Part 1 of this series is here: Religious Autobiography 1980-1998.

Before I left for college, I was warned by a couple of members in my home church that the church of Christ in Kirksville was not sound. You see, they had a kitchen in their basement. I was encouraged to drive to Macon, MO where there was a sound church. I didn't like the idea of driving 30 miles on a dangerous 2 lane road every time I wanted to go to church. I did visit the church in Macon once and I didn't find it to be worth the extra trouble.

So, I began attending the church Tim had gone to during his freshman year: Kirksville Church of Christ. They had a kitchen and no paid preacher. The fact that I was able to handle this level of heresy was probably an early sign to people in my home church that I was about to fall away.

Although Tim had faithfully attended the church of Christ on Sundays and Wednesdays during his freshman year, he had also been in a small group Bible study put on by Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF). CCF is associated with the Independent Christian Church. They do Sunday morning and Wednesday night worship services on campus as well as operating over 20 small group Bible studies that meet on and off campus. During my first week at Truman Tim and I went to several of CCF's activities and I signed up for a small group that met in my dormitory (where I met Sara, but that's a whole other story). We continued to go to the church of Christ through the fall semester of 1998.

After a lifetime of being taught that every other denomination is wrong, I was now experiencing friendship and fellowship with people from different religious backgrounds. These people were my age and they were passionate about what they believed. And I was able to compare that side-by-side with what I saw at the Church of Christ. One example should suffice to show the stark differences I began to perceive.

For this story I'll need to introduce Nate Curl. Nate lived next door to me in the dorm. He was also involved in CCF and we became fast friends. Nate is funny, honest, faithful and very intelligent. He graduated with a 4.0 and went on to medical school. He would become my roommate and a groomsman at my wedding. He was raised in the Dutch Reformed Church, which is related to the Presbyterian Church.

I invited Nate to come to church with me one Sunday during the first semester. That happened to be the day when our Sunday school teacher was handing out copies of a book called Traditions of Men Versus the Word of God. This is a typical Church of Christ book that lists all the denominations and explains why they are wrong and the Church of Christ is the one true faith. Nate was handed a book, flipped through it and found the chapter on Presbyterians. He didn't make a big deal about it, but nobody likes to be told that they are wrong and going to hell. I was so embarrassed. I had been hearing and repeating this type of thing for years, but I'd never personally known the faith of the people I was condemning. I knew that my friend was not a heretic. I had seen his faith in action. And I began to come to terms with the fact that the faith taught by my church focused too much on bringing other people down.

I was learning things in my small group that were more useful and positive than anything I'd seen in the Church of Christ. I also skipped a few Church of Christ services and heard the preaching at CCF. I'm sure the fact that it was mostly young people played a role in my feelings about it, but I was also becoming convinced that the faith I saw there was more practical and more in line with the spirit of the ministry of Jesus than what I was seeing at the Church of Christ. Tim was having some of the same realizations, but the biggest obstacle preventing us from switching to CCF was the fact that they used instruments in worship.

So Tim and I began an in-depth study of this issue. For the first time, we consulted material from both sides of the debate. We came to the conclusion that nothing in the Bible, Church history or common sense would suggest that singing worship songs with instrumental accompaniment was a sin. (My best attempt at defending this decision is probably found in a discussion board thread where I argued for weeks with members of a random Church of Christ on the internet. The church ended up deleting the thread, but I saved it here.) When the spring semester of 1999 began, we stopped going to the Church of Christ and started going to CCF.

Even though I no longer believe in God, and suspect that my time in college might have been better spent doing other things, I still have some very positive feelings about CCF. I don't regret being a part of it. I made some very good friends there, and I'm still close with several of them. My faith grew and I developed leadership and people skills in my work there. I became a small group leader and later an intern. Interns devoted 20 hours per week to the ministry. During my time as an intern I led a prison ministry, a ministry for international students and I did some preaching.

During my junior and senior years I came to terms with and attempted to address some serious doubts I had. I always been attracted to the explanatory power of science, and I knew that religion and science give conflicting answers to important questions. I'd forgotten the importance of hearing from both sides of an issue, or perhaps I was just unwilling to consider the possibility that God did not exist. I combated my doubts by immersing myself in the field of apologetics. Francis Schaeffer, Ravi Zacharias, C.S. Lewis, Norman Geisler, Philip Johnson and William Lane Craig became my guides. I managed to keep my faith, but I didn't totally escape disappointment and disillusionment.

At the end of my junior year I saw my favorite campus minister forced out of CCF partially because he didn't buy into the Independent Christian Church doctrine as much as expected. Then I saw how the senior campus minister responded to criticism by labeling any negative comment as an attack from the devil.

I think it was during my junior year that my religious fervor peaked and began to diminish. I had been planning to become a missionary. But not just any missionary; I wanted to live in the jungle and translate the Bible for indigenous people with no written language or knowledge of Christianity. I don't think Sara was ever excited about this plan, but we got as far as beginning to drum up financial support to enter this field. During a trip back to Adrian I met with Paul Burhart, the minister of the Independent Christian Church in town, to see if his church might help to send us overseas. He said they might, but he also asked me to consider an opening they had for a youth minister. I told him that I didn't think I was cut out for youth ministry, but that I would consider it.

