Suggested Thinking

I thought I would try something different this year.  Instead of writing long reviews of a few movies, I decided I should list the movies I watch each month and provide a short commentary.  It should help me better remember each of them when it comes time at the end of the year to pick my favorites.  So, here is the first installment for 2010 (two thousand ten), or twenty-ten, depending on how you want to pronounce it.

This month includes 7 movies I hadn't seen before, one episodic TV series and two movies I had previously watched.  Yeah, I know...I need more of a life, but when you stop paying attention to politics or reading much of the news, it's amazing how much time you can find to watch movies.

• The Gamers:  Dorkness Rising
• Moon
• 9
• District 9
• Sunshine Cleaning
• Extract
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• Six Feet Under - Season 1 (first 3 episodes)
• Lord of the Rings:  Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition)
• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

For some detail on each and the ratings, I'm gonna make you click the link...

If you haven't noticed, the frequency of posts on this site is slowing down, almost as if the equivalent of blog entropy is taking its toll as I head toward a lower energy state.  Maybe I should invent the blog version of a perpetual motion machine, I'll call it a perpetual entry machine.  But then again, we all know that can't exist given the laws of blogs.

But in reality, since it's just me at this blog, and with other things in my life requiring more and more of my time, along with a lack of motivation to post about the crap going on in the world, it seems that the pattern going forward will be maybe 3 or 4 posts a month.  It's not that there isn't stuff to post about, it's just that the time to put it together is not there.  Also, the more I pay attention to politics in this country, the more I get pissed off, so I'm stepping back from it for a while.  I didn't watch Obama's State of the Union address, nor the Republican response.  I avoided the media frenzy around the event as much as I could...although the bit with Justice Alito was plastered everywhere...again, a media looking for controversy over substance.

Other things I've been avoiding include the democrats screw-up of health care reform, the Texas State Board of Education re-write of the Social Studies curriculum to eliminate historical figures they don't like, the recent Senate election in Massachusetts for Ted Kennedy's seat, even the Leno vs. Conan crap.  As you can see, there's plenty to write about, but instead, I feel my sanity is more important, so I'm focusing on my family, my work and a few hobbies instead.

I'll continue to post about movies, and maybe eventually I'll get back to the other stuff, but for now it's time to reset and refocus and preserve my sanity.

Thanks for listening.

It's that time of year again.  Time for my list of the best movies of 2009.  If you recall from last year, my list is not limited to movies that came out in 2009, but to the movies I watched in 2009 regardless of their original release date.  And it was a banner year for watching movies, with no less than 86 movies watched during the last 12 months.  But if you've followed along on the blog, you may have noticed that I only reviewed 8 movies this year.  The reason? Very few made an impression that compelled me to write about them.

Here's the breakdown of the ratings

• 5 Star Movies:  1
• 4 Star Movies:  24
  
• 3 Star Movies:  42
• 2 Star Movies:  19
• 1 Star Movies:  0

Again this year it's a relatively even distribution with the majority landed right in the middle.  But a couple things do stand out this year compared to last.  First, I didn't rate any movies 1 star and second, I actually rated a movie 5 stars.  If you recall, my criteria for a 5 star movie is one that I would want to go out and buy immediately and wouldn't mind watching again and again.  That's a pretty high bar to jump over so it's no wonder there has been only 1 movie in the last 2 years that achieved this lofty position.

As usual, I've broken down the movies I watched into categories and selected my favorite in each.

My Christmas gift to myself this year was a Blu-Ray player...or as my daughter first pronounced it, a "blurry" player.  As usual, it took me a few weeks to figure out exactly which model I wanted.  In the end I went with the Oppo BDP-83 Blu-Ray player.

At $500 it's about twice as expensive as others on the market and certainly more than a PS3, but for me it met my requirements and "reasonable cost" is always a relative term.

So why the Oppo? and what do I think about it now that I've had it a few weeks?

It wasn't really planned, but one night earlier this week while out to dinner with the family, the discussion came to Christmas.  I thought it might be nice to go to a midnight mass for Christmas to show my daughter what that spectacle is all about.  You see, she's been to plenty of church's, but I had never taken her to a full Catholic mass.  What better time than Christmas.

So on Christmas Eve we changed the plans a bit and instead of midnight mass, we went to a 9pm mass at a local Catholic Church.  We left early knowing it would be crowded.  Sure enough, even though we got there more than 30 minutes before the mass was to begin, we had some trouble finding a place to sit.  One of the families was nice enough to scoot over a bit to make room and we took our seats at the end of one of the pews.  I didn't feel comfortable though.  You see, when I was growing up going to church every week, we used to talk about those types, the ones who only came to church at the holidays.  The "visitors".  Now here I was, one of those.  Finally, the mass began.

