing for an onslaught of homosexuals, all reflecting on how we'd only been in LA for a few months and already had climbed higher up the ladder and been given more opportunities than we anticipated at this point. It was an odd night of adventure and intrigue, from the movies we saw at the festival to the real-life gay version of Cloverfield that felt like it was taking place on our street, to the penthouses of the Roosevelt itself. Needless to say we snapped a bunch of pictures in front of the media wall (you know, those white backdrops covered in sponsor ads that every celebrity gets photographed in front of) and had a very memorable evening all around, getting a taste of the Hollywood life and the current cultural mood of the city as well. In retrospect, it was a sobering experience to once again realize we were no longer in Kansas, so to speak, and instead are standing on the edge of a precipice on the cutting edge of media and culture, and amongst us swarm all the agendas and worldviews that come with it.

And The Award for Streetside Awareness Marketing Goes To...

2008-11-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

Living in LA is unique from living in other large cities. For one, we have a traffic problem known the world over, and boy, it's a doozy. It only complicates matters for me in that I live about 2 miles from the major intersection of the 101 and the 110 (which feeds into the I-10)... and yes, those numbers do resembler binary code more than they do freeway designations, and they blur together too often for many drivers who end up on the wrong freeway. (Seriously? I-10 and 110 look identical... couldn't we just call the freeways "the 1", "the 2", and "the 3", or at least some other combination of numbers besides the 1 and o and capital "i"?) Actually come to think of it, I do use an actual freeway called "the 2" more times than not, so scratch that... we'll have to call them "the 1", "the 2.5" and "the 3". There. Problem solved.

Anyway, all of this is well and good, but you quickly learn when living here that you have to schedule more driving time to reach destinations. If it takes me 20 minutes to drive to someplace anywhere else in America, it could take me twice that amount of time or longer here in LA to drive the same distance. I've found myself leaving the house at 5:30am to get to Santa Monica by 7am, and it's only 15 miles away... and you'd be surprised how many times I need the hour and a half I've given myself to actually make sure I can still get to my job on time.

Well another unique thing about living in LA is the marketing for Hollywood here. I've been to other big cities where you see the occasional billboard or ad for an upcoming movie or TV series. But here, in the heart of Tinseltown itself, advertising is big business. They know you'll be stuck in your car most mornings for a good 45 minutes or longer, so they bombard the freeways with billboards, bus stop posters, and even mobile advertising on the bus sidings. I'll give you $100 of you can drive 2 miles in any given direction in LA and not be assaulted with some sort of movie or television promotional advertising. So, I decided to hold a little experiment on my own time to see which films got the most advertising. The rules were simple: over the course of 48 hours I tried to tally and count every advertisement I saw for any and all upcoming movies. I figured I'd get a good idea of which films had the bigger advertising budgets based on which films I saw marketed most in this fashion. Now I know this isn't the only form of advertising... TV spots, internet ads, newspaper space, magazine pages, etc are all used just as well. But I wanted to see which films were really "taking it to the streets" so to speak, and plus, it gave me something to do on my morning commute. Think of it as a giant game of "I, Spy" to keep yourself occupied while sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the wonderful highways of Los Angeles. So based on my research, here were my findings over the course of the 48 hour time window in which the experiment was conducted, in which all billboards, bus stop ads, and bus siding ads were accounted for. See how many of the titles you recognize to determine for yourself if these films are being promoted properly, they're all either already out in theaters or coming out soon in December.

Four Christmases: 16 ads

Bolt: 12 ads

Australia: 9 ads

Seven Pounds: 8 ads

Twilight: 6 ads

Madagascar II: 6 ads

Punisher: War Zone: 6 ads

The Tale of Despereaux: 6 ads

Yes Man: 4 ads

Quantum of Solace: 3 ads

Bedtime Stories: 3 ads

Valkyrie: 3 ads

Role Models: 2 ads

The Spirit: 2 ads

Body of Lies: 2 ads

Kung Fu Panda on DVD: 1 ad (and this sucker was a giant hand-painted display on the side of a building... see above picture... incredible.)

I guess it's fitting that Four Christmases was the number one film of the weekend, it also topped my little pole with the most visible examples of outdoor advertising. You'll also note that films which have already been released, such as Quantum of Solace and Body of Lies don't have as many ads up, that's because once a film comes out they start covering most of the old ads out there with new ads for as-yet-unreleased movies. Interestingly enough, two films I have not seen any outdoor ads for but have seen at least 3 or 4 television spots for each are Transporter 3 and The Day The Earth Stood Still... perhaps these films have chosen to dump all of their ad money into TV spots as opposed to outdoor marketing posters? Regardless, it was a fun little experiment, and I've even included a few pictures to show you what I'm talking about... most of the TV ads have died down since the new seasons started, and TV shows weren't part of my experiment this time around, so the old pictures of House and Heroes billboards/promotional posters are just to continue to paint you picture of life out here...

Learning to Love LA, Snow Patrol Style

2008-11-28T01:42:00.000-08:00

The last few months have been truly interesting for lack of a better word, and many of you who I've talked to over the phone have learned that I've developed a very close knit love-hate relationship with the city of Los Angeles. For better or for worse, I'm currently here and that's where I'm going to be until the Lord in his infinite wisdom and timing leads me elsewhere. This stay in LA could last less than a year or for the rest of my life. Heck, the rest of my life might only be less than a year long, none of us can predict our future with certainty. All that said, I've been listening to the "new" Snow Patrol album recently, and I put the word new in parenthesis because if you're a fan as I am of the Snow Patrol, the album is no longer really new, and you probably have all the new tracks memorized like me. The title of the CD is "A Hundred Million Suns" and the first single is a track called "Take Back The City". In effect, this song really captures how I feel about LA most of the time, particularly the part where is says this city is "a mess, a start, and a flawed work of art." Yet, this is "Your city, your call". I couldn't have said it better myself, feeling called to be here amidst some of the most flawed works and people imaginable (myself certainly included!) I have no idea the story behind the song, I doubt it was written for and about LA necessarily, but it moved me enough to blog about it, so without further ado, here are the lyrics to "Take Back The City".

Take back the city for yourself tonight

I'll take back the city for me

Take back the city for yourself tonight

Whoa

God knows you put your life into its hands

And it's both cradled you and crushed

But now it's time to make your own demands

Whoa

All these years later and it's killing me

Your broken records in words

Ten thousand craters where it all should be

Whoa

No need to put your words into my mouth

Don't need convincing at all

I love this place enough to have no doubts

Whoa

It's a mess, it's a start

It's a flawed work of art

Your city, your call

Every crack, every wall

Pick a side, pick a fight

Get your epitaph right

You can sing, 'til you drop

'Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight

I love this city always

It bears its teeth like a light

And spits me out after days

But we're all gluttons for it

We know what's wrong and what's right

For every time it's been hit

Take back the city tonight

Tell me you never wanted more than this

And I will stop talking now

One perfect partner, one eternal kiss

Whoa

Take back the city for yourself tonight

I'll take back the city for me

Take back the city for yourself tonight

Whoa

It's a mess, it's a start

It's a flawed work of art

Your city, your call

Every crack, every wall

Pick a side, pick a fight

Get your epitaph right

You can sing, 'til you drop

'Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight

I love this city always

It bears its teeth like a light

And spits me out after days

But we're all gluttons for it

We know what's wrong and what's right

For every time it's been hit

Take back the city tonight

I love this city tonight

I love this city always

So there you have it... for those who keep asking how best to pray for me, pray that by God's grace and hand of providence I'll be able to help truly Take Back The City....

Election Day in L.A. 2008

2008-11-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

I snapped a few pics of the polling places I passed on the way to work on the morning of November 4th. It seems like it was so long ago, but it's only been a few weeks since Americans elected Barack Obama their 44th President of the United States. I'm not going to get caught up in a blog about what is or what could have been, what's done is done folks. Anyway, I thought these pictures were kinda unique... a nice little slice of democracy and what it looks like, all that jazz, etc. Anyway, better to post them late than never at all, right? Enjoy.

In Case You Missed It...

2008-11-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

For those who didn't see with your own eyes but perhaps heard the rumors... well... here's the proof. I dressed up as Martin Luther for Reformation Day (Pagans call it "Halloween"). Cheers.

New Pictures of Life in LA

2008-11-09T12:00:00.001-08:00

They say a picture says a thousand words, so until I can sit down and adequately write a thousand words about my most recent experiences, check out this album here to see what I've been up to lately. Special Features include pictures from all of the following: You'll learn of the Reformation Party where I dressed as Martin Luther, you'll see pics of election day in LA, you'll marvel at the fun I'm having working for my uncle at Backyard productions on a Nasonex commercial, you'll see pics from the great gay LA riots of 2008, and you'll also catch a pic or two of yours truly partying in style atop the Roosevelt Hotel at the AFI film festival where we all got to attend the world premiere of Last Chance Harvey and see Dustin Hoffman. Boo-yah! Things are going well (and don't worry Mom, the pics may look a little interesting at times, but I didn't have a drink... promise). I'll write a lot more later, until then....

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. Eli Stone

2008-10-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

As many of you are aware, one of the first things I did upon arriving in Los Angeles was to sign up for Central Casting. They provide all the background extras that you see on over 80% of the major network TV shows, and I figured it would be fun to have that as a work option. Well the past two months I've called the hotline again and again only to find I either don't fit the profile or desire the job, in many cases both: "seeking Hispanic men in their 50's with tattoos to play strip club patrons on next week's episode of Dirty Sexy Money". As you can see, this is the kind of prime time family entertainment being made out here. Finally, last week I got through the phone lines and qualified to be a background extra on the ABC legal drama/comedy show Eli Stone. If you've watched the show, then you know what's it about, if not, here's my attempt to sum it up: Eli Stone is a young lawyer at a prominent firm who suffers from a hereditary brain aneurysm that causes him to have visions. These visions are usually in the form of some sort of colorful hallucination, most involve singing or dancing of some sort, and they almost always give him the clues and/or answers as to which cases he should take. He regularly seeks the advice of a Chinese acupuncturist to help him decipher these visions, and the show's creators treat Eli as if he's a sort of prophet sent to help those in need and point the way towards truth and justice. Never mind that the prophetic insight comes from a scientific irregularity in his brain and not a divine source of wisdom... like God. Nevertheless, it's usually a very colorful, creative, engaging show that seems to have caught on well and is rocking along in it's second season on ABC. Since it's a legal show, most episodes end in the courtroom with Eli taking a pro bono stand for someone who otherwise wouldn't get the justice they deserve. Well when I got the job, I was cast as "courtroom atmosphere", which means I'll be sitting in the gallery of the courtroom, observing the proceedings. The show takes place in San Francisco in the fall, so we had to wear appropriate clothing, which meant light sweaters, layers etc. Sure enough, I pulled off a business casual autumn look with a collared shirt, tie, and green v-neck sweater, and the directors liked my choice of wardrobe so much that they actually placed me right behind Jonny Lee Miller (the actor who plays Eli Stone) in the scene, so when the episode airs later this season, you ought to be able to see me just over the right of Eli's shoulder in almost every scene they film of him from the angles they were using. I was initially excited about this, and still am kinda looking forward to seeing myself on TV, it's always a fun experience to be on something that thousands watch, and yet this episode left me more bothered than I anticipated. Here's what happened basically:

The plot of this episode, which is entitled "Two Ministers", is apparently about a court case involving a United Methodist Pastor who had a sex change operation to become a woman. Now I haven't read the full script and was only able to decipher some of this from the scenes I was in, and the bits of the dialogue that I heard. I do know I was in the courtroom for the closing argument, and so I can go ahead and tell you how the episode ends: in a brilliant display of "tolerance". Eli of course is defending the pastor, who is seeking monetary damages for being unjustly kicked out of his church once the elders found out he was having this operation. The elders are painted as intolerant, bigoted, judgmental, and narrow-minded. The Pastor is the victim here, and this is an excerpt from his final statement, which is to be the passionate center-piece of the episode. Once again, I'm trying to recall this off the top of my head, but since we shot the scene about 8 times, I heard the speech well enough to memorize most of it: The Pastor turns to the jury and says, "In Matthew 16, the disciples ask Jesus who he is, and he responds 'Who do you say that I am? Who are you?'... my whole life I've not known the answer to this question. Then 3 years ago I embarked on a journey to free myself from this body of mine, a body that is a prison holding my soul. I know my soul is saved from hell, but my body is holding me back here on earth. I used the blessings and advancements God has given us through science and medicine to help me find my freedom. Now, the prodigal son has returned home, seeking love, acceptance, and forgiveness. I know who I am now... and by the way you pass your verdict today, I'll know who you are too." Keith, a young black lawyer working with Eli on the case then approaches the pastor, and asks him: "what kind of verdict did you expect from your congregation when they found out about your operation?"... the pastor sighs, and responds, "acceptance.... love... understanding... the tolerance that constitutes the teachings of Christ." This is the part where everyone acts like they're emotionally moved and then votes in favor of the plaintiff and awards the pastor lots of money. Hurray, happy ending, everyone hugs and rejoices, and the episode ends...