In hindsight I see this as part of a pattern of backing away from religious fervor. Sara and I decided to leave the jungles and Bible translation to someone else and to spend the summer of 2001 in a youth ministry internship at the Adrian Christian Church.

I enjoyed the work, but it was still difficult and frustrating enough that I did not feel guilty about spurning missions. Paul asked us to come back and help on weekends when we could during my senior year at Truman. On September 9, 2001, ACC launched a contemporary worship service targeted at younger, unchurched families. In the months following 9/11, the church grew rapidly. We came back one or two weekends a month. Paul had also enlisted the help of some students from a Bible college in Moberly, Missouri. One of those students was Brendan Creecy.

At the end of my first senior semester I told the campus minister that I was resigning my internship. Emma was about to be born, we were frustrated with CCF and we were shifting our involvement toward the church in Adrian. Sara and I both attended CCF worship services and small groups for the remainder of the year, but for us that was a huge cutback in our involvement.

Part 3 of this series is here: Religious Autobiography 1998-2002.

Well, this weekend I tried to liven things up a little more. I've had the itch to do more than just sit around the house on my weekends.

On Friday, I teamed up with my mom and my sister, and we drove to Fashion Island in Newport. I had never been there before. Honestly, I'd rather just go to South Coast Plaza. I had a delicious salad and pesto pasta at a restaurant, but it made me sick later on. Yet another of my food allergies that I can't quite pin down, I guess. We got back from shopping in the evening, and I crashed for a couple of hours. I got up to watch tv with Ric and then called it a night.

Saturday I slept in and then went straight to work on painting trim in our hallway. It's tedious work. In the late afternoon we joined forces with the Hutchinseses and drove out to Newport to have dinner on the water at Joe's Crab Shack. We ate mighty big portions of mighty fine food, went out for a walk on the windy pier, and had gelato and shakes at a local shop before heading home.

Sunday I went to church while Ric stayed home (feeling unwell) and saw the Andersons for a bit. I went grocery shopping and then came home to do more paint work. In the evening we went to Brea to see WALL-E, which is worth every penny. It did my soul well. We spent the rest of the night watching Arrested Development.

Up this week: Fellowship of the Ring at the Academy with Brendan and Curtis, movie night with Ryan and Amy, and a visit from the Arizona family!

My Boring Ass Life » Curious George, the Shadow of the Bat, and Other Stuff

Without giving anything away, this is an epic film (and trust me: based on the sheer size and scope of the visuals and storytelling, that's not an overstatement). It's the Godfather II of comic book films and three times more earnest than Batman Begins

While I don't agree with Kevin all the time about movies, I would say I agree with him about 90% of the time. I absolutely cannot wait for this movie.

I know that religion is not considered a topic for polite conversation, but that's never stopped me from talking about it on this site. I've written about religion as a pastor, as a former member of a strange group and more recently as an atheist. But I haven't yet written up an overview of my history with religion and how I have arrived where I am today. Until now. This is going to be divided up into multiple parts.

My mother was raised on a dairy farm and her family went to a Baptist church in the country. My dad's parents were divorced. His mom is an atheist now (I'm not sure about back then), but he lived with his dad and stepmother. His stepmother is a Methodist and the couple also ran the local liquor store. Shortly after getting married, Dad went on a quest to find the right religion. He did a lot of reading and talking with people he knew. He was visited by the preacher from the Church of Christ in Butler, MO (about 10 miles from Adrian, where he lived). Soon Mom and Dad were members of that church and as far back as I can remember we drove to Butler every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening for services.

The Church of Christ is one of those non-denominational denominations. There is no church hierarchy outside of local congregations. Most of the churches do not use instrumental music in worship services. There are several splinter groups divided by various important theological issues such as

Can a church building have a kitchen?
Is Sunday school allowed?
Should churches send money to missionary and benevolent organizations?
Can communion be taken from multiple cups or only from one shared cup like in the Bible?
Is it ok to have a paid preacher?

My church answered those questions like this: no, yes, no, multiple, yes. Various congregations answer those questions in different ways, and they all refuse to recognize the soundness of any church that doesn't agree with their set of answers.

So, as I grew up I heard 2 sermons a week and had 2 Bible classes per week. Mixed in with the normal Christian teaching about sin and salvation (and maybe even overshadowing them) were sermons about the evils of pianos and refrigerators in church and how congregations who form organizations to help them cooperate for missionary work were headed down the path toward Catholicism.

And if they were that hard on fellow churches of Christ, just imagine how damned other denominations were. I was frequently told how most of the churches fell into apostasy not long after the New Testament was completed. The Reformation just substituted Protestant heresy for Catholic heresy (although they never seemed to mind quoting Luther, Calvin and Wesley when decrying instrumental music).