It's been a while since I've attended a mass myself, and this time it felt different.  It was like being an alien from another planet observing the gathering.  I didn't feel part of the community anymore and as I listened to the priest talk and the ritualistic response of the crowd, I couldn't help but feel like they were brainwashed, reciting the appropriate lines at the right time in unison without really any thought to their meaning.

You see, the Catholic mass is very much a set ritual, not much variation beyond the readings and the sermon by the priest.  I found myself going through the motions without having to really think about it.  The standard prayers came back to me with ease that I had recited for so many years growing up.  My daughter looked at me in confusion and several times during the mass asked me questions about what was happening and why.

During his sermon, the priest welcomed the "visitors" and expressed his hope that we might become permanent members of the congregation.  It was a nice sentiment and I appreciated the openness.  But I couldn't help but see Donald Sutherland from the movie The Invasion of the Body Snatchers every time the term "visitors" was used.

Then the time came for the Eucharist.  I could have gone, but decided not to.  Given my feelings about religion in general, it wouldn't have been right for me to accept communion.  So when the time came, we had to stand up, get out of the way and let everyone else in the row get in line.  Another clear indication that we were "visitors".  Once they were past, we sat down again.

The mass ended and we headed home.  My daughter and I had a nice discussion about the mass and especially about the Eucharist.  She was curious about what a person had to do before they could accept communion.  I told her about the sacraments of the church and how a persons first communion is one of them.  And really that was the intent of the event.  To let her see some of what the church is about and to help her better understand what Christmas is supposed to be for.

Finally, it was getting late and it was time to get her to bed so that Christmas could come.

Merry Christmas everyone.

In the world of sci-fi there is usually a clear distinction between Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans.  Rarely is one a fan of both to the same degree.  For me, I enjoyed Star Trek much more than Star Wars.  When I was in college, we would come back to our dorm room after dinner, huddle around my 13" color TV and turn on the nightly re-run of the original Star Trek TV show.  It was a tradition.  We played the standard Star Trek game of trying to call out the name of the episode before anyone else.  Yeah, we were geeks.

Although I enjoyed the TV shows, I never really got into the Star Trek movies.  The only one I ever wanted to watch more than once was Wrath of Khan.  But with this recent release, that has changed.  I would put J J Abrams new Trek film at the top of the heap in terms of quality and replayability.  It was that good.  In fact, I watched it twice before I sent it back to Netflix, something I rarely ever do.  And it was just as good the second time if not better.

I haven't been following much of the health care debate going on lately in the Congress.  I kind of tuned out after the infamous (or famous, depending on you affiliation) "You lie!!" comment.  But of course, it's hard to miss the talking points being blasted at us by a media more than willing to skim the surface of an issue for what they feed us as "news".

The most recent ruckus I'm hearing about is the mostly Republican backed amendment to the health care reform bill (that they won't vote for) that would deny coverage/funding of abortions.  Isn't this the same party that keeps harping that government run health care will lead to rationing?  Well, isn't denying a procedure the same as rationing?  The difference is just the degree to which it is unavailable.

The last time I checked, it was legal for a woman to have an abortion in this country.  What other legal medical procedure will they ration away from Americans in the name of our freedoms?  How about denying coverage to have a vasectomy?  Let's not be sexist here and screw with a mans reproductive rights as well as a woman's.

So come on, stop being hypocritical in the name of "family values" and just step back and look at what you are proposing.  You're the ones always saying you want the government to stay out of the lives of citizens, so back off and just leave it alone.  Let the patients and their doctors make up their own minds about what legal procedures they should have and stop legislating your view of "morality" on the rest of us while you prostitute yourselves to the health care companies so you can get re-elected.

I've had this movie on my Netflix list for a really long time, but it kept itself in the middle of the queue as other seemingly more interesting movies leapfrogged over it to the top of my attention.  Finally, it's turn came and I must say, watching this film from the 1930's is an experience.  It's unlike any movie you've seen and I can't imagine anything like it ever being made again.

Well, from the Jehovah's Witnesses anyway.  While I was on the phone the other day I heard a knock at my door.  I didn't bother to answer it since I was busy, but once I got off the phone I went to the door and saw a pamphlet had been left outside.  When I retrieved it I saw the title "The WatchTower, Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom".  (I assume it was left by the Jehovah's witnesses, but since I didn't see them, it could have been Jehovah himself!)

