What Do You Think About...

Son of Rambow

It's hard for me to resist an artsy dramedy about two kids discovering the joys of filmmaking. I suggest you don't even try. Just see it more than once...I've noticed that it takes at least two viewings to really appreciate these types of films.

Quote

"I think that a writer is always going to be confessing at all times. No matter what he does, he's always going to be talking about what he thinks, what he believes. Even if it's in irony, if it's in story, if it's in whatever-you're always revealing a lot about yourself."

-Alice Cooper/Vincent Furnier

The Rebels Guide to Joy

These videos are short biographies on some of the great Christian song writers. I think that these videos do a beautiful job of showing that the Christian life is more than the stereotype "be a good person and your life will be great!" These artists suffered, even after their conversion. But what they achieved in their lifetimes has brought countless blessings to other believers for generations. Even if you're not a Christian, check these out...I think that you'll find these stories interesting no matter what your religious belief.

You can find more videos at www.marshillchurch.org/special/saints

I Heart NYC

Sarah Jessica Parker said that she liked this dress because it reminded her of New York City's architecture. Being somewhat of an architecture dork, that comment endeared me more to this dress than I would have felt inclined to be otherwise. 

But I still think it's purty.

Lyrics to Derek Webb's "A Savior On Capitol Hill"

I'm so tired of these mortal men

With their hands in their pockets and their hearts full of sin

Scared of their enemies, scared of their friends

And always running for re-election

So come to DC if it be thy will 

Because we've never had a saviour on Capitol Hill

You can always trust the devil or a politician

To be the devil or a politician

But beyond that friends you'd best beware

'Cause at the Pentagon bar they're an inseparable pair

And as long as the lobbyists are paying their bills

We've never had a saviour on Capitol Hill

All of our problems gonna disappear

When we can whisper right in our President's ear

He could walk right across the reflection pool

In his combat boots and ten thousand dollar suit

You can render unto Caesar everything that's his

You can trust in his power to come to your defense

It's the way of the world, the way of the gun

It's the trading of an evil for a lesser one

So don't hold your breath or your vote until

You think you've finally found a savior up on Capitol Hill

Summer Books

Yay for random summer reading! As Jane Austen once said, "Is there any felicity superior to this?" (Although she wasn't talking about reading...) Some I've read already since exams ended...others I have to get around to.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen-Austen makes fun of novels and the effects they have on people. Wickedly, wickedly funny. 

Rock Stars on God by Doug Van Pelt-Because it would be amazing to ask bands like Green Day, Kiss, Metallica, Bad Religion, and Nickelback  "So, what do you think about Jesus Christ?" Van Pelt did just that...and the results are quite amazing.

Sanctuary by William Faulkner-Because it's William Faulkner

 

Mere Christianity, Till We Have Faces, and The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis-Because C. S. Lewis' intelligence and relevancy never cease to amaze and inspire me. 

Dear Brutus by J. M. Barrie-Because I found a copy of it from the 1800's in a used bookstore, and it had such a pretty cover. 

In Response To "The Intern"

I'm currently working on animating the story (yes, I'm attempting hand-drawn animation!), so I don't really feel like writing anything...but it is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, not hard to find. I know, I'm a jerk. But who really reads my blog anyway? Besides you?

Dead Swan

Does anyone really want to hear the rest of the Seven Swans? Cuz its been a while, and I'm thinking I might not write the rest up here...if there are any objections, let me know!

Spring

When the weather starts to get warm, and everyone else is getting "spring fever," the strong desire to make a movie hits me like a brick. I always make a film in the spring time, and for some reason, these spring projects are always the most intense. Here are some movie posters that are inspiring the lok of my own film's poster...I'm digging the collage look.

The Jane Austen Book Club

I refuse to feel stupid for liking this feel-good chick-flick. The characters are all intelligent and funny and certainly more real than your average comedy character. Yes, I know the likely hood of getting a guy to read all of Jane Austen's books are pretty slim...or the likely hood that a divorced couple will get back together...or the likely hood that every time you break a bone you happen to get a new girlfriend. But hey, it's still a chick flick, right?