But then, as I was told, some humble preachers in America saw through all the religious confusion, left their Protestant churches and started the Restoration Movement. The true form of New Testament religion was restored at last. But all was not well in God's kingdom. Soon liberals infiltrated the one true church and they had to be ousted. The Disciples of Christ and the churches of Christ officially split in 1906. Some of the apostates had a partial change of heart and in 1926 a group of conservative Disciples of Christ split to form the Independent Christian Church. They still used instruments, but in other ways, they resembled the doctrines of the churches of Christ.

From 1906 to the present, the churches of Christ continued to divide over the issues I listed above and others. Lucky for me, the church I was raised in happened to belong to the one splinter group who was following the Bible correctly.

One of the few interchurch fellowships I had was at the Florida College Summer Camp at the Lake of the Ozarks. Kids from our type of churches of Christ from all over Missouri and Arkansas met for a week. Now I realize that most churches that do summer camps couldn't fit all of the interested youth from two states, ages 9-18 into a single week of camp. But that never occurred to me at the time. I loved it. I made some good friends there, including Tim, who plays a big role in the rest of my story.

One of the purposes of the camp is to recruit kids to go to Florida College, a junior college in the Tampa Bay area. As far as I know, it's the only Bible college that my type of churches of Christ considered sound. Several of my friends were planning on going there and Tim and I flew down for a college visit during my junior year (his senior year). I think we were both genuinely undecided at that time, but the trip was kind of disappointing. The library was pathetic, we had some strange experiences in the dorm we stayed (including one resident walking around naked with rubber mask on his face), the academics seemed weak and we knew how much it would cost. Neither of our families had a lot of money for college. My brother went to FC and was able to transfer his credits to a university, graduate and start a good career, so I don't want to sell the school short too much. But Tim and I weren't sure it was worth the cost.

Tim went to Truman State University in Kirksville, MO on a good scholarship. Several of our friends were disappointed, including me. I was still leaning toward FC even though I had doubts. I decided to apply to some in-state schools, including Truman, just to see what kind of scholarships I could get. And so that when I was ready to transfer after getting my associate's degree at FC, I would already have been approved by some schools. Truman accepted me and offered me a $4000 a year scholarship. FC accepted me and offered a $200 scholarship. Truman, with in-state public school tuition was shaping up to be a near-free education. FC would have put my parents in debt. I visited Truman and was impressed, especially by their gigantic library. After much agonizing, I reluctantly decided to part ways with the rest of my friends and join Tim at Truman.

Once again, many people I knew were disappointed in this decision. I almost talked myself out of it at my last year at camp just weeks before leaving for college. No one really pressured me, but I really questioned my decision. Some of my friendships would never be the same. Could my faith handle going to a secular school? I even called home in tears asking my mom if it was still possible to change my mind and go to FC. She told me it was my decision and they would make it work if I wanted to do it. On the last few days of camp I asked advice from a lot of people and I spent the bus ride home mulling the decision. I finally decided to stick with Truman State. It's strange to think about how different my life would have been if I had made the opposite decision.

That was a turning point in my religious life and in my life as a whole. I don't really remember if I was having doubts about my church's claim to be the the one true faith. I know that Tim told me about getting involved with a campus ministry that (gasp!) used instruments in worship. I remember being concerned but intrigued. I intended to look into this campus ministry and possibly get involved myself. So, I must have had some doubts about the CoC even before going to a state school.

Part 2: Religious Autobiography 1998-2002

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

Fighting the Army - PBS NOW

If you're looking for ways to cut military spending, denying disability benefits to veterans with PTSD is not a good way to do it. This story follows two soldiers who fought bravely and were damaged by what they experienced in the war. The army mishandled their treatment and found excuses to kick them out and strip them of their benefits. This is a 24 minute program and you can watch video, download an mp3 or read the transcript. I urge everyone to take a look at this. How we treat these young men and women says a lot about who we are as Americans and as humans.

index

Oh man, are you guys ready for some crazy? I don't think you are.

Westborough Baptist Church responds to George Carlin's death - The charming folks that brought us "God Hates Fags" and disrupting military funerals are back with their thoughts on Carlin. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry.

(via Friendly Atheist)

It's getting harder and harder for me to write these days. With two kids to take care of now, I have less free time than ever before, and even when I am able to get on the computer I'm usually holding Eva in one arm, making it difficult to type anything.

Erika and Eva are out of town for the day and Daniel is taking a nap, which leaves me alone for the first time in a very long while. So here I am, at the computer, with my hands finally free...and I have nothing to write.

Oh, I have some ideas floating around (most significantly an entry for NPR's This I Believe essay series) but it's going to take a lot of time for any of them to solidify.

So in lieu of anything worthwhile to say, here is a cute picture of my two great achievements of the summer.

Well apparently, I hit some sort of strand of Meryl Streep movies lately. Honestly, there's something about her that bothers me, even though I can often admire her work. Most of the movie's I've seen are more recent, so this is probably the second movie I've seen of her in her younger years. Sophie's Choice stars Streep as Sophie, who is a Polish woman who lives in New York after having been in a concentration camp during the second World War. Sophie is dependent on her boyfriend Nathan, played by Kevin Kline and they have a very dynamic relationship. They befriend Stingo, a young writer who moves into their boarding house, who is enamored with their personalities and, of course, attracted to Sophie in particular. As the story progresses, we learn that Nathan isn't quite as quirky as he is mentally unstable, and the dynamics between the trio get more interesting.