Curious, I took a look inside.  One article stood out to me, entitled "A Creator Worthy of Our Praise".  It wasn't so much the title that struck me, but the opening sentences.

"Have you ever wondered 'What is the meaning of life?'  Those who believe that life is the result of mindless evolution grope in vain for the answer."

Really?  That's quite a supposition.  Have they surveyed every person who accepts evolution?  Do they not realize that many religious individuals also accept evolution?  Ignoring this blatant generalization, I was curious how they would answer that question.  Certainly with an opening statement like that, they must be sure they can answer the question clearly and it must be within the article.  I didn't have to read much farther to get their answer.

"Not so those who accept the well-established truth that Jehovah God is the Source of life."

Mkay...so from this I can gleam that they think evolution is not well established and that it is a known fact that God is the source of life.  What reference do they provide for this?  Well a bible verse of course.  Hence begins the circular logic.  They also miss the fact that evolution says nothing about the "source" of life, only its diversity.  But beyond that, even if you accept that God is the "source" of life, that does not answer the question, "What is the meaning of life?"  But they go on:

"They know that he had a purpose in creating us.  That purpose is stated at Revelation 4:11."

Now we're getting somewhere...a defacto reference to where the meaning of life is revealed!  I pulled out my copy of the New Testament, provided to me by the Gideons when I was in 5th grade public school many years ago, and read the passage.  No comment on the constitutionality of this now...maybe for another post.

Revelations 4:11, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and dominion, because You have created all things, and by Your will they were and have been created."

Hmm...not sure I get it from that alone, it seems to me to be saying we need to worship God and give him praise because he is the creator, not telling me the meaning of life...Maybe I need to read more of the article.  They go on about how we should see the "invisible qualities" in God's creations and how he is "deserving of our reverential respect", but nothing more about why we are here.  WAIT, here it is...clearly in the last paragraph.

"Why, then, are we here?"  The last part of Revelation 4:11 answers:  'Because of your will they [all created things] existed and were created.'  We did not will ourselves into existence.  We exist because of God's will.  For this reason, life lived solely for self-interest is empty and meaningless.  To find inner peace, joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment, we need to learn what God's will is and then bring our life into harmony with it.  Only then will we find the purpose of our creation and existence."

So there version of Revelations 4:11 is worded slightly differently than the Gideons.  Never mind that, I think we get the point.  Those who believe in "mindless" evolution obviously are self-centered people who care nothing for the rest of mankind.  And they can never have true joy or satisfaction with their lives?  Only those who reject evolution are loving caring people.

Ignoring yet another blatant generalization, they didn't answer the question!!...it just says you have to believe in God and then decipher what his purpose for you is.  Why is it so hard to figure out?  Why isn't God more clear about what he wants us to do?

But wait, what if there is no purpose?  What if you spend your life groping for a purpose that does not exist?  How is that a joyful, fulfilling or satisfying life?  Why not just accept that your existence is, and enjoy your life without the dogma of a religion pulling you down searching for a meaning that may not exist.

What's wrong with being good because you care about your fellow man and understand as a society we all benefit if we work together.  Why not make the world a better place because you care about your children and your grand-children instead of because of the fear of retribution from a vengeful God?

I for one want more from a God than generalizations and demands of praise.  So until they can answer the question more concretely, I will continue to live my life and derive satisfaction, joy and fulfillment without the dogma, guilt or fear from religion.

For those who don't know Robert Crumb, he is probably one of the best known counter-culture comic book artists.  Beyond his work for Zap Comics and on the Fritz The Cat series, he penned the original "Keep on Trucking" image that became hugely popular in the 1970's.

There's even a documentary on him that provides insight into his life and career that is truly worth the time to watch.

But now, he's taken on the Bible by illustrating the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis.  It's soon to be released and I can't imagine not wanting to get a copy to see his take on this ancient tale.  But that's just it, it's not his take on the story.  In the introduction he writes that he has faithfully reproduced every word from the original text, apparently spending 4 years researching various versions of the text to recreate it in 224 pages of art.  I guess a story this crazy doesn't need embellishment.

NPR recently did a story on the release of the comic including a link to an excerpt.

Apparently, during a press conference about the comic, Crumb was asked about his own belief, or lack of one, in God.  Here was his response.

"I'm a Gnostic — someone who seeks knowledge of God," Crumb responded. "There's some force that rules our destiny: This is obvious. But what it is — this is a mystery we cannot possibly understand."

He went on to add this comment about the Bible itself.

"The idea that people for a couple thousand years have taken this so seriously seems completely insane and crazy, totally nuts. But the human race is crazy if nothing else,"

No argument here.