Obviously you can see where this is going. Where do I even begin here? First off, I want to be sincerely concerned for all those struggling with finding their identities in the body God gave them. I may not personally be able to relate, but I do know it is a serious issue for some, and my heart goes out to them. But Scripture is also clear on this issue. Genesis 1:27 institutes this when God makes man "in his [God's] image, male and female he created them." (emphasis mine). If we believe in the sovereignty of God, then we believe in a God that doesn't make mistakes when it comes to someone's gender. He fashioned and created us to be who we are. People who struggle with transgender issues and homosexuality have essentially done what all people do when they sin, they've told God they think they know better, in this case as it relates to sexual orientation and identity. The Bible isn't grey on this issue though folks, it makes it quite clear in both the old (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13, Genesis 19) and new (Romans 1:18-32) testament. What upset me as well about this episode's script was the misrepresentation of Matthew 16. Christ is never asked by his disciples who he is first, as the screenwriter has mistakenly claimed. He also doesn't ask them "Who are you?" after asking them "Who do you say that I am". Specifically, he asks them who He is because the whole passage is about Christ's deity, and the fulfillment of the Messiah prophecies in his person and existence. To infer that this passage is no longer focused on Christ then is to take the meaning and focus of the text off of where it rightly belongs and to place it on fallen man. I know who man is without even looking in scripture. Look around, the doctrine of Total Depravity is proved by every human heart, and if you want an excellent concrete example, observe children... they know what's wrong from day one, they have to be taught what's right. I'm getting off topic here though... all I'm trying to say is that here we have a case where a screenwriter is either severely misunderstanding and confusing the word of God because he hasn't properly had it taught to him or correctly done his own study of it... or something much more grave: an intentional perversion of God's word to fit an agenda. I haven't met the screenwriter, so I can't make that call, but let me remind everyone that next time you hear from anyone that Hollywood doesn't have an agenda, think again. This place has it's views and like soldiers in the first world war, they are dug in deep. To get them to give an inch will require a work of God through his people taking the gospel to Hollywood. We need people who know their stuff artistically and technically, and seek to make excellent films to the glory of God, and people who are not afraid to move out here and pursue careers in the industry. I have all sorts of respect for those called to make films like Fireproof and Facing the Giants, that entertainment is necessary considering most of what Hollywood puts out in theaters these days, but I humbly would argue that to make a sub-culture of Christian films based and produced out of churches isn't going to make nearly as much of a potential impact as when believers take the message to the front lines of Hollywood itself. Move to Los Angeles, come to Sunset Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd. The mission field is right here, and it's ripe for harvest. But as of now, the workers are certainly few. Films reach people all over the world. What would it look like if we had more believers in the industry, making films that promote redemptive stories of grace, truth, beauty, and good morals back into society? I'm not saying we should make blatantly preachy films, but I am saying we should make good films. Films like A Man For All Seasons and Chariots of Fire, both of which won Best Picture in the respective years they were made. It's time for a reformation in the media world, and I'm out here to be a part of it. If you have a passion for telling stories with the visual medium of filmmaking, won't you join me?

I can promise it will make a difference. And I can already see how badly this town is in need of it. Let's go back to the Eli Stone episode. The extras all talked amongst ourselves when they weren't filming, and the views that came out where incredibly inaccurate in the way they viewed Christianity, the church, and the messages of Scripture. One lady said she thought tolerance was the best policy. She didn't want to vote Yes on Proposition 8, which would define marriage as between only a man and a woman. In fact, this whole town wants to vote No from the majority of the stickers and posters I've seen. They want to codify homosexual marriage, and their rationale for doing such shows how many have been handed over to a debased mind (Romans 1). Another lady said she thought of voting yes, but then thought 'what if I have a child who turns out to be gay?'. This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of homosexuality as well, thinking you're born with the gay or lesbian orientation. The conversation over gay marriage, brought up specifically by this episode's content on the transgender pastor and his plea for tolerance, led way to a discussion over the sanctity of life. At one point a gentleman in the room went so far as to say he thought abortion should be federally enforced on religious families to keep them from perpetuating what he saw as "harmful teachings which are holding out country back from it's progressive future." Another person simply joked that any woman who's had a child and been through the experience of raising children should wish now that she had an abortion instead, which received a round of laughter. Another proposition on the ballot this election in California is Proposition 4 which would make it against the law for a minor to seek an abortion without gaining parental consent. Many commercials have aired in the LA trying to make a claim that this endangers the safety and possibly the life of the minor if she lives with abusive or violent parents. They urge voters to vote "no" because they want these girls to have the right to a quiet abortion without having to tell anyone. Essentially, you can abort a life from your womb without parental consent, but you still have to have a note from your parents before you can get an Advil from the school nurse. This is the state of things out here and the majority view in Los Angeles so far based on what I've seen. I was speechless in the midst of all of this, and keeping in mind that the discussion was anything but a civil discourse on the issues (I've actually edited many of the comments to remove foul language and crude remarks) where people chimed in simply to stir the pot of hatred and vitriol flung at believers, I determined the best plan of action in this case wasn't to try and take everyone else in the room on with my views based on God's word, but simply listen politely and silently pray for these people, for this town, and for this industry. The views they hold are certainly not in accordance with God's word, and they are dug in deep in those views. I'm out here to make a difference in that, by God's grace. Is every episode of every show like this? Of course not. But on this episode of Eli Stone, an agenda came out, quite clear and simple. And for a state like California and industry like Hollywood that prides itself on being so progressive and setting the pace for as well as mirroring the culture, that's something to be concerned about.

Watch for yourself (and see me on TV!) when Eli Stone, Season 2 Episode 9 entitled "Two Ministers" airs later this year on ABC. Probably sometime in late December/Early January is my guess...

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben's Reasons For Moving to Hollywood

2008-10-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

So, many of you have been inquiring as to my health and wellness out here in sunny Los Angeles, (where I'm proud to report that the weather is finally getting cooler... yesterday our high of 90 became a nice chilly 82 by the end of the day. See? We have seasons), and I must admit I've been absent from the blog boards lately. I've been keeping my amateur film review blog rolling along pretty well, and just added my latest review for Changeling the other day, I film that I highly recommend. You can read it here. As far as how I'm actually doing though, this little story has been a long time coming, but here goes:

Like 3 weeks ago, my roommate JP (pictured above at the grave of Cecil B. DeMille) and I decided to go spend the afternoon in Hollywood and see the sights we've so far just drove past or avoided altogether, basically we finally did some of the more touristy stuff we swore we'd never do (haha, that's what we get for swearing, right?). Ironically and somewhat morbidly, one of the more touristy things and first things we did was go to Hollywood Forever, a famous cemetery in town. This is where some of the most famous directors, actors, and various other household names from the early days of Hollywood are buried, and as such it's become a sort of tourist destination. We thought it would neat to see the final earthy resting places of such famed directors as John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The African Queen), and Cecil B. DeMille, (The Ten Commandments, also appeared in Sunset Boulevard as himself), and actors like Douglas Fairbanks (silent film star of The Thief of Bagdad), Rudolph Valentino (huge silent film star of virtually everything else), and Tyrone Power (The Mark of Zorro). Being big film school nerds we were pretty excited and enjoyed (as much as one can) touring the cemetery. I was struck by a few thoughts, some of them slightly profound:

Obviously, all of these people are dead. They've turned to ash and returned to the dust of the ground, it's been a long time since they were "appointed to die once and after that, face judgement" as Hebrews 9:27 tells us. I can't tell you for sure which ones are currently spending an eternity in heaven and which ones sadly are not, but I can guess that the majority would unfortunately be the latter category. It struck me as well that while these people are gone, they remain with us in a very unique way. Think about it: no other art form on earth that I'm aware of can capture a person as completely as film can. The irony here is that they were actors, so who we see on screen in the films they've left behind is rarely the real person they were. But still, we have their movements, speech patterns & voices (for those who weren't silent film stars at least), facial expressions, and personalities recorded for all time in a unique medium that people still watch today. You can turn on many stations on Christmas as see James Stewart playing George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life. People still recognize and know who he is, and always will. Granted, he'll be frozen in that role he played and the body he had back in 1946, but still you have to admit, that's incredible. The paintings of Monet, the writings of Dickens, and the symphonies of Mozart have been with us as well in unique ways, but the performances of film actors are recorded in such a way that I find extremely comprehensive and compelling in a way few other art forms can be.

So what's my point? Well first off, these works of art won't last forever either. Only one work of art will, and it's the book of Holy Scriptures, the Bible. People's souls will too, they are like rays in math class, they have a firm beginning, but no end. Everything else on this earth is like a line segment with a clear beginning and end. Some art, some names, are lost to history and never remembered by the masses in the way others are. But for those who stand the test of time, there is a unique chance to continue to impact lives long after theirs has ended. Think of what Martin Luther (a great current example as October 31st approaches) did all those years ago. His writings and convictions still encourage, inspire, and yes, even infuriate many to this day. He left a legacy that made an impact for the kingdom. What have these men and women in Hollywood left behind? An impact, yes, but for what? The history of cinema? The world of art? These impacts are still just as temporal as the men and women who left them. They will be forgotten and left behind at the end of time as we know it. Only what is done for the kingdom will matter. And that's why I'm out here... to combine the two loves and interests I have impacting the world of art and yet also leave a greater legacy in that sphere: an impact for the kingdom. I've heard it said that you can influence someone from afar, but can only impact them from an up-close and personal experience. That's why I believe in what I'm attempting to do here in Los Angeles. I believe we're called to take the gospel to the culture and impact it where it is. I know some have a calling to bring art into the church, and I admire the heart and effort behind such attempts in those cases where the attempt is spiritually sound and appropriate for acceptance in times of corporate worship. But I also would say that the so-called emergence of some theologies that have sacrificed the principles, doctrines, and teachings of scripture as they attempt to court the culture have only left the church in a worse place than before to effectively communicate this gospel message to the world. I'm out here to hopefully pursue a calling and career in Hollywood itself, and to help the efforts of other like minded believers seeking to transform the culture from within. Paul exhorts us to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds... likewise, the church ought not conform to the culture, but seek to transform it by the renewing of those spheres in which the culture has dug it's claws deep, be it politics, media, science, medicine, business, athletics, education, etc. I have huge respect for those in the full time service of the ministry of the church, but I would simply challenge more people to follow me out here to Hollywood, to help in this battle to influence hearts and minds for the good of the kingdom, to see people transformed for eternity. So that's it basically, that's my reasoning and rationale for being where I am and doing what I do. It's also because I love it, obviously I feel called to take the reins of a filmmaker and use the power of film to tell stories both visually and using dialogue to influence (and hopefully impact) audiences with my worldview. And it's crucial for more of us to be here. A survey done by George Barna has shown that while 80% of people can remember the plots of films they saw over two months ago, indeed, they can even recall entire passages of the scripts from those films, only 20% of the same people interviewed who said they regularly attend church can remember the theme of the sermon preached that week in a Sunday service. I'm not advocating pastors change what they're doing at all or spice up their sermons with video presentations, the proclamation of God's word is still the highest earthly calling there is. I'm just saying that in many ways (and I don't say this proudly or to brag either) tomorrows filmmakers will be impacting in a way that todays teaching pastors simply cannot, if current trends continue.

Now I'm different from most kids that go to film school. I was raised on classics, and believe many of the best films Hollywood has made were made before 1965. I like to listen to sermons and consider myself somewhat of an intellectual. I read things, and that includes books with chapters and no pictures too. Many of those graduating from schools today that I've talked to don't give a flip about classic literature or classic film. They aren't religious and if they are, many swing towards the more liberal end of the theological spectrum. They hate history and reading. They only want to make films that are edgy, or continue to prolong the current trends and stereotypes that reflect the postmodernism and relativism that our culture exalts. Am I saying that everyone who makes art films or music videos is a fool or has no greater intellect or inspiration? Absolutely not. They are simply called to communicate on different levels and to different individuals than I feel I am. That's one of the beauties of this medium: film can be used to teach, provoke thought, entertain, move, or challenge many different audiences on many different levels. Unfortunately in the wrong hands films can also be used to defame, exploit, sexually arouse, attack and misrepresent certain viewpoints and subjects. Once again, it's not the camera itself that is good or evil... that's amoral. It's the attitude of the heart of the man or woman with the title "director", "screenwriter", "artist", "producer", or "actor/actress" that makes the difference. That's why when people tell me "Ben, you know everything in Hollywood is evil, what are you doing out there?", I have to hold my tongue and remind myself that they've bought into this horrible picture of what this place is. Now I'll readily admit that it's not the same Hollywood of the 1950s. They don't make nearly as many To Kill A Mockingbirds and It's A Wonderful Lifes as they used to. They certainly make more Brokeback Mountains and Saws than our culture needs. There has been a shift in thought and worldview out here as the media has pursued a more liberal and homosexual agenda than before, that's all true. But it's no reason to give up on this place. The last few years have also seen the acceptance and success of such films as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Passion of the Christ. It was only a little over 28 years ago that a film like Chariots of Fire actually won best picture, the highest award given out by the industry. This place is completely capable of recapturing some of it's past splendor and once again telling stories with moral significance to a generation of Christ-followers. But in order to do that we need more screenwriters and directors to come out of the church and move out here to help make it happen. We need actors who will use their platform of celebrity for good and not for frivolous and trivial issues. We need more believers, less skeptics and haters. So yeah... all of this was going on in my head as we walked around this graveyard and I reflected on eternity and my calling as an artist and what that means. Hope it wasn't too heavy for any of you. Haha. I blog because I care. Thanks for reading.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. Ed Harris

2008-09-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

So this story is about two weeks overdue. Out here in Hollywood, they have a chain of movie theaters (2 locations actually, not sure if that really constitutes a chain, but anyways...) called Arclight theaters. When you go see a movie at Arclight, you're going to see a movie in the best conditions possible. For example, they have "black-box" presentations, which basically means that every single light source other than the screen in front of you is blacked out completely, which in turn totally sucks you into the movie. The screen seems brighter because there are no exit signs, aisle lights, etc to give you any sense of being in a typical movie theater (some day I'm sure I'll blog about the dangerous side of this... like what if you suddenly really DO need to find an emergency exit???) They also use Kinoton projectors (just trust me, it's as impressive as it sounds) and custom JBL sound systems with Academy Award winning technology engineered to exceed THX standards, especially for sound isolation. Seats are wider, armrests are double wide, there is assigned seating, no in-theater advertising, no late seating (like 5 minutes after a film starts they don't allow anyone else in...), they have cozy cafes and bars in their main lobbies, gift shops with film memorabilia on sale, exhibits on display to correlate with current movies that displays costumes, artwork, photographs, and posters, etc, etc, etc.... it's like, there's going to the movies, and then there's GOING to the movies... Arclight is the latter. Seriously probably the best theater going experience you're ever going to have. They also constantly have special screenings of classic films (saw The Godfather there last week... and it was awesome) and also do a lot of special events where they host the director of a film for a unique Q&A after the movie is over. This is one of those events I'm about to tell you about...