I liked the style of Sophie's Choice, although I was at first very annoyed with the character of Nathan and why his character seemed magnetic to other people. I couldn't understand why Sophie would always accept him after he treated her so poorly. But thankfully, the third act of the movie delves into the real main character, Sophie (for a while, it seems like it could be Stingo or Nathan), and her history at the concentration camp. Here is where Streep shines. She was already impressive with the very natural sounding accent and mannerisms of a Polish woman, but her character was almost one-dimensional at first, and the fullness of the character brought out the fullness of her acting and a much more complete story.

I think it's interesting that Kevin Kline didn't get nominated for a Supporting or main Actor award for his exuberant portrayal of Nathan, but perhaps the Academy was as turned off by the eccentricities as I was. I do admit, though, that I'm not sure I've seen him get into his character in any other movie as much as he did in this one.

It was good to see a Polish story of WWII. I think the only other one I've seen is The Pianist. Sophie's background and familial ties made her situation more complex, and her experience working as a secretary for a German officer was a different twist than I've seen in other movies of this type. I hadn't heard about the program of importing white "looking" children into the German culture, so Sophie's efforts to get her child placed in that program was an aspect of the film I found interesting too.

Overall, I think I liked the last part of the movie much better than the first, but it wouldn't be a complete story without both of them. I didn't love the film but admire it for being well made. The character studies of Nathan and Sophie were in depth but there was something about the movie that felt kind of empty at the same time. So, file that under "Glad I watched it, but probably won't watch it again."

YouTube - Cold War Kids - Second Album Teaser

The album drops in September. I got to hear some of the new songs at their show in April and they were fantastic. They'll be on tour in the fall so check them out if they play near you.

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog is Joss Whedon's latest project and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day. Many other Whedonverse regulars have appearances as well. It's a three part musical that will be released via the Web. I'm really looking forward to the panel at Comic-Con since Whedon, Nathan Fillion, and Neil Patrick Harris are all pretty darn funny.

Lego Star Wars

Carcassonne Hunters & Gatherers

Persepolis [Blu-ray] by Marjane Satrapi

What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity? by N. T. Wright

The Shack (Special Hardcover Edition) by William P. Young

I didn't grow up watching the adventures of Maxwell Smart in the original tv series, but my favorite local channel these days plays a great run of older shows in the evening, so I've been watching a lot of Maxwell Smart lately. I've gotten a feel for the show well enough to understand its overall style. This movie does not necessarily capture that style, but seems like an appropriately updated take on the series. It's more modern, has more action sequences (which make it a little more Bond-like in nature), and a lot more modern language and innuendo. Steve Carell stars, and although Max is a bumbling idiot a lot of the time, the screenwriters and Carell are able to convey him as a smart and endearing character as well.

The movie has a lot of stars in it. Anne Hathaway provided great chemistry as Agent 99, I loved that Terrence Stamp played the bad guy, Dwayne Johnson was surprisingly funny, Alan Arkin was funny enough, and loved the supporting work of David Koechner, Masi Oka, and Nate Terrence. Particularly funny was a little cameo by Bill Murray.

As a regular action flick, I think the film succeeds because it actually goes to all sorts of locales, has plenty of action sequences and special effects, and follows the basic formula of one of those movies. As a comedy, it succeeds because it doesn't resort to over exaggeration like many spoof movies do (Scary Movie, anyone?). There's certainly plenty of verbal and physical humor, but it doesn't feel outrageous or annoying.

I really liked that this movie didn't insult Max or make him insulting to others. He just dances to the beat of a different drum, and it works. I love the scene where he tries to show up Agent 99 by dancing with an overweight woman. He doesn't insult the woman, and they dance wonderfully. I loved that touch. It was a funny scene, it produced a different outcome than expected, and it showed a part of Max's character that made him admirable to others.

The theater where we saw Get Smart was packed by about half an hour before the movie began, and everyone laughed a lot. It isn't perfectly clean fun, but it is fun. I actually think it has potential to be a series of movies, if general audiences are interested. It isn't going to win any awards, but it is a fun and funny movie. I had a great time watching it.

Troy McClure Film or Actual Terrible Movie?

This was a bit more tricky than I thought it would be.

In memory of one of my favorite comics of all time, GC, comedy central has put up a video tribute.

Check it out.

George Carlin Video Tribute

Director Kevin Smith Remembers George Carlin | Newsweek Entertainment | Newsweek.com

In 2001, George did me a solid when he accepted the part of the orally fixated hitchhiker who knew exactly how to get a ride in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." When he wrapped his scene in that flick, I thanked him for making the time, and he said, "Just do me a favor: Write me my dream role one day." When I inquired what that'd be, he offered, "I wanna play a priest who strangles children."It was a classic Carlin thing to say: a little naughty and a lot honest. I always figured there'd be time to give George what he asked for. Unfortunately, he left too soon.He was, and will likely remain, the smartest person I've ever met. But really, he was much more than just a person. Without a hint of hyperbole, I can say he was a god, a god who cussed.