Desire Is Messy

That's what one of my professors said today when discussing Shakespeare's As You Like It. Like everything usually does, that statement, "desire is messy", started my mind on a million other thoughts. I thought of the Jane Austen quote "Is not general incivility the very essence of love?" I thought of songs..."All You Need Is Love", "Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing", "I Think I Love You". I thought of a high school class discussion on how other cultures have many words for love, and yet in English we can say "I love my family", "I love tacos" or "I love you", and it is supposed to all make sense. And as crazy as I now sound for being so ADD, I began to think that maybe we don't ever really think of what desire, what love, what attraction, what any of these things really mean. Sure, we've all felt them...but do we actually think about what they mean? What is the difference between desire and attraction? What makes desire messy or love patient? And why in the world do we apply the same word to a taco as we do to a person that we deeply care for? Maybe what the world needs isn't "love sweet love." Maybe what the world needs is to define what love is in the first place. Webster need not apply.

Transitions

I'm not very good at transitions. Transitions in my stories, transitions in my career, transitions in life. I would rather jump from one thing to the next than have those excruciating "in-between" steps. In my head, I know that those steps are the building blocks that make the bulk of "my story" worthwhile. But right now, as I face transitions in all aspects of my life, I can't help wishing that they'd just go away and leave me to my adventures. I don't want to deal with paper work and details! But I know that God gave me these transitions for a reason. So I begrudgingly take them, boringness and all. I just hope the plot picks up again. Soon.

The Seven Swans: Part One

One of my favorite fairy tales has always been "The Seven Swans" by the Brothers Grimm. It might be because of the birds and themes of flying, or maybe its because even in its original form, the heroine takes a more active role than in many of the classical fairy tales. I'll bring you the story part-by-part each week. I hope you enjoy it.

Once upon a time, there lived a king and his eight children. The queen had died, and the king was beside himself with grief. He knew he must marry again, but he couldn't get his beloved wife out of his head.

One day, as he was hunting in the woods, the king became separated from his men. No matter which way he turned, the forest seemed to swallow him up, and it seemed he might never return home to his children. Suddenly, the king saw a light. It was a strange, penetrating light that seemed to seek him out. The king followed the light until he came upon a cottage carved out of the base of an old tree. The king strode inside, forgetting to knock. (He was the king after all.) Sitting inside the cottage was a beautiful young woman. She didn't seem to be doing anything in particular. Just waiting. The king was captivated by her looks. A voice came from behind, and the king spun around to see, what else, but a hideous witch. The witch beseeched the king to marry her daughter, and the king, under some strange spell, agreed. The following morning he took the young woman home with him to his castle, which suddenly wasn't so very hard to find at all. Announcing the marriage to his horrified people, the king noticed how his new bride glared at his seven sons and daughter, and he knew he must keep his children safely locked away.

The king asked his baker to look after the children, and the baker took them to an abandoned tower on the old castle grounds. The king would come to visit his children once a week. He groaned for his stupidity at falling into the trap of the witch, but knew that if he ended the marriage, things would get even worse. Eventually, his new bride grew curious as to where the children had gone. The king wouldn't answer her questions. So the queen followed him to the old tower and saw where he met his sons and daughter. Jealous that perhaps he would never love her own children so well, the new queen came up with a plan to get rid of the little princes and princess. 

The next day, the new queen rode to the tower. The children had been playing hide-and-go-seek, and the princes were still trying to find the princess when the new queen strode in. Raising her arms she cast a spell on the sons of the king. The air rose and swirled around the room, until the boys were lifted up on the currents, arms outstretched towards the ceiling. They twisted and screamed until their screams no longer sounded human, and their movements looked deliberate as though they could fly. The new queen lowered her arms. The princes had turned to swans. The princess let out a gasp. The queen turned, cursing for forgetting one of the children. The princess ran from the room, down the stairs and out the door, heading for the woods. As she ran she heard the cries of the queen behind her. A great rush of wind knocked her to the ground. The princess looked up to see seven swans flying overhead, making their way towards the sea. Her brothers were leaving her.

The Christmas Story

"But the angel said to her 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.' "

-Luke 1:30-33