As some of you know, I went to go see the new western film Appaloosa two weeks ago, which I liked very much, you can read my full review on my other blog where I actually review films by clicking here. Anyway, so I'm excited to see the film, and my roommate and wingman J.P. is with me as well, and we're off to Sherman Oaks to see the directors screening at the Arclight there. It's kinda a shame really, the Arclight in Hollywood is much closer to us (like 4 miles) while the other Arclight, the Sherman Oaks location, is like 16 miles away. Well we left our place in Echo Park around 6:45 to see a 7:30 movie, thinking 45 minutes is plenty of time to drive to Sherman Oaks on a Thursday night. Wrong. We got to the parking garage at 7:30, and I'm freaking out because I know they don't let you in 5 minutes after the film starts screening. It takes us like 10 minutes to find a parking spot, then another 5 just to walk the length of the mall (seriously, it's like the worst designed thing in the world: have to walk around the exterior of the main building, passing all these outdoor food court hangouts, then through a P.F. Changs and Cheesecake Factory, up three escalators, and then finally, you're at the front door of the Arclight). We had bought tickets a week early, which was to our benefit, because the film was sold out when we got there. It was also to our benefit, because then the ticket guy wasn't gonna let us in, the manager walked by, saw that we had bought tickets early, and after we groveled a little and made up a laundry list of excuses (we're new to the area, we're not familiar with L.A. traffic, here's a 20, etc) he graciously let us in. We fumbled around in the dark to find out seats on the third row (which really wasn't as bad as it sounded) and tried to enjoy the movie. I'm still not sure what the first ten minutes were about, we missed that part (whereas any other theater in America we would have walked in right when the advertising ended and the previews started for another 15 minutes before the actual film began).

To make a long story a little shorter, there were two seats to my right separating me from the aisle, and while the seat immediately next to me was vacant the whole film, the aisle seat itself had an elderly gentleman sitting in it. Well about 30 minutes before the movie ends, the gentleman gets up and leaves. Then like 5 minutes later a theater employee comes over and tapes me on the shoulder, asking if the two seats next to me are open. I say yes without considering that our elderly friend may return, and when I look back to my left J.P. reminds me of that, saying "hey, wasn't there a guy sitting right ---" and he stops mid-sentence. His eyes get real big. I look back to my right again to see what caused my friend to fall silent and am greeted with an eye-full of Ed Harris himself. Wearing blue jeans, a sport jacket over a T-Shirt, glasses, and a baseball cap pulled down low over his face, Mr. Harris slides into the aisle seat. I'm sitting less than 3 feet from the director and star of Appaloosa, which I'm also nervously trying to watch on the big screen in front of me. I glance up at the screen, see Harris in character as Virgil Cole deliver a tough line about upholding the law in the old west, then glance back to my right and see the man himself sitting next to me. It's kinda a surreal experience. I didn't know if I was supposed to laugh out loud at some parts (the film does have quite a bit of humor) and suddenly became very conscious of the fact that Ed Harris may very well be monitoring my level of enjoyment towards his film, curious to see how an audience reacts to certain parts. About 15 minutes later, right before the end of the film, another gentleman sits down in the open seat that separates me and Ed. I later learned that this man was Robert Knott, who produced and co-wrote the film with Ed Harris. Anyway, right before the end credits rolled, the final shot is of one of the characters riding off into the sunset (classic western motif, gotta love it...) and as the closing lines of voice over narration are given, suddenly Mr. Harris raises his hands to about shoulder level, palms upward, sort-of in one of those poses that communicates "what the heck just happened?" and "I'm waiting...." all at the same time. Mr. Knott also raises his hands in a quizzical gesture, and they both freeze and hold this pose for about 2 minutes.... JP and I are still trying to figure out what just happened... haha. It was like they were either a) waiting for the audience to applaud or something, b) confused by the ending and unsatisfied with the presentation, or c) randomly just decided to strike a pose. It turned out that the gesture was produced on the spot because the film we saw wasn't the final version. Ed was raising his hands because he was waiting for more voice over narration, they actually had one or two more paragraphs of narration they had recorded late in the post-production period to tack onto the ending, and the screener we saw didn't have this last tidbit of dialogue included. Pity. But it was funny sitting next to him and watching his body language and seeming puzzlement over the ending to his own movie.

Well the director's Q&A rolls around, they turn on the lights in the theater and bring out some of those classic fold out wooden directors seats for Ed and Robert to sit in. Then out comes this dorky little guy from Arclight to ask some questions. And boy was he terrible. One of the first things he asked was what Ed thought of a recent review that ran for the film in the New York times that morning which called it a "sex comedy" because of the love triangle created by the three main characters and the humorous dialogue exchanged between them. Ed looked completely taken aback at this description, much like everyone else in the theater (I can assure you this film is anything but a "sex comedy" dear reader!) and slowly raises the microphone to growl into it "you see, that's why I don't read reviews... because of what you just told me. Now I'm gonna have that idiot's description stuck in my f---ing head- I mean.... sex comedy? SEX COMEDY? What the hell man!???" The audience approves his anger at this claim with laughter and the nervous interviewer moves on... "um, don't you think that you and Viggo had some unique comedic chemistry in this film, kinda like Laurel and Hardy?"... blank death stares from Harris... nervous interviewer: "Or maybe what about the sexual tension felt between the two characters here... I mean, these guys are acting like a married couple at times" Harris rolls his head and eyes in an exaggerated gesture to show how stupid this question is, then growls into the mic once more: "hey look man, we're not on the mountain, and there are no sheep around." which (surprisingly, considering how "tolerant" this town is of homosexual lifestyles) the crowd gives his answer both a roar of approval and a round of applause. (That's right... Brokeback Mountain may have had it's audience, but it's not the same audience as Appaloosa, and to even infer any homosexual undertones in this film is to step over the line from what the director intended folks). Anyway, the interview goes on just fine, we learn some interesting tidbits about the filming process and how the film was adapted from a book, etc, and then suddenly Ed does what I hate seeing celebrities do: takes a platform he's been given to talk about subject "A" and uses it instead to talk about subject "B". You can probably guess what I'm referring to: Harris brings up his political views.

Now I'll listen to the man talk about movies. He's directed two of them, and acted in many more. I think he's a great actor, very powerful on screen (and in real life too - he's just as forward, blunt, and straight-edged as the roles he plays in films like Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, The Truman Show, The Abyss, and Gone Baby Gone). But when he opens his mouth and says "hey, I don't wanna get all political or anything, but come this November, let's all make sure we get out and vote... OK?" I was kinda bothered, but happy that was apparently all he was gonna say. Ok, you've got your plug in for voting, lets get back to talking about the movie we just saw. Right? wrong. A few minutes later he comes out full force when he goes way off topic to talk about a little thing called proposition 4. Here's the short version of his ridiculous rant: "Hey, real quick, I don't wanna get all political, but lemme tell you about this thing called Proposition 4 coming up on the ballot... my wife works as a volunteer with this Feminists of America thing, and I just got back from one of their meetings, so listen up... they're trying to pass a law that says you have to have parental consent to get an abortion if your a minor... think about this folks. They're saying that if you're a 16 year old girl and you get pregnant, and your mom is dead, your dad is a mean alcoholic son-of-a-b---h who you know will beat the crap out of you if he finds out you're pregnant... they're saying in that situation you can't go to a close friend, a school worker, social worker, a priest or nun or something and say 'hey, I got this problem, will you help me out and drive me to the clinic to get this thing taken care of'... they're trying to do that to us folks. Take away that poor girl's right to choose safely and on her own. So just think about that when you go vote... and also think about how we can get rid of this G-d d--ned current administration and help bring in the new world order" Well so much for not getting political Mr. Harris. I lost a lot of respect for the man. Seriously, first off, the scenario he cooks up is so ridiculous it would take an actor to imagine it. In his scenario he thinks the girl could get a priest or nun to help her? Hello, have you talked to any Catholics about abortion lately? They're the most staunchly pro-life people on planet earth. Apparently Ed missed that memo. And of course this all boils down to an issue that could have been easily solved if the 16 year old girl kept her pants on to begin with. They don't want to restrict the sexual promiscuity of the culture at all, oh no, they would rather just abort the baby and keep living it up. I think Prop 4 is a good rule, think about it: you have to have parental consent to go to the school nurse and get an Advil these days at most schools. You're telling me this girl has to have family approval to get over-the-counter medication for a simple headache, but she doesn't have to check with the folks first before she terminates a life growing inside of her? Wow... now I don't wanna get all political, but Ed Harris is a toolbag when it comes to politics. As I said, I'll listen to any actor talk about acting, just like I'd listen to a mechanic talk about cars: it's what they know. But the attitude amongst celebrities that they're more politically savvy than the masses has to go. The vast majority get their information from the same magazines, websites, and cable news shows I do, they don't have any experience in the realm of politics that I don't, so why do they carry themselves like God's chosen prophets of politics when it comes to these issues? It's not that I don't agree with their politics that bothers me (although that does have a little something to do with it, I'm sure) but its the simple fact that I paid to come see a western and hear how it was made, not to hear Ed Harris rant his political leanings for the whole theater to hear that have nothing to do with the movie. I HATE it when celebrities talk about things they're not qualified or even expected to talk about during interviews or special appearances. I know he has freedom of speech, but it's not what I paid for and I'm not appreciative of celebrities who use their platforms in such a way.

Anyway, the evening winded down and I waited in a line to go up and shake his hand. Regardless of his political rant, he's still a good director and actor and I wanted to tell him how much I appreciated his handling of the western genre. Most folks in line just wanted him to autograph some old copy of The Abyss, which you could tell he was kinda sick of doing. When I got to the front of the line I simply shook his hand and said, "Mr Harris, I'm a huge fan of a good western, and you didn't disappoint me with Appaloosa. Thanks for the great movie sir" Hearing this, he kinda perked up in personality and we even had a little "moment" where we kinda had a genuine exchange, he smiled and said, "Oh really, you're a fan of the genre? what films do you like that are westerns?" and I enthusiastically responded "Oh you know, I loved The Searchers and Unforgiven and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance among others". He grinned at and repeated my last selection, "Oh yeah, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is great isn't it?" I smiled and asked him politely at that point if he wouldn't mind autographing my ticket stub for Appaloosa, he kinda chuckled and said "I guess I could..." in sort-of a joking manner, and there you have it: I have a ticket stub that now reads "To Benjamin, Happy Trails! Ed Harris." Hahaha. What a night it was. I didn't appreciate the man's political speech, but the rest of the event was rather memorable. Sat next to the the guy whose film I was watching. How many times can you say that while you're watching a movie? ;-)

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Los Angeles Public Library

2008-09-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

So anyone who knows me well knows that I have this crazy love for libraries. I promise I'm not a nerd... well not a big one anyways, but what's wrong with loving libraries? They're free resources to go get books, music, films, etc, practically any piece of information you could ever want. Los Angeles county has like over 70 branches to their library system, and with one little library card, I get access to all of them (can't you just hear the glee in my voice?... of course you can't, you're not hearing my voice as I read this out loud.... but if you DID, oh man... there's an unhealthy amount of glee in my voice... and an unhealthy amount of ellipses in my typing... but I digress). Long story short, I live real close to the Echo Park branch (because I live, after all, in Echo Park) and it's not uncommon for me to scamper over to the library (wow... did I just use the word "scamper"?... and MORE ellipses?... uncanny) and spend the better portion of the day sitting, waiting, wishing (and other activities shared by Jack Johnson for those of you who picked up on that pop culture reference there) and of course, reading. I discovered that while the Echo Park branch is nice, I live like less than 3 miles from the Central Library, which is the big one downtown. I decided to try it out, and I'm not lying when I say it's the largest and most impressive library I've ever been in. I just wish I could have found it sooner and parked in the right parking lot.

You see, downtown LA is a labyrinth of streets and avenues that are difficult to drive at night, and I had already gone on line and gotten directions to the library before heading down there. According to the LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) website, you can park in the garage on S. Flower St. and get validated parking, which means you only have to pay like $1 for 4 hours or something great like that. So I follow my GPS (I still want to name her, I'm open to suggestions too. She's got this sweet female voice that doesn't mind telling me when I've made wrong turns and am acting like a irrational male behind the steering wheel). My GPS takes me all the way to S. Flower St. and I'm thinking, great, I'll just park in the deck here and then walk to the library. So my roommate JP (who is my wingman on this adventure) and I park and go searching for the library. I'm excited to see what they have on foreign films, and JP is looking for some Joseph Campbell books. We exit the parking garage at 7:10pm and head for the library which closes at 8:00pm. We quickly discover that we have no earthly clue where the library is and then a thought hits me which makes me laugh. You remember in Spanish class when they taught you phrases and sentences you thought you'd never use in day to day life? Well it just so happens that LA is 52% Spanish speaking (seriously, it's out of control. West Palm was a joke compared to this) and so you have to realize that any stranger you approach my speak Spanish and not English (which last time I checked is still the official language in the good 'ole US of A). I laughed because I remember learning the Spanish phrase for "Where is the Library?" which is "Donde esta la biblioteca?" and thinking to myself, good grief, when am I ever going to say that to anyone "en espanol"? Well, thank you Mrs. Mullis for your teaching, because thanks to you I finally found the appropriate setting for this display of impressive linguistics. I was able to ask a few kindly old men for help in locating to Library, both in English and in Spanish, and I finally found it, about 20 minutes later. So now it's 7:30 and we only have a half hour to look around. A bit of nerdy film trivia: On the way to the library, we actually passed the shooting location for the season 1 finale of "Heroes", I recognized that red circular stairwell thingy, one of those pieces of modern art they put in the middle of big cities. Anyway, for those of you who watch the show, it's where Hiro, Peter, Sylar, practically everyone fight at the end of season 1. For those of you who don't watch the show... I have nothing to say to you to defend my nerdiness.