I definitely recommend any fan of Carlin or Kevin to read the article. It's a very loving tribute from Kevin, who in the end was just a huge fan of the guy. I'm curious though about this last bit. It almost sounds like Carlin was going to be the antagonist in Smith's upcoming horror film, Red State. That's just pure speculation on my part and I'm probably wrong, but I recall Kevin at one point saying the movie revolves around a religious figure. If you're looking to remember Carlin, there are video tributes and such all over the internet. While this is a sad loss, the guy definitely has left plenty behind for us to remember him by.

I usually write my reviews in order of when the movies were seen, but since I always seem to be falling behind, I think I'm going to start posting about new releases as top priorities. That will start with Get Smart, since I actually saw The Incredible Hulk over a week ago.

I'm not sure if there were many people who enjoyed Ang Lee's take on the Incredible Hulk, starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connolly. I think I rated it as the second-to-last worst movie of 2003 (right above Anger Management). So it was safe for me to assume that I'd like this version better unless someone did something incredibly wrong. I was also interested because the movie stars Edward Norton and Tim Roth, who tend to make movies that I enjoy.

While the last version focused on how the Hulk became the Hulk, this version skipped through the How and jumped forward to show Bruce Banner's attempt to live a life without incident (without letting his heart rate to reach 200 and trigger Hulkification). One thing I didn't like about Lee's Hulk was that we never really got the feeling that the Hulk was becoming a superhero. He just had a lot of strength. By the end of this movie, I got the feeling that I had seen the beginnings of some real superhero fighting and catchphrases. I liked hearing "Hulk Stomp" shouted out during a climactic battle.

Like Iron Man, this comic book hero movie uses the desire for technological advances in military weapons as the bad guys' goal, and the accidental result is a superhero. Just like in Iron Man, the bad guy (Tim Roth with William Hurt's help instead of Jeff Bridges) is a bigger and badder looking version of the hero, and they will ultimately fight each other in an impressive battle. I liked the development of Roth's Emil Blonsky, whose progression from soldier to grotesque thingamabob somehow seems reasonable in the hands of a good actor. Likewise, Norton is more likable than I ever would have expected, and does a great job as Banner.

The movie's one weakness, for me, was Tim Blake Nelson (whom I usually admire). This movie is mostly grounded in a realistic setting and the fights are supposed to feel a little bit more real-life. It doesn't feel like Spider-Man or X-Men, and while there are a few laughs here and there, it's mostly more serious. Tim Blake Nelson jumps in as a physical realization of Goofy himself, and is so incredibly annoying that I thought the whole movie was ruined for a while there, when he was on screen. It reminded me of John Turturro in Transformers (maybe not quite that bad). Thankfully, his role isn't a large one, and if you hang in there, he goes away after a while. I'm just not sure if it was a casting issue or direction, but he was a sore thumb in the middle of an otherwise good movie.

I like the settings of this movie a lot better than the first as well. Rather the middle of nowhere, it moves around in location, but is always in the middle of a city. At first it's cramped Brazilian streets and a bottling factory, and then it's in well-populated areas of the U.S., including a university and busy city blocks.

Overall this movie was tens of times an improvement when compared with Ang Lee's take on the Hulk. The script is a lot smarter (minus one too many of Hulk's big yells), the Hulk is better realized as a character, and the action is better too. Of course, this movie comes standard with your expected Stan Lee and Lou Ferigno appearances, and yes, the promised appearance of Tony Stark (and Nick Fury's name flashing in the opening sequence) is there too. It's got so much more to offer, and is well made. It's not my favorite comic book movie (I tend to prefer the less realism-based ones), but it's a respectable entry and has promise for future movies.

P.S. Work is affecting me more than it ought - I was sitting in the middle of this movie thinking.. "Bruce Banner is the Hulk. We're converting our software to Banner and we've been calling it the beast... we should be calling Banner the Hulk!"

Wow, it's been really hot lately. Thank goodness for sunscreen and a condo and workplace with central air! Working out has been a lot more of a chore lately. There were a few days where there was no breeze at all. On those, the sun just beat down and gave me more of a farmer's tan (even though I wear sunscreen). Honestly, though, I'm thankful for the days when I successfully get out there and do stuff. My back has been making things difficult lately, so I'm always excited when it lets me do things.

Well, on Friday I went to a birthday party/Arbonne presentation at a friend from work's apartment. It was fun to see her place and even to get inspired to make our place feel a little bit more like home. It was hot, though. When I left it was 105 degrees out and my car had been sitting out there for a while. The seats were almost unbearable, even when wearing jeans. I rushed home to the coolness of my bedroom and watched tv and napped with Pip. Ric and I stayed in that night, although we did make a little trip out to Target to kill some boredom and pick up a few food items. I finished watching King Kong (the Jessica Lange edition) and we watched more 30 Rock on the Roku.

Saturday I slept in, then got up and started working on paint touch-up in the kitchen. I swear, I just touch up with white along an edge and then need to do more touch up with beige. One of these days there will be a crisp-looking edge. Anyway, I got through a lot of The Last of the Mohicans over the weekend while painting. I'm really enjoying it. In the evening Ric and I went to Shoe City to get him a new pair of shoes and then headed over to Brea to go see Get Smart. Our theater was packed and everyone had a great time. At home, we finished season one of 30 Rock (only took us a week).

Sunday we went to church. The high school pastor kicked off a series called Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, which is a series that features lessons from children's ministries being brought to the main sermon. It's kind of fun, but a little bit more milk than meat for my tastes. We'll see how the rest of the sermons go. After church we tried out Sansei, a new Japanese place over where they're renovating the old SuperK to make a Target and Circut City. There are a bunch of new restaurants over there, so we decided to get out of the rut and try new places. Well... meh. I'd rather pay $5 for a bowl at the Flame Broiler, which is much tastier. I'll have to give it another try sometime and try something besides their spicy chicken breast bowl.

We went home and I worked on more touch up until it was time for our weekly trip to Lowe's. We bought doors for our hallway closet, new fixtures for the bathroom tub/shower, and more painting supplies. I spent the next several hours painting and listening to TLOTM. When I was done I realized I had done too much. Oops. Well, we watched the opening hour to Helvetica until Ric had to go to bed for an early morning, and then I watched The Lady from Shanghai. I tried to read after that, but Pip interrupted me every paragraph or so for attention, so I gave up and went to bed.

Up this week: grocery shopping, painting, maybe a night at Disneyland with my sister, and maybe a fun activity of some kind for short Friday.

AFP: Comedian George Carlin dead at 71

Gringo emailed me the bad news last night. Carlin was one of my favorite comedians and he also appeared in three of Kevin Smith's movies. While some people did not enjoy Jersey Girl, his performance in the movie was pretty much universally praised. I am saddened we will not get to see him again on screen or on stage. Kevin has always praised Carlin for his work ethic. Even when he was shotting a film he was still doing his stand up act. The guy was on the road the majority of the year even at the end of his life. Here's to you, George. You will be missed.

I saw Get Smart at a test screening with Phil and Janelle last year. The film was pretty much complete but some of the effects weren't finished and the music wasn't final. I really enjoyed it. Having watched the original show quite a bit as a kid, I thought the movie did a good job keeping the tone of the show. There are quite a few clever references to it as well. I laughed quite a bit and thought there was a good mix of comedy and action. Steve Carell did a great job and I thought he and Anne Hathaway had good chemistry. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues to impress me as a comedic actor. I should have known this after being a big fan of his comedic wrestling promos. He has definitely taken those skills and refined them even more for the big screen. The other highlights of the cast were definitely Terence Stamp and Alan Arkin.

If you're looking for a fun comedy and a break from the summer action movies I would recommend this one. Like I said, I saw an early cut of the film but it was really solid so I doubt the final product will be much different. If you're a fan of Carell, slapstick comedy, or the old series you will definitely enjoy it. I would actually pay to see it again but I'm a bit behind on my movie going thanks to the move. I definitely need to see The Hulk and really would like to see Prince Caspian. I think I'm going to save The Happening for the dollar theater. Decisions like these are why I enjoy summer so much.

The Raw Story | Book: McCain temper boiled over in '92 tirade, called wife a 'cunt' - There's no video of this incident, but the story is confirmed by three reporters who were there. McCain was asked about it didn't deny it. Is this a big deal? On the one hand, it's just one word that an ex-Navy man let slip at the end of a long day. On the other hand, it seems to be part of a pattern of anger and verbal abuse. What if he lets some foreign leader get the best of him at the end of a long day of negotiating? Can we risk having this man be our head of state? On the third hand, if Obama's preacher's words can be run in an endless loop on television, then this sure as hell is a big deal, too. It's something McCain actually said, not just one of his friends.

By the way, my wife made clear that if I ever called her a cunt I would have to finish the sentence 3 months later when they unwire my broken jaw.

I think that in time this will make it to the news and to the public's attention, along with the fact that he abandoned and probably cheated on his first wife after she waited for him during his time in Vietnam. Oh, and she was crippled from a car accident, too. Will the "family values" voters really choose this man over Obama?

(via Wonkette)

A few months ago, Cyndi and I got to see a test screening of Kung Fu Panda. The animation was incomplete and the music wasn't finished, so it was a very rough draft. We enjoyed ourselves, but I admit that I didn't feel completely satisfied, and I think that's just because it still had a lot of work to be done. Ric and I went to see it last weekend and we had a great time.

Jack Black voices the character of Po, a Panda who accidentally interrupts an important ceremony and gets named the Dragon Master of the Valley of Peace. He trains with the Furious Five, who are Kung Fu experts, and his master's name is Shifu. Shifu once trained Tai Lung, who was too hungry for power and was eventually put in prison. But now Tai Lung has escaped, and Po is expected to fight him. But first, Po has to learn the basics of Kung Fu!