Anyway, the Central Library is like 6 stories tall, and have some crazy floors with cool displays, more books than you could... well, than you could fill a library with frankly, and an entire room of music and film that I of course took to like a moth to a bug zapper. The library elevator is kinda cool too, I dunno why but I have to mention this: it's a glass elevator, but the walls are "wallpapered" with old index cards from the old card catalog (for those readers who are younger and never had the joy and privilege of searching for books in old card catalogs, you really missed out on some crazy fun times, let me assure you.) Anyway, we spend the better part of an hour (the last half hour the library is open to be precise) enjoying the library and pretending to be scholarly and more smart than we really are. We end up checking out som books and films, and it's off to the parking garage to leave. But first I must validate my parking. I hand the guy my ticket, he looks at it and says, "sorry, you parked in the wrong lot". You've got to be kidding me. A few more exchanges of dialogue with this man and I learn that I parked in the lot on S. Flower St., just the WRONG lot. Dang. Oh well. Live and learn, right? I guess I'll still pay like $1 because we've only been there for a little over half and hour, right? WRONG. I walk back to the garage on S. Flower St., the one they apparently don't tell you is the wrong one, and attempt to leave. As I drive up to the little automated toll booth, I insert my parking ticket and the machine tells me I owe more than a dollar. In fact I owe like $15. (I must refrain from using bad language at this point, but suffice it to say I am greatly perturbed by the lack of clearly marked signs and/or the lack of absolutely free parking in and around the LA county area). It turns out that the deck charges $3 for every 10 minutes (that's where this city must make the big money... that, and the overpriced movie theaters) and so since I entered around 7:10 and am leaving around 8:00, I owe $15 for 50 minutes of parking. Insane. If there had been a person there I would have told them that. But alas, it was only a machine, and the gate wouldn't go up until I paid the $15 by swiping my debit card in the little slot, the one marked "Haha, you're not from the area are you? Sucker!" Well I certainly hope the LAPL is happy. Because I could have gone to Borders and BOUGHT the book I checked out for free with the money I spent on parking. Shame on you S. Flower St. parking garage. A curse upon you and your automated parking fees. Ah well... live and learn, right? This ain't Birmingham.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Porn Star at the Hot Dog Stand

2008-09-19T00:42:00.001-07:00

Here's one to get a good laugh at: I'm driving down N. La Brea Blvd, on my way to pick up some things at Target (because as you've read in my previous post, I'm not really interested in going back to Wal-Mart anytime soon), when what to my roaming eyes should appear but a miniature sled and eight tiny reindeer? No. Even better than Christmas: Pinks Hotdogs. Pinks has been a Hollywood tradition since it opened in 1939. Probably the most famous hot dog stand in all of Los Angeles, and possibly all of America for that matter, Pinks serves up some of the wildest hot dogs you can imagine. I usually just stick to the basic chili cheese dog: a footlong with homemade Pinks Chili and covered in onions, plus mustard, cheese, and a little T.L.C. Chase it down with a Dr. Browns Root Beer and you've got yourself a great Hollywood lunch (Notice I didn't say healthy necessarily). Anyway, if you're even more adventurous, you can get a variety of stuff, my Mom got a dog with tomatoes, bacon, and something else on it, and my roommate JP (bless his heart, this thing tore him up pretty good later) decided to get the Ozzy Spicy Dog (named after Ozzy Osbourne). Among other things, the Ozzy is comprised of a spicy polish sausage (with the peppers and onions inside the sausage), nacho cheese, American cheese, grilled onions, guacamole, & chopped tomatoes. Yeah... he ate the whole thing. Anyway, the thing about Pinks is the line is always ridiculously long... like around the block. It's usually like a 25 minute wait just to order, and the parking is limited, they have a little guy that works the parking lot as a Pinks Valet attendant, and you give him your keys and he'll move cars around like a giant game of Tetris to squeeze them all in the little Pink's parking lot. It's pretty crazy, but hey, like I said, this place is a Hollywood legend. In fact, the wallpaper of the interior dining area is comprised of autographed 8x10's of all the famous actors who have eaten there over the years... it's pretty cool. They say it's not uncommon to see a limo pull up to the curb and a celebrity step out (or more likely, a celebrities "personal assistant") to order a hot dog at Pinks. So when I drove by I noticed a shocking sight: the line was short... like less than 15 people short (usually it's got at least 50 folks lined up). I pulled over and decided I would have to eat there for lunch.

That's when I noticed the cameras... at least 3 of them, all pointing towards these three women standing in front of Pink's Hotdogs. One of the women was a smaller brunette lady who was dressed sort-of like little orphan Annie, and she was flanked on either side by two giant blonde women. Let me try and explain what I mean by giant: these women were not fat... they were just proportionally larger than any woman I've ever seen. I mean, they still had curves and waists and everything, they were just.... like... freakin Amazon blonde women. Anyway, frankly, I started to have doubts that they were real women (This is LA after all) and I started to stare at their necks for any sign of an Adam's apple, or looked at their hands to see if they looked rough and masculine. Upon closer examination, they did appear to be real women, just really freaky and fake women. Anyway, they're all standing on the corner singing "O Canada" so some reason, and the cameras are eating it up. I'm standing in line behind them with about 12 other people, and I know I'm the background of the shot, wearing a green shirt and dark sunglasses. They filmed some more, and I did my best to sort-of innocently position my blocking so I would be in the frame somewhere behind them, because at this point I had no idea what they were filming and just thought it would be cool to be in the shot. It's the same thing you see in the attitude of the general public when they stand outside the NBC building in New York to be on the today show, everyone clamoring for the camera and their chance to be on TV. So there I am, trying really hard to be in the background of the shot, intently looking out of the corner of my eye to see where the camera is so I can finagle my way into the shot a little. Then one of the PA's (Production Assistants) comes over and taps me on the shoulder, saying: "Can Shannon and her friends hop in front of you in line? We need to film them ordering a hot dog, and the director said if you'll let us do this, we'll cover the cost of your lunch." I naturally agreed, now I would be in the shot AND get a free lunch (take that Adam Smith and your stupid Wealth of Nations economics... saying there's no such thing as a free lunch... bah! I scoff at you today!). Well the giant blondes and their small orphan friend come stand in front of me in line and order their hotdogs, and that's when I got to see just how "real" reality TV is... it's about as real as that miniature sled and eight tiny reindeer I mentioned earlier folks. Seriously, they have to film these women ordering a hot dog three different times from 3 different angles and then once more to get good audio. Reality? How about.... LAME. Anyway, aside from my ranting about reality TV, the PA walks back over to me and gives me a $20 bill. They don't ask for change, she just smiles and says "enjoy your lunch." Awesome! Now I've made money, because Lord knows I'm not gonna spend more than $20 at a hot dog stand... heck, I'm not even gonna spend more than $10. It's a hot dog stand for crying out loud. I order my chili cheese dog and Dr. Browns root beer and settle down for a comfortable lunch outside at a nice table with a big red Pinks umbrella (not sure why they didn't make the umbrellas pink... but in the interest of my own manliness, I'm glad they did, because I wouldn't want to be spotted sitting under a giant pink umbrella). One of the other PAs saunters over to my table and jokingly asks me if I'm going to eat all of my hot dog. I smile and say yes, then decide this is as good a time as any to find out what they're filming: "Hey, what are you guys shooting here anyways?". He gives me a slight dumbfounded look as if to say "you moron, you don't recognize it?" and then he actually says "Gene Simmon's Family Jewels." I give him a dumbfounded look now, I've never heard of this show before. Before I know it, we've held an entire conversation in a few seconds just by giving each other looks, and he opens his mouth to repeat himself, like perhaps I just misheard his first attempt: "Gene Simmon's Family Jewels man" and I quickly fake an epiphany and nod my head like, "Oh yeah, I totally love that show!" even thought I know nothing about it. Anyway, turns out it comes on A&E, it's one of those shows like "The Osbournes" where America tunes in to watch the dysfunctional lives of a rock star and his family, because naturally America has nothing better to do with it's time than see how the lead singer of KISS raises his kids.

I leave the hotdog stand and decide to swing by the library (at this time we still didn't have internet at our home) and do a little research. And boy was I in for a shock. Turns out this giant blonde woman was Gene Simmon's "partner" (because marriage is soooo 1980 out here in La La Land) and they had been living together long enough to have 2 kids. The woman's name is Shannon Tweed, and you might remember her from such memorable roles as "Indecent Behavior 1, 2, & 3", "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death", and "Body Chemistry 4: Full Exposure". Yep, that's right. Miss Tweed has been an adult film star for most of her life, and was Playboy's playmate of the year back in 1982. So lesson learned... I've been in L.A. for a little less than 2 weeks, and already, I can honestly say that I've shared the screen with a porn star. Not how it sounds of course (because that would not be cool) but yeah... to think I was trying to get in the shot so hard, only to find out it's a lame reality show that follows around an old retired porn actress and her messed up family. Oh well... welcome to Hollywood folks.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Overly Jovial Jewish Gentleman at the Hollywood Sign

2008-09-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

So the picture you're looking at was taken by someone else. I tried to do that whole thing where I lean back and aim the camera at myself holding it at arms length, but it never came out well enough, so eventually I had to have someone else take the pic for me. Who was this mystery photographer you ask? Why, a rather jovial Jewish fellow I shall now tell you all about.

To begin with, this all started when I was driving around town one day. I figured I needed to go around and snap a few pictures of myself with the classic hollywood hotspots on prominent display, that way I could get that touristy bit of myself out of my system, and also it would just be kinda fun to go around and see the sights of LA. The Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Staples Center, Dodger's Stadium, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, The Kodak Theatre, All of these were among the famous LA/Hollywood landmarks I had to track down for a photo opportunity. The most famous of which however, and the quintessential picture for anyone who ever visits the area, is one of the Hollywood Sign. Sitting atop the mountain looking down on the city, the Hollywood Sign has become the symbol for the film industry. Long has many a film student been inspired by the uneven white letters sitting atop this mountain, right up there next to the Griffith Observatory. I just knew I had to get as close as possible for a picture. Well that's the biggest problem with the Hollywood Sign. It's tough to get close to it. Almost any picture you attempt to take of it will leave it feeling small, insignificant, and distant, especially if you insist on being in the frame as well. On a whim I did a GPS search for The Hollywood Sign and it actually came up as a tourist spot. I decided if there was ever a way to get close, follow the GPS to whatever view it gives me. Sure enough, the GPS takes you right up to the base of the mountain, with the letters looming overhead. I looked ahead and saw the road continue up the mountain, and figured I could get closer. I ended up in a dusty parking lot on a dirt road labeled "Holly Ridge Trail". From here on, I would be on foot. I hiked in only about 300 yards beyond the parking lot and rounded a corner to see the Hollywood Sign dead ahead of me. This is about as close as you can get to it for a decent picture, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

After about 10 minutes of attempting to do my own self-portrait, I hear a noise coming from below me on the trail. It's the sound of a man laughing. I wait, and within a few seconds, the source of the laughter comes into view. A rather large Jewish gentlemen, complete with black dress pants, white dress shirt, and little yarmulke sitting atop his head. A large black beard covers half his face, and he squints through thick glasses. He's grinning from ear to ear. He has with him a very petite woman who doesn't look Jewish... in fact she looks like an escort... very elaborate make-up job, high heels (yeah... she wasn't really "mountain-ready" here folks) and a tight little cocktail dress/miniskirt combo. I don't want to judge, but the looked like a very odd couple. Whatever her relation to the man, it was obvious they were in love (or at least lust) because they were all over each other. Constant hugging and kissing... kinda to a point where you wanted to tell them to find a room. Long story short he said he wanted me to take a picture of him in front of the sign, and I agreed. I positioned him and his girlfriend/wife/escort/female companion in the frame with the Hollywood Sign right above him, and snapped the picture. I let him take a look at it before they broke the pose, asking him if the angle was OK and he was satisfied with the picture. He gave me a real serious look, and said he didn't like it at all. I was kinda taken aback, and inquired as to why he didn't like it that much, to which he simply responded "My nose is too big". I couldn't figure out if he was joking or not, and was kinda afraid to laugh until he cracked into a wide grin and let out a deep rolling belly laugh. A Jewish joke from a Jew. I guess they can get away with it the same way black people can tell black jokes. Anyway, he laughs real hard and lets me know by way of a hard slap on the back that it's not my fault his nose is so big. He points to heaven and chuckles, "Yahweh gave me my large nose!" and then bursts into fits of laughter again. I join in, a little nervous and trying to gage just how much I'm allowed to ham it up with him while he pokes fun at his own ethnicity. He proceeds to take a picture of me, which as I said, is the one you see here, but I'll never forget the large, laughing Jewish man for as long as I live here. It was truly an LA moment.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Mentally Disturbed and Verbally Abusive Wal-Mart Shopper

2008-09-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

So this story may not be new to anyone, but here goes: When I first moved out to Los Angeles, I went on a three day shopping spree across the city with my Mom to make sure we got everything we needed for my new apartment. You know, the essentials: soap, toothbrush, towels, underwater basket weaving guidebook, etc. Anyway, we decide to go visit the friendly local neighborhood Wal-Mart, which is located on Crenshaw Blvd about 6 miles from where I live. We hop on the 110 and head down to the Wal-Mart, arriving around 10:05 pm. Now where I'm from, we know a few things for certain: the sun sets in the west, Bear Bryant is deader than he's ever been, and Wal-Mart stays open 24 hours. Not so in Los Angeles. We arrive to a locked gate and a kindly old man informs us that the store closes at 10:00 pm sharp everyday, no exceptions. Oh well, go figure, I knew this place would be different, but I didn't think it would affect small details like the Wal-Mart store hours.

We head home, disappointment and despair clouding our otherwise cheerful demeanors. The next morning we decide to give it another go and arrive when the store is open. It's part of this plaza mall kinda set-up, the Wal-Mart even has an opening out into a food court area in the center of the mall and the exterior of the building looks like an old art-deco skyscraper too. I half expected to see a monkey on top of the structure, complete with airplane circling and firing away at it. Seriously, it's the strangest looking Wal-Mart you've ever seen. It's 3 stories tall, and they have special escalators that take the carts up one side and then the humans ride up the other side, like they've been doing for centuries... or at least decades, I have no idea exactly when the first escalator was invented, and it's quite possible that a century ago they didn't have them.

So we're on the top floor, in the lamps, bedding, and curtains section. Just me and my Mom, discussing color schemes and fabric softener, when all of a sudden this guy approaches. He's kinda ugly, very big, and looks like he's a mix between American Indian and Latino background. He's got a tight t-shirt on, loosely fills out a light jacket unzipped in the front, and has a LA Dodgers baseball cap pulled down squarely on his square shaped head. He strides right towards us, but actually looking beyond us, or should I say through us, his eyes are kinda glazed over and staring off into space. Either he's day dreaming or crazy, and when his mouth opens, it only confirms the later diagnosis. Streams of expletives thicker than brunswick stew come flying out of his mouth, and we got covered in his foul language. Eff this, Eff that, Eff you mothereffer, etc etc... he's got quite a vocabulary of nice big four letter words, and he's not afraid to use them. Come to think of it, I think he may HAVE used his whole vocabulary in one sentence because he sounded like a broken record after that... just dropping F bombs like it was going out of style. Well my Mom and I are obviously not presented with this high intelligence life form that often, so we're kinda stumped as to what to do.... he seems to be trying to pick a fight? I dunno why I thought that, maybe it was something about the way he looked me in the face and screamed "eff you man, you want a piece of me? I'll eff you up man! This is bulls--t!" I decided to simply stare at the floor and count my shoelaces while he launches into his encore performance. Keep in mind that he's very loud and standing in the middle of the aisle, but we seem to the be the only people up there, and there's not a friendly blue-vested Wal-Mart employee anywhere either. We take his verbal thrashing and he moves on to find another victim to vomit obscenities on. No words are exchanged, I think this is one of those unique mother-son moments where you completely understand what just happened and you're content to try and ignore it.

So we're minding our business and time goes by. No sight of the crazy man for the last few minutes... literally, like 10 minutes go by at least. Then without warning, at the top of his lungs, and sounding like he's only one aisle over and begging for an audience, we hear him again. He screams as loud as he possible can, "F--- WHITE PEOPLE!!!!" This is code language to me and my Mom that we probably should head for the check out line soon. He storms by the end of our aisle and we get a glimpse of him one last time as he keeps screaming about the white race: "PUT 'EM IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP, AND STARVE 'EM TO DEATH!!!" That was the last we saw of our friend with the adult vocabulary. After that we were greeted with over five Wal-Mart employees in blue vests who had finally heard that there was a "situation" on the top floor and come up to see what the problem was. They can't seem to find the guy, and we never see him again either, but I was checking behind me as we left the store and entered the parking lot... you know, just in case he was looking for us to share his true feelings once more. It was more language than I've heard in real life in a long, long time... seriously, last time I heard a man swear that way, it was in a movie. Anyway, long story short, we survived the Wal-Mart on Crenshaw Blvd, but don't expect me to be hanging out around the Low Price Place anytime soon... Target's closer anyway.

A Southern Boy's Adventures in LA: Ben vs. The Bust-Measuring Bimbo

2008-09-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

So I've relocated to LA from Birmingham and am looking for a job out here. While waiting for that golden opportunity to come along, I decided to go ahead and take steps to insure that I could have a back-up plan for making some small money fast - you know, the kind of job you take just to keep gas in the car and groceries in the fridge. So I sauntered down the street (translation: drove across town on the LA freeways and cheated death with every lane merge) and decided to apply for Central Casting. Central Casting is one of the bigger casting agencies in town, they provide all the background and extras for TV and film. Ever watch an episode of anything of TV and seen people walking around in the background and wondered who they were? Those are Central Casting extras, and they get paid $8 an hour and fed three meals while on set. After 8 hours on set, you get paid time and a half, and most workdays are 12 hours for the extras, so you end up with somewhere around $100 for one day of standing around and walking through the background of scenes a couple of times. Not the most glamourous job, but an easy $100 if you don't mind standing around all day. I personally love the idea of getting to spend a full day or two on a set, observe how the shoot certain shows and watch the directors direct the actors.

So after two of my roommates, Bryan and Pete, raved about it because they each got to be on "Without a Trace" and had a good experience, I decided to register as well. I walk into the main office and run into a room full of about 20 people, from every walk of life. We've got caucasian, asian, african american, and hispanic people in the room of every age, sex, and shape. I had been told by my Pete to sit in a row of chairs along the wall when I entered the room, and not gather around the conference table where everyone else was sitting. This is because when 10:30am rolls around, the casting director enters the room and makes a little speech, and then they start processing at that row of chairs. So essentially if you know this little inside tip early on, you get a free pass to the front of the line. So there I am, sitting near the window in the row of seats, filling out my application. They ask for all sorts of personal information regarding your physical appearance, from hair color, weight, and height; all the way to your actual clothing sizes so you can be fitted for a show should they need to put you in some sort of uniform or costume. For a guy this means giving them your coat, sleeve, neck, waist, inseam, and shoe size; and for a girl you must provide your bust, bra size, waist, hips, dress size, and show size. Nothing out of the question, the same information you'd give your tailor really. They also have a section that asks if you're willing to do nude work, and you have to circle yes or no (and right now I'll go ahead and tell you what I put: absolutely not.)

Anyway, I'm in there for a few minutes and in walks this girl. She's slender and tall, and at first glances, I'll admit, she's rather lovely and downright attractive. She comes over and sits next to me because she also knew about the little "sit-by-the-window-to-get-to-the-head-of-the-line" tip. So seeing as how it's still about 15 minutes before they start official processing and registration, we naturally start up a conversation. Her name is Emily Egbert, but don't let the name fool you as to her ethnic background. As nerdy as the name may sound, she's actually half Jordanian, her mom grew up in Amman (capital of Jordan - don't worry, I had to look it up too). She has that whole raven-black shoulder length hair, olive toned skin, and deep brown eyes thing working for her, and if I had to guess I'd say she could easily be on camera if she really wants to pursue acting full time, which as I continue to talk to her, I discover is her intent all along. As the time draws nearer, a rather large and friendly african american gentleman in a full suit comes and sits next to me as well, and we both joke about how this whole registration feels a lot like being drafted in the military. He informs me that if they take us to another room and ask us to drop our shorts for a full physical, he's not interested, and for a second it seems like he actually isn't joking, that maybe he really thinks this is a possibility.

10:30 rolls around and it's go time. The room is now full of over 100 people, and sure enough, I'm near the very front of the line. The casting director comes out and announces that they have measuring tapes available throughout the room and it's strongly encouraged that we measure ourselves accurately for the application, even if we know our sizes already. It's important that we make sure we're not just a few inches off, or the prop costumes may not fit and then we'll feel like idiots on set wearing clothes that are too large/too tight. At this announcement, the unexpected happens. Emily grabs a tape (those fabric measuring tapes they have at every tailor and suit store) and whirls around to face me. "Will you help measure me?" she politely inquires. Now I don't know much, but I was raised in the south where as a standing rule we treat our women with dignity and respect. To say this was a little surprising and even a little inappropriate is an understatement. I know it's just a measurement, but I'm a guy, she's a girl, and a complete stranger until like 20 minutes ago. The more I reflect on the incident, in many ways I guess I was less of a stranger to her than anyone else in there, but still... I'm not used to being presented with this kind of scenario. I'm sure my mouth was wide open and jaw was resting on the floor as I quickly tried to formulate the correct response. Then I heard words come out of my mouth: "Sh-Sh-Sh-Sure". WHAT? Did I just say that? What's happening here? But before I can figure out why my mouth and head are not agreeing, I find myself standing there as she wraps a tape around the fullest part of her chest, turns her back to me, and asks me to help her figure out her bust measurement. I'll grant her the fact that she turned her back to me, at least this way my hands would be nowhere near the danger zone, but still, this is a rather new and awkward experience. Where I'm from, girls tend to not ask guys to help them figure out their bust size. I ended up pinching the tape together in the middle of her back and reporting that she measured 32 inches. She thanks me and then asks what's next on the sheet. I glance down and to my horror see the words "Bra Size". Now here is where I should have read it in my head before reading it out loud, but I think I did both at the same time and accidently said out loud, "Uh, it says bra size" Once again, I kick myself mentally, wondering if the old nature has gone on autopilot for some reason. I figured she would probably say, "Oh, well lets skip to the next category" because once again, where I'm from if a guy asked a girl her bra size in public (or private for that matter), he's probably seeking a slap in the face. Surprisingly though, and causing my recently re-attached jaw to hit the ground once again, she casually tells me over her shoulder, "Oh, my boobies are a B". Those were her exact words. I'm speechless, still holding a tape around her back and trying to figure out what just happened, when she starts moving on to waist, hips, etc... before I know it, we've measured every inch of her from top to bottom, and I've recorded the whole thing obediently for her on her sheet.

Then my eyes catch sight of what would be the last straw: where it asked if she would do nude work, she had circled "yes". Man, I'm telling you, I wanted to drop the tape and wash my hands right there. Welcome to LA. This ain't no Birmingham, no sir, it sure ain't. Needless to say, the rest of the registration went on fine, I registered and hope to be on TV soon making some quick money in the background, but seriously... I could go out and buy this girl a dress now with the information I know... and perhaps I should. A real modest one with a note attached that said she should reconsider her decision to do naked work and instead pursue real classy acting, the kind where you keep your clothes on and wow the audience with your abilities and not your curves. I could even tell her that the next time she needs to measure herself, she should find a kindly old lady to assist her or something... But then, I didn't get her address, so I'd have nowhere to send it... hmm, oh well. Welcome to LA folks. The Bible belt this ain't. I was hoping this would be the end of my awkward moments in the city, but as you'll soon learn in a later installment of this blog, this was only the beginning. Because later that day I would share the screen with a porn star at a hot dog stand. But that's another story for a later post... Until then my friends, I hope I've put a smile on your face as I recount my humorous and awkward times in sunny Los Angeles California. Keep in touch and check back later for more stories of hollywood fun.

Moving to LA

2008-09-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hey, I've just recently relocated in Los Angeles. I've got no reliable internet connection here, so give me a couple days to get that fixed and I'll be ready to start blogging again about the joys and misadventures of my life. Thanks for your patience.

Going wild at the book store...

2008-08-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Because I'm a bit crazy and love to read, I blew a good portion of my birthday money at the bookstore yesterday. So if you're curious to know what's on my mind and on my plate as far as books go, feast your eyes on these titles... more than likely you'll hear me mention them as I read like crazy over the course of the next few months.

The Games Are Upon Us At Last!

2008-08-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

It's almost here. I can remember back in 2002 when I visited Beijing for the first time. I was a rising senior in high school. They had just found out one year earlier (2001) they were getting the games in 2008, and the city was already excited. I bought a T-Shirt that year that had the original olympic logo they'd designed for the games, seen above. 6 years and two graduation ceremonies later, I'm 23 (today actually... yeah, so happy birthday me, for what that's worth. haha) and the games are less than 3 full days away. The shirt no longer fits at all, the emblem is faded, and they've designed a new logo anyway. The city has only grown, as I witnessed upon my second visit to Beijing in 2005, when I was a rising junior in college. As I reflect upon the long and turbulent road that the olympic torch and games have taken to reach Beijing, I look at my own life on my 23rd birthday. I too have had my share of growth and struggle in the last 6 years. The transitions from high school to college to post-graduate life have been interesting to say the least. Just as my original shirt bought back in 2002 no longer fits or is even relevant, I too have completely changed in more ways than one. Spiritually I became a Christian over that period of time between 2002 and now, and the ways in which my life has grown, transformed, and been changed are too numerous to count. And as the world watches the games unfold over the course of the next 3 weeks, I too watch with anticipation as the future awaits for myself and the rest of God's people. I'm moving to LA in a little less than a month's time, and I eagerly look forward to what paths God has laid for me there. I'll be pursuing a career in the film business which I love and want to see transformed from the inside out. Maybe not as dramatic as the Olympics, but surely to some extent, the "eyes of the world" will be upon me as I seek to live out my faith under the scrutiny of an unbelieving world. I would ask for your prayers and continued support as I embark upon this exciting new chapter of my life. Just like Beijing, I have made enemies and am not embraced by all. I have my darker chapters and my secret sins, my moments of doubt and times when I appear stubborn. We're all like this though: being continuously reshaped and re-moulded to the original designs of the creator. Our sin nature has indeed corrupted us, but behold, Christ promises that he came to "make all things new", and this is especially true for the believer. What a precious promise. So for me, the next few weeks will be spent passionately enjoying the games I have been waiting for for the last 6 years, yet this is only symbolic of the rest of my life, which I desire and pray will be well spent living passionately for my God and my faith. As crazy as it all sounds, I truly do believe that the Olympics are in many ways as close as we will get to seeing what heaven will be like, at least in appearance. Think about it: as you watch the parade of nations, realize that this is but a small glimpse of what heaven might resemble. Representatives from every tongue, tribe, and nation gathered together under the banner of unity. For the next three weeks the world will unite under the banner of competitive sports. I long for the day when a much larger crowd, the likes of which no one will be able to number, will gather under the banner of Christ the Lord, and we'll live in the presence of his light and majesty for all of eternity. What a glorious thing to look forward too. May the Lord bless you and may the next few weeks of your life be filled with excitement and joy as you reflect on these truths and promises. I know I will, especially as I watch the games in Beijing unfold on the world's stage. Let the games begin, and let the nations be glad whose god is the Lord!

Concerning My Future Wife... Whoever She Is

2008-06-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

When I first started my blog, I promised I would write on everything from world events to film reviews, from theology and spiritual musings to my thoughts on the fairer sex: women. Alas, I have put it off long enough, I am honor bound to address the issue for the first time here. So here we go, exactly what you've all been waiting for... Ben Friday's thoughts on women, marriage, and his future wife. Obviously this a huge discussion, so I'll keep this little snapshot brief. I'll start by admitting I'm a hopeless romantic. I've never had a girlfriend, and tend to spend too much time thinking about them and wrestling with my ideas of them and what they should/shouldn't be in my head (gosh.... maybe that's WHY I've never had a girlfriend... sigh... lonely is the man who thinks too much). I won't get all mushy and open here on the internet (because if there's one thing celebrities and idiots have taught us, it is that these things will come back to haunt you once they have been splattered all over the world wide web), but I will share a few personal things about myself and my ideas for my future. For example, I'll openly admit to having never been in love. For me, being in love means more than just having a crush on someone, it means truly knowing that person and looking out for their interests above your own, to love with no strings attached. I also believe this kind of love is not humanly attainable by many people. The reason is simple: God is love. For those who don't know God, how can they truly love? Oh sure, they can do all the things the world calls "love", but they will never be able to, without the intervention and help of the Lord, love someone else unconditionally and in a self-sacrificing manner. I pray that one day I will be able to love my future wife the way husbands are commanded to in Ephesians: the way Christ loved the church, giving himself up for her and her well-being. I'll admit that I'm scared that I'll fall far short of this standard on many occasions, and smart enough to know I certainly will fall short to a certain extent due to my old sin nature which is constantly at war within me. But I strive to focus on drawing closer to the Lord, of being faithful with the friendships and little bits he has given and entrusted to me for the time being, and then faithfully trusting that He has the right future Mrs. Friday picked out for me, and she will bump into me in God's timing and perfect plan, not my own. Sometimes I feel that I already have met my future wife, someone I already know and will simply develop a deeper and deeper relationship with until the day I realize that she's the one for me. Other times, I am convinced that I have not met her yet, she's still out there and I'll just know when I see her that she's the one. Still other times I'm of a strong opinion that the life and lifestyle I've been called to are preparing me for a life of singleness, and that perhaps the Lord will, for whatever reason, refrain from granting me a wife in this earthly pilgrimage. One thing is for sure, I long to be held accountable that whatever the case may be, I'll be content to settle back and let the Lord's will be done, even if I disagree with it personally. I'm not looking for just an attractive girl with a great personality either, I'm looking for someone I can share my life with, my adventures and sorrows, my trials, triumphs, and tribulations. Someone who will stick closer than a brother, and who I can grow old with. And as I said before, I probably think about it way too much. I become interested in someone, then see their flaws and lose interest. I need to learn that my wife will have flaws just as I do, and stop looking for perfection, because that woman doesn't exist. I'll share something neat with those of you who have read this far (thanks by the way, you must be really bored to be reading about Ben's lack of a love life). Haha, anyway, a little known fact about me that reveals what a sucker I am and hopeless romantic I can be is the fact that every time I travel internationally I purchase a piece of jewelry for my future wife. I see it as symbolic of the fact that I've traveled the globe looking and searching for her, and to me she is more precious and of great worth than all the riches of the world. Call is cheesy, call it romantic, but there you have it: two strings of pearls from two trips to China, a blue bracelet from Bosnia, handmade necklaces from Kenya, silver earrings from England, and malachite earrings from Uganda. It's just one example of the dreamer and poet locked inside of me beneath this gruff and dorky exterior. I'm not sharing this to improve my odds or impress anybody necessarily, just thought I ought to share with you a little personal piece of my heart and a part I hope to one day share with the future Mrs. Friday, if she exists and wherever she may be. Thanks for reading.

The Serious Side of Christianity

2008-06-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I worry that the majority of today's youth, which are passionate to reinvigorate the gospel for a new generation, forget that it really doesn't need to be updated. I admit that Christianity has it's foibles, but seriously, if anything, it's not that it needs to be fixed, just better understood. Any and all problems or misrepresentations that have arisen over the last 2000 years regarding Christianity have come about because people refuse to study and learn what God's word really means. The gospel itself is perfect. I can say that with confidence. It has no errors, no flaws, and everything you need for life, wisdom, and godliness is found within the pages of the Holy Bible. I don't say this out of ignorance either, or out of "blind" faith, because there is no such thing. The saddest thing about the statements I just made is that a majority of so called "Christians" would be much more hesitant to take such a stand. Am I claiming to be some sort of super believer? Not at all. I know who I am, and it is not pretty. But I also can say what I say with confidence because I know it to be true. I'm calling for more believers to simply trust and obey the word of God and take it for exactly what it says it is. When it says God created the universe in six days, why is that so hard to believe? Why must we force the Scriptures to conform to what science and "logic" try to reason to us? Shouldn't it be the other way around? The word of God (who created science) stand alone, and then all the sciences and arts conform to it's pattern and guidance? When it says Jesus rose from the dead, folks, the whole book hinges on that. If you can't believe that then you can't believe any of it. Who in his right mind would take entire passages out of the Bible upon which is stands and then claim that the rest of it is simply "OK"? You cannot separate the two. Either you believe it, I mean really believe it, every word of it, or you don't believe any of it. There is no in between. The Lord does not negotiate on our terms people. Get that through your heads. I am alarmed at the trends I see in culture of updating the gospel and 'tweaking' it to fix today's culture. The so-called "emerging church" movement, simply a try to mold Christianity into an existential worldview where all answers are true and likewise false, is something that must be fought. And frankly, these die hard fundamentalists who say "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it" aren't much help either. They have passion yes, but they are ignorant and have not loved the Lord their God with all of their minds, conforming and renewing themselves to the will of a Holy God. Frankly, both ends of the spectrum are to be blamed. The fundamentalists give us a bad name because they cannot stand up to interrogation, their apologetics are just plain awful. They cannot provide a ready defense and therefore give Christianity the "dumb, ignorant backwoods" stereotype. Those who appear to be more "in touch" with the culture on the other hand, (and yes, I'm talking about the readers of Relevant magazine and followers of Donald Miller and Rob Bell), are more times than not convicted of actually compromising with the culture, of sleeping with it and then trying to pretend it never happened the morning after. God doesn't need our help peddling religion or sugar-coating truth. He allows us to share in a glorious relationship with Him for which none of us are qualified, and then permits us to spread the news of that relationship to a world apart from it, in hopes that perhaps by the grace of God some of them will be moved and called by the Spirit to accept what we preach and point to: Christ crucified. Forgive my rant, but I'm genuinely appalled by how quickly the prevailing "evangelical" culture has shifted on many issues. Many of these compromises have occurred within the last 20 years, that's only a couple of generations down the road from where we used to be. We need people to take a stand, to get serious about what it is that they believe and be ready to defend it. We need not take the fight to the world, nay, it is already before us. Christ promised his followers tribulations and trials, so why is it that whenever hard times come our way we ask for prayer to simply get out of these tough spots? Why not ask for prayer to be wise enough to discern what the Lord would have us learn from the tough spot He put us in, for His own glory??? This idea may shock many and surprise some, but we've go to do a better job in the area of apologetics. Truth is on trial, and we're standing by as the world chips away at it everyday we keep our mouths closed. If you had the cure for cancer and nobody cared, how would you respond? Take a stand men and women of faith. Not in an antagonistic fashion, but in a zeal for the word of God and for His name and kingdom to be glorified. We're too happy, shying away from somber, serious discussions of God's nature and doctrines. We'd rather sing ourselves into an emotional state of euphoria than actually examine the word of God with a desire to learn it and live it. We can still be full of joy and love, I'm just calling for a little serious-minded driven attitude to be added in. Johnny Cash may be one of the best examples of this. He understood the serious side of the gospel, and when you look at his life and his music, I see a prophet of somberness who was faithful to uphold the tough truths of the gospel. Should we all wear black? Perhaps not. But it wouldn't hurt if a few of us tried it every now and then, I promise the world would take notice and then we might see some real revival taking place in the hearts of the people as our hearts and lives become serious about reaching them with the Truth. Forgive me my rant, but as always, I blog because I care.

It's Been Kinda Quiet Around Here Lately...

2008-06-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the lack of blogging. As of late I've been working at my new job and the last few weeks have been jam packed and busy to say the least. Once things calm down a bit and I reach the weekend I hope to blog some more. We'll see... can't make any promises as of now. Hope everyone is having a magnificent summer so far.

Sydney Pollack 1934 - 2008

2008-05-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

I was saddened last night to hear news of the death of a great director, producer, and actor. Sydney Pollack was probably one of the most well respected and widely influential living filmmakers until his loss to cancer yesterday, and will be sorely missed by many people within the industry and thousands of fans who appreciated his work. I like to remember him as the director of such great films as They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, The Yakuza, Three Days of the Condor, Tootsie, The Firm, The Interpreter, and of course his ultimate classic, 1985's best picture and best director winner Out of Africa. Even more memorable in many ways was his ability to be convincing both behind and in front of the camera, as he also starred as a character actor or supporting character in many of his own films and scores of others as well. You can catch him at his best on screen in Tootsie, The Player, The Majestic, The Interpreter, and Michael Clayton. After taking time off as an actor to work on his directing, his first on screen role in 20 years was Tootsie. Dustin Hoffman reportedly talked him into it by sending him roses with a note reading "Please be my agent. Love, Dorothy." (If you've never seen Tootise by the way, you owe it to yourself to see it soon.) He's fondly remembered by many of those he worked closely with, among them George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Redford (who made 7 films with the director). Clooney has been quoted this morning as saying of his Michael Clayton co-star: "Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act." In the past 11 months he discovered he had cancer and since that time, almost every big name in Hollywood took time out to go and visit him at his house. He referred to himself as "Mr. Mainstream" and was once quoted as saying "I don't value a film I've enjoyed making. If it's good, it's damned hard work." That sort of hard work ethic not only characterized Sydney the man, but an entire slate of films he directed, produced, or starred in that defined a generation. Rent Out of Africa or Tootsie this weekend and enjoy Sydney Pollack's great works for yourself.

Lessons from Nanking

2008-05-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I have a curious streak when it comes to somewhat obscure world history events. What I mean is simply that I like to dig deep into major world events in history that for whatever reason, probably aren't covered well in Western history books. The unique thing here is how I tend to gravitate towards darker truth: stories of war and atrocity really strike me on an emotional level. I have always harbored a desire to learn more about and raise awareness of the current genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan, as well as past genocides, tragedies, and atrocities such as the Rwandan Genocide, the Bosnian War, the 2004 Asian Tsunami, etc. Basically if the event is international and deals with issues of justice & injustice, I'm most likely interested in it. I believe that some of the most fascinating stories come out of histories darkest chapters. In the dark chaos of war and injustice, there are always a few individuals who rise to the challenge and let their light shine brighter because of it. So it's only natural that I've recently taken up an interest in the 'Rape of Nanking', the horrific events that unfolded in the Chinese capital during December 1937 when the Japanese invaded during WWII.

For the uninformed, do yourself a favor and either go to wikipedia and read up on this historical event, or better yet, if you have the time, pick up Iris Chang's graphic yet definitive work on the subject, The Rape of Nanking. There's even a recently released documentary called Nanking that brings the story to life through archival footage and interviews with survivors, as well as dramatic readings from journals of Nanking citizens by some of the best vocal actors in Hollywood. The Rape of Nanking is certainly not for the faint of heart, but I believe it to be a story worthy of being told. As an aspiring filmmaker, the thought has crossed my mind more than once to make a full fledged screenplay out of the events I'm about to briefly relate in the hopes of one day having this story recreated and told with the visual style that only a major Hollywood Epic can pull off. I don't mean to sound exploitative, but I would simply point to films like Schindler's List and Hotel Rwanda: these films were important in the way they educated everyday Americans about the events that went on during the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.

What fascinated me about the rape of Nanking was the story of the international community living in the city at the time. Take Bob Wilson, an American doctor who stayed behind and quickly became known as the 'sole surgeon of Nanking' when it was left to him to perform surgery on hundreds of wounded Chinese soldiers and civilians. Or look at the case of Minnie Vautrin, the missionary in charge of Ginling Girls College who took in thousands of Chinese girls and saved them from rape and torture at the hands of the Japanese troops. Cases such as these fascinate me: these are the real heroes of history, men and women who have stood in the gap and put the lives of others ahead of their own in times of crisis. Sadly, many of these brave souls are never remembered or heralded in the mainstream record of history.

The sole individual who truly caught my eye though was John Rabe, because of his unique story and situation. Born in Germany, Rabe moved to Nanking shortly after joining the newly-established Nazi Party. He was in charge of the Siemen's office in Nanking, and when the Japanese invaded he was one of the key players in the formation of the international safety zone, and was responsible for saving the lives of thousands of Chinese in the process. Here we have a card carrying Nazi working hand in hand with Christian Missionaries to save lives in a time of war. In Rabe's defense, he wasn't a Nazi in the sense that they are remembered today, in fact, he was a good man of character and integrity, and was blind to the atrocities being committed back home by Hitler. His only source of news was a German newspaper that was a propaganda piece for the Nazi Party, and therefore obscured the truth from every reaching Rabe's ears about just what the Nazi's were quickly becoming known for everywhere else in the world. When he returned home after the war, he was arrested by the Gestapo and interrogated for hours about his knowledge of the Nanking massacre. He eventually was released because he was deemed innocent and harmless, only to be blacklisted as a Nazi and rearrested by the Soviets when they took Berlin at the end of the war. Unable to get a job and virtually lost in the fog of war, Rabe ended up eating roots out of his own garden to stay alive. Back in Nanking, the mayor of the city heard of this and together with the people of the city (people Rabe had saved no doubt), they compiled a load of food, clothes, and supplies to send to him. The theme of live saving had come full circle with Rabe owing his life to the very people he had protected only years earlier. Does this story not amaze anyone else besides me? Can't you just see this fantastic biography being adapted into a motion picture of some sort? I'm currently about to start reading Rabe's diaries, compiled in a book called The Good Man of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe.

The truth of it is, the Nanking Massacre left over 300,000 Chinese people dead, raped, and mutilated at the hands of the Japanese invaders. It's one of the darkest chapters of the second world war, and is virtually unheard of in the west. I would encourage everyone to get out and read about the Rape of Nanking, as well as see the documentaries and interviews on the subject. No doubt it will impact you as much as it has me, and you may lose some sleep over it, as did I. But you can never claim ignorance ever again and we can all walk away from such an atrocity with a greater appreciation for life, among other things. I have a friend who lives in Nanking, he says today you can go and visit the house John Rabe lived in, it's a museum now to commemorate the massacre and also highlights the lives of the other international ex-patriots living in the safety zone. Every December 13th they sound the air raid sirens and the whole city falls silent in remembrance of the day all those years ago that the Japanese bombed the city and invaded. For such an event to have taken place, and then to have fallen silent in the majority of history books, is a crime and shame indeed. Read the stories, hear the testimonies, and be touched by the tragedy and the inspiring actions that occurred in the city of Nanking.

Reign Over Me

2008-05-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on a film that I think was criminally under-appreciated upon it's release. If you haven't seen Reign Over Me yet, do yourself a favor and go out and rent it. This touching drama of two men who are both broken in their own unique ways really grabs a hold of you and asks a lot of good questions about life too. They end up helping each other with their various problems, but in a way that doesn't ever feel contrived or scripted, the emotions come across as genuine and real. Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler deliver two of the finer performances of their careers, and they have great chemistry as buddies who have reconnected after years and circumstances have led them in different directions. What I liked most about the film was the raw feeling of it all, that genuine character development seen on screen through the actions of the people themselves. The script is well polished and follows the old adage that "less is better" and really leaves it up to the actors to bring it home with intensity and impact. Take the scene of Sandler telling Cheadle about his family after years of pain and denial. The monologue is well written, but it's the simple, emotionally raw delivery by Sandler that really puts Reign Over Me over the top as a film about reaching out to others in their times of need, about living in community and caring for each other. I would be at fault to not mention the small yet powerful role played by Donald Sutherland as the court judge at the end of the film as well: his gravitas leads extra depth to the climax of the film and the outcome of Sandler's character. See this film for yourself, and be challenged to live every day like it's the best day of your life. Rated R for language and a sexual reference.

On a much lighter note...

2008-05-15T00:14:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to announce that in the aftermath of the Chinese earthquake, all 86 of the Panda Bears living in the Wolong National Nature Reserve have been accounted for and are safe. I found this story and the above photo amusing, yet it also sounds eerily familiar to the point I made a few weeks back when I said more people cared about the horse that died in the Kentucky Derby than the thousands that died in the Myanmar cyclone. This isn't the time or place to open up that can of worms again, I've already expressed my feelings there to many people. I just thought this image and headline were hilarious, so don't read too deep of a social commentary into this post. Just know the Pandas are OK. :-)

China Earthquake + Myanmar Cyclone = Asian Chaos

2008-05-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

As some of you have been aware of (I pray most all of you are aware of these events actually), the death toll from the Myanmar Cyclone continues to rise, and this was greeted with more tragic news much earlier this week when early Monday morning an earthquake hit China that registered a magnitude of 7.9. I waited to post on this because I was curious to see how wildly conflicting the damage assessments would be in the immediate hours following the quake and then a few days later when more information could be gathered. Sure enough, the news becomes more and more grim each day. The initial reports I heard were as few as 3 confirmed deaths, one secondary school collapsing in a rural village, and not much else... these were in the early stages of data though, when the Chinese rescue workers and government troops marches closer and closer to the epicenter, the toll has only expounded in a huge way: now the latest report I can find says that more than 15,000 are believed dead and thousands more are still unaccounted for, most believed to be buried in the rubble. Rescue crews work around the clock still as I type this to dig out around 900 children from a collapsed school that have literally been buried alive. It's not looking too good for thousands of families as they try and locate loved ones who have been missing since Monday. Add these statistics to the mounting death toll in Myanmar - now at 128,000 and growing due to government negligence and unwillingness to accept outside aid - and this brings the following shocking statistic: last month, there were at least 143, 000 more people in Asia than there are now. I realize that to many of us, including myself, the figure 143,000 is simply that: a figure. Stalin once said, "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic". Obviously I'm not saying Stalin was right in what he did, just simply using his quote to suite my purposes here: the simple fact that to us, these 143,000 are but a headline, a number to go in the history books. But to the families, the people left behind, the children without fathers and mothers, the parents who have lost their children, familes that were ripped apart by the effects of a fallen world in turbulent motion, this number is a part of a greater tragedy. These two events have changed the face of Asia, and will impact the generations to come for decades. Family lines have been cut off, entire cities removed from the map. I am continually reminded that in all of this disaster however, God still is in total control.

When I was in Uganda over last summer, I remember looking out over the IDP camps in northern Uganda and wondering how could God allow so much injustice... and then I remembered that His ways are not my ways, and my plans not his plans. I was reminded that as a believer, I exist now in the land of the dying, it's this very earth we sit on right now. Only having passed away will we truly enter the land of the living. For the true believer, our best days are always before us, and we are to remember that we are not home yet. We are pilgrims, aliens, and strangers in a land that is foreign to us, harsh for us, and will continue to present trials and tribulations until that day when we do reach our eternal home in glory. I was reminded of a song by Jars of Clay, called Art in Me. The lyrics go something like this:

Images on the sidewalk speak of dream's decent

Washed away by storms to graves of cynical lament

Dirty canvases to call my own

Protest limericks carved by the old pay phone

In Your picture book I'm trying hard to see

Turning endless pages of this tragedy

Sculpting every move You compose a symphony

And You plead to everyone, "see the art in me"

Broken stained-glass windows, the fragments ramble on

Tales of broken souls, an eternity's been won

As critics scorn the thoughts and works of mortal man

My eyes are drawn to You in awe once again

In Your picture book I'm trying hard to see

Turning endless pages of this tragedy

Sculpting every move you compose a symphony

And you plead to everyone, "see to art in me"

You see, we live in a fallen world: that much is given by the evidence around us, as well as the scriptures that say "for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to frutility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:18-25)

Consider this: creation groans as in childbirth. Childbirth hurts a lot (so I hear), but the end product is the arrival of new life in the world. What a beautiful picture of redemption! I will continue to follow and pray over these sobering events that have taken place in Asia these past few weeks, but not as one without hope. For we long for the day when earthquakes and cyclones and death are a thing of the past, and the effects of sin on this world lose their grip and fall away with the arrival of a new heavens and a new earth. Keep China and Myanmar in your prayers, and keep the larger picture of God's redemptive plan for the nations at the forefront of your mind as well. We may see tragedy for the time being, but God is sculpting a symphony of grandeur and grace.

And the Cyclone story continues...

2008-05-08T22:13:00.001-07:00

This comes not from me, but a third party source (don't you just love cut-and-paste?) and really drives home how big of a deal this may become...

"The death toll in cyclone-ravaged Burma (Myanmar) could hit 500,000 - more than TWICE the total killed by the December 26th 2004 Tsunami. Sources said 200,000 people were already dead or dying. But the figure could rise to Half a Million through disease and hunger if the nation's hardline army rulers continue to block aid for the devastated lowlands of the Irrawaddy Delta. That would dwarf the 230,000 deaths across South East Asia in the 2004 catastrophe."

"Disaster struck on Saturday when 120mph Cyclone Nargis forced ashore waves up to 20 feet high. The Irrawaddy town of Labutta - population 80,000 - was wiped off the map."

"Local doctor Aye Kyu told how families clung to trees as their homes were swept away. He said, 'I asked survivors how many there were left. They said about 200.' A spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid said: 'The entire lower delta region is under water. Teams are talking about bodies floating around. This is a major, major disaster.' The UN World Food Program said up to a million may have been left homeless in the vital 'rice bowl' farming region alone. In the city of Bogalay, 95% of homes are thought to have been destroyed."

And what's the worst news? The military junta is apparently doing nothing right now. Concerning help from the Myanmar Air Force, only 4 of the countries 80 helicopters are being used to move food, water, and supplies to areas of need.

Is this really happening? People are dying left and right and the government, a group of ruthless generals that run the country, (the biggest one being a dude by the name of Gen. Than Shwe), are literally sitting on their hands. BBC reports that the few aid packages that have made it to the Rangoon capital airport are just sitting on the tarmac. This is enough to frustrate anyone.... Spread the word, keep up with the news, and pray for the people of this nation!

Cyclone Update and Rant Part II

2008-05-06T07:03:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning after my initial rant last night and discovered that perhaps my wishes came true a little when I signed online. I was greeted by the Yahoo frontpage and the lead story was (gasp!) NOT about Hilary, Obama, or anything American. The internet finally caught on to the Myanmar Cyclone and the lead story was all about it. Unfortunately, the news is even worse than we feared. Remember yesterday's USA Today that had the death toll at 350? Now Yahoo is reporting the death toll has soared past 22,000 and there are still 41,000 people missing, presumed dead. This could mean that potentially 63,000 people are dead, and I still wouldn't be surprised if it went higher. I realize that parts of my initial rant were naive and written in the emotion of the moment. But seriously folks, as a good friend pointed out to me last night, we give more attention and media coverage to one horse being euthanized at the race track over the weekend (The Kentucky Derby incident on Saturday involving the filly Eight Bells) than possibly 63,000 people being swept into eternity. For all the fuss we made over Hurricane Katrina (and rightly so, don't get me wrong, it was an "American Tragedy"), we sure don't seem to notice when disasters much worse occur around the world. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be the adage (or perhaps more appropriately, "Out of America, Out of the News") and I can't help but still feel frustrated that as I stated earlier, I'd bet fewer Americans can even find Myanmar on the map than can tell you there's been a Cyclone.

On a completely unrelated rant, did this business with the horse at the Derby not strike anyone else as a little crazy? They seem to euthanize any and all race horses these days. Barbaro, the horse that won the 2006 Derby, was euthanized a few months later when he shattered his back leg in the Preakness. Now Eight Bells, the first filly to run in a long time with the big boys in the Derby, breaks both front ankles and is euthanized on the track. What if this was the case with athletes? What if when a player got injured we euthanized them on the spot, no questions asked? I know the two issues are world's apart, but the idea that once a horse bred to race gets injured must be let go kinda bothers me. Not because I'm some "save the whales" animal lover (I'm not, in the sense that I don't hold vigils for animals and sign petitions), but I mean, surely there is someone somewhere who would like to buy the horse from the owner, and let it live out it's days, as tough and race-free as they may be, in peace and quiet on a horse ranch somewhere? Why do we decide that's not an option and the creature must be euthanized. If anyone reading this knows more about horses than me, let me know. I'm not as mad about this issue as I am about the lack of media coverage for the cyclone, but I am curious. Like I said, if this principle held up in other sports, you'd see lots of the greatest athletes of our time laid to rest early in their careers after suffering injuries. It just seems a little wild to me, that's all.

Oh well, I'll continue to monitor the information coming out about the Cyclone in Myanmar, until then, realize that most of the population there is Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim, so the other sad statistic is the fact that many of the people there perished without knowing the Lord. Makes one realize how urgent the great commission truly is. Obviously I believe God is sovereign and this is all part of his perfect plan and timing, but I'm still allowed to be a little frustrated and upset about it. :-) Pray for Myanmar, and pray the media gives it the attention is needs. Pray the body count doesn't rise much higher either...

The above image is a satellite photo of the Myanmar area that was affected by the cyclone before and after it hit... as you can see, major flooding has occurred, the landscape has been permanently altered for the time being in some cases...

350 vs. 13000 - Does Anyone Notice (Or Care?)

2008-05-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

I turned on the news today and watched for over an hour while pundits went back and forth about Hilary vs. Obama. I think I speak for most everyone when I say I'm sick of it. Not because I'm a republican, but because I'm tired of every night turning on the news and hearing that the top news story is Hilary vs. Obama. Is there nothing else going on in our world? A food fight broke out in Mogadishu, Somalia today. People there in Northeast Africa can't afford the food costs for the little food they can purchase to begin with, costs have soared over 40% in the last month alone. Government troops fired into the crowd and killed 2 people during the demonstration. People died simply because they were demanding the basic essential of life - food - be offered at a reasonable cost. Does this bother no one? Is Hilary, Obama, or McCain more important? Because by the looks of the media, it seems that way. Do you know how much time the media gave to this story in Somalia? less than 20 seconds. Commercials for Taco Bell last longer than 20 seconds. You know what "story" followed the mention of the food fight in Somalia? The cyclone in Myanmar. The news said they feared the death toll could reach 5,000. The front page of the paper that morning said as many as 350 were feared dead. Now the online reports are saying the death toll has exceeded 13,000... Does anyone else care about this kind of thing? I realize it takes a little while for news to travel from a third world source back here to America, and that at the time of the paper's pressing, perhaps the death toll was just starting to come in, hence the reports of 350. But now it's over 13,000. That's more than 12,650 people that have since been reported dead. That's 13,000 people wiped off the face of planet earth, gone to spend an eternity either in heaven or hell. I'm not being melodramatic. I'm simply calling for a greater interest and awareness in the world at large. You know how much time the media gave to the cyclone story? about 30 seconds. Then they went into another 45 minute block of the same old same old we've seen over and over the past 5 months and will continue to see until November: Obama vs. Hilary. Don't we still have boys on the ground in Iraq? What happened over there today? Oh my bad, I forgot... the media only reports the bad news now. Like when a roadside bomb kills a convoy full of soldiers. Then they're all ears, demanding that we pull out and end the war. I'm not a war monger. I despise war. But I also despise a national media that turns a blind eye to the suffering around the world, playing mere lip service to international disasters and only broadcasting the news that suites their interests and ideals. Spend some time outside of America. Then you'll begin to realize what a narcissistic complex this great country has. I realize I'm being a bit naive, but I want to simply know one thing: why? Why should someone born half a world away be denied the same things someone born here is entitled to? Why are some not entitled to simple things like clean water, basic education, decent standards of living, and religious freedom? I know life is not fair and the world is fallen. I just find it incredibly frustrating living in a culture and society where most people couldn't even locate Somalia or Myanmar on a map, but they can tell you everything about the latest Paris Hilton headline or Hannah Montana tour. Septemeber 11th woke this nation up to the world around us, but I feel that for the most part, we've returned to our exclusive lifestyle and fallen asleep again. I pray it doesn't take another 9/11 to reawaken the great sleeping giant of America. I love this land. I just wish this land loved their neighbors around the world more. It's not about us, at least not nearly as much as we think it is... Any thoughts? I blog because I care.

A Day For Celebration

2008-04-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

So as some of you may or may not know, I have a little brother named Daniel. Only he's not so little anymore, he's actually taller than me now. Haha. Anyway, he's a great guy with a big heart and lots of school spirit for Auburn University, where he is currently finishing up his freshmen year. So it only makes sense that he would try out for cheerleading right? Well last night the whole family went down to support him as they had call-outs and announced the squad. We were all hoping he would making it but really were expecting anything. He applied specifically for the "Microphone Man" (more commonly called the "Mic Man") position, which is really important. Basically he goes out to the 50 yard line before the football games, with a microphone connected to the loudspeakers, and in front of 87,000 fans, leads the whole stadium in cheers and chants. It's a pretty intimidating job, yet my brother was up for the challenge of auditioning for it and giving it a chance. Well, last night 9:00 rolled around and they started the call-outs. The first person they named was the Mic Man for the 2008/09 football season: Daniel Friday! My brother made it, and next year he'll be center field for all the home games keeping the crowd alive and on fire! War Eagle! We're so proud of him, and I just wanted to share here on my blog what a great guy my little brother is and how cool it will be to hear his voice leading the Tiger fans in a great big WAR EAGLE!!!

New Blog for Film Reviews

2008-04-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hey gang, I'm starting a new spin-off blog that will just be for movie reviews. I've had enough of you tell me you think I'm half-decent at explaining film well, so I figured I'd launch a second blog where I do just that. If you care to read up on the latest films in theaters that I've seen and what I think about them, please check out: http://fridaysfilmreviews.blogspot.com. Thanks.

Tradition vs. Modern Trends in Society, Culture, Church, Country, etc

2008-04-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

So I found myself in a rather melancholy mood today. More so than usual. I found myself reflecting on the future, and not just my future, but the collective future of America, of the culture, of the church, of my friends, etc. Big Picture kinda stuff. I am troubled by what I see as a general attitude being accepted and fleshed out by the current culture, the country, and yes, even the church. That trend I detect is a desire to flee from tradition and history and forge a new path of unexplored territory. Now don't get me wrong... I know change is inevitable. I know change is not always bad. I read "Who Moved My Cheese" back in the day, I know you have to accept change as inevitable and role with the punches sometimes. I know my history. But I also think that all change is not always good, and change for the sheer sake of change itself is almost always dangerous to some extent. Am I even making sense? Let me break it down a bit more: Our culture has forsaken our past and thrown 200 years of American History, 2000 years of church history and theology, and who knows how many years of truth, virtue, beauty, and dignity out the window. We've thrown it out the window and decided to redefine everything based on the current moods of the times. Well I think it's dangerous. Ravi Zacharias makes a pleas for absolute truth in culture in his book Jesus Among Other Gods when he says "Judge the words of this book not by the mood of the times but by the truth of the scriptures. Moods change. Truth does not." We've entered an age where everyone is right and everyone is wrong as they see fit in their own eyes. I'm pretty sure the Bible warns against this when we read in the final closing statement of Judges 21:25: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Is this not too far detached from where we are today folks? Judges is a book that chronicles the downward spiral of the nation of Israel, indeed, parts of it read like they were torn right out of today's headlines. I'm not trying to bash the country, I'm not all "fire and brimstone and hell for America!" or anything radical like that. I have optimism and hope for the future to be sure, but I'm simply reporting now what I'm seeing folks. I love my God, my family, and my country, though not always in that order and not always as I should. I fully admit that. I'm just concerned by the severe lack of standards I see today. We have no objective reference point for truth in the modern age, because hey, truth is relative, right? Wrong. Truth, by it's very definition excludes. If some things are true, then naturally some things must be false or wrong as well. What is this reference point for truth you ask? I would submit that it is Jesus Christ. (Uh oh, I'm dropping the J-word. Guess I'm ignorant, narrow minded, and you can tune me out now huh? Listen to yourselves sometime people, then ask me if I'm crazy for believing what I do. Be honest now.)

Lets look at where the country is. Better yet, let's look at what Edmund Burke had to say about the French Revolution. Because it directly applies to where we are today. The intellectual wellspring of modern political conservatism, Edmund Burke is also considered a significant figure in aesthetic theory and cultural studies. As a member of the House of Commons during the late 18th century, Burke shook Parliment with his powerful defense of the American Revolution and the rights of persecuted Catholics in England and Ireland, his indictment of the English rape of the Indian subcontinent, and, most famously, his denunciation of the French Revolution. Listen to what he said in reaction to the famous revolution in France:

When ancient opinions and rules of life are taken away, the loss cannot possibly be estimated. From that moment we have no compass to govern us, nor can we know distinctly to what port we steer. Europe, undoubtedly, taken in a mass, was in a flourishing condition the day on which your revolution was completed. How much of that prosperous state was owing to the spirit of our old manners and opinions is not easy to say; but as such causes cannot be indifferent in their operation, we must presume, that, on the whole, their operation was beneficial.

We are but too apt to consider things in the state in which we find them, without sufficiently adverting to the causes by which they have been produced, and possibly may be upheld. Nothing is more certain than that our manners, our civilization, and all the good things which are connected with manners and with civilization, have, in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles, and were, indeed, the result of both combined: I mean the spirit of a gentleman, and the spirit of religion. The nobility and the clergy, the one by profession, and the other by patronage, kept learning in existence, even in the midst of arms and confusions, and whilst governments were rather in their causes than formed. Learning paid back what it received to nobility and to priesthood, and paid it with usury, by enlarging their ideas, and by furnishing their minds. Happy, if they had all continued to know their indissoluble union, and their proper place! Happy, if learning, not debauched by ambition, had been satisfied to continue the instructor, and not aspired to be the master! Along with it's natural protectors and guardians, learning will be cast into the mire and trodden down under the hoofs of a swinish multitude.

If, as I suspect, modern letters owe more than they are always willing to own to ancient matters, so do other interests which we value full as much as they are worth. Even commerce, and trade, and manufacture, the gods of our economical politicians, are themselves perhaps but creatures, are themselves but effects, which, as first causes, we choose to worship. They certainly grew under the same shade in which learning flourished. They, too, may decay with their natural protecting principles. With you, for the present at least, they all threaten to disappear together. Where trade and manufacturers are wanting to a people, and the spirit of nobility and religion remains, sentiment supplies, and not always ill supplies, their place; but if commerce and the arts should be lost in an experiment to try how well a state may stand without these old fundamental principles, what sort of a thing must be a nation of gross, stupid, ferocious, and at the same time poor and sordid barbarians, destitute of religion, honor, or manly pride, possessing nothing at present, and hoping for nothing hereafter?

Wow. OK, to break it down simply, Burke is saying the Revolution in France is doomed because they have thrown out the window the age-old compass of tradition and rules of life, and put nothing in their place to guide the hearts and minds of the people. The spirit of a gentleman, and the spirit of religion, he claims, are two of the main pillars on which every clear thinking free and prosperous society was built on. Look at America today my friends. See much acceptance of these pillars of tradition? In fact the opposite is probably true: gentlemen and religion have been declared a dead thing of a past, an old superstitious relic leaned on by those not ready to progress forward. I would point out simply, to remove the pillars is to remove the foundation, and then what kind of country, society, culture, etc, are you going to be able to build? The Church is doing it too, throwing out ages of doctrines and history to claim a new "emerging church" where we re-evaluate everything in today's cultural light. Well guess what? Where is it written that you can do that without possible dire consequences? It's foolhardy, dangerous, and stupid to claim that we must wipe the slate clean and start over. It's the height of arrogance really, and as George Santayana put it: "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it". We've fashioned ourselves to be smarter, faster, more capable, and more clear-minded than all our predecessors, and it's only led us to reject truth, standards, decency, virtues, and integrity as we seek to claim the ultimate revelation that escaped generations of others. Well all I know is that the last time mankind got so full of themselves, they tried to build a tower to heaven and God struck them with mixed tongues and languages, thus giving the Tower of Babel it's name. Look it up, in Genesis 11.

I guess all I'm trying to say is we need more open table discussions on the matters of how we as a church, a culture, and a country are to enter the new century we're still standing at the front edge of. To simply discredit and reject the lessons and work down in the past is a bad idea that will reap dour consequences. Don't be so hasty to thumb your nose at traditions, doctrines, ideas, and theories that have been around long before you have, and probably will exist a long time after you're gone too. Take a lesson from Edmund Burke, and let's get back to the roots of the issue, using the past not as a punching bag, but as a tool for understanding the future. It's a bright dawn ahead of us, yet we ought not forget the wisdom gleaned from many sunrises of the past as well, nor forget the source of such sunrises... with a little reflection, you may find that the 'ole "J" word may just be the man you're looking for to make sense of everything. In fact, I have faith you will. He's holding it all together folks, he's laid down the lessons and foundations from which we can decipher what is true and what is not. Give Jesus a chance sometime, will ya?

So thanks for reading, I'm curious to know what you guys think of all this. Did I make sense? I blog because I care...

A Quote from "The Duke"

2008-04-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

"Life is tough. Life is tougher if you're stupid" - John Wayne

Move Recommendation: The Namesake

2008-04-10T10:58:00.001-07:00

So the other day I was looking through my DVD collection (which is quite large to the point of embarrassment) and stumbled upon a film which I simply wanted to make sure my friends and readers were aware of. Released in 2007, and based on the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, "The Namesake" is a surprisingly endearing story of a young married Bengali couple from India who move to America in the 1970s and raise a family there. As the story shifts between the older and younger generation, we see the cultures and traditions of old India and new America come face to face. In some incidents they clash, in others, the find alarming harmony. While the film was largely promoted around Kal Penn's portrayal of the son Gogol (named after his father's favorite author, Nikolai Gogol), the story is really one about the sacrifices parents make to guarantee their children a better future. Indeed, I find the character of the father much more interesting and played with a very deep level of charm and sincerity by Irfan Khan. Khan has been seen in other films in bit roles, such as in "The Darjeeling Limited" and also the British-Indian Bollywood import film "The Warrior". Khan has been a star in Bollywood (The Indian Hollywood for those who don't know) for some time, and this film represents his first major English language debut. He pulls it off exceptionally well, and I find it a little sad that the man was not noticed when the Oscar nominations were announced for Best Supporting Actor, but alas, the film was released in March so it was too early to be remembered by many voters when awards season rolled around. Back to the point, the film is filled with many poignant moments of cross-cultural sensitivity and insensitivity alike, and as one watches this movie one begins to wonder about all the foreign born American citizens they know who live and work here, most of them taking jobs that we wouldn't dream of to make sure their family is provided for in their "new world" of America. What did these people leave behind, what did they compromise and sacrifice to make it here? And ultimately, as they observe their children growing up in American society and slowly losing their Indian roots, was it indeed worth it? The film ends with a title card that simply states "for our parents, who gave us everything". How blessed are we who have parents and yet we continually take them for granted? Anyway, all that aside, I whole-heartedly recommend "The Namesake" to anyone looking for a unique and touching movie. It has laughs, tears, and love, but most importantly, it has an endearing message of family and what it means to be your fathers son or your mothers daughter. Featuring brilliant colors and images, culturally rich music and style, this film is a beautifully woven tapestry of art for all who take the time to seek it out.

Olympic Torch Relay Madness

2008-04-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

So if you've been watching the news lately, you've no doubt seen the trouble China is having getting the Olympic torch around the world. It seems that wherever they go, they run into about 5 hundred angry "Free Tibet" supporters. I propose that we turn the Olympic Torch Relay into an actual olympic sport, because frankly it's much more interesting to watch than some of the other events that have during the games. Besides, it's got everything: suspense, surprises, last second lunges for glory as some protester tries to fling his body in front of the torch bearer. What more could you want in an Olympic games? The simple truth of it is that I understand both sides. I'm starting to sympathize with China a bit more for a few reasons. First off, frankly the pro-Tibet people get on my nerves. I have nothing against Tibet, (although I'll go on the record as believing the Dalai Lama to be a very sincere man... sincerely wrong that is), I have an issue with how they're presenting their struggle. They paint themselves as victims and them stage demonstrations and protests which are not exactly non-violent. Again, nothing against the good people of Tibet, but they lack a sense of class and honor that I clearly saw in the majority of non-violent protests led by MLK, Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. People are comparing China's 2008 Olympics to the 1936 Berlin Games where Adolph Hitler used the entire event as a propaganda piece for Nazism. This is an unfair comparison. China is not half as bad as Nazi Germany. They have human rights issues, yes, but who doesn't? Name me a country that doesn't have some issue on which their people are divided. The 1936 Olympics were used to promote the Nazi image and message of anti-semitism, racial supremacy, and religious intolerance. The 2008 Olympics don't strike me as a purposeful attempt on behalf of the Chinese regime to portray China as some sort of racial superior nation, they're simply overjoyed to get the games in their country for the first time ever. Nazi Germany slaughtered millions of Jews, I don't think China has been mass exterminating the people of Tibet. Before everyone starts objecting, I'll play the flip side: I think what China is doing in Tibet is wrong. I don't agree with China's human rights record, I believe they can and must do better. But for all the fuss and frustration they're causing, I simply don't believe the Tibetans and their supporters are doing a ton of good right now. I'm no expert, but I've traveled to China twice, and I can safely say that the people there are some of the friendliest I've ever encountered. If you must protest, protest the current Chinese regime, don't protest the entire Olympics, it's like if the Iraq War Protesters tried to boycott the NCAA Basketball Tournament. It's ridiculous. The Olympics should represent peace and freedom and equality, yes, but let's not make them more than they are folks. Let's not deprive the good and kind everyday citizens of China who have been anxiously awaiting this summer for so long. It's a sporting event and it shouldn't cause such a huge political uproar. What about our athletes? I feel sorry for the proud US Athletes who have trained hard to be here, and now are being told that we ought to boycott the games because of some issues not even related to them. I'm beginning to ramble, but think about this: what good does it do the US to make enemies with China? Not any, that's what. They have the worlds #1 largest standing military (granted, they can't deploy them like we can and might not have the weapons and support we do, but still, a valid point to consider). An even better point: forget a possible military threat, what about the economic ramifications? We need them and they need us: we have to buy their products, they need our business. You could say it's a marriage of conveniences, but like it or not, both countries stand to win nothing by being anything less than allies. I'm all for pursuing options on the fate of the Tibet people. I'm not particularly impressed with the way they're running their campaign for independence right now, but anyway, I've already said too much on that issue. I simply am a sucker for the Olympic games and would hate to see them overshadowed to a point of insanity based on issues which rightly don't have as much justification as some supporters think they do. I will continue to observe this torch relay however, as I do find it interesting to see how the world responds to all of this. Of particular interest: June 19th - 21st. That's the dates that the Olympic Torch Relay will pass through the region of Tibet itself... and things could get very interesting then. Until then, keep on enjoying this new olympic sport of "pass the torch before the protesters try and snuff it out" game.

And so it begins...

2008-04-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

Well here we are, the 7th day of April in the year of our Lord 2008, and I finally gave in to the blog craze... I guess the whole rational behind it is that this might just be the best way to post my thoughts and musings and allow others to keep up with me, especially as I look to the future and being physically separated from most of my friends and family as I venture out to pursue my dreams. Here is where I can post stories and updates for everyone to read and (assuming I have anything of interest to say) possibly comment on my entries. So that being said, it's time to start by letting you know that this blog will have no set pattern or purpose... I will probably ramble about everything from theology to women to film, and all points in between. So if you've read this far, it would seem you deem me a good enough friend to care what I have to say, and I appreciate your time and interest as I seek to shed a little light from time to time on what I'm up to these days. For starters, my blog's name is Vivere Pericoloso, which is Italian for "Living Dangerously". Besides being used in one of my favorite films (Peter Weir's "The Year of Living Dangerously") I just kinda dig the ideology behind it: living our lives dangerously, that is, to the point of maximum impact. I don't desire to dance on the edge of the precipice known as life at all times, but occasionally I'm known to crave a little adventure and seek to make my days count for something while I'm here. So buckle up my dear friends and readers, because whatever happens, I can promise you that it will contain a healthy dose of "vivere pericoloso".