Po's character is what makes this movie great, and Jack Black's vocals are perfect. His dialog is full of humor that has today's attitude in a setting of the past. It's an odd blend to think about, but it works well. Lines about there being no charge for awesomeness at the beginning of the film were really funny, but the final line of the battle between Po and Tai Lung was a big highlight for me too. Other famous actors are a little bit wasted because of how little screen time they get, but I guess they all do a good job with what they're given.

The thing that stood out to me the most in this movie is its style. There are several dream sequences and credits that feature an almost comic-book style of Kung Fu animation. These were probably my favorite part of the movie. But then there's an amazing prison break scene with great lighting, and then there are tons of beautiful settings as well. The movie just looks great. It's this attention to detail that makes it better than a lot of the other modern animated movies and makes it feel more like a Pixar movie.

I also really liked the angle of using Po's love of food as a catalyst for his Kung Fu style. The movie's good for the family, has some good lessons, and has a definite rewatchability factor. Ric was really surprised at how much he liked it, and I'd have to say I was really happy with the finished product too.

Feed The Animals by Girl Talk

Girl Talk's new album Feed the Animals is up for pay-what-you-want download (320kbps mp3s). $5 or more adds the option of FLAC files and $10 or more includes a packaged CD when it becomes available.

If you've never heard of Girl Talk, he's a mashup DJ. A pretty good one too so I recommend giving this a shot.

I am paying $0.00 >:]

Plain View #88 - May 25, 2008

The Orphanage

There Will Be Blood

The Mist

Senior Trip

Colorado Springs

Guest Stars

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28 years ago today the planet earth became a little bit more brendoish. Raise a glass for the man, the legend, the one and only: Brendan Creecy.

For some reason, I remembered from high school that my yearbook teacher (who was like a father to me in those years) listed Papillon as his favorite movie. It only took me 11 years to get around to watching it, but I finally Netflixed it. The movie stars Steve McQueen as Henry "Papillon" Charriere, a small time crook who was wrongly imprisoned for murder and sent to French Guiana, South America, where the prisoners were basically unable to escape because of their remote location. Papillon befriends Louis Degas (played by Dustin Hoffman), a quirky but famous counterfeiter, and serves as his security in exchange for help in his escape attempt.

It was kind of odd to see another escape attempt movie starring Steve McQueen (see: The Great Escape), but it was different enough in style and story to allow it. Papillon tries all manners of escape, and in a great sequence, is placed in solitary confinement. This is where McQueen really shines, as his character changes drastically both mentally and physically, and actually becomes dependent on Degas for a change.

One problem I had with this movie, which is always a moral problem I have in movies of this kind, is rooting for the criminals. I know he didn't commit the murder he was convicted of, but from the movie's early scenes, it's established that he's a criminal and seems to have a reputation for it. And then, while protecting Degas, we watch him slit a guy's throat. I don't know. It kind of made me think he belonged on the island. Degas was also a character that was hard to like. He's socially awkward and is definitely in jail for a reason. I just didn't care that much about him.

The movie is very long but is beautifully shot. It's gorier than I expected for its time, but I think that a modern audience would relate to it more because of that. The locales and subject matter are interesting, as are the ways both prisoners and their guards work the system. I found the setting of the second island especially interesting.

Overall, I had trouble connecting with the characters, but found the situation to be really interesting, and that's what won me over, along with McQueen's great performance.

The Associated Press: Stan Winston dies of cancer at 62

Hollywood has lost a true legend. His work speaks for itself. Even though we have moved into a digital age, there is still something special about awesome practical effects and the merging of both practical and CG. Stan Winston was definitely a master at both.

So I am getting a week off before school starts up again. I am taking full advantage of just having to work by sitting around in my shorts all afternoon and taking a mid-morning nap. I am feeling pretty good right now. Of course with that being said, I decided to do a mosaic, just like everyone else. Of course I think my Mosaic is the most Unique of all of the mosaics out there.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Andrew
2. What is your favorite food? Chicken Enchilada
3. What high school did you go to? Portland Christian High School
4. What is your favorite color? Orange
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Sarah Chalke
6. Favorite drink? Coffee
7. Dream vacation? Sleeping For A Week
8. Favorite dessert? Pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Elementary Teacher
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you. Tall
12. Your flickr name. smiznipeeflom

So I had to do something to finagle the last picture in there since there was no image for smiznipeeflom.

Late

1. stills: mars-1, mesh, andrew schoultz, 2. Pollo a la Plaza, 3. RT. REV. WILLIAM A. HICKEY, D. D., born Worcester, Ma. May 13, 1869 of William and Margaret (Troy) Hickey, 4. Prenent un Bany. Taking a Bath., 5. Sarah Chalke, 6. llibreria - bookstore - Amsterdam, 7. 1980 Me, 8. Deflating / Desinflando, 9. Happy, 10. Eyes of the hunter, 11. Row of the largest tall ships, 12. Africa 044

Hey everybody, I plan to be in the office all week this week, so hopefully there will be more frequent posts! This weekend we spent a lot of time with the fathers, obviously.

On Friday night, we celebrated with my dad. We all went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. I tried the Gourmet Crab Ravioli, which was basically crabmeat in colorful ravioli pasta, topped with a bit of pesto sauce. They were all right, but I'd probably order something else the next time around. We had dessert at my parents' place and my dad opened his gift from the kids, which is a prepaid cell phone, to be used in cases of emergency. Hopefully he'll figure out how to use it, considering the man has never even used a computer in his lifetime. I'm jealous that his phone looks cooler than mine - the only one at our price range was a sleek and shiny red phone. Ric and I went home that night and watched tv together.

Saturday, I slept in, and then Ric and I went Flame Boiler and then to see The Hulk at a matinee. I like matinees, but they leave me with nothing to do in the evening. On the way home, we stopped by Ric's parents' house to pick up a package for me, which contained my new Roku. I had that baby hooked up in a snap, and we were watching streaming tv and movie rentals in no time! We started with season one of 30 Rock, which Ric hasn't seen. I took a tv break to work on painting, and started on the hallway trim. I got pouty when it came to the slatted laundry closet doors because there's no real way to paint them neatly, so we decided it might be worth the cash to buy new doors. We watched more 30 Rock and Arrested Development that night, and I also Rokued (new word) The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Sunday we went to church and said Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday to Colin, then headed out to Lowe's. I don't even want to tally up how much of our money they've gotten this year. We bought some texture spray for the wall patch jobs in the bathroom. I spent the afternoon taping and painting while listening to The Last of the Mohicans. We packed up the Pip and went to Ric's parents' house, and we all went out to eat at El Cholo. Not my favorite place, but hey, it was Todd's day, not mine. We played some Sequence and had dessert, and then we went home. At home I Rokued a little bit of Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control, then stopped to watch more 30 Rock with Ric.

Up this week: we're hoping to figure out a way to celebrate Brendan's birthday with him (and catch up with Curtis) and have our usual movie night with the Agadonis, and I might go to the Movies on the Fox event on Thursday, where they'll be showing E.T.

I don't know why I keep forgetting when Henry's birthday is since it is the same day as my friend Janelle. I can't believe it was nearly 7 years ago when I met Honzo in the CCCB parking lot. So much has happened since then. Even though I haven't gotten to see you in awhile, you're a good friend, man. You're one of the key elements of this here community and you are one of the smartest people I know. Hope you have a great day!

Mort by Terry Pratchett

Time is ticking by so slowly this afternoon. I had thought I had packed my trusty iPod away in some random box during the move so I didn't have it for a couple weeks. I found it the other day in my backpack. Silly me putting things in logical places. Here's the rundown:

1. Panda Bear - Bros
2. The Echoing Green - The Power Cosmic
3. ABC - S.O.S.
4. Erasure - Can't Help Falling In Love With You
5. Weezer - Possibilities
6. Fiona Apple - Oh Sailor
7. Bonnie Prince Billy - Willow Trees Bend
8. The Brakes - Song of Imponderables
9. Broken Social Scene - Our Faces Split the Coast
10. Belle and Sebastian - Simple Things

I've got to say this was a quality job on the part of the ol' iPod. Nice job. If I ever make a movie, I have decided I will use that Erasure cover during the credits both as a homage to Some Kind of Wonderful and a tribute to the band themselves. Is it weird that I actually have a movie soundtrack planned out but no real movie to accompany it? One day, perhaps. Hope you all have a good weekend.

A seed has been planted. A seed that will grow and mature and take the world by storm. Chances are that it will eventually steal your job and probably your woman too.

Is this some miracle plant that can be cultivated in the most thirsty of rain-deprived lands? Is this some sentient robot created in my garage whose blinking LEDs will be the last thing you see before you perish at its hands...or claws? No. And no.

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Arrested Development - Season One

Would you be surprised if I told you that I don't blog about every movie I watch? That's right, I watch even more than I blog about. I just don't have the time to give a long review for each thing. But here's a review of things I've been watching lately.

First of all, I'm not sure if I've told all of you about (or if you've already discovered) Hulu.com. It's filled with streaming videos of movies and tv shows, from old to new, and has a pretty good selection. This past spring, I followed The Riches and New Amsterdam by watching their newest episodes each week on Hulu. Since I do a lot of data entry at work, my boss doesn't mind if I entertain myself while doing the monotonous work. I like Hulu because you can make a pop out window and shrink it to a very small size. I watch shows in a tiny box in the right-hand corner of my screen. Most of the time, I don't even look at it, but it's so nice to have some entertainment to make the hours go by quickly. I also like that the commercials are only about 10-15 seconds long.

I decided to start with the As in the TV section of Hulu, and have been wading my way through Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I'm almost done with season two. Wait a sec, I feel like I've already talked about this on my blog. Well, if I haven't, I'd like to say that Hitchcock is brilliant. His monologues in each show are wonderful, his stabs at advertisement are endless and hilarious, and the stories are all over